Gaby is mine. All who strongly dislike OCs and/or Eric paired with one, take warning; she's in this a lot, in one form or another.
Rated T: mild language, some violence and sexual references.
A/N: This is a sequel to 'Crossroads' and part of my 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way. Basically all you need to know is that Jen was able to stay in our time, she and Wes have been married for over a year, and Eric is living with his girlfriend Gaby.
Reviews are always greatly appreciated.
"How did I let you talk me into this again?"
Eric got only a grin from Wes and a more subdued smile from Jen before the two of them turned back to each other. A hand fell on his shoulder and Alan Collins smiled at him for a moment before moving closer to his son and daughter-in-law. He felt another hand tighten on his and looked down to see Gaby's face. She smiled but said nothing.
"Exactly why are we the guinea pigs again?" he grumbled when no one answered.
"I'm still officially a Time Force officer," Jen answered. "And you two are honorary officers. The Force even equipped our morphers with some new enhancements for this mission."
"Yeah," Wes said. "Built-in personal flyers, like your TF Eagle. It'll be nice not to have to hitch a ride on your wing anymore."
"My morpher didn't get anything new. So what am I supposed to be getting out of this?"
"You get to keep it. The morphers do come with some responsibilities, you know," Jen said, "like cooperating in a project like this."
"I don't see why they have to do this in the first place. Why dimensional travel? Haven't you guys gotten in enough trouble with time travel?"
Of course, he had to admit that without time travel he wouldn't have gotten his morpher and the power that went with it. He wouldn't have become a Ranger, wouldn't have gotten his job, wouldn't have run into Wes again, or met Jen, or have ended up with a house, a car, a girlfriend, all the good things in his life.
But he certainly couldn't say the same about dimensional travel. The last time, Wes and he had been shifted through a series of parallel dimensions because of a Time Force experiment gone wrong. They had spent a few very uncomfortable days, not sure if they'd ever be able to get home. That time had been an accident. Now Time Force thought they had their new technology figured out, and wanted to run another experiment. Of course he had refused - at first - but somehow here he was anyway, standing on the beach under a bright morning sun, waiting for it to start.
Jen's brows creased in a frown. "Once it's been invented they have to develop the technology. What if it gets into the wrong hands? With parallel universes creating infinite possibilities, it's bound to happen sooner or later. We have to know the science, and we need to know what kind of other worlds are out there, to be prepared just in case."
"There's something I don't understand," Wes said. "Why us and why now? Why do this experiment in 2005 instead of in their own time?"
"Less likely to be detected, I imagine," Collins said.
"That's one reason," Jen answered. "The other is that you two have done this already. Experience counts, you know."
"Yeah, well, we didn't get that experience willingly," Eric muttered. "And why we're letting them do it to us again-"
"It'll be great, you'll see," Wes interrupted. "All three of us this time, exploring strange new worlds, discovering new people..."
"God. Last time it was Quantum Leap, this time it's Star Trek."
"Oh, stop complaining," Gaby said unexpectedly. "You don't have to go, you know. You could just stay here if you want to."
"That's right," Wes agreed. "Jen and I could go alone."
"Are you kidding? I'm going along to keep you two out of trouble," Eric responded.
Wes smiled. Jen did too, but absently, as if her mind was on something else. Maybe she actually had more sense than he thought, Eric reflected, and she was worried. This was supposed to be a completely safe mission. Trip, when they had spoken to him over the chrono-communicator, had said that they had everything figured out this time; if everything went smoothly over the next few days they would be shifted into several different dimensions for a few hours each, returning home after each trip. They had their morphers, and Jen had a small communicator to contact Time Force.
"We're not going to get into trouble," Jen said, as if to emphasize his thoughts. "They're not going to put us in any dimensions that are as different from ours as the ones you and Wes went to last time, just ones that are similar to this one. It's perfectly safe."
"Nothing's perfect," Eric growled.
"You're a hopeless pessimist." Wes grinned at him, and then turned away, his arm wrapping around Jen's shoulders. Mr. Collins spoke to them quietly for a minute before leaving them standing together, heads bent close, saying something too soft to be heard. Sweet talk, of course. They were always at it.
And speaking of sweet talk... Gaby was still watching them, her face carefully blank, but that little fold between her eyebrows telling him something was wrong. That opinion was confirmed when she turned her head to look out over the ocean, avoiding his gaze.
She followed easily enough when he tugged at her hand, leading her away from the others. Once they were far enough away not to be overheard, he turned and faced her. "Okay. What's the problem?" he asked.
"What makes you think there's a problem?" She glanced up at him for only half a second before looking down to study their feet, showing him only the gleam of sun on her brown hair.
"I know that look."
"It's nothing."
