Power Rangers Time Force
"Fight The Fate"
Original Air Date:08/25/01		Based on: Timeranger #43 - Rekishi Shuusei Shirei (The History Correction Directive) Some footage from: Timeranger #44 - Toki e Hangyaku (Mutiny Against Time)
*Season 9, byte 29 *Official Fox Kids Show Number PR-1129 *29th episode of PRTF *407th total Power Rangers episode
Writers: Judd Lynn & Jackie Marchand		Director: Worth Keeter
Starring Cast: Jason Faunt _AS_ Wes (Red Ranger) Erin Cahill _AS_ Jen (Pink Ranger) Kevin Kleinberg _AS_ Trip (Green Ranger) Deborah Estelle Philips _AS_ Katie (Yellow Ranger) Michael Copon _AS_ Lucas (Blue Ranger) Daniel Southworth _AS_ Eric (Quantum Ranger) Edward Laurence Albert _AS_ Mr. Collins		Additional Cast: Jason Faunt _AS_ Alex (Red Ranger) Nicholas Guest _AS_ Taylor Dennis Garber _AS_ Jennings Brianne Siddall _AS_ Circuit (voice) Eddie Frierson _AS_ Frax (voice)

SUMMARY:

[Scenes from "Dawn Of Destiny." Included is a new line by Frax to Dragontron, "SOON, my robotic friend, together we will RISE and CRUSH the CITY!!"]

A revision of the last scene of the previous episode, taking up where the recap leaves off. The Mystery Man fast approaches through the burning debris, the camera panning up from his white Time Force Uniform Jumpsuit pantlegs to the edge of his pea-green undershirt. He pauses in front of the five Time Force Rangers, as they stare confused and in awe. Mystery Man removes his silver-rimmed sunglasses, and (in a redubbed line, thus sounding different than last time) claims, "History's already SHIFTED. And I'M here... to set it BACK on track." The camera moves, exposing Mystery Man as Alex, the original Red Time Force Ranger. Jen, in a new shot, gasps breathlessly (more stunned than the original shot), "...Alex?!" Katie is agape, as is Lucas, while Wes has an even bigger reason to be dumbstruck, since Alex is his dark-haired dead ringer! Wes slowly steps towards Alex, gazing at his doppelganger in disbelief, and stunnedly remarking, "Unbelievable! You look JUST like me." Alex, standing tall and proud, simply turns, looks at his double up and down with an uninterested glare, turns away, and walks off. Jen finally comes to her senses, embracing her previously presumed dead fiance, and crying, "You're ALIVE!" As Jen hugs Alex, Wes' expression shifts from the shock of seeing his mirror image in person, to somber sadness at the realization that Jen first love is back in her life. Jen sobs tenderly on Alex's shoulder, "I thought you were gone forever! I..." Alex gently pulls Jen out of the deep hug, and informs her, "I BARELY survived Ransik's attack." Jen, still shaken by seeing him again, becomes immediately concerned, running her fingers through his slicked-back black hair, and asking caringly, "Are you okay?! Ohh. I want to know EVERYthing." Alex grips her arms, stressing urgency as he shakes his head and changes the subject, "Jen. There ISN'T much time." Alex lets her go, and turns to Katie & Lucas, standing still to the side, ordering, "I need you ALL to follow ME." Katie quickly blurts, "Let's go," eager to do so. She & Lucas rush off to follow Alex, as he marches off the way he approached. Trip, still holding the Chrono-Capsule with tiny Severax in it, walks out from behind Jen, and follows the other three. Jen, meanwhile, stands there, appearing confused and anxious for the answers to so many questions flooding her mind. Wes stares at her, but she's lost in her own world, as if disappointed that her fiance would rather get back to work rather than comfort her and let her comfort him. Wes hurries along after his teammates, and soon enough, Jen finally shakes off her desperate-for-answers attitude, slowly staggering behind.

