A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 18: The Ultimate Betrayal)
Still writing. -Crosses fingers-
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/: This chapter was meant to be massively angsty. I'm not sure if I accomplished it as well as I was hoping to, but I like it enough anyway.
Five minutes after his arrival at Vanera Maximum Security Prison, Alex realized that he'd made a grave mistake.
He could name almost every criminal he passed on sight, could even remember the day he'd arrested them. He could remember their trials, their sentences, could remember them cursing his name and swearing he'd pay for this one day. This prison was practically a memorial to his time as a Ranger.
He couldn't completely suppress the shudder *that* thought envoked.
Nearly very single criminal in this place was there because of *him*. Human, mutant, it didn't matter which. Which also meant that if Ransik wasn't an unusual case, and they were all being tortured ... and it was *his* fault.
He swallowed hard as he noted how strangely quiet the cell block he was currently touring was. Almost every single occupant sat quietly in their cell, watching him walk by without so much as a word. In one cell, he mentally cringed as he saw a very small mutant sobbing quietly in a corner.
This was his legacy. His time working as one of Time Force's mostly high decorated Rangers, reduced to a cell of silence and tears. Because he was 'protecting' Newtech City.
He knew they weren't good people. Some of the crimes they'd been brought in for were truly horrendous; Ransik may have been the biggest name, but he wasn't the worst offender. Even so, *no one* deserved ... this.
He rounded a corner, preparing for another round of solemn, silent inmates, and froze.
Ben walked out of an office, a datapad in one hand. He paused to glance down the line of cells, shaking his head with a look of disgust. Then he turned toward Alex and stopped in midstep, his eyes widening. "A ... "
"It wasn't their fault no one could predict the way the morpher would react - "
"The other Rangers. They've been brainwashing you into thinking Time Force is your enemy."
"It's not their fault I was too weak! It ... That doesn't matter anyway. I'm stronger now. I can handle it."
"I'm not leaving Time Force, Alex. They gave me my life back. They gave me ... *me*. And I'm not going to give that up. Not even for you."
"I'm doing what has to be done. Now get out. Your team is probably waiting."
"Did you find your Pink Ranger? Time Force needs you to find her."
"Don't worry about it, A. Just let me do my job. You worry about your team, and finding your girl. There's a lot you still need to learn."
"I'm sorry, A."
"You knew," he whispered. Dimply he felt himself shaking. "You knew about ... about all of this."
Ben looked pained. "A ... "
"Don't call me that!"
Ben flinched, and a hurt look crossed his face. "A - Alex, you don't understand. This ... this isn't what it looks like."
"It's not what it looks like?" he hissed, fists clenching so hard it hurt. "Then what is it, Benjamin, because it sure looks a lot like what I think it is!"
"Keep your voice down," Ben whispered urgently, looking around anxiously.
"How long have you been a part of this?" Alex demanded furiously. "How long, Ben?!"
Ben closed his eyes briefly. "Since about a week after I woke up. Before you came to find me."
"How could you?" he accused. "How could you even *think* this right? This is - this is *us* Ben! Don't you get that?! You're turning these prisoners into us!"
"Of course I know that!" Ben shouted back at him. "Why do you think I'm even *here*!?" He stopped, shaking his head and trying to take a deep breath. "You don't understand, Alex. You don't know anything." He glared. "Haven't you even bothered looking for Jennifer like I told you to?"
"You mean you told me to look for her because you were trying to keep us way from *this*?" he asked incredulously.
Ben rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. "Obviously you haven't figured anything out yet, or else you wouldn't be asking me that!"
"The Rangers and I have the situation with the missing Captain Scotts under control," he ground out, trying to keep from throttling Ben right then and there. "Where she is is none of your business."
"Right, because I'm not one of your precious Rangers," Ben returned sarcastically. "Sorry, I forgot how much you value them over your own *brother*."
"You're the one who chose Time Force over me!"
"Only because you're too *stupid* to get what's really important!"
It was the final straw. Alex leapt at him, tackling his brother to the ground. Ben yelped loudly, and kicked him hard in the shin. Alex retaliated by punching him in the jaw.
"Oh, you are *so* in for it now, you arrogant prick!" Ben snarled.
They rolled along the corridor, punches flying. Fighting was something they were used to, something they'd done all their lives. Between sparring matches to build their fighting skills, testing their morphers against one another, and generally learning how to communicate in an environment that never really taught them how to talk to one another, it was what they did. The scientists that had raised them had only encouraged it, sometimes going so far as to place bets on them.
