Chapter Two

--

2010

Alex emerged from the time-ship first, followed by Jen, then the others; they were back in the 21st Century, on the same beach they had landed on—and left from—five years ago.

"Jen?" Alex said quietly. Jen turned to him sharply, caught up in the moment, as he continued. "Do you know the location of the Silver Guardians HQ?"

"Yes," Jen replied. "Well . . . I know where it was nine years ago."

"I doubt they would've moved it."

Jen watched him carefully as he scanned the beach, then looked over at the city outlining it; he spoke softly. "Lead us there."

They left the beach and proceeded to walk toward Silver Hills . . .

--

Wes slowly climbed the stairs that led to his room, sore from the battle not an hour ago; he flipped on the light in his room and walked straight to his trunk, kneeling down and opening it. Inside was his morpher, safely locked away for almost a decade.

Wes' hand trembled as he placed the morpher on his wrist, staring at it with wide eyes; he couldn't believe it, after so long his powers were needed again.

"Wes?" came Eric's voice.

"Yeah?" Wes slowly stood and turned.

"There's been an attack," Eric said. "At SG headquarters."

"Let's go."

Wes followed Eric down the stairs and outside, hopping into the jeep Eric always drove; the leader of the Silver Guardian's face was set with determination and concern as he drove off. Wes leaned his head against the window, barely hearing Eric's voice. "You okay, Wes?"

"Huh? Yeah . . . fine."

"Bull." Eric frowned. "You got hurt in that last fight, didn't you?"

"Not badly," Wes said. "Just a little sore, really. Been a while."

"I told you to work out in your off time," Eric scolded.

They arrived at Silver Guardians Headquarters minutes later to find the building in ruins, smoking from the attack made on it, led by Sordna. Eric cursed as he and Wes got out and walked to the second-in-command, Austin Sharf.

"How bad are the casualties?" Eric asked, grimly surveying the damage.

"Five men have been killed," Commander Sharf replied. "So far we've counted nineteen injured—eleven of them seriously."

Wes licked his dry lips, watching as the Guardians tried to pull themselves together after such a horrific—and unexpected—attack. He helped one young woman to her feet and inspected the nasty gash on her forehead, then told her to get checked out by a doctor before returning to duty.

He looked up to see the smoke rising up from the wreckage of the building, and seven figures emerging from it; all were clad in white, they were dark glasses, guns strapped to their hips. They were very familiar in appearance, and Wes felt himself stiffen in shock when a particular figure became clear . . .

"Jen?" he whispered.

Eric came to stand by him, he snatched off his sunglasses, blinking rapidly in disbelief as the Time Force officers approached them.

"Hello, Mr. Collins," Alex said civilly.

Wes was taken aback, and speechless as he stared at Jen, who avoided his gaze as much as possible while Alex explained the situation to Eric. Trip and Katie exchanged smiles, Wisnosky and Sherrin introduced themselves to the Red Ranger, shaking his hand and expressing their admiration.

"It's good to meet you," Wes said. "And even better that you're here to help. I think we'll definitely need you. Eric?"

"That's for sure," Eric agreed. "We have no idea what we're up against."

"We've defeated Sordna before," Jen spoke up, still avoiding Wes. "We can do it again. Eric, you'll have to be willing to cooperate—take orders from Alex, he knows what he's doing more than any of us."

Eric frowned. "Yeah, we’ll see, if it'll take out that . . . that woman."

“Sordna," Alex corrected.

"Right," Eric muttered. "For now, we really need you to help with this—" he gestured to the damage around them "—we have a lot of casualties, and we need to clear this up."

"Wisnosky, Trip—" Alex looked at the two behind him "—get to it."

Wes chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully as Eric led the two away, then Alex went about directing the remaining four officers; he glanced at Jen again before turning back and continuing to help the injured Guardians.

"Let me take a look at that," he said quietly to a young man. He knelt and inspected the deep gash that ran from the man's elbow to his wrist, clear down to his bone; Wes winced, the blood running onto his hands, the smell and sight nauseating. He helped the man to his feet and supporting him as they walked to the ambulance.

"They're back!"

Wes whirled around at Eric's shout to see Sordna materialize with her troops, her face filled with confidence as she surveyed the damage she had done. Wes and Eric rushed forward to stand side-by-side; beside Sordna now stood a mutant, glaring menacingly at the two rangers before him.

"Quantum Power!"

