Gaby, Emma, Angela, Gunn, the sisters, Alcott, and TransGenics are mine.
This is part of a trilogy, which is a sequel to A Year of Time, based on the Time Force series, and takes place a year later.
It should be considered AU, some details are different from the series. (The future Rangers are from two hundred years in the future, Trip and Katie are mutants, etc.)
The trilogy consists of this story, The Second Time, and Time Over. Jen is not in this one, but plays an important part in the other two.
These stories are meant for non-fans as well as fans and also intended to be able to stand alone, therefore there is an annoying amount of recapping and description in early chapters -- sorry.
Rated PG-13 : Strong sexuality; harsh language, moderate violence.
Please review, authors live for feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome.
They stood in the small living room of the house they shared, in a circle, hands joined. Her gaze moved around her sisters' faces, all identical, the same face she saw every day in her own mirror.
"I'll show them to you," her sister said. They closed their eyes. With concentration, they could see the images in her mind, see the people she showed them, not just what they looked like, but how they were on the inside.
"Wes Collins." A smiling, attractive face, blond hair and blue-green eyes. About six feet tall, and athletic. An open nature, friendly, generous, compassionate. Loneliness, the image of a woman. Underneath, a streak of insecurity and a temper, rarely expressed. They saw him briefly in a navy blue uniform, and then in street clothes.
"Eric Myers." This man was about the same height and build, but darker in every way. His face was hard and smiled reluctantly, his hair and eyes were dark, the underside of his mind was filled with rage and pain, rigidly repressed. But there were also kindness and sympathy in him, and an unadmitted longing for affection. They saw him in the same uniform.
"Alan Collins." A tall, middle-aged man, still handsome, with a personality made mostly of strength and determination, a touch of arrogance, and an undercurrent of old grief, the loss of someone close to him. They saw him in a darkened, empty-feeling office and felt his devotion to his work, and the strong bond between him and his son.
"We can all see which one it should be."
"I don't like this," she said.
"I know. But it's not like you haven't done it before."
She frowned. Dana was right, of course. And often she had enjoyed using her ability, enjoyed the sense of power it gave her. But... "He's different from the others. He could be hurt, badly. He'll be angry, if he finds out."
"Too bad," Carrie put in. "He's human. Not worth all this worry."
"Humans aren't all alike. It only makes things worse to hate them all blindly."
"Okay, I'm sorry. But Dana's still right. It has to be done. We have to know the truth, and we can't trust any of them."
Dana added quietly, "We all have to do what's necessary. We're depending on you. Remember what it was like at T-Gen?"
She thought back. They had been prisoners there, somewhere in the mountains of northern California. Experiments. Guinea pigs. All their faces hardened at the shared memory of their escape. Each of them had used her own unique talent to contribute. Some of them had gotten information, put together a plan. Then when the time came, they had overcome the guards one night, stopped a truck on the highway, and crept unseen into the back. They had arrived in Silver Hills almost a year ago with nothing, only each other. And they had survived, and pursued their goal, to find other mutants like themselves, maybe to get help for their problem, to punish T-Gen for what they had done, and make sure they never did it to anyone else.
"I know. I'll do it. But I don't have to like it." She turned away. But they were right. Gina said they were getting close. Just a few more weeks, and they might get what they needed from Bio-Lab.