Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #95: Found, T)
HOLY CRAP I ACTUALLY WROTE MORE.
A Darker Shade of Red and Bright Skies like to be written together for some reason. But this has cleared up my prompt/chapter issues with Bright Skies, so I sort of know what I'm doing now. Kinda.
We'll see.
Author/: Tsukino Akume
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force moving into S.P.D., multiple Rangers from each season
Characters/: Wes (Time Force), multiple Rangers from other teams (Literally too many to list)
Pairings/: Wes/Eric, R.J./O.C., Rocky/Adam, Zack/Aisha, T.J./O.C., Justin/Rose, Carter/Ryan, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Z/Syd, Jack/Charlie, Sky/Bridge, and probably some others I'm forgetting.
prompt/: #95: Found
Rating/: T (For non - graphic mentions of people having babies and being violent with one another)
Disclaimer/: I don't own the Power Rangers, but if Disney's hiring any new writers I volunteer.
Summary/: When Wes' life starts to fall apart, an accident gives him a chance at a fresh start in New Tech City, with Space Patrol Delta. But even a new life has its ups and downs - and weird friends. Meanwhile, Eric tries to move on.
Warnings/: A mentally handicapped person living in a medical facility, angst, male and female slash, non-cemented couples (In otherwords, pairings that will be separated), children created by scientific means, character death
Author's Notes/: This isn’t exactly what I planned for this chapter, but since I didn’t exactly have a full plan in mind when I started, I guess that makes it okay. And Eric *finally* gets to get his hands on the man behind everything. You know this can never end well.
Much love to phantom_blue and challon86 for helping me decide what was taking things too far, and listening to me babble about this chapter as I worked my way through it. ♥
Found Eric's lips brushed against his with a tenderness the other man rarely displayed, almost tasting him. There was a hand against his cheek sliding up to rest in his hair, and another on the back of his neck. Warm breath against his face for barely a moment as Eric pulled back to breathe, before leaning in again for another kiss.
Wes kept his arms firmly around his husband's back, trying not to cling any harder than he already was. He let Eric set the pace, because if he didn't he'd have already pinned the other man to the ground by now in his desperation to prove he was really here. That he wasn't alone anymore.
Eric sucked on his lower lip briefly before leaning their heads together with a quite sigh. "Never leaving you alone again," he informed Wes quietly. "Ever."
Wes chuckled, feeling too worn to let out the real laugh the comment deserved. "I'll give you a month before I start complaining," he promised.
"Ever," Eric repeated firmly, stroking his cheek with a thumb. His eyes roamed over Wes' face for a moment before he frowned briefly. "I'm here, Wes," he said softly. "I'm really here."
Wes closed his eyes, fighting the sudden burn of tears. "I ... "
"Missed you, too," Eric murmured, giving him another kiss. "And the brat's probably not going to let you out of his sight for at least a week."
He managed a small smile. "How is he?"
"Worried about you."
He let out a slow sigh. "They're here, Eric. Both of them. They're ... they're *here*." He closed his eyes again, swallowing hard. "They're so ... broken. And no matter what I do it's like I'm just making it worse."
"We'll figure it out," Eric assured him, stroking his cheek again. "Now that we know where they are, we're not letting them get away again."
"I wish it was that simple," he whispered, feeling a tear slip down his cheek before he could stop it.
"Freeze."
They both turned at the voice, Eric managing to wipe the tear for him as they moved. Time Force Pink stood across from them, radiating fury. One hand hovered near her Chrono Blaster. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right now," she snarled.
Her canine counterpart growled softly, and Wes reached down to soothe her. "Down girl," he murmured. "It's okay."
Eric rolled his eyes. "Good to see you too, Jen."
"Someone just blew up my office," she returned icily. "Forgive me if I'm not feeling so charitable at the moment. How do I know you're the real Eric Myers?"
"Jen - " Wes protested.
Eric lifted his left wrist, displaying the Quantum Morpher. "This isn't enough proof for you?"
"Humor me."
He sighed, reaching up to run his free hand over his hair. "Conwing," he said finally. "When I jumped off the bridge, and you came after me. You fixed me up, and I threatened to tell Alan - " He stopped, shaking his head. "Mr. Collins that you guys were from the future."
"You *what*?" Wes demanded, turning to glare at him.
Eric shrugged, looking faintly guilty. "I didn't trust anyone then. Especially them."
Wes sighed, settling for punching Eric in the shoulder. "You'd better not be threatening to blackmail anyone else," he warned.
"No, he's just blowing up my building," Jen groused as she demorphed.
Wes' eyes widened and he turned to stare at his husband.
Eric shrugged again, unconcerned. "We came here to get you and get home safe. We didn't know who we could trust, and I wasn't about to let Time Force come after us now."
Wes paused as something occurred to him. He shot Eric a look of alarm. "Please tell me Nes isn't here. Tell me you didn't bring her with you."
Eric shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah, about that ... "
"Eric!" Wes slugged him in the shoulder. "Are you *crazy*?!" he hissed. "You - you brought her *here*? *Now*?!"
