A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 32: Altered Futures)
Hey look, I finally wrote more!
-Listens to crickets- Is anyone still reading this over here? ... Anyone?
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/: Much love and hugs to phantom_blue for repeatedy doing beta on this chapter for me, until it finally didn't completely suck.
The court recorder's station flashed warningly. "No match. No match."
The center judge frowned. "Would you repeat that?"
Wes looked at him oddly. "Sergeant Commander Wesley Alan Collins of S.P.D. Earth, Newtech City Base. Red Time Force Ranger of the Newtech Rangers, escorted by Jen."
The dog at his side wagged its tail.
"That's impossible!" someone burst out.
"Silence!" another judge ordered, slamming his gavel.
Wes' eyes narrowed slightly. He reached behind him, removing something and holding it open. It was some sort of badge, with what looked like the old Space Patrol Delta logo. "Does this help?" he asked, sounding faintly irritated.
The judge nearest to him leaned in closer to examine it. After a moment, he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "The court recognizes Commander Wesley Collins. Add him to the court system."
"Sergeant Commander," Wes corrected, slipping the badge back into his pocket.
"Sergeant Commander," the judge repeated.
The center judge's desk lit up. "Once you have been added to the court system Sergeant Commander Collins, you will be monitored through the computer for signs of dishonesty as you give testimony to the court. Throughout your testimony, you may be asked questions by the rest of the courtroom, which you will be required to acknowledge and answer. When your testimony is complete, you will be dismissed and returned to your own time."
"System updated. Witness confirmed," the computer declared.
"From this point on, you will be monitored for signs of dishonesty and fabrication in your testimony," the center judge informed him finally. "You have been brought here by request of the defendant, Commander Jonathan Blakemore. He will ask questions of you to explain his purpose in bringing you here."
Wes stiffened slightly. There was a pause, and at last he nodded once in acknowledgement. "Understood."
Alex felt his brother lean in close on his left. "He's just like you, A," Ben whispered in his ear, sounding awed.
Alex frowned, nodding slowly in acknowledgement. But this wasn't right. The Wes *he* knew wasn't like him at all. Not like this.
Blakemore moved to stand, giving Wes one of his poisonous smiles. The dog growled softly, and Wes put a hand on it. "Down, Jen," he murmured, barely audible to the microphone.
Alex thought he heard Katie snort.
"Mr. Collins, Alexander Collins informed the court during his testimony that you were aware of the use of your genetic material to create him," Blakemore began, eyeing the dog warily despite the fact that it was on the other side of the room. "Is this true?"
Wes stiffened again. His jaw clenched for a moment. "Yes," he said finally.
Blakemore's smile widened. "Then it could also be said that you *allowed* the use of this material."
Wes' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Depends on how you look at it."
That made Blakemore pause. "Are you saying that you did not consent to Mr. Collin's creation?"
"Of course I did," Wes snapped. "But that's - "
"I submit to the court that Wesley Collins has admitted to knowing that Time Force would use his genetic material to create Alexander Collins and Benjamin Myers for the Morpher Project, and agreed to giving his consent. Therefore, the material was *not* taken illegally, as Alexander Collins would suggest," Blakemore interrupted smoothly. "Instead, I submit that Wesley Collins not only knew about the Project and it's use of his material, but willingly cooperated with it."
"That's a *lie*!" Wes burst out.
Blakemore turned back to look at him with an expression of mock surprise. "A lie? And how is that, Mr. Collins?"
Wes glared at him. "What I 'consented' to, and what I *thought* Alex was telling me, are two different things," he said coldly. "What I found out from Alex was that he and his brother were made from my 'genetic material'. He believed that Time Force had taken a sample from Eric and I at some point in our lives and brought it to the future, where he and Ben were created. He made me promise to allow that to happen. And I promised, because I didn't know what Time Force had *really* done."
Blakemore's eyebrows went up. "And what was that?"
Wes stared back coldly. "Eric and I used a place called New Life Laboratories to genetically create a child between the two of us, using a surrogate mother provided by the lab. I *thought* Time Force was going to take the unused samples from the process." He stopped, closing his eyes with an expression of pain. " ... But a week after the boys were born, they disappeared from the nursery. The security cameras showed four men in white uniforms stunning the guards right before they picked them up and disappeared. It's only there for one frame, but the camera caught a Time Force badge on one of the uniforms."