At the beach (just Northwest of Silver Hills), waves violently crash against the jagged rocks of the cape. On the nearby shore, Alex, now wearing his sunglasses again, marches ahead of the other Time Force Officers, his shoulders broad and haughty. He adjusts his Chrono-Blaster in the holster to his right hip, and continues the trek across the beach with his usual stern stare. Behind him, Trip smiles excitedly as he sees something up ahead. He turns to Lucas, who turns to Katie, all quite relieved at what they witness, picking up their pace. Jen also spots it, and seems nearly floored by the sight. Wes is just behind her, and is vocal with his confusion, wondering, "Hey, what's THAT?!" Jen informs him, "It's a Time Ship." Indeed, the giant yellow metal oval-shaped ship with large back-boosters has landed safely, likely near the same spot the others' previous Time Ship crashed back in episode 2! Jen smiles softly, and Wes just takes as much of the huge yellow & black Time Ship in as he can. The six TFs continue onward toward the Time Ship, as the sound of the raging ocean echoes against the beach as the only noise. Elsewhere, there's an expensive-looking Silver Hills Hospital, with a Silver Guardians' SUV parked out front. Inside of an operating room, the steady beeping of a heart monitor is heard, as a large disc with multiple lights hangs over the unconscious body of the badly injured Mr. Collins. A lone surgeon in blue scrubs steps forward, adjusting his latex gloves, and assessing the patient visually. Mister Collins, in the first shot, seems nearly naked, with a bloody gauze on his left shoulder. Yet in the frontal shot, he's wearing a white & blue hospital gown. The white sheet over the top of his head remains, as does the large blue intubation line sticking into his mouth. His still bruised and bloodied unmoving face would lead you to believe he's already dead, if not for the beeping of his heart monitor. Outside in the Emergency Room hallway, the Silver Guardians' Commander, Eric, paces impatiently about. He puts his hands on his hips, and silently awaits word of Collins' recovery. A doctor passes by, saying into a cellphone, "Yeah, I got the X-Rays, i'm on my way." Eric moves out of the way of oncoming nurses and such, leaning against the door of the operating room, staring into the tiny window, and sighing deeply, extremely worried for his father figure/ boss.

[Opening Credits, V. 2.1 still.]

At the beach, inside of the Time Ship, the six Time Force Officers enter into the central control chamber. Alex leads the way, the door sliding open upon their arrival. The control room appears quite different from the console area Alex was seen at last episode, and very different from the control room of the Time Ship the other four came to 2001 from 3000 in (though in the hallway we see a Time Force logo, and the general wall design remains the same). Alex walks up to the control booth, a single black chair in front of a surrounding deck of numerous control knobs & switches. He turns about face, removes his sunglasses, and orders calmly, "Fall in line." Trip & Lucas have paused in the doorway, standing shoulder to shoulder. They look at one another, nod and motion themselves in cautiously. All five of the Rangers inspect their strange surroundings as best they can, seemingly unfamiliar with the design of this particular Time Ship's control room. They do fall into line as requested, though not at full attention, in this order (from Alex's perspective): Wes, Trip, Jen, Katie, Lucas. Wes, the one most confused by everything, stands slightly behind Trip's shoulder, unsure of his place there. Alex, standing with his hands behind his back, glares at the team authoritisticly. He sets his sunglasses down on the console, and resumes his stance, marching across the front of the line, staring at them and scolding unapologetically, "Your ACTIONS here have caused HISTORY to be altered!" (this shot, in the previous ep's preview of this one, was shown in a different take from an angle behind the team) Wes is oddly now much farther behind Trip, casually hanging out with his hands in his pockets. Alex approaches Trip, and adds, "And now these SHIFTS... are beginning to affect the future." Trip asks directly, "HOW has the future been changed?" Alex replies both ominously and evasively, "I can't tell you." Wes seems concerned during all of this, his demeanor shifting from passive regard to nervous uneasiness, at the uttering of Alex's words. Alex darts his eyes over to his ancestor, giving him a look of reserved contempt. He then marches back across in front of his former teammates, staring in each one's eyes on his way by, as he urgently stresses, "Now LISTEN up! Frax, has broken away from Ransik. And EVEN as we speak, he's BUILDing a super robot, POWERful enough to CRUSH the city!" Wes is focused upon, his visible worry highlighted, since this city has been his home the longest. Alex adds, "It MUST be destroyed. Which is why i'm here." He turns his head sharply, and announces, "I'm GOING to take over as Red Ranger."