"I didn't exactly just let her come along," Eric snapped back. "She got clearance from every single Doc in *both* bases. She even talked to the interns. And then she actually threatened to send Sky in her place when I still didn't want her to come!"
"What?" Wes' eyes widened in horror. "He's not here is he?"
"Of course not. What do you take me for?" Eric gave him an irritated look. "And for the record, you have too many friends. I had to turn away half the base from coming along to rescue you."
Wes rolled his eyes. "You did not."
"Wanna bet?" Eric challenged. "The entire Newtech team is here. Did you know we have two sixths?"
Wes blinked at him. "We - " He paused, then stared at his partner incredulously. "R.J.?"
Eric nodded, jerking his head towards Time Force. "This plan was his idea."
Wes shook his head, disbelieving. "Seriously? R.J.?"
"If you two are finished," Jen spoke up irritably, folding her arms and glowering at them. "We still have the problem of my office being blown up."
Eric sighed, giving her a look that was disturbingly similar to the ones he usually gave to his cadets when they failed to grasp a concept. "Are you sure?" he asked pointedly. "The explosives were set in key locations. Your office shouldn't have been anywhere near them."
Her eyes narrowed. "My office is next to Command. Not to mention we had a trial in progress today. How many prisoners do you think would have used this opportunity to escape?"
Wes frowned, glancing between them. "If you can give us a number, we'll help round them up, Jen," he offered.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "We?"
He shrugged. "Sure. It was our team that caused the problem. The least we can do is help contain them."
"*We* caused the problem?" Eric demanded, shooting him another glare. "They're the ones who kidnapped you!"
Wes shook his head. "The Rangers had nothing to do with that. They were just as surprised as I was when they saw me. They've been helping me out since I asked to stay."
Eric flinched back, hurt flashing through his eyes almost too fast to follow. "You ... asked?"
Wes moved closer, laying a hand on Eric's arm before he could pull away. "The man who took the boys is the one on trial, Eric," he said quickly, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I couldn't leave until I saw him put away. You would have hated me if I had."
There was a long pause.
At last Eric sighed. "I could never hate you, Wes," he muttered, shaking his head. He reached up to squeeze Wes' hand on his arm briefly before lifting his morpher. "This is Quantum. Operation Candycane is confirmed. We have a problem."
Wes raised his eyebrows. "Operation Candycane?" he repeated. "You actually let Chip name the mission?"
"Don't ask," Eric muttered.
"You have confirmation?" came a familiar sharp voice. "Where is he?"
Wes leaned in closer, pressing against Eric's shoulder as he did so. "As good as it is to hear your voice Nes, I think we're going to have to have a long talk about acceptable behavior for a woman who's expecting."
"Time!" Chip greeted happily, just over Vanessa's mutter of "I'll show *you* acceptable."
"What's your status?" Justin's voice put in.
He sounded slightly off, and Wes frowned. "I'm golden. You?"
There was a pause. "Green."
He winced. "Are you - "
"I'm functioning," Justin cut him off. "What's the problem?"
"Apparently Operation Hamster has a snag," Eric informed them, his eye twitching as he ignored the amused look Wes gave him for the name. "Time Force had a trial in progress, and we think some of the prisoners escaped. Can we spare anyone for recapture?"
"I can," Justin said immediately.
"I'm better off down here," Vanessa sighed.
There was a pause. "Well, I can go either way," Chip offered. "As long as I don't leave the building."
Wes frowned. "Why wouldn't you - " He cut off with a grunt as Eric elbowed him, giving him a look.
"Go with Turbo," Eric advised them. "Anyone seen Astro or heard from Lightspeed and Fury?"
Wes bit his lip, eyeing him as he rubbed his stomach. He wondered if Eric was even aware that he was using the nicknames. Then he snickered when he realized Fury was R.J. Talk about irony.
"This is Astro," came an abrupt voice. "If you really need me to help with recapture I can, but - "
"But he's helping me right now," Trip's voice piped up.
For a split second, Wes' mind pondered the many possible scenarios that could happen by leaving Zhane and Trip alone together. He shuddered slightly. "That's fine," he told them instead. "Do what you can to help, Astro. Lightspeed? You out there?"
"*What*?" she snapped at him.
"Stop fighting with Katie. We're all on the same side here," he assured her. "We need you to call off the Zords and help Katie recapture some criminals that may have escaped in the confusion. See if you can get Fury to help."
She huffed in annoyance. "Sure, give me the *easy* job," she grumbled. "Whatever. Lightspeed out."
Wes shook his head, glancing up at Eric. "Can you track Alex and Ben?"
"Ben's busy," Justin interrupted. "You'll have to call R.I.C. if you want his help."
He sighed, exchanging glances with Eric. "R.I.C., come," he ordered into his morpher as Eric brought up his tracker.
There was an answering bark, and in less than a minute R.I.C. was sitting at his feet, whining anxiously.