But Alex had eight years of training through Time Force and as a Ranger, six years of growth, and a lot of pent-up anger at his brother on his side. Ben knew *most* of Alex's moves, but not all of them. Not anymore.
By the time they finally separated, Alex's lip was split, he was limping, and his right eye was beginning to swell. Ben looked far more worse for wear, but he also had a tendency to fight dirty. A habit he knew Alex had always hated.
"What's going on here?!" someone bellowed from behind Alex.
Ben's eyes widened fearfully. "He's trying to release the prisoners!" he blurted out. "He's turned against Time Force!"
Alex stared at him, betrayed.
But Ben was already turning his attention to his morpher. "Quantum Power!" he shouted.
A cold feeling settled in Alex's stomach, and he reached for his Chrono Morpher. "Time for, Time Force!"
The prison guards stayed back as the Red and Quantum Rangers circled one another warily. The Quantum Ranger chuckled darkly as he drew his Quantum Defender. "Just like old times, huh A?" he asked softly, sounding almost bitter.
"Not quite," Time Force Red returned cooly. He flicked the settings adjustment on his Chrono Blaster to the highest level, and fired.
Quantum Ranger screamed as he was hit straight on, flailing for a moment before sliding to the ground and falling still.
Time Force Red turned to the prison guards, watching dispassionately as they yelled, running from him in fear.
He walked slowly to the Quantum Ranger's side, demorphing along the way. The other Ranger's uniform flickered and vanished with a burst of red light, leaving Ben lying still. He looked ... small, and young, just lying there like that.
For once, he looked like the sixteen year old he was.
Alex trailed a hand along his brother's cheek. His hand paused at Ben's neck, hesitated, and at last felt for a pulse.
It slowed under his fingertips.
He watched his hand shake for a moment before moving to stand. He needed to leave before the prison guards called someone to contain him. It wasn't impossible for a Power Ranger to be restrained by a non-Ranger - just extremely hard. He had to get out of here.
But for some reason, he found himself walking out to where he'd left his car. He should be running, shouldn't he? He thought he should.
Instead he climbed into his car, activated the hover function, and drove back to Time Force.
Logan was waiting for him in the parking lot. He thought that should be a surprise, but he couldn't remember why.
"Alex, you have to get out of here," Logan hissed at him. He shoved something into his hands. "Here. There's a time ship already waiting for you. Go straight to the launch pad and give them your papers before anyone realizes where you are or where you're going. Hurry!"
He blinked slowly. Orders? He could do orders. "Yessir," he murmured distantly, clenching his hands around the papers Logan had given him.
Logan looked worried for some reason, but Alex didn't ask why because he was supposed to be hurrying. That was his orders.
"Alex, find Jen," Logan commanded him. "She should be with the other Rangers in 2002. Go straight to her."
Find Jen? He could do that. Assuming the others had actually found her, of course.
"Yessir," he said again. He headed for the launch pad to find the time ship he was supposed to take. Should he have saluted before he left? Maybe. He couldn't remember.
Everything seemed to blur together after that. At some point he found himself strapped into a time ship, the papers he'd been holding gone, and a strangely bright blue sky outside the main window. Was that an ocean he was looking at?
Find Jen. He was supposed to find the other Rangers, and therefore find Jen. That was his orders.
He slipped out of the harness and wandered toward the door, waiting for the ramp to finish extending. There was someone on the beach waiting for him. He hoped it was the other Rangers. He didn't really feel like explaining himself to civilians right now.
"Alex!" someone shouted.
Oh, good. Not civilians, then.
He walked toward them slowly, wondering why they were running. Had they missed him or something? No, that couldn't be right. Wes was here.
But he wasn't supposed to be thinking that way anymore, he reminded himself. Jen would be upset. Katie would threaten to hurt him. Trip might cry. He didn't know what Lucas would do, but he didn't think he'd like it.
"Alex!"
There were arms around him, and he thought he smelled Jen's shampoo. He wrapped his arms around her automatically. "Jen?"
She pulled away to look at him, those beautiful brown eyes anxious. "Alex, what happened? What are you doing here?"
"Logan sent me."
She frowned, and her hand came up to rest alongside his cheek. "Alex," she said again, her voice gentle now. "Tell me what happened."
