A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 8: Threat)
Alex Angst ahoy! -Waits for phantom_blue to stop squeeing-
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/: A different version of the original talk Alex and Jen had. I like this one better.
After two weeks of lunches with Katie, Lucas showing up at random intervals, and waking up on his couch Christmas morning with a crick in his neck and Trip halfway draped across his lap, life was becoming somewhat surreal for Alex. Sometimes he could even - almost - pretend that they really cared about him. That it wasn't just something they were doing out of obligations as Rangers. That maybe ... maybe one day they'd even be able to help him get rid of Blakemore.
But that dream ended two days after he'd spend Christmas Eve with Trip, when he walked into his office and found Blakemore sitting in his chair.
There was a good minute of Blakemore smirking at him before he finally managed to find something to say. "What are you doing here?"
Blakemore smiled, lifting a folder and reading aloud from it. "Captain Jennifer Scotts, twenty-one years old, daughter of Peter and Keith Scotts." There was a pause as Blakemore made a face at Jen's fathers' names, and Alex tried not to clench his fists. The usual Time Force prejudice against Peter Scotts' job with the NCPD was practically archaic, and Jen's parents were well-known and liked in the community. They'd always been nice to him after he'd met them, and he had wondered once what it would be like, being part of that family.
"Lieutenant Lucas Kendall, twenty-one years old, son of Mark and Danielle Kendall, mother deceased. Sister Abigail, sixteen years old," Blakemore went on. "Lieutenant Katrina Walker, also twenty-one years old, daughter of David and Jasmine Walker. Siblings are George, twenty-six years old, Annabelle, twenty-four years old, James, twenty-two years old, Michaela, nineteen years old, and Brett, eighteen years old. Squad Leader Trip Regis ... well, we already know all about him, don't we?" Blakemore looked up with a smile. "Shall I go on?"
"What do you want?" Alex ground out.
"It's simple, Alexander." Blakemore leaned forward, steepling his fingers together as his smile vanished. "It's always been simple. You will stop fraternizing with the other Time Force Rangers. They are your subordinates, nothing more. If you do not, we'll have to get ... persuasive."
"And what makes you think I see them as more than subordinates now?" he retorted, leaning against a wall indifferently.
"You'd better." Blakemore stood, his eyes narrowing. "Time Force will have it's Rangers, Alexander. And Rangers don't. Need. 'Friends'."
"Rangers, or me?" he returned coldly.
For some reason, that made Blakemore smile. "Now you've got the picture." He came closer, and it was hard for Alex to keep himself from moving away. "I don't want you distracted from what you are," Blakemore said softly. "You are Time Force's Red Ranger. That is all you are, and all you will ever need to be."
Alex snorted, ignoring the cold ache in his chest. "You mean I'm your replacement for Wesley Collins. You can't have him, so you made me instead."
Blakemore laughed, reaching out to pat his head. "That's my boy," he said condescendingly. "Now you've got the picture."
Alex watched him take his files and leave, not bothering to move from his place against the wall. It wasn't until long after Blakemore was gone, his privacy lock in place, that he shuddered violently and rubbed at his hair, feeling dirty. His stomach rebelled, and for a moment he curled in on himself, covering his mouth as he tried to keep his breakfast in place.
When he looked up, his eyes found the skyline again. He stared at it for a moment, then suddenly shook his head.
"Computer, de-activate privacy lock," he ordered, pushing himself away from the wall. He strode briskly through the doors and to the elevator, already unzipping his jacket.
Time Force could hang itself today. He didn't care anymore; he was getting out of here.
The whole city could fall apart for all he cared.
****
He kicked absently at the wall as he left the shower, toweling dry his hair. Stupid water heater - never lasted long enough. He paused in front of the sink, his hand stopping just before reaching for his gel. Why was he even bothering with it? He wasn't going anywhere. What did it matter what his hair looked like now?
He threw the towel in the laundry shoot, grabbing an apple from the kitchen and flopping in his favorite chair. "Television: on," he ordered.
He channel surfed for awhile, irritation growing as nothing caught his interest. It figured that the one time he decided to try being 'normal' and watch the stupid thing, it remained as boring as he'd ever found it to be. Why did people stare at this stupid thing, anyway?
He froze at the knock on his door. No ... Blakemore couldn't have followed him home, had he? Was someone trying to bring him back to work?
"Identify visitor," he called, swallowing as his voice shook slightly.
"Visitor identified as Jen Scotts," the computer chimed perkily. "Allow entry?"
Jen? What was she doing here?
"Yes," he said at last. There was no point in leaving her standing out there, really.
Jen looked started when the door opened. "Alex? What ... are you all right?" she asked warily.
He shrugged. "I'm taking the day off. What are you doing here?"
She came in hesitantly, at last allowing the door to close behind her. "It's my day off," she said slowly, still giving him that weird look. "I though you were working today."
"I was." He shrugged again. "I'm not now."
"Did something happen?"
He considered that for a moment. Had something happened? Nothing unusual, he decided finally. "Not really."
Her eyes narrowed a little. "Not really?" she repeated skeptically. "Alex, you never miss work."
"What are you doing here?" he cut in. Why was she avoiding the question? And what did it matter if he'd decided he didn't want to deal with the world today, anyway?
Jen hesitated, her right hand coming up to play with her left ring finger. It was an odd move, and he wondered when she'd started doing that. "I went to see you in your office, but you weren't there," she said at last. "So I came here." She swallowed. "Alex, we need to talk."
"I'd rather not." He turned back to the television. It may be boring, but it was better than getting into another conversation - especially one with Jen. He wasn't ready to deal with her just yet.