He smiled, crouching down to pat the robotic dog on the head. "Good boy," he murmured. "You found me. Good boy. Now drop."
The Quantum Morpher fell obediently into his hand. and he gave R.I.C. another pat as he stood and tossed it to Jen. "Get that back to Ben and see if you can join us," he told her. He looked at Eric. "You got him?"
Eric was frowning. "He's in the courtroom. He's just ... standing there."
A chill ran down Wes' spine. "We need to find him. Now."
Eric nodded. "R.I.C., Jen, come," he ordered, already running.
Wes raced after him with barely a backward glance for the other Jen, lifting his morpher to his lips. "Time for, Time Force!"
****
They were moving too slow. He knew it the way he'd once known that he would see the Time Force Rangers again. They had to be there *now*, or they'd be too late.
"Faster," he hissed under his breath, willing his feet, his body, every part of him to move faster.
Everything around him seemed to blur, until all he could see was a doorway, and through that doorway a man pointing a gun at his child.
Alex was frozen, a blank, lost look on his face. He muttered something that even Ranger Enhanced Hearing couldn't pick up, swaying slightly.
Blakemore was smiling at Alex, moving closer to embrace him. A hand slipped the blaster from Alex's loose grip, and Blakemore stepped back again with a comforting look. "There's a good boy," he soothed. "We'll sort out all those confusing thoughts soon enough."
*Not my son*!
He hit Alex in a full tackle, knocking the young man flying. His arms closed around Alex even as they hit the ground, shielding his head from further injury. Alex grunted, but didn't struggle and that alone made his heart pound in fear.
"Freeze!" he heard the Quantum Ranger order.
"Well, this is unexpected," Blakemore commented. "Come now, Benjamin, you know better than to turn against *me*," he scolded, sounding like he was speaking to a two-year-old. He reached for something in his pocket, his hand moving to press something they couldn't see.
"No!" Alex choked out from under Red Time Force. Finally he began to struggle. "Stop him! That's an ESN!"
Red Time Force caught his arms, trying to keep him shielded. "ESN?" he repeated.
"Extra-Sensory Neural Controller. He put one in Ben's morpher!" Alex huffed in frustration, shoving ineffectually at him. "It's a shock device!"
"He did *what*?" Quantum growled.
Blakemore was frowning at his hand, looking annoyed. "Why isn't this blasted thing working?" he demanded, aiming the small remote at Quantum and pressing it again.
There was a muffled croak, and Red Time Force looked up just in time to see his partner pinning Blakemore to the wall by his throat. "Eric, don't!"
"Maybe," Quantum hissed, fist tightening as Blakemore gasped for air, "You're pointing it at the *wrong Ranger*."
Blakemore's eyes went wide, and he turned deathly pale. "M-Myers?"
There was a burst of red light, leaving Eric in the Quantum Ranger's place. Red Time Force couldn't see his face from where he was, but judging by Blakemore's expression, he was wishing for the featureless helmet again.
"So you're the one," Eric said softly, and there was a current of anger in his tone that sent chills down even his husband's spine. "You're the one who took my kids. You stole them from me, and hurt them in ways I don't even want to think about. You ruined my marriage. You kidnapped my husband. You're the reason I lost *everything*." His voice was barely a whisper now, and Blakemore was visibly shaking. "Give me *one* reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces right now."
"Y-you're a Ranger," Blakemore sputtered. "Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
There was a moment of absolute stillness, and Red Time Force could have sworn his heart actually stopped at the words.
"Wrong answer," Eric hissed, drawing back his fist.
It took two minutes for Red Time Force to finally pull Eric off of Blakemore. Two minutes of shouting, pleading, struggling. Of Blakemore screaming.
A lot can happen in two minutes.
It wasn't that he didn't understand. More than anything, he wanted to be right there too, punishing the man who'd hurt their boys. The man that made it so hard for Alex to fit in, to know where he belonged. The man that put Ben into a coma, who confused his mind and aged his body for nothing more than his own purposes. The reason that Alex had begged Wes to keep the secret, because he'd been convinced it had to happen this way. This man had destroyed their relationship and their family.
And he was right *here*.
" ... Dad?"
The voice was so small, so pathetic-sounding, he almost didn't hear it in the midst of struggling to restrain Eric and Blakemore's screaming. But even Eric froze at the sound. They both looked up, Eric still trembling with rage and himself with exertion, to see Alex watching them.
Logically, Wes knew that his son was twenty-two years old. Alex wasn't a child, if he had ever been one to begin with. But his eyes saw his son, standing in front of him with a lost, broken expression. His left hand hovered over the burn on his right shoulder, not quite touching. He was hurt, he was upset, and why were they bothering with this useless man when his little boy was hurting?
Eric was already pulling away from him, stumbling toward Alex. "Alex?" he asked anxiously.
Alex blinked once, then slowly shook his head. "You can't hurt him," he said quietly, still sounding lost. "I can't ... There's only so much I can do to protect you - "
"Let us handle that," Eric told him, using the same soft tone of voice he sometimes used with Sky when he thought no one else was listening. "It's our job to protect you, not the other way around."