"Time for Time Force!"

Their shouts brought the other rangers running, Jen in the lead; she watched for a second as Wes leapt into battle even before the aggressive Eric did. He gave sharp cry as the mutant's claws slashed across his chest, sending him crashing to the ground; Eric stepped in for him and delivered a hard kick to his opponent, then pulled out his blaster.

Jen, Trip, Katie and Lucas morphed as Wes slowly got to his feet, and Alex grabbed the Red Ranger by his arm, pulling him to his feet; Wes thanked him quietly, then went into battle with him. Alex fought the cyclobots and Sordna's soldiers unmorphed.

He jumped up, his foot striking one of the soldier's on the side of its head; he heard someone cry out his name, but as he turned he felt a horrible pain in his stomach and doubled over, gasping. Wes let out a yell as he kicked Alex's attacker, then knelt by the injured officer.

"You okay?" he asked. "What happened?"

"I—I don't know." Alex groaned as he staggered to his feet.

"Are you hurt?"

Alex shook his head, trying to catch his breath. "I don't think so," he answered. "Just a little stunned, that's all." He looked up to see Jen being knocked down by the mutant. "Go help Jen."

Wes hurried away, arriving just in time to stop a blow from striking a fallen Jen; he stuck his arm out in front of her as the sword came down with the enormous strength of one of the mutants. Sparks flew and he cried out in pain, but he ignored it long enough to kick his enemy away.

"Jen!"

He fell to his knees beside her, shaking her shoulders gently and finding her unresponsive; Alex appeared at his side and a moment later was holding Jen in his arms, carrying her away as Wes engaged the mutant. He kicked at it furiously, but his attempts seemed to be pointless; the mutant laughed mockingly and pushed Wes aside, knocking him to the ground.

The mutant's claws wrapped around Wes' neck and pulled him up from the ground, locking him in a death-grip and dangling him in the air. Wes struggled to release himself, choking beneath the mutant's grip; his vision was blurring, the darkness was closing in . . .

He fell in a heap as the mutant was shot, gasping for breath; Katie was soon sitting next to him and pulling him to a sitting position.

"Come on," she said. "Catch your breath."

"Believe me . . . " Wes coughed. "I'm trying!"

"Let's get you to the ambulance."

"No." Wes stood shakily. "I—I'm okay."

Katie eyed him carefully, but there was no time to dwell, the mutant was once again regaining its footing; as one, Wes and Katie pulled their weapons and shot it. The mutant crumbled, and then disappeared as Sordna and her followers' teleported away.

Katie started to walk away, but paused when Wes remained still. "You sure you're okay, Wes?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah." Wes slowly followed her to the ambulance to meet up with the other rangers.

"Jen will be fine," Alex told him.

"Good," he said quietly.

"Your father took her to his house to rest," Alex continued. "That's where we're headed next. I assume you'll be coming?"

Wes nodded, rubbing his sore neck tenderly, then he and Eric hopped back into the jeep; the other Time Force officers managed to pile in, and they made their way to the Collins Estate. Alex watched Wes carefully, having discovered his relationship to the ranger after returning to the 31st Century—Wes was, needless to say, a rather ancient ancestor.

Eric happened to bring up the subject at that very time. "So . . . uh, Commander Collins, just what exactly is your relationship to Wes?"

Alex smirked. "Extremely distant," he replied.

Wes glanced back at his dark-haired twin to see a thoughtful expression on Alex's face; he couldn't resist it. "So, I'm you're great-something-grandfather."

"Yes," Alex said. "Thirty-two, to be exact."

Eric shook his head. "You're old, Wes."

They arrived at the house and immediately Wes went in to check on Jen; she was sleeping peacefully, a light sheet draped over her body. Wes pulled up a chair by her bed and took her hand in his, holding it to his lips and kissing her.

She stirred and her eyes fluttered open, coming to rest on him; she stiffened slightly, to his dismay, and he couldn't help but ask. "Jen, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, her voice a whisper.

"Bullshit." He leaned in closer and locked gazes with her. "Does it bother you . . . seeing me again?"

"How could it not?" She looked away. "I—I just don't want to make things difficult again, okay?"

Wes sighed. "Okay."

And with that, he rose and left her alone.

Wes showered, got dressed for bed, then went downstairs to read for a while before going to sleep; his father joined him minutes later, sitting down to read the newspaper. "Hmph," he grunted.