"Come on, Gabs. Don't worry; like Jen said, it's safe. We'll be back before you know it."
That got her eyes up to meet his as she frowned and then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
"Well then, what is it?" he asked, letting a little impatience creep into his voice.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me. Maybe I'm not as dense as you think."
"I don't think you're dense. You're so paranoid."
"Don't try to change the subject. We're talking about you." Eric hesitated for a moment, studying her downcast face.
Gaby was obviously in one of her rare bad moods. Why she had to pick this particular time, when he had other things to think about, and when she should be concerned instead of annoyed about whatever he had done now... Still, he had to admit she didn't get like this often; usually she was as good-natured as Wes. All the more reason to find out what was wrong.
"Seriously," he said, lowering his voice, "you look upset. What's wrong? Did I do something?"
"No, you didn't do anything." She sighed slightly. "I wish I was going with you, that's all."
"What? No way!" he said without thinking.
"Why not? Jen's going this time." Her eyes brightened. "It would be so exciting!"
"Jen's a Ranger; you aren't. Something could happen, and you could get hurt. Besides, the experiment's set up for three people. You couldn't go anyway."
"Oh, I guess you're right." The way her face fell almost made him wish there was some way to give her what she wanted, however illogical it was. "Well, it was a nice thought, for a second there." Gaby looked up again. "You think I'm being silly, don't you?"
"Uh... No, of course not," he lied, taking both her hands in his. "Although why anyone would want to go jumping around between dimensions if they don't have to..."
"Yeah, right. And Wes and Jen are holding a gun to your head. Admit it; you're looking forward to it."
"Am not." He smiled, relieved, as she grinned.
"You should be." She waved a hand at the others. "You guys get to fight crooks all the time, on top of the mutants a few years ago."
"Well... you fight crime, too."
"Yeah, right, a computer security manager has such a thrilling life. You've traveled through time. Now you get to go to other dimensions. See things no one in this world has ever seen." Her eyes sparkled. "You're a Ranger, with all the powers that morpher gives you. A superhero. It must be wonderful."
Eric was tempted to laugh. "It's not so great when you've got someone like Ransik or Conwing trying to fry your butt. You ought to know; you've had some exciting times too."
"Yeah. Great. I got to be the damsel in distress." Now she looked wistful, that trace of unhappiness back in her face. "I want to be the hero for once. The heroine. I want to have the morpher, and fight the bad guys, and save the day, and have everyone admire me..."
"What, you want me to give you my morpher?"
"Well..." Gaby's eyes fell to his wrist, and the device strapped to it. "Sometimes I've thought about it."
"Gaby..."
"I know; you can't. I don't blame you; you went through a lot to get it, and keep it. You're the one who risks your neck every day to use it to help people."
Eric shrugged. "Just doing my job."
"Yeah, but it's more than that. At least to me." She looked up into his face again, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "I grew up reading about Superman and Batman, the whole bunch of superheroes, wondering what it would be like to know them, or be one of them myself. You're like all of them rolled into one, in real life. So - amazing. Sometimes I just wish I could be a part of it."
Now thoroughly embarrassed but also touched, Eric bent his head to kiss her quickly, finding her smiling as he straightened again. "You are a part of it," he said.
"Just a little part, out on the sidelines. Not like you, and Wes and Jen."
"You're important to me. And besides, it's not as wonderful as you seem to think. I used to feel the same way, until I realized how much of a responsibility it is, and how much of a pain in the neck it can be. Like today."
"But you still wouldn't give it up for anything." She grinned suddenly, seeming to shake off her mood. "You're right. It must be awful, going off on another exciting adventure, exploring strange places and fighting off monsters and villains..."
"I'm hoping for a nice, short, boring adventure. And I guess we should get back to the others. This show's going to start soon."
"So - exactly what's going to happen?" Wes asked.
"No thunderstorms, like before," Jen said. "Time Force said the effect would be much more focused. It should look a little like a timehole, but smaller."
The three of them; Eric, Wes, and Jen, were standing together on an empty stretch of sand, a few yards from where the waves were gently washing to shore. Collins and Gaby had withdrawn to where the cars were parked at the roadside above the beach, far enough away to ensure they would not be accidentally taken along, the way Tommy Oliver had been the last time. They'd be safe - assuming anything actually happened.
"What's the holdup?" Eric asked irritably, glancing down at his watch. "I thought we'd be done with this by lunch."
"Man, we're making history, about to travel to a different universe, and you're worried about missing lunch." Wes grinned at him.
"Lunch is very important. But I guess a rich boy like you never has to worry about practical things like food."
"You guys should be brothers, the way you squabble," Jen said.
"Maybe in some other dimension, we are." Wes looked up, his smile fading. "Uh, guys... I think our ride's here."