The courtroom dissolved into chaos.
"Silence!" the judge roared, slamming his gavel repeatedly.
Alex barely heard him. "That's ... that's impossible," he muttered, feeling numb. "It ... he can't be ... "
"A?" Ben sounded frightened and uncertain. "Alex, I don't ... I don't understand ... "
He moved automatically to wrap his arm around his brother, pulling him closer. "I don't know, Benji," he murmured. "I don't ... "
For once, Ben didn't even protest the nickname.
The courtroom seemed to finally have quieted down. The judges were staring at Wes. The center judge cleared his throat. "Sergeant Commander Collins are you - "
"I'm saying that Time Force stole my children from me," Wes interrupted. His free hand clenched around the podium. "I'm saying that Time Force is responsible for kidnapping Alexander and Benjamin, my children, and bringing them to the future to become some sort of science experiment using the excuse that it was so Eric and I would become Rangers. I'm saying that Time Force tore my family apart."
The dark fury in his eyes was unmistakable, and so unlike the Wes he'd known it sent shivers down Alex's spine.
No ... he thought distantly. Wes is only that angry when family is at stake. When his mother was ...
He felt light-headed. He is. He's my ... I have a ...
The feeling of a hand gripping his shoulder painfully tight brought his attention to Jen. He blinked at her for a moment as the world began to lighten again. "Jen ... " he murmured. "Wes is ... Wes is my ... "
"I know, Alex." Jen reached out with her other hand to touch his cheek. "But stay with me, okay? We can ... " She swallowed. "We'll deal with all this later. Just don't black out on me again. Okay?"
He nodded slowly. "I'll try."
"Can I pass out?" Ben mumbled on his other side.
"I don't think so," Katie hissed.
Ben yelped, turning a scandalized glare on her. "You *pinched* me!" he said incredulously.
"Quiet!" Jen whispered sharply, reaching around Alex to swat him.
Ben whimpered, ducking under Alex's arm. "Evil women," he muttered under his breath.
"Mr. Collins," Blakemore began again, eyeing Wes with a look that could only be described as calculating. "Would you please tell us how your life proceeded after your children disappeared?"
Wes frowned. "After Alex and Ben were *kidnapped*," he stressed, then paused, the fight draining out of him with a sigh. His eyes grew distant. "Eric and I split up after I finally told him the truth." He blinked suddenly, and shrugged a little. "Eventually I joined S.P.D., and my third son was born after that."
"Wes ... " Alex heard Jen whisper beside him.
"And you're ... what was it you said? 'Sergeant Commander' now?" Blakemore pressed.
Wes snorted softly, looking down for a moment. "I'm a member of the Training Department. Anyone below the captain and his lieutenant for that department is a sergeant." When he looked up again, he seemed introspective, even a little sad. "The commander ... I started out as Captain, for my rank as a Ranger. But since Aquitar ... " He trailed off, eventually shaking his head. "I became Commander of my own team."
"So what you're telling us is that after losing your children, you went on to have another child, joined a prestigious organization, and became a leading figurehead of that organization," Blakemore summarized.
Wes laughed abruptly. "I wouldn't say that's exactly how it happened," he said wryly, looking faintly amused.
"But you have made a difference as a member of Space Patrol Delta, correct?"
He raised his eyebrows. "You could say that."
"And your child?"
He smiled slowly. "Sky? Yeah. Sky's made a big difference for S.P.D. All the kids have."
Blakemore gave him another one of his poisonous smiles in return. "It would seem to me, Mr. Collins, that your life without your children has continued on as it should have. The most impact their disappearance made was to push you in the proper direction that your life was meant to take. Should Alexander and Benjamin not disappeared, you would never have been pushed to join Space Patrol Delta. Your other son would not have been born, and neither of you would have made the impact you have on the organization. Their disappearance was necessary to the timeline."
Wes stared at him, his smile gone. "*Excuse* me?" he demanded.
"History shows us that your life was meant to be in service to Time Force. As a predecessor to Time Force, your work with Space Patrol Delta was important to the timeline for the present to exist as it has," Blakemore explained calmly. "Therefore, the disappearance of your children, while regrettable, was necessary in directing you to Space Patrol Delta."