Deal with her? Good grief, he was starting to sound like Bl - like one of *them*.
He heard her sigh. "Alex, would you please look at me? We can't keep avoiding each other forever."
"Seems to be working so far."
She moved to stand in front of him, and it was suddenly hard to focus with his eyes on her stomach. "No, it isn't," she said sharply, frowning down at him. "This is getting ridiculous."
He finally glanced up and found that didn't improve the view any. "What else is there to say? You've made your point, and I've made mine."
"Made my ... " She looked incredulous. "What point? I tried to tell you I wanted to get to know you better before I could agree to marry you, and you told me that Time Force is blackmailing you and why. What *point* was that?"
"The point was ... was .... " He swallowed, looking away. "Look, if we're going to do this, would you mind sitting down?"
"Sitting down?" she echoed. There was a pause, and she gave him an amused look he pretended not to see. "Sure," she agreed at last, right before sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him.
Silence lingered as they both searched for something to say. "What do you want from me?" Alex asked at last. He looked up at her as she started. "What do you want me to say, Jen? I just ... " He shook his head. "I don't know what you're looking for."
She stared at him, and something about her expression seemed hurt. "Honestly?" she asked softly.
He shrugged a little and nodded. "I guess."
" ... I want you."
He stared at her, and she smiled a little. "I never stopped loving you, Alex. No matter what you may have thought, I've always loved you. But I've realized that I don't know you as well as I thought I did, and that ... " She hesitated, swallowing, and he thought he saw a suspicious shine in her eyes. "That hurts," she admitted. "If you can't be honest with me, the person you said you wanted to marry, who can you be honest with? And how can I trust you if you're not honest?"
He closed his eyes and sighed quietly. That was it, then. She wanted honesty, and he couldn't give her that. With so many things trapping him in the life he was leading, he couldn't always tell her the truth. He'd thought that once, she might have loved him enough to let it go. To care about him enough though he kept things from her.
He held in a snort. Once trip to the past, one person, and everything she'd accepted about their relationship wasn't good enough anymore.
He'd never hated anyone - not even Blakemore - as much as he hated Wesley Collins.
The hand that suddenly covered his startled him, and he flinched back in surprise.
Jen was closer than he'd expected her to be, watching him worriedly. "Alex, what other secrets do you have?" she asked softly. "What else is there that you don't want to tell me?"
He didn't even realize he was shaking his head until her other hand touched his cheek to stop him. "Alex, I *don't care* about how you grew up, or what made you who you are," she insisted. She frowned a little. "Well I do, but - " She sighed, looking frustrated.
"I care that Time Force has been using you for years," she said at last. "And I care that someone hurt you so badly. I care that people are *still* trying to hurt you. But it's not your fault that these things happened, and it doesn't make me love you any less." She paused, her eyes searching his. "I just want to know who you really are, Alex," she finished softly.
I'm Wesley Collin's replacement, nothing more, nothing less.
"There's nothing else to know." It sounded flat even to his own ears, and he tried not to wince.
"Nothing else to know, or nothing else you want *me* to know?" she retorted, eyes flashing.
He didn't answer, and she made a frustrated noise. "Why can't you trust me?" she demanded.
"Because you chose *him*!" he shouted back before he could stop himself.
They both froze.
Alex swallowed, slowly and deliberately. He pushed himself to his feet, maneuvering around her toward the kitchen. "Maybe you should just go," he muttered.
A hand caught his arm. "Oh, no," she growled. "You got away with that once, Alex. I'm not leaving, especially after something like that. What do you mean, 'I chose him'?"
He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. His control over his temper was slipping further than it already had, and the last thing he needed was to drive her further away.
Or was it?
Blakemore wanted the Rangers away from him, right? If he wanted to protect Jen's parents, protect all of their families, the best way to do that would be to tell her the truth wouldn't it? The other three - well, Katie and Lucas would rally around Jen the moment he hurt her enough, and Trip loved his friends too much to really chose Alex over them.
Katie would protect Trip. He'd already seen how much she mothered him between watching over them and in that short span of time he'd bullied his way into their team before. Trip would be safe. They all would.
He turned slowly to meet Jen's angry stare, keeping his face cold and uncaring. "You chose Wes over me," he said quietly. "You were satisfied with me until you knew him. And then suddenly I wasn't good enough for you anymore - any of you. Wes is a better Ranger, a better friend, and apparently a better boyfriend. He's the one everyone's always wanted."
She reeled back, staring at him in shock, and he drove the final point home with a sick sense of satisfaction. "I was born because Time Force couldn't have Wesley Collins. I exist to keep his morpher from becoming useless. I've taken his morpher, his team, and almost his girl. But the moment you all met the real thing, I became useless."
Her eyes were beginning to feel with tears. "That's ... That's not - "
"I gave my life for Time Force," he cut her off, eyes narrowing. "And when I came back to 2001 to make sure you all remembered what you were really fighting for, before you got wrapped up in life as civilians living in the past, all you wanted was for Wes to come back. I've got news for you, Jennifer: I'm *not* Wes. And I never will be. So whatever you're missing about him? Get over it. You won't find it with me."
He heard the sound echoing through his apartment before the stinging in his face registered that she'd slapped him.
"I ... I ... " She struggled for words for a moment, glared, and spun on her heel to run from the room.
He reached up to rub his cheek distantly. "Activate door lock," he murmured, moving to flop back down into his chair. He went back to staring blankly at the television, waiting for the feeling that he'd done the right thing to sink in.
Somehow, he had a feeling he'd be waiting a long time.