A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 4: No Choice)
I'm tired, cranky, and irritated at the world today. And barking dogs need to be muzzled when people are trying to sleep. Somehow, this led into a post.
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force, slight crossover with S.P.D. (In Bright Skies universe)
Characters/: Alex
Pairings/: Alex/Jen, Lucas/Trip, Katie/OC, Wes/Eric
Rating/: T
Disclaimer/: Saban/Disney/Whoever sure didn't write *this* into the series. The plot comes purely from my own warped little mind, and the characters are merely borrowed from them for my own amusement. Lucky you.
Summary/: The legacy of Wesley Collins and Eric Myers didn't just affect the past - it affected the future. One thousand years after they became Rangers, one person is still struggling against the corruption of Time Force and the heritage he never wanted.
Warnings/: People used for scientific experimentation, corrupted Time Force, character with self-image issues
Author's Notes/: I finally realized I keep forgetting this layout, and realized it's easier to identify as fic with it. Oops? ^.^;;
But hey, developing plot! Who knew? Enjoy!
It had been a long week for Alex.
Logan was still furious at him. Lucas and Katie didn't seem to know what to make of him now, and the looks they kept giving him were driving him nuts. Jen always looked like she *wanted* to talk to him, but couldn't seem to find the nerve to. Trip *was* trying, and Alex had been avoiding him constantly - which was a lot harder to do than it sounded when Trip was truly determined about something. But he didn't want Trip's apologies, or Jen's questions, or Lucas and Katie's confusion. He *definitely* didn't want Logan's crap about how he had a 'responsibility' or whatever nonsense he was trying to use as an excuse now.
To his dismay, he hadn't been fired. If anything, the situation seemed to be being ignored, other than Logan trying to pressure him whenever he found the chance. But the morpher was gone for now, and Alex was quite happy to keep it that way.
In retrospect, he should have realized sooner that it would never last.
The door to Ben's room opened for him as always, but he froze in the entrance. The room was absolutely empty. The medical equipment, the stasis pod, the chair ... All gone, as if they'd never been there in the first place.
His heart clenched. No … What have they done?!
"Looking for something?"
It took all his willpower not to flinch at the voice behind him. Commander Blakemore had been one of the sponsors behind the Morpher Project. Unfortunately, all evidence of his involvement had conveniently disappeared just before the project had been discovered. Without the evidence he and Trip had never been able to prove he'd been a part of it, and he'd remained an uncontested member of Time Force.
Alex was *terrified* of him.
He turned slowly, his expression cold as he faced him. His sunglasses shielded the fear in his eyes from view. "What's going on?" he demanded sharply.
Blakemore smiled, the expression sending chills down Alex's spine. A small box was in his hand, and he played with it almost casually. "It's quite simple, Alexander. Time Force wants its Red Ranger. You agree to perform your duties, and Benjamin remains asleep. Refuse to cooperate, and we'll be forced to awaken the Quantum Ranger. The decision is yours." He shrugged as though it didn't matter to him either way. It probably didn't.
Alex was silent for a moment, his mind flying through every possible alternative he could come up with. He couldn’t be a Ranger again - it had taken him so long to get away from that. He didn’t - he *couldn’t* …
His thoughts came up blank.
There was nothing else he could do. No matter how much he hated it, he had no choice. Ben deserved to stay asleep, and he couldn't let Time Force take that away from him.
"I'll do it."
Blakemore's smile widened. "Good boy."
The box opened to reveal the Red Chrono Morpher sitting innocently, waiting for him. It was all Alex could do to keep his hands from shaking as he reached for it, carefully taking it and pulling it to him. He attached it to his wrist before he could stop himself, and the immediate wave of energy that surged through him made him nauseous.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Blakemore asked with a smirk. "All it took was a little persuasion." He paused for effect before patting Alex on the head. "Now run along, Alexander. Mustn't keep your team waiting."
Alex's teeth ground, fists clenching. He turned and walked away, Blakemore chuckling behind him.