There was a long moment of silence as Wes continued to stare at him. The look in his eyes was dark, and Alex briefly wondered if Wes would leap across the podium at him. If Wes didn't, he was fairly certain the dog snarling softly at his side would.
"You can't say that," Wes said finally, his fist clenching on the side of the podium. His right hand remained firmly on the dog's leash.
"Mr. Collins - "
"You can't," he interrupted flatly, glaring. "Eric and I *always* planned to have a big family. You can't say that Sky would never have been born. Everyone always tells me he looks more like me than his mother anyway. And as for joining S.P.D., they were still in the recruiting stages when I signed up. They had planned to contact Eric and I all along - they just hadn't gotten to us yet." He shook his head. "Time isn't linear. We each make our own destiny. We already proved that in 2001, when Circuit's information kept changing, or when Katie swore she'd met a ghost in the Clock Tower who didn't exist. You can't say for sure that your actions pushed my choices, because you haven't seen what might have happened if we were left alone. If anything, some good people might still be alive today." He closed his eyes again briefly with another pained expression. When he opened them again, he looked directly at Blakemore, his voice hard. "Don't use my life as an excuse for your actions. You have *no idea* what might have happened if you hadn't interfered."
There was a long silence.
The three judges seemed to confer for a moment. "Alexander Collins, please approach the bench," the left judge commanded.
Alex frowned, carefully removing his arm from Ben and accepting a last hand squeeze from Jen as he moved forward. "Yes, your honor?" he greeted politely as he came forward.
"With your consent, the court would like you and Sergeant Commander Collins to recreate this ... 'merging' you spoke of earlier," the judge explained, nodding to Wes.
Wes paled slightly. "I don't think that's a good idea, he said quickly.
"I'll do it," Alex spoke over him.
Wes looked at him, clearly worried. "Alex ... " He swallowed hard. "Things have ... my life's ... changed, a lot. I'm not the same person I was the last time we did this."
Alex stared back at him calmly. "Neither am I."
Wes hesitated, looking torn. At last he sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "All right," he muttered. "All right. I'll do it."
Alex held out his left hand. Please let this work, he prayed silently. Please, *please* work.
Wes swallowed, still hesitating. "I'm sorry, Alex," he whispered finally.
His hand closed around Alex's, and the world went red.
-Listens to crickets- Is anyone still reading this over here? ... Anyone?
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/: Much love and hugs to phantom_blue for repeatedy doing beta on this chapter for me, until it finally didn't completely suck.
The court recorder's station flashed warningly. "No match. No match."
The center judge frowned. "Would you repeat that?"
Wes looked at him oddly. "Sergeant Commander Wesley Alan Collins of S.P.D. Earth, Newtech City Base. Red Time Force Ranger of the Newtech Rangers, escorted by Jen."
The dog at his side wagged its tail.
"That's impossible!" someone burst out.
"Silence!" another judge ordered, slamming his gavel.
Wes' eyes narrowed slightly. He reached behind him, removing something and holding it open. It was some sort of badge, with what looked like the old Space Patrol Delta logo. "Does this help?" he asked, sounding faintly irritated.
The judge nearest to him leaned in closer to examine it. After a moment, he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "The court recognizes Commander Wesley Collins. Add him to the court system."
"Sergeant Commander," Wes corrected, slipping the badge back into his pocket.
"Sergeant Commander," the judge repeated.
The center judge's desk lit up. "Once you have been added to the court system Sergeant Commander Collins, you will be monitored through the computer for signs of dishonesty as you give testimony to the court. Throughout your testimony, you may be asked questions by the rest of the courtroom, which you will be required to acknowledge and answer. When your testimony is complete, you will be dismissed and returned to your own time."
"System updated. Witness confirmed," the computer declared.
"From this point on, you will be monitored for signs of dishonesty and fabrication in your testimony," the center judge informed him finally. "You have been brought here by request of the defendant, Commander Jonathan Blakemore. He will ask questions of you to explain his purpose in bringing you here."
Wes stiffened slightly. There was a pause, and at last he nodded once in acknowledgement. "Understood."
Alex felt his brother lean in close on his left. "He's just like you, A," Ben whispered in his ear, sounding awed.
Alex frowned, nodding slowly in acknowledgement. But this wasn't right. The Wes *he* knew wasn't like him at all. Not like this.