"What's the matter, Dad?"

"All these stories," Alan replied. "They're all about the attack. Oh well, I might as well go to bed early."

Wes smiled slightly as his father stood up and walked out of the living room, he flipped on the radio and listened to its soft music as he read an old novel. He sat for an hour or so before growing so stiff he had to move around, and he happened to walk by the room the other rangers were meeting in . . .

Alex spoke clearly, in a tone of authority, pacing the small room; the others—Katie, Trip, and the two soldiers Wes didn't recognize from years before—listened intently. Wes stood next to the doorway and watched for a little while, surprised that Jen hadn't insisted on joining them.

Jen . . .

He shook his head to clear it and continued walking down he hallway, he stopped in front of Jen's room and watched as she slept on. His eyes rested on her peaceful face, his hand longed to brush her soft cheek—

'What am I doing?' he asked himself.

He quickly turned away, shocked by his feelings toward Jen when he was engaged to Ariana; to his own disgust, he found himself looking back at Jen.

'I don't still love her,' he tried to convince himself, growing even more tired as he stood. 'I don't.'

--

Jen emerged from her temporary bedroom the next morning to find the others preparing for breakfast, Alan Collins greeted her warmly, but there was a hint of another emotion behind his eyes. She went into the kitchen, smiling when she saw Wes cooking; as she watched, another woman entered. She was a tall brunette with startling blue eyes—gorgeous.

"Hey, Wes." They kissed, exchanging a loving look before she got a drink. "I was worried about you yesterday, you know."

"Why?" Wes turned. "Aww, I can take care of myself."

She walked up to him and pulled him down by his collar, gripping him tightly as she pressed her lips to his again; then he looked up and saw Jen in the doorway. For a moment he didn't say a thing, he remained perfectly still, his eyes locked with Jen's.

"Uhh . . . Jen." He smiled pleasantly. "Come in!"

Jen did so, going to the refrigerator and getting herself a drink of orange juice.  "You like scrambled eggs, right?" Wes asked casually.

"Mm-hm." She nodded.

"Thought so," Wes said, smiling quickly.

Jen extended her hand to the woman she didn't recognize. "I'm Jen Scotts. I'm with the Time Force officers."

"They're here to help," Wes explained. "With this new threat."

"Ariana McNally," the woman said. "Wes spoke of you and the others a few times."

"Did he?" Jen glanced at him, part of her hurting that he had moved on, but another part happy that he didn't dwell in the past. "Well . . . we had very interesting times together, didn't we?"

"Um, Ariana and I—" Wes was obviously nervous "—we're getting married. In three weeks."

Jen blinked, suddenly seeing the diamond ring on Ariana's finger, it sparkled beneath the sunlight that shone through the kitchen window, and Ariana wore it proudly. Jen was silent for a moment. "Congratulations, Wes. You too, Ariana."

Wes turned away as his fiancée and Jen spoke, and continued preparing breakfast, half-listening to the conversation behind him.

"What's the Thirty-First Century like, anyway?"

"Much different." She paused. "But the same in a few ways too."

"You and Wes were close friends, weren't you? He always spoke of you fondly."

"Yes, we were all friends."

Wes winced, detecting something in Jen's voice: 'I had to move on,' he told himself, 'Jen and I aren't meant to be. Doesn't she understand that?'

"Well," Jen said. "I have to go over some things with Alex. See you later."

"Bye."

Ariana wrapped her arms around Wes' neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "She seemed nice."

"She is," Wes murmured.

"Are you okay?" Ariana pulled away, meeting his eyes in one long, unflinching stare.

"Fine," Wes lied. "Just fine."

He handed her a plate with some eggs and bacon on it, and she headed into the dining room to eat with everyone else; as she left, Alex came in, both he and Wes were silent. Alex leaned against the counter as he sipped his drink, watching Wes carefully. Finally, Wes turned. "Do you have something you'd like to say?"

"No." Alex's eyebrow shot up. "You seem to have a problem."

"And what's that?"

"I think you know."

Wes let out a long breath as Alex left; yes, he knew all too well what his "problem" was, but he had no idea how to fix it. When he had first started getting serious with Ariana, his father had warned him that he didn't think he was ready; Wes hadn't believed him, after all, years had passed since Jen's departure. How could he possibly still love her?

Yet as he watched her with the other rangers, eating breakfast, laughing over old stories . . .