He blinked once, slowly. "I destroyed Ben."
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/: This chapter was meant to be massively angsty. I'm not sure if I accomplished it as well as I was hoping to, but I like it enough anyway.
Five minutes after his arrival at Vanera Maximum Security Prison, Alex realized that he'd made a grave mistake.
He could name almost every criminal he passed on sight, could even remember the day he'd arrested them. He could remember their trials, their sentences, could remember them cursing his name and swearing he'd pay for this one day. This prison was practically a memorial to his time as a Ranger.
He couldn't completely suppress the shudder *that* thought envoked.
Nearly very single criminal in this place was there because of *him*. Human, mutant, it didn't matter which. Which also meant that if Ransik wasn't an unusual case, and they were all being tortured ... and it was *his* fault.
He swallowed hard as he noted how strangely quiet the cell block he was currently touring was. Almost every single occupant sat quietly in their cell, watching him walk by without so much as a word. In one cell, he mentally cringed as he saw a very small mutant sobbing quietly in a corner.
This was his legacy. His time working as one of Time Force's mostly high decorated Rangers, reduced to a cell of silence and tears. Because he was 'protecting' Newtech City.
He knew they weren't good people. Some of the crimes they'd been brought in for were truly horrendous; Ransik may have been the biggest name, but he wasn't the worst offender. Even so, *no one* deserved ... this.
He rounded a corner, preparing for another round of solemn, silent inmates, and froze.
Ben walked out of an office, a datapad in one hand. He paused to glance down the line of cells, shaking his head with a look of disgust. Then he turned toward Alex and stopped in midstep, his eyes widening. "A ... "
"It wasn't their fault no one could predict the way the morpher would react - "
"The other Rangers. They've been brainwashing you into thinking Time Force is your enemy."
"It's not their fault I was too weak! It ... That doesn't matter anyway. I'm stronger now. I can handle it."
"I'm not leaving Time Force, Alex. They gave me my life back. They gave me ... *me*. And I'm not going to give that up. Not even for you."
"I'm doing what has to be done. Now get out. Your team is probably waiting."
"Did you find your Pink Ranger? Time Force needs you to find her."
"Don't worry about it, A. Just let me do my job. You worry about your team, and finding your girl. There's a lot you still need to learn."
"I'm sorry, A."
"You knew," he whispered. Dimply he felt himself shaking. "You knew about ... about all of this."
Ben looked pained. "A ... "
"Don't call me that!"
Ben flinched, and a hurt look crossed his face. "A - Alex, you don't understand. This ... this isn't what it looks like."
"It's not what it looks like?" he hissed, fists clenching so hard it hurt. "Then what is it, Benjamin, because it sure looks a lot like what I think it is!"
"Keep your voice down," Ben whispered urgently, looking around anxiously.
"How long have you been a part of this?" Alex demanded furiously. "How long, Ben?!"
Ben closed his eyes briefly. "Since about a week after I woke up. Before you came to find me."
"How could you?" he accused. "How could you even *think* this right? This is - this is *us* Ben! Don't you get that?! You're turning these prisoners into us!"
"Of course I know that!" Ben shouted back at him. "Why do you think I'm even *here*!?" He stopped, shaking his head and trying to take a deep breath. "You don't understand, Alex. You don't know anything." He glared. "Haven't you even bothered looking for Jennifer like I told you to?"
"You mean you told me to look for her because you were trying to keep us way from *this*?" he asked incredulously.
Ben rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. "Obviously you haven't figured anything out yet, or else you wouldn't be asking me that!"
"The Rangers and I have the situation with the missing Captain Scotts under control," he ground out, trying to keep from throttling Ben right then and there. "Where she is is none of your business."
"Right, because I'm not one of your precious Rangers," Ben returned sarcastically. "Sorry, I forgot how much you value them over your own *brother*."
"You're the one who chose Time Force over me!"
"Only because you're too *stupid* to get what's really important!"
It was the final straw. Alex leapt at him, tackling his brother to the ground. Ben yelped loudly, and kicked him hard in the shin. Alex retaliated by punching him in the jaw.
"Oh, you are *so* in for it now, you arrogant prick!" Ben snarled.
They rolled along the corridor, punches flying. Fighting was something they were used to, something they'd done all their lives. Between sparring matches to build their fighting skills, testing their morphers against one another, and generally learning how to communicate in an environment that never really taught them how to talk to one another, it was what they did. The scientists that had raised them had only encouraged it, sometimes going so far as to place bets on them.