Blakemore moved to stand, giving Wes one of his poisonous smiles. The dog growled softly, and Wes put a hand on it. "Down, Jen," he murmured, barely audible to the microphone.
Alex thought he heard Katie snort.
"Mr. Collins, Alexander Collins informed the court during his testimony that you were aware of the use of your genetic material to create him," Blakemore began, eyeing the dog warily despite the fact that it was on the other side of the room. "Is this true?"
Wes stiffened again. His jaw clenched for a moment. "Yes," he said finally.
Blakemore's smile widened. "Then it could also be said that you *allowed* the use of this material."
Wes' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Depends on how you look at it."
That made Blakemore pause. "Are you saying that you did not consent to Mr. Collin's creation?"
"Of course I did," Wes snapped. "But that's - "
"I submit to the court that Wesley Collins has admitted to knowing that Time Force would use his genetic material to create Alexander Collins and Benjamin Myers for the Morpher Project, and agreed to giving his consent. Therefore, the material was *not* taken illegally, as Alexander Collins would suggest," Blakemore interrupted smoothly. "Instead, I submit that Wesley Collins not only knew about the Project and it's use of his material, but willingly cooperated with it."
"That's a *lie*!" Wes burst out.
Blakemore turned back to look at him with an expression of mock surprise. "A lie? And how is that, Mr. Collins?"
Wes glared at him. "What I 'consented' to, and what I *thought* Alex was telling me, are two different things," he said coldly. "What I found out from Alex was that he and his brother were made from my 'genetic material'. He believed that Time Force had taken a sample from Eric and I at some point in our lives and brought it to the future, where he and Ben were created. He made me promise to allow that to happen. And I promised, because I didn't know what Time Force had *really* done."
Blakemore's eyebrows went up. "And what was that?"
Wes stared back coldly. "Eric and I used a place called New Life Laboratories to genetically create a child between the two of us, using a surrogate mother provided by the lab. I *thought* Time Force was going to take the unused samples from the process." He stopped, closing his eyes with an expression of pain. " ... But a week after the boys were born, they disappeared from the nursery. The security cameras showed four men in white uniforms stunning the guards right before they picked them up and disappeared. It's only there for one frame, but the camera caught a Time Force badge on one of the uniforms."
The courtroom dissolved into chaos.
"Silence!" the judge roared, slamming his gavel repeatedly.
Alex barely heard him. "That's ... that's impossible," he muttered, feeling numb. "It ... he can't be ... "
"A?" Ben sounded frightened and uncertain. "Alex, I don't ... I don't understand ... "
He moved automatically to wrap his arm around his brother, pulling him closer. "I don't know, Benji," he murmured. "I don't ... "
For once, Ben didn't even protest the nickname.
The courtroom seemed to finally have quieted down. The judges were staring at Wes. The center judge cleared his throat. "Sergeant Commander Collins are you - "
"I'm saying that Time Force stole my children from me," Wes interrupted. His free hand clenched around the podium. "I'm saying that Time Force is responsible for kidnapping Alexander and Benjamin, my children, and bringing them to the future to become some sort of science experiment using the excuse that it was so Eric and I would become Rangers. I'm saying that Time Force tore my family apart."
The dark fury in his eyes was unmistakable, and so unlike the Wes he'd known it sent shivers down Alex's spine.
No ... he thought distantly. Wes is only that angry when family is at stake. When his mother was ...
He felt light-headed. He is. He's my ... I have a ...
The feeling of a hand gripping his shoulder painfully tight brought his attention to Jen. He blinked at her for a moment as the world began to lighten again. "Jen ... " he murmured. "Wes is ... Wes is my ... "
"I know, Alex." Jen reached out with her other hand to touch his cheek. "But stay with me, okay? We can ... " She swallowed. "We'll deal with all this later. Just don't black out on me again. Okay?"
He nodded slowly. "I'll try."
"Can I pass out?" Ben mumbled on his other side.
"I don't think so," Katie hissed.
Ben yelped, turning a scandalized glare on her. "You *pinched* me!" he said incredulously.
"Quiet!" Jen whispered sharply, reaching around Alex to swat him.
Ben whimpered, ducking under Alex's arm. "Evil women," he muttered under his breath.
"Mr. Collins," Blakemore began again, eyeing Wes with a look that could only be described as calculating. "Would you please tell us how your life proceeded after your children disappeared?"