Eric turned his eyes to the sky, suppressing the sudden urge to run as he saw it. It did look like a junior version of a timehole, a little, as it materialized out of the air above them; a swirl of energy spinning slowly, widening and deepening into a whirlpool draining into nowhere. It was light instead of the black and purple of a timehole, almost as if it was made of trapped moonlight, shards and fragments of silvery brightness twinkling as they swept overhead.
It was getting closer - bigger, lengthening onto a funnel that reached down for them, plunging to the ground and encasing them in a wall of white light. Eric took a step back from it and felt Wes and Jen crowding against him. I knew this was a bad idea... was his last thought before the light - just disappeared, gone as if it had never existed. And he knew they were somewhere else.
"Somehow I expected more."
Wes's voice sounded disappointed. Eric would never admit it, but a part of him agreed. This just seemed - ordinary. True, Collins and Gaby, along with their cars, had been gone when they arrived wherever this was, but that seemed to be the only difference. They had flown closer to town, giving Wes and Jen a chance to use their new flyers; landed out of anyone's sight, and were now unmorphed again and walking through the streets near Bio-Lab. Jen had produced the small instrument that doubled as a communicator to Time Force in their home dimension and as a sensor, and was waving it at everything in sight, but so far they had noticed nothing different from their own universe.
"We might as well have stayed home," he said. "Wes is right, nothing's different."
"I guess it's perfectly possible that a parallel dimension would be almost identical to ours," Jen said. "There could be differences so small that we'd never notice them."
"So what's the point?" Wes stopped. "Maybe we should just head back to the beach. Take it easy until it's time to go home again."
"We haven't exactly done a detailed examination of this reality. We've still got plenty of time, and as long as we're here we might as well keep looking." She raised the instrument again. "At least I can take more readings to send back to Time Force."
Eric was no longer listening, as he noticed something strange ahead. At the other end of the block they were standing on, people were stopping, staring, retreating hastily. He caught the sound of alarmed voices. A young man dashed into sight, turned the corner, and headed straight for them at a run. And behind him in pursuit...
"Hey, I think I see a difference right there," Eric said.
"Cyclobots?" Wes exclaimed. "What are they doing still here?"
"I'd say they're chasing that guy."
"Well, come on!"
"Wes, stop!" It was Jen, holding onto Wes's arm. "We don't even know what's going on."
"But... he needs help! We can't just stand here and let them-"
Eric had stopped listening again. The man - about his own age, maybe an inch or two shorter, and with dark brown hair and a face that seemed oddly familiar - was passing them, looking scared, as if he was running for his life. Eric moved aside as the cyclobots came at him and stuck out a foot, hooking the ankle of the nearest robot and sending it toppling to the cement with a clatter. The others stopped and turned.
"Eric, what are you doing?"
"Been a while since I kicked metal butt." Eric began to circle between the cyclobots and their quarry. There were only four of them, easy enough to take unmorphed, unless there was a mutant lurking nearby. As he had expected, after a second they charged.
Just like old times. The thought rose in his mind as he ducked under a wild swinging punch and rammed his shoulder into the robot's middle, knocking it down. A kick in the face flattened it again as it began to get up. Wes was tackling one of them, and Jen had apparently changed her mind and was jumping to land a hard kick into another's chest. That left the fourth... Eric heard a crash and spun to see the last robot staggering, a public garbage can firmly wedged over its upper body as the man they had been chasing stepped back from behind it.
"Nice one," Eric said, and saw him grin. A punch and another kick, and the brief fight was over, the cyclobot wearing the garbage can was out of commission and the others chose the better part of valor and ran for their metallic 'lives'.
"Hey, thanks," the brown-haired man said. "You guys really saved my neck. You were great!" As Eric tried not to stare, he turned his attention to the fallen robot, taking a few steps away to look at it more closely.
Wes and Jen had moved to Eric's side, and were also watching. "Man, that guy looks just like Gaby," Wes said, his voice lowered.
"Yeah. Maybe in this dimension she has a brother," Eric answered, just as softly. Like Gaby... that was why he had seemed so familiar, even at first glance. Maybe why he had instinctively helped him, Eric realized. Yes, there was a strong resemblance, even down to the voice. A very strong resemblance.
It was Jen who asked, as the man returned and faced them with an expression that was quickly becoming just as puzzled as their own. "We were wondering," she started. "Do you know a Gabriella Butler? Your sister, maybe?"
"That's strange. My name's Butler. Gabriel Butler, but everyone calls me Gabe. No sister." His eyes were on Eric's face now, examining it curiously. "But it's funny you should ask... You look an awful lot like my girlfriend. Her name's Erica Myers. Maybe you're related?"
TBC...