Alex shook his head again, blinking rapidly and swallowing. "Time Force will - "
"That man just shot and threatened my kids, and I wasn't morphed when I hit him," Eric interrupted. "I know my rights. I'd like to see them try arrest me."
You're just lucky you stopped when you did, Red Time Force thought irritably as he glanced down at Blakemore. Or we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Blakemore was a whimpering, sobbing mess at his feet. His face was bloody, but from what he could tell, it was only a broken nose and split lip. His shoulder was possibly dislocated, but that could easily be explained away as a casualty of trying to get the blaster away from him. It lay several feet away where Eric had flung it.
Even when he's out of control, Eric still knows exactly what he's doing, Wes acknowledged as he demorphed with a sigh.
He glanced at his husband and son, noting the way Alex trembled. Shock, he diagnosed worriedly. This has been one hell of a week for him.
"Alex?" Eric asked gently, reaching out to brush his uninjured shoulder carefully. "Talk to me, kiddo."
Alex blinked again. "Kiddo?" he echoed dully.
"That's right. You're my kid, that makes you a kiddo," Eric told him, and Wes had to fight a smile because Eric had always claimed he hated nicknames.
Alex stared at them both, his eyes widening a little. He looked startlingly young. "I'm ... yours?"
Wes' heart broke.
"Of course you are, buddy," he murmured, inching closer. "We've never stopped thinking about you, remember? We've always wanted you with us."
"Always," Eric added firmly, closing his hand gently around Alex's shoulder.
"And now you're finally were you belong," Wes finished. "We finally found you."
"Found ... " Alex repeated softly. His brow furrowed. "I was lost?"
"You're not anymore," Wes assured him, finally managing to get an arm around him. "You're not lost. You're right where you belong."
An odd smile flickered across Alex's face. "Where I belong ... " he murmured.
He promptly collapsed against them, unconscious.
"I got him," Eric murmured, shifting to grab Alex more carefully. He paused for a moment to study their son's face. "He looks like Sky when he's sleeping."
Wes tried not to smile and failed. "Yeah. But he hates being told he looks like anyone else."
"Huh." Eric continued to stare at him, reaching up to briefly brush the hair from Alex's face.
"Wes! ... Eric?"
Wes looked up to see Lucas already racing toward them, blaster in hand and a frown on his face. "What happened to Alex?" he demanded.
"He's been shot," Wes told him, snagging the fallen blaster off the floor. "I think he finally passed out from the shock."
Lucas' frown deepened, looking at Alex and Eric warily before his eyes fell to Blakemore. He started. "What happened to him?"
"He shot my son and tried to use some ESPN thing on me," Eric informed him calmly. "It was self-defense."
Wes coughed, clearing his throat. "ESN," he corrected. "Alex said Blakemore had an Extra-Sensory Neural Controller planted in Ben's morpher."
Lucas, who had been studying Blakemore, gave Eric an incredulous look. "*This* is self-defense?"
Eric sighed. "Ranger Etiquette Law 437, Section B, clearly states 'Self-Defense is defined as physical or mental acts against a person or persons who have caused physical or mental harm to the Ranger or Rangers in question or their family members, baring loss of life or complete loss of function.' He shot Alex and tried to use that shock thing on me, thinking I was Ben, and he's still breathing."
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "You broke his arm."
"Dislocated. He'll be fine."
"L ... Lieutenant Ken ... Kendall," Blakemore wheezed. "Arrest this man! He tried to kill me!"
Lucas gave him a cool look, reaching for his handcuffs. "I heard self-defense. That's what it looks like to me."
"Are you serious?!" the man sputtered. "Lieutenant Kendall if you wish you remain part of this organization you had best - "
"You have the right to remain silent, Commander," Lucas interrupted him, lowering his blaster to grab Blakemore's uninjured hand roughly, ignoring his cry of protest. "I suggest you use it."
"I'll have your job for this," Blakemore hissed at him. "You've served your purpose in the past, we have no need of you in Time Force now."
"Are you threatening an officer, 'Commander'?" Wes asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes at the man.
"That's where you're wrong," Lucas told Blakemore as he pulled the other arm behind him, snapping the cuffs together with a satisfying click. "Time Force belongs to Newtech City. It doesn't belong to you. And the Time Force Rangers belong to ourselves."
Wes stared at Blakemore for a moment, taking in the sight of the man who had made his life into what it was. Blakemore had been right about one thing. If he hadn't stolen Alex and Ben, Wes probably wouldn't be standing where he was right now.
But then, there was no way of knowing where he'd be if he'd raised his boys together, either.
He looked up at Lucas with a sigh. "Any news on the other criminals?"
"All accounted for," Lucas assured him. "Trip, Ben, and one of yours have triage under control. Everyone's supposed to meet us back at Ranger Tower."
He nodded, lifting his morpher with a soft sigh. "Time to all Rangers," he announced. "Stand down. Repeat, stand down everyone."