It wasn't until he was well away from the hallway, safely hidden in a corner where he knew the cameras couldn't see him, that he allowed the shudder he'd been fighting to run through him. He wrapped his arms around himself, shaking, and tried to keep in the tears that threatened his eyes.
Six years, and he was right back where he'd started: Time Force's pet Ranger. He was going to be sick.
He glanced down at the morpher still sitting placidly on his wrist, and fought the urge to throw it as far away from as he could.
****
Barely the day after Alex had been forced to take up the morpher again, Time Force had started regular training schedules for the Rangers, 'to get them used to working with their Red Ranger', as the memo said. When Alex finally showed up to the appropriate training room, the tension in the room was palpable. Lucas and Katie seemed to think he'd just proven something to them, judging by the dark looks they were giving him. Jen's face was strangely blank, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Trip watched him in open concern, and it was hard to keep from looking him in the eyes.
The training opened with a random sparring session, and only Trip didn't leave him with excessive bruises. The fact that Rangers were barely tolerating his presence didn't seem to go unnoticed, but there hadn't been any authority figures calling them on it yet, and Alex wasn't exactly trying to fix the problem himself.
Eventually he found himself facing off with Katie, who seemed to take a certain gleefully sadistic pleasure in trying to hit him as hard as she could, which meant he spent most of his time trying to dodge her blows rather than fight back. He was used to trying to defend rather than attack, but it definitely wasn't his style. And while he knew he could probably take her down if he found an opening, he couldn't bring himself to do it; if he took Katie down, it wasn't going to be pretty.
And of course to make matters worse, Trip kept trying to contact him telepathically as they fought - which wasn't exactly helping his focus. When Alex refused to answer, he'd said something to Jen as the two of them teamed up against Lucas. Now Jen kept shooting him suspicious looks of her own, and it was driving him crazy.
When had they become enough of a team for her to trust Trip so easily? And why hadn’t he noticed?
The answer was simple, of course: he wasn’t there. After a year of fighting Ransik together, isolated from Time Force, the four of them had become a team. And he wasn’t part of that, never would be.
At last Logan's voice came over the com. "Let's take it up to the next level, Rangers."
Which meant he wanted them to morph. There was no way - no way he could do this. Wear the morpher, okay. But morphing. Not happening. Not a chance.
He looked down at his comm unit, opening his mouth to excuse himself for a 'priority transmission'. He glanced up and froze. Blakemore was standing in the back of the observation room. Trip must not have seen him - the Rangers were already moving to their morphing stance.
Chills ran down his spine as Blakemore stared at him, smirking.
He swallowed hard, and at last reached for the morpher, praying his hands weren't shaking again. "Time for Time Force," he called woodenly.
He turned to the Yellow Ranger, who stared at him for a moment in surprise. Then her fists came up, and she launched herself at him again. He retaliated silently, the power instantly replenishing his strength and dulling the pain of his earlier bruises. Old memories surfaced, and he found himself reverting to the familiar Ranger instincts.
This was what he knew. This was what he was.
Underneath his helmet, he felt a tear slide down his cheek.
****
He was barely inside his office before the Rangers barged in. "Alex what's going on?" Jen demanded.
"Why are you suddenly using Wes' morpher?" Katie wanted to know, her eyes narrowed at him. "Changed your mind or something? You're suddenly not too good for us anymore?"
Lucas' glare was like ice. "We don't need your help."
Trip looked worried as he reached out to touch his shoulder. "Alex, what's happening?"
It was too much. Everything hit him all at once, and he backed against the wall, trying to get away from them. His arms came up in defense as they pressed in, and for a moment he found himself back in the endless white walls and bright lights, people trying to attach more equipment to him.
"*No*!" he shouted in defiance, attacking before they had the chance.
His kicks were wild, trying to keep them all away. The moment someone slipped inside his defenses, he lashed out with his fists. His chest was heaving in fear, but distantly he thought he remembered a door behind them. If he could just break through, he'd be free.
Desperate, he launched himself into a full-on tackle. The person he hit went down, and he bolted for the door. His hand stretched out, reaching for freedom.