But Alex had eight years of training through Time Force and as a Ranger, six years of growth, and a lot of pent-up anger at his brother on his side. Ben knew *most* of Alex's moves, but not all of them. Not anymore.
By the time they finally separated, Alex's lip was split, he was limping, and his right eye was beginning to swell. Ben looked far more worse for wear, but he also had a tendency to fight dirty. A habit he knew Alex had always hated.
"What's going on here?!" someone bellowed from behind Alex.
Ben's eyes widened fearfully. "He's trying to release the prisoners!" he blurted out. "He's turned against Time Force!"
Alex stared at him, betrayed.
But Ben was already turning his attention to his morpher. "Quantum Power!" he shouted.
A cold feeling settled in Alex's stomach, and he reached for his Chrono Morpher. "Time for, Time Force!"
The prison guards stayed back as the Red and Quantum Rangers circled one another warily. The Quantum Ranger chuckled darkly as he drew his Quantum Defender. "Just like old times, huh A?" he asked softly, sounding almost bitter.
"Not quite," Time Force Red returned cooly. He flicked the settings adjustment on his Chrono Blaster to the highest level, and fired.
Quantum Ranger screamed as he was hit straight on, flailing for a moment before sliding to the ground and falling still.
Time Force Red turned to the prison guards, watching dispassionately as they yelled, running from him in fear.
He walked slowly to the Quantum Ranger's side, demorphing along the way. The other Ranger's uniform flickered and vanished with a burst of red light, leaving Ben lying still. He looked ... small, and young, just lying there like that.
For once, he looked like the sixteen year old he was.
Alex trailed a hand along his brother's cheek. His hand paused at Ben's neck, hesitated, and at last felt for a pulse.
It slowed under his fingertips.
He watched his hand shake for a moment before moving to stand. He needed to leave before the prison guards called someone to contain him. It wasn't impossible for a Power Ranger to be restrained by a non-Ranger - just extremely hard. He had to get out of here.
But for some reason, he found himself walking out to where he'd left his car. He should be running, shouldn't he? He thought he should.
Instead he climbed into his car, activated the hover function, and drove back to Time Force.
Logan was waiting for him in the parking lot. He thought that should be a surprise, but he couldn't remember why.
"Alex, you have to get out of here," Logan hissed at him. He shoved something into his hands. "Here. There's a time ship already waiting for you. Go straight to the launch pad and give them your papers before anyone realizes where you are or where you're going. Hurry!"
He blinked slowly. Orders? He could do orders. "Yessir," he murmured distantly, clenching his hands around the papers Logan had given him.
Logan looked worried for some reason, but Alex didn't ask why because he was supposed to be hurrying. That was his orders.
"Alex, find Jen," Logan commanded him. "She should be with the other Rangers in 2002. Go straight to her."
Find Jen? He could do that. Assuming the others had actually found her, of course.
"Yessir," he said again. He headed for the launch pad to find the time ship he was supposed to take. Should he have saluted before he left? Maybe. He couldn't remember.
Everything seemed to blur together after that. At some point he found himself strapped into a time ship, the papers he'd been holding gone, and a strangely bright blue sky outside the main window. Was that an ocean he was looking at?
Find Jen. He was supposed to find the other Rangers, and therefore find Jen. That was his orders.
He slipped out of the harness and wandered toward the door, waiting for the ramp to finish extending. There was someone on the beach waiting for him. He hoped it was the other Rangers. He didn't really feel like explaining himself to civilians right now.
"Alex!" someone shouted.
Oh, good. Not civilians, then.
He walked toward them slowly, wondering why they were running. Had they missed him or something? No, that couldn't be right. Wes was here.
But he wasn't supposed to be thinking that way anymore, he reminded himself. Jen would be upset. Katie would threaten to hurt him. Trip might cry. He didn't know what Lucas would do, but he didn't think he'd like it.
"Alex!"
There were arms around him, and he thought he smelled Jen's shampoo. He wrapped his arms around her automatically. "Jen?"
She pulled away to look at him, those beautiful brown eyes anxious. "Alex, what happened? What are you doing here?"
"Logan sent me."
She frowned, and her hand came up to rest alongside his cheek. "Alex," she said again, her voice gentle now. "Tell me what happened."
He blinked once, slowly. "I destroyed Ben."