A Darker Shade of Red and Bright Skies like to be written together for some reason. But this has cleared up my prompt/chapter issues with Bright Skies, so I sort of know what I'm doing now. Kinda.
We'll see.
Author/: Tsukino Akume
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force moving into S.P.D., multiple Rangers from each season
Characters/: Wes (Time Force), multiple Rangers from other teams (Literally too many to list)
Pairings/: Wes/Eric, R.J./O.C., Rocky/Adam, Zack/Aisha, T.J./O.C., Justin/Rose, Carter/Ryan, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Z/Syd, Jack/Charlie, Sky/Bridge, and probably some others I'm forgetting.
prompt/: #95: Found
Rating/: T (For non - graphic mentions of people having babies and being violent with one another)
Disclaimer/: I don't own the Power Rangers, but if Disney's hiring any new writers I volunteer.
Summary/: When Wes' life starts to fall apart, an accident gives him a chance at a fresh start in New Tech City, with Space Patrol Delta. But even a new life has its ups and downs - and weird friends. Meanwhile, Eric tries to move on.
Warnings/: A mentally handicapped person living in a medical facility, angst, male and female slash, non-cemented couples (In otherwords, pairings that will be separated), children created by scientific means, character death
Author's Notes/: This isn’t exactly what I planned for this chapter, but since I didn’t exactly have a full plan in mind when I started, I guess that makes it okay. And Eric *finally* gets to get his hands on the man behind everything. You know this can never end well.
Much love to phantom_blue and challon86 for helping me decide what was taking things too far, and listening to me babble about this chapter as I worked my way through it. ♥
Found Eric's lips brushed against his with a tenderness the other man rarely displayed, almost tasting him. There was a hand against his cheek sliding up to rest in his hair, and another on the back of his neck. Warm breath against his face for barely a moment as Eric pulled back to breathe, before leaning in again for another kiss.
Wes kept his arms firmly around his husband's back, trying not to cling any harder than he already was. He let Eric set the pace, because if he didn't he'd have already pinned the other man to the ground by now in his desperation to prove he was really here. That he wasn't alone anymore.
Eric sucked on his lower lip briefly before leaning their heads together with a quite sigh. "Never leaving you alone again," he informed Wes quietly. "Ever."
Wes chuckled, feeling too worn to let out the real laugh the comment deserved. "I'll give you a month before I start complaining," he promised.
"Ever," Eric repeated firmly, stroking his cheek with a thumb. His eyes roamed over Wes' face for a moment before he frowned briefly. "I'm here, Wes," he said softly. "I'm really here."
Wes closed his eyes, fighting the sudden burn of tears. "I ... "
"Missed you, too," Eric murmured, giving him another kiss. "And the brat's probably not going to let you out of his sight for at least a week."
He managed a small smile. "How is he?"
"Worried about you."
He let out a slow sigh. "They're here, Eric. Both of them. They're ... they're *here*." He closed his eyes again, swallowing hard. "They're so ... broken. And no matter what I do it's like I'm just making it worse."
"We'll figure it out," Eric assured him, stroking his cheek again. "Now that we know where they are, we're not letting them get away again."
"I wish it was that simple," he whispered, feeling a tear slip down his cheek before he could stop it.
"Freeze."
They both turned at the voice, Eric managing to wipe the tear for him as they moved. Time Force Pink stood across from them, radiating fury. One hand hovered near her Chrono Blaster. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right now," she snarled.
Her canine counterpart growled softly, and Wes reached down to soothe her. "Down girl," he murmured. "It's okay."
Eric rolled his eyes. "Good to see you too, Jen."
"Someone just blew up my office," she returned icily. "Forgive me if I'm not feeling so charitable at the moment. How do I know you're the real Eric Myers?"
"Jen - " Wes protested.
Eric lifted his left wrist, displaying the Quantum Morpher. "This isn't enough proof for you?"
"Humor me."
He sighed, reaching up to run his free hand over his hair. "Conwing," he said finally. "When I jumped off the bridge, and you came after me. You fixed me up, and I threatened to tell Alan - " He stopped, shaking his head. "Mr. Collins that you guys were from the future."
"You *what*?" Wes demanded, turning to glare at him.
Eric shrugged, looking faintly guilty. "I didn't trust anyone then. Especially them."
Wes sighed, settling for punching Eric in the shoulder. "You'd better not be threatening to blackmail anyone else," he warned.
"No, he's just blowing up my building," Jen groused as she demorphed.
Wes' eyes widened and he turned to stare at his husband.
Eric shrugged again, unconcerned. "We came here to get you and get home safe. We didn't know who we could trust, and I wasn't about to let Time Force come after us now."
Wes paused as something occurred to him. He shot Eric a look of alarm. "Please tell me Nes isn't here. Tell me you didn't bring her with you."
Eric shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah, about that ... "
"Eric!" Wes slugged him in the shoulder. "Are you *crazy*?!" he hissed. "You - you brought her *here*? *Now*?!"
"I didn't exactly just let her come along," Eric snapped back. "She got clearance from every single Doc in *both* bases. She even talked to the interns. And then she actually threatened to send Sky in her place when I still didn't want her to come!"
"What?" Wes' eyes widened in horror. "He's not here is he?"
"Of course not. What do you take me for?" Eric gave him an irritated look. "And for the record, you have too many friends. I had to turn away half the base from coming along to rescue you."
Wes rolled his eyes. "You did not."
"Wanna bet?" Eric challenged. "The entire Newtech team is here. Did you know we have two sixths?"
Wes blinked at him. "We - " He paused, then stared at his partner incredulously. "R.J.?"
Eric nodded, jerking his head towards Time Force. "This plan was his idea."
Wes shook his head, disbelieving. "Seriously? R.J.?"
"If you two are finished," Jen spoke up irritably, folding her arms and glowering at them. "We still have the problem of my office being blown up."
Eric sighed, giving her a look that was disturbingly similar to the ones he usually gave to his cadets when they failed to grasp a concept. "Are you sure?" he asked pointedly. "The explosives were set in key locations. Your office shouldn't have been anywhere near them."
Her eyes narrowed. "My office is next to Command. Not to mention we had a trial in progress today. How many prisoners do you think would have used this opportunity to escape?"
Wes frowned, glancing between them. "If you can give us a number, we'll help round them up, Jen," he offered.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "We?"
He shrugged. "Sure. It was our team that caused the problem. The least we can do is help contain them."
"*We* caused the problem?" Eric demanded, shooting him another glare. "They're the ones who kidnapped you!"
Wes shook his head. "The Rangers had nothing to do with that. They were just as surprised as I was when they saw me. They've been helping me out since I asked to stay."
Eric flinched back, hurt flashing through his eyes almost too fast to follow. "You ... asked?"
Wes moved closer, laying a hand on Eric's arm before he could pull away. "The man who took the boys is the one on trial, Eric," he said quickly, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I couldn't leave until I saw him put away. You would have hated me if I had."
There was a long pause.
At last Eric sighed. "I could never hate you, Wes," he muttered, shaking his head. He reached up to squeeze Wes' hand on his arm briefly before lifting his morpher. "This is Quantum. Operation Candycane is confirmed. We have a problem."
Wes raised his eyebrows. "Operation Candycane?" he repeated. "You actually let Chip name the mission?"
"Don't ask," Eric muttered.
"You have confirmation?" came a familiar sharp voice. "Where is he?"
Wes leaned in closer, pressing against Eric's shoulder as he did so. "As good as it is to hear your voice Nes, I think we're going to have to have a long talk about acceptable behavior for a woman who's expecting."
"Time!" Chip greeted happily, just over Vanessa's mutter of "I'll show *you* acceptable."
"What's your status?" Justin's voice put in.
He sounded slightly off, and Wes frowned. "I'm golden. You?"
There was a pause. "Green."
He winced. "Are you - "
"I'm functioning," Justin cut him off. "What's the problem?"
"Apparently Operation Hamster has a snag," Eric informed them, his eye twitching as he ignored the amused look Wes gave him for the name. "Time Force had a trial in progress, and we think some of the prisoners escaped. Can we spare anyone for recapture?"
"I can," Justin said immediately.
"I'm better off down here," Vanessa sighed.
There was a pause. "Well, I can go either way," Chip offered. "As long as I don't leave the building."
Wes frowned. "Why wouldn't you - " He cut off with a grunt as Eric elbowed him, giving him a look.
"Go with Turbo," Eric advised them. "Anyone seen Astro or heard from Lightspeed and Fury?"
Wes bit his lip, eyeing him as he rubbed his stomach. He wondered if Eric was even aware that he was using the nicknames. Then he snickered when he realized Fury was R.J. Talk about irony.
"This is Astro," came an abrupt voice. "If you really need me to help with recapture I can, but - "
"But he's helping me right now," Trip's voice piped up.
For a split second, Wes' mind pondered the many possible scenarios that could happen by leaving Zhane and Trip alone together. He shuddered slightly. "That's fine," he told them instead. "Do what you can to help, Astro. Lightspeed? You out there?"
"*What*?" she snapped at him.
"Stop fighting with Katie. We're all on the same side here," he assured her. "We need you to call off the Zords and help Katie recapture some criminals that may have escaped in the confusion. See if you can get Fury to help."
She huffed in annoyance. "Sure, give me the *easy* job," she grumbled. "Whatever. Lightspeed out."
Wes shook his head, glancing up at Eric. "Can you track Alex and Ben?"
"Ben's busy," Justin interrupted. "You'll have to call R.I.C. if you want his help."
He sighed, exchanging glances with Eric. "R.I.C., come," he ordered into his morpher as Eric brought up his tracker.
There was an answering bark, and in less than a minute R.I.C. was sitting at his feet, whining anxiously.
He smiled, crouching down to pat the robotic dog on the head. "Good boy," he murmured. "You found me. Good boy. Now drop."
The Quantum Morpher fell obediently into his hand. and he gave R.I.C. another pat as he stood and tossed it to Jen. "Get that back to Ben and see if you can join us," he told her. He looked at Eric. "You got him?"
Eric was frowning. "He's in the courtroom. He's just ... standing there."
A chill ran down Wes' spine. "We need to find him. Now."
Eric nodded. "R.I.C., Jen, come," he ordered, already running.
Wes raced after him with barely a backward glance for the other Jen, lifting his morpher to his lips. "Time for, Time Force!"
****
They were moving too slow. He knew it the way he'd once known that he would see the Time Force Rangers again. They had to be there *now*, or they'd be too late.
"Faster," he hissed under his breath, willing his feet, his body, every part of him to move faster.
Everything around him seemed to blur, until all he could see was a doorway, and through that doorway a man pointing a gun at his child.
Alex was frozen, a blank, lost look on his face. He muttered something that even Ranger Enhanced Hearing couldn't pick up, swaying slightly.
Blakemore was smiling at Alex, moving closer to embrace him. A hand slipped the blaster from Alex's loose grip, and Blakemore stepped back again with a comforting look. "There's a good boy," he soothed. "We'll sort out all those confusing thoughts soon enough."
*Not my son*!
He hit Alex in a full tackle, knocking the young man flying. His arms closed around Alex even as they hit the ground, shielding his head from further injury. Alex grunted, but didn't struggle and that alone made his heart pound in fear.
"Freeze!" he heard the Quantum Ranger order.
"Well, this is unexpected," Blakemore commented. "Come now, Benjamin, you know better than to turn against *me*," he scolded, sounding like he was speaking to a two-year-old. He reached for something in his pocket, his hand moving to press something they couldn't see.
"No!" Alex choked out from under Red Time Force. Finally he began to struggle. "Stop him! That's an ESN!"
Red Time Force caught his arms, trying to keep him shielded. "ESN?" he repeated.
"Extra-Sensory Neural Controller. He put one in Ben's morpher!" Alex huffed in frustration, shoving ineffectually at him. "It's a shock device!"
"He did *what*?" Quantum growled.
Blakemore was frowning at his hand, looking annoyed. "Why isn't this blasted thing working?" he demanded, aiming the small remote at Quantum and pressing it again.
There was a muffled croak, and Red Time Force looked up just in time to see his partner pinning Blakemore to the wall by his throat. "Eric, don't!"
"Maybe," Quantum hissed, fist tightening as Blakemore gasped for air, "You're pointing it at the *wrong Ranger*."
Blakemore's eyes went wide, and he turned deathly pale. "M-Myers?"
There was a burst of red light, leaving Eric in the Quantum Ranger's place. Red Time Force couldn't see his face from where he was, but judging by Blakemore's expression, he was wishing for the featureless helmet again.
"So you're the one," Eric said softly, and there was a current of anger in his tone that sent chills down even his husband's spine. "You're the one who took my kids. You stole them from me, and hurt them in ways I don't even want to think about. You ruined my marriage. You kidnapped my husband. You're the reason I lost *everything*." His voice was barely a whisper now, and Blakemore was visibly shaking. "Give me *one* reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces right now."
"Y-you're a Ranger," Blakemore sputtered. "Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
There was a moment of absolute stillness, and Red Time Force could have sworn his heart actually stopped at the words.
"Wrong answer," Eric hissed, drawing back his fist.
It took two minutes for Red Time Force to finally pull Eric off of Blakemore. Two minutes of shouting, pleading, struggling. Of Blakemore screaming.
A lot can happen in two minutes.
It wasn't that he didn't understand. More than anything, he wanted to be right there too, punishing the man who'd hurt their boys. The man that made it so hard for Alex to fit in, to know where he belonged. The man that put Ben into a coma, who confused his mind and aged his body for nothing more than his own purposes. The reason that Alex had begged Wes to keep the secret, because he'd been convinced it had to happen this way. This man had destroyed their relationship and their family.
And he was right *here*.
" ... Dad?"
The voice was so small, so pathetic-sounding, he almost didn't hear it in the midst of struggling to restrain Eric and Blakemore's screaming. But even Eric froze at the sound. They both looked up, Eric still trembling with rage and himself with exertion, to see Alex watching them.
Logically, Wes knew that his son was twenty-two years old. Alex wasn't a child, if he had ever been one to begin with. But his eyes saw his son, standing in front of him with a lost, broken expression. His left hand hovered over the burn on his right shoulder, not quite touching. He was hurt, he was upset, and why were they bothering with this useless man when his little boy was hurting?
Eric was already pulling away from him, stumbling toward Alex. "Alex?" he asked anxiously.
Alex blinked once, then slowly shook his head. "You can't hurt him," he said quietly, still sounding lost. "I can't ... There's only so much I can do to protect you - "
"Let us handle that," Eric told him, using the same soft tone of voice he sometimes used with Sky when he thought no one else was listening. "It's our job to protect you, not the other way around."