Wes frowned. "After Alex and Ben were *kidnapped*," he stressed, then paused, the fight draining out of him with a sigh. His eyes grew distant. "Eric and I split up after I finally told him the truth." He blinked suddenly, and shrugged a little. "Eventually I joined S.P.D., and my third son was born after that."
"Wes ... " Alex heard Jen whisper beside him.
"And you're ... what was it you said? 'Sergeant Commander' now?" Blakemore pressed.
Wes snorted softly, looking down for a moment. "I'm a member of the Training Department. Anyone below the captain and his lieutenant for that department is a sergeant." When he looked up again, he seemed introspective, even a little sad. "The commander ... I started out as Captain, for my rank as a Ranger. But since Aquitar ... " He trailed off, eventually shaking his head. "I became Commander of my own team."
"So what you're telling us is that after losing your children, you went on to have another child, joined a prestigious organization, and became a leading figurehead of that organization," Blakemore summarized.
Wes laughed abruptly. "I wouldn't say that's exactly how it happened," he said wryly, looking faintly amused.
"But you have made a difference as a member of Space Patrol Delta, correct?"
He raised his eyebrows. "You could say that."
"And your child?"
He smiled slowly. "Sky? Yeah. Sky's made a big difference for S.P.D. All the kids have."
Blakemore gave him another one of his poisonous smiles in return. "It would seem to me, Mr. Collins, that your life without your children has continued on as it should have. The most impact their disappearance made was to push you in the proper direction that your life was meant to take. Should Alexander and Benjamin not disappeared, you would never have been pushed to join Space Patrol Delta. Your other son would not have been born, and neither of you would have made the impact you have on the organization. Their disappearance was necessary to the timeline."
Wes stared at him, his smile gone. "*Excuse* me?" he demanded.
"History shows us that your life was meant to be in service to Time Force. As a predecessor to Time Force, your work with Space Patrol Delta was important to the timeline for the present to exist as it has," Blakemore explained calmly. "Therefore, the disappearance of your children, while regrettable, was necessary in directing you to Space Patrol Delta."
There was a long moment of silence as Wes continued to stare at him. The look in his eyes was dark, and Alex briefly wondered if Wes would leap across the podium at him. If Wes didn't, he was fairly certain the dog snarling softly at his side would.
"You can't say that," Wes said finally, his fist clenching on the side of the podium. His right hand remained firmly on the dog's leash.
"Mr. Collins - "
"You can't," he interrupted flatly, glaring. "Eric and I *always* planned to have a big family. You can't say that Sky would never have been born. Everyone always tells me he looks more like me than his mother anyway. And as for joining S.P.D., they were still in the recruiting stages when I signed up. They had planned to contact Eric and I all along - they just hadn't gotten to us yet." He shook his head. "Time isn't linear. We each make our own destiny. We already proved that in 2001, when Circuit's information kept changing, or when Katie swore she'd met a ghost in the Clock Tower who didn't exist. You can't say for sure that your actions pushed my choices, because you haven't seen what might have happened if we were left alone. If anything, some good people might still be alive today." He closed his eyes again briefly with another pained expression. When he opened them again, he looked directly at Blakemore, his voice hard. "Don't use my life as an excuse for your actions. You have *no idea* what might have happened if you hadn't interfered."
There was a long silence.
The three judges seemed to confer for a moment. "Alexander Collins, please approach the bench," the left judge commanded.
Alex frowned, carefully removing his arm from Ben and accepting a last hand squeeze from Jen as he moved forward. "Yes, your honor?" he greeted politely as he came forward.
"With your consent, the court would like you and Sergeant Commander Collins to recreate this ... 'merging' you spoke of earlier," the judge explained, nodding to Wes.
Wes paled slightly. "I don't think that's a good idea, he said quickly.
"I'll do it," Alex spoke over him.
Wes looked at him, clearly worried. "Alex ... " He swallowed hard. "Things have ... my life's ... changed, a lot. I'm not the same person I was the last time we did this."
Alex stared back at him calmly. "Neither am I."
Wes hesitated, looking torn. At last he sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "All right," he muttered. "All right. I'll do it."
Alex held out his left hand. Please let this work, he prayed silently. Please, *please* work.
Wes swallowed, still hesitating. "I'm sorry, Alex," he whispered finally.
His hand closed around Alex's, and the world went red.