Trip looks at Wes, just as he reacts with protest, "WHAT?!" Trip argues to Alex, "But WES is our Red Ranger. He's GREAT!" Alex walks slowly toward his lookalike, commenting, "Perhaps. But Wes' destiny, is to take over his father's company, Bio-Lab." Wes scoffs, "Well, maybe it WAS. But the future isn't written in stone! We EACH make our own destiny." The four have broken out of their lineup, and are crowding behind Alex, as he harshly reveals, "WRONG. EVERYthing you've done up till now, I'VE allowed to happen. I've TRIED to keep history from being altered. But Frax's robot is too powerful. I had to come in person." The four TF Officers aren't totally surprised by this, all appearing as though a lot of questions have been answered by this admission of being their mysterious benefactor. Alex tells Wes, "You'll fulfill your destiny and take over Bio-Lab." Wes looks at his teammates, and sneers in bemused disbelief. Alex finishes his statement with a horrifying revelation, "Because your father will die tomorrow." Everyone in the room is disturbed by this bit of news from the future, Wes most of all. At first, he acts like his heart skips a beat, his eyes widening in terror. But that quickly fades, as he denies the remark with a smiling face, "What?! I JUST saw my Dad this morning. He's fine!" (unless the past two episodes all happened in one incredibly long day, this must have occurred offscreen) Jen anxiously looks at both Alex & Wes, awaiting further info. Alex simply stares down at Wes, then glances down at his wrist, just over a split second before his Chrono-Morpher beeps, as if cueing it with his eyes. Wes slowly lifts his left arm, leery about answering the call. He flashes glances back to Alex and the rest of the team, cautious and silently afraid. Without needing to press a single button, the communications line is opened, as Eric's voice calls out through the speaker, "Wes, it's Eric, do you read?" (apparently, the Quantum Morpher can be used to contact the Chrono-Morphers, though this is the first such case of that happening. Notice, no Hologram of Eric, so the comm-tech isn't completely compatible) Wes replies straight into his Morpher, "Go ahead, Eric." Eric explains seriously, "Your father's been injured. I think you should come to the hospital, right away. It looks... real bad." Jen looks over to Katie, both displaying empathetic emotions for their teammate, and shocked about the confirmation of Alex's 'prophecy'.

Wes is speechless, grinding his teeth deeply. Alex approaches him, and in a dispassionate tone, mentions, "I'm sorry about your father. But you CAN'T change your destiny." Wes, his eyes nearly tearful, hopelessly looks at his lookalike descendant. Alex holds out his right hand, palm up, awaiting the return of his rightful belonging. Wes stares at his hand, but with a sigh, removes the Velcro-strap of his Chrono-Morpher. He holds the silver-colored Morpher in his hand, hesitating slightly, prompting Alex to take charge by pulling it from his grasp. Wes' fingers slowly curl up, and retract into an empty fist. Wes, distraught, glances at his now-former teammates, but quickly looks away as he bolts for the exit. Jen calls out, "Wes, wait!", and rushes after him. The others are somberly silent, just looking on at a loss for words. Alex turns to the remaining three, and firmly commands with utmost ego, "Keep FOCUSED, people! I'M the leader of this team now. You'll take orders from me." Wes leans against the doorframe, with Jen at his side, but desperately torn between loyalties. He turns and looks at her, only to see her look off toward Alex as he speaks. Wes takes this as an insult, and immediately leaves. Jen longs to chase after him, but remains frozen in her tracks. Alex kills the tension by calling over to her, "Jen! We've got a LOT of work to do." Jen turns her attention to him, but stares back into the hall one last time, and sighs. She reluctantly rejoins her teammates, hanging her head low as she holds her hands behind her back. Outside of the Time Ship (which has the numbers "747-40" on its side), Wes walks out onto the beach. He turns and gawks at the large yellow temporal craft, quite upset over this quiet betrayal by the four from the future he once called his friends. Wes races away from the Time Ship, kicking up sand as he heads toward the rocky cliffs.

At the hospital, Mister Collins rests comfortably in a blue-sheeted bed. His face still shows signs of injuries inflicted by Ransik's sudden blast-attack, oxygen running into his nose through thin tubing. A blonde nurse hooks his left wrist up to an intravenous bag, and inspects his heart monitor, a steady beep indicating life remains in the elder man's weary body. The nurse picks up a chart, and exits the room, heading down the sterile hallway. Eric stands against the wall not far down the hall, and stirs to attention when he sees the nurse approaching. A few feet away from him, at the admit desk, those two wacky accountants from last time, Taylor & Jennings, are fretting about business situations. Taylor wanders around, speaking into a cellphone, "Listen to me. The board meeting will take place AS planned." Jennings hands a file to a businesswoman, telling her, "Get this over to legal." She departs, and is joined by another man in a business-suit, carrying a briefcase. Jennings shuffles some papers in his own briefcase, when Taylor "We've got a problem. It's terrible that Mr. Collins' has been hurt. We can't just SHUT down Bio-Lab! The company will COLLAPSE without someone in charge." Eric eavesdrops as they chatter, his interest being peaked. Jennings responds to his colleague, "And I agree. But the question is, WHO are we going to get to make the big decisions until he recovers?" Eric chimes in, walking over and commenting, "Excuse me, gentlemen. But, maybe