Alex shook his head again, blinking rapidly and swallowing. "Time Force will - "
"That man just shot and threatened my kids, and I wasn't morphed when I hit him," Eric interrupted. "I know my rights. I'd like to see them try arrest me."
You're just lucky you stopped when you did, Red Time Force thought irritably as he glanced down at Blakemore. Or we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Blakemore was a whimpering, sobbing mess at his feet. His face was bloody, but from what he could tell, it was only a broken nose and split lip. His shoulder was possibly dislocated, but that could easily be explained away as a casualty of trying to get the blaster away from him. It lay several feet away where Eric had flung it.
Even when he's out of control, Eric still knows exactly what he's doing, Wes acknowledged as he demorphed with a sigh.
He glanced at his husband and son, noting the way Alex trembled. Shock, he diagnosed worriedly. This has been one hell of a week for him.
"Alex?" Eric asked gently, reaching out to brush his uninjured shoulder carefully. "Talk to me, kiddo."
Alex blinked again. "Kiddo?" he echoed dully.
"That's right. You're my kid, that makes you a kiddo," Eric told him, and Wes had to fight a smile because Eric had always claimed he hated nicknames.
Alex stared at them both, his eyes widening a little. He looked startlingly young. "I'm ... yours?"
Wes' heart broke.
"Of course you are, buddy," he murmured, inching closer. "We've never stopped thinking about you, remember? We've always wanted you with us."
"Always," Eric added firmly, closing his hand gently around Alex's shoulder.
"And now you're finally were you belong," Wes finished. "We finally found you."
"Found ... " Alex repeated softly. His brow furrowed. "I was lost?"
"You're not anymore," Wes assured him, finally managing to get an arm around him. "You're not lost. You're right where you belong."
An odd smile flickered across Alex's face. "Where I belong ... " he murmured.
He promptly collapsed against them, unconscious.
"I got him," Eric murmured, shifting to grab Alex more carefully. He paused for a moment to study their son's face. "He looks like Sky when he's sleeping."
Wes tried not to smile and failed. "Yeah. But he hates being told he looks like anyone else."
"Huh." Eric continued to stare at him, reaching up to briefly brush the hair from Alex's face.
"Wes! ... Eric?"
Wes looked up to see Lucas already racing toward them, blaster in hand and a frown on his face. "What happened to Alex?" he demanded.
"He's been shot," Wes told him, snagging the fallen blaster off the floor. "I think he finally passed out from the shock."
Lucas' frown deepened, looking at Alex and Eric warily before his eyes fell to Blakemore. He started. "What happened to him?"
"He shot my son and tried to use some ESPN thing on me," Eric informed him calmly. "It was self-defense."
Wes coughed, clearing his throat. "ESN," he corrected. "Alex said Blakemore had an Extra-Sensory Neural Controller planted in Ben's morpher."
Lucas, who had been studying Blakemore, gave Eric an incredulous look. "*This* is self-defense?"
Eric sighed. "Ranger Etiquette Law 437, Section B, clearly states 'Self-Defense is defined as physical or mental acts against a person or persons who have caused physical or mental harm to the Ranger or Rangers in question or their family members, baring loss of life or complete loss of function.' He shot Alex and tried to use that shock thing on me, thinking I was Ben, and he's still breathing."
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "You broke his arm."
"Dislocated. He'll be fine."
"L ... Lieutenant Ken ... Kendall," Blakemore wheezed. "Arrest this man! He tried to kill me!"
Lucas gave him a cool look, reaching for his handcuffs. "I heard self-defense. That's what it looks like to me."
"Are you serious?!" the man sputtered. "Lieutenant Kendall if you wish you remain part of this organization you had best - "
"You have the right to remain silent, Commander," Lucas interrupted him, lowering his blaster to grab Blakemore's uninjured hand roughly, ignoring his cry of protest. "I suggest you use it."
"I'll have your job for this," Blakemore hissed at him. "You've served your purpose in the past, we have no need of you in Time Force now."
"Are you threatening an officer, 'Commander'?" Wes asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes at the man.
"That's where you're wrong," Lucas told Blakemore as he pulled the other arm behind him, snapping the cuffs together with a satisfying click. "Time Force belongs to Newtech City. It doesn't belong to you. And the Time Force Rangers belong to ourselves."
Wes stared at Blakemore for a moment, taking in the sight of the man who had made his life into what it was. Blakemore had been right about one thing. If he hadn't stolen Alex and Ben, Wes probably wouldn't be standing where he was right now.
But then, there was no way of knowing where he'd be if he'd raised his boys together, either.
He looked up at Lucas with a sigh. "Any news on the other criminals?"
"All accounted for," Lucas assured him. "Trip, Ben, and one of yours have triage under control. Everyone's supposed to meet us back at Ranger Tower."
He nodded, lifting his morpher with a soft sigh. "Time to all Rangers," he announced. "Stand down. Repeat, stand down everyone."