Something stung his back, and he felt himself falling as darkness closed in on him.
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force, slight crossover with S.P.D. (In Bright Skies universe)
Characters/: Alex
Pairings/: Alex/Jen, Lucas/Trip, Katie/OC, Wes/Eric
Rating/: T
Disclaimer/: Saban/Disney/Whoever sure didn't write *this* into the series. The plot comes purely from my own warped little mind, and the characters are merely borrowed from them for my own amusement. Lucky you.
Summary/: The legacy of Wesley Collins and Eric Myers didn't just affect the past - it affected the future. One thousand years after they became Rangers, one person is still struggling against the corruption of Time Force and the heritage he never wanted.
Warnings/: People used for scientific experimentation, corrupted Time Force, character with self-image issues
Author's Notes/: I finally realized I keep forgetting this layout, and realized it's easier to identify as fic with it. Oops? ^.^;;
But hey, developing plot! Who knew? Enjoy!
It had been a long week for Alex.
Logan was still furious at him. Lucas and Katie didn't seem to know what to make of him now, and the looks they kept giving him were driving him nuts. Jen always looked like she *wanted* to talk to him, but couldn't seem to find the nerve to. Trip *was* trying, and Alex had been avoiding him constantly - which was a lot harder to do than it sounded when Trip was truly determined about something. But he didn't want Trip's apologies, or Jen's questions, or Lucas and Katie's confusion. He *definitely* didn't want Logan's crap about how he had a 'responsibility' or whatever nonsense he was trying to use as an excuse now.
To his dismay, he hadn't been fired. If anything, the situation seemed to be being ignored, other than Logan trying to pressure him whenever he found the chance. But the morpher was gone for now, and Alex was quite happy to keep it that way.
In retrospect, he should have realized sooner that it would never last.
The door to Ben's room opened for him as always, but he froze in the entrance. The room was absolutely empty. The medical equipment, the stasis pod, the chair ... All gone, as if they'd never been there in the first place.
His heart clenched. No … What have they done?!
"Looking for something?"
It took all his willpower not to flinch at the voice behind him. Commander Blakemore had been one of the sponsors behind the Morpher Project. Unfortunately, all evidence of his involvement had conveniently disappeared just before the project had been discovered. Without the evidence he and Trip had never been able to prove he'd been a part of it, and he'd remained an uncontested member of Time Force.
Alex was *terrified* of him.
He turned slowly, his expression cold as he faced him. His sunglasses shielded the fear in his eyes from view. "What's going on?" he demanded sharply.
Blakemore smiled, the expression sending chills down Alex's spine. A small box was in his hand, and he played with it almost casually. "It's quite simple, Alexander. Time Force wants its Red Ranger. You agree to perform your duties, and Benjamin remains asleep. Refuse to cooperate, and we'll be forced to awaken the Quantum Ranger. The decision is yours." He shrugged as though it didn't matter to him either way. It probably didn't.
Alex was silent for a moment, his mind flying through every possible alternative he could come up with. He couldn’t be a Ranger again - it had taken him so long to get away from that. He didn’t - he *couldn’t* …
His thoughts came up blank.
There was nothing else he could do. No matter how much he hated it, he had no choice. Ben deserved to stay asleep, and he couldn't let Time Force take that away from him.
"I'll do it."
Blakemore's smile widened. "Good boy."
The box opened to reveal the Red Chrono Morpher sitting innocently, waiting for him. It was all Alex could do to keep his hands from shaking as he reached for it, carefully taking it and pulling it to him. He attached it to his wrist before he could stop himself, and the immediate wave of energy that surged through him made him nauseous.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Blakemore asked with a smirk. "All it took was a little persuasion." He paused for effect before patting Alex on the head. "Now run along, Alexander. Mustn't keep your team waiting."
Alex's teeth ground, fists clenching. He turned and walked away, Blakemore chuckling behind him.
It wasn't until he was well away from the hallway, safely hidden in a corner where he knew the cameras couldn't see him, that he allowed the shudder he'd been fighting to run through him. He wrapped his arms around himself, shaking, and tried to keep in the tears that threatened his eyes.
Six years, and he was right back where he'd started: Time Force's pet Ranger. He was going to be sick.
He glanced down at the morpher still sitting placidly on his wrist, and fought the urge to throw it as far away from as he could.
****
Barely the day after Alex had been forced to take up the morpher again, Time Force had started regular training schedules for the Rangers, 'to get them used to working with their Red Ranger', as the memo said. When Alex finally showed up to the appropriate training room, the tension in the room was palpable. Lucas and Katie seemed to think he'd just proven something to them, judging by the dark looks they were giving him. Jen's face was strangely blank, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Trip watched him in open concern, and it was hard to keep from looking him in the eyes.
The training opened with a random sparring session, and only Trip didn't leave him with excessive bruises. The fact that Rangers were barely tolerating his presence didn't seem to go unnoticed, but there hadn't been any authority figures calling them on it yet, and Alex wasn't exactly trying to fix the problem himself.
Eventually he found himself facing off with Katie, who seemed to take a certain gleefully sadistic pleasure in trying to hit him as hard as she could, which meant he spent most of his time trying to dodge her blows rather than fight back. He was used to trying to defend rather than attack, but it definitely wasn't his style. And while he knew he could probably take her down if he found an opening, he couldn't bring himself to do it; if he took Katie down, it wasn't going to be pretty.
And of course to make matters worse, Trip kept trying to contact him telepathically as they fought - which wasn't exactly helping his focus. When Alex refused to answer, he'd said something to Jen as the two of them teamed up against Lucas. Now Jen kept shooting him suspicious looks of her own, and it was driving him crazy.
When had they become enough of a team for her to trust Trip so easily? And why hadn’t he noticed?
The answer was simple, of course: he wasn’t there. After a year of fighting Ransik together, isolated from Time Force, the four of them had become a team. And he wasn’t part of that, never would be.
At last Logan's voice came over the com. "Let's take it up to the next level, Rangers."
Which meant he wanted them to morph. There was no way - no way he could do this. Wear the morpher, okay. But morphing. Not happening. Not a chance.
He looked down at his comm unit, opening his mouth to excuse himself for a 'priority transmission'. He glanced up and froze. Blakemore was standing in the back of the observation room. Trip must not have seen him - the Rangers were already moving to their morphing stance.
Chills ran down his spine as Blakemore stared at him, smirking.
He swallowed hard, and at last reached for the morpher, praying his hands weren't shaking again. "Time for Time Force," he called woodenly.
He turned to the Yellow Ranger, who stared at him for a moment in surprise. Then her fists came up, and she launched herself at him again. He retaliated silently, the power instantly replenishing his strength and dulling the pain of his earlier bruises. Old memories surfaced, and he found himself reverting to the familiar Ranger instincts.
This was what he knew. This was what he was.
Underneath his helmet, he felt a tear slide down his cheek.
****
He was barely inside his office before the Rangers barged in. "Alex what's going on?" Jen demanded.
"Why are you suddenly using Wes' morpher?" Katie wanted to know, her eyes narrowed at him. "Changed your mind or something? You're suddenly not too good for us anymore?"
Lucas' glare was like ice. "We don't need your help."
Trip looked worried as he reached out to touch his shoulder. "Alex, what's happening?"
It was too much. Everything hit him all at once, and he backed against the wall, trying to get away from them. His arms came up in defense as they pressed in, and for a moment he found himself back in the endless white walls and bright lights, people trying to attach more equipment to him.
"*No*!" he shouted in defiance, attacking before they had the chance.
His kicks were wild, trying to keep them all away. The moment someone slipped inside his defenses, he lashed out with his fists. His chest was heaving in fear, but distantly he thought he remembered a door behind them. If he could just break through, he'd be free.
Desperate, he launched himself into a full-on tackle. The person he hit went down, and he bolted for the door. His hand stretched out, reaching for freedom.
Something stung his back, and he felt himself falling as darkness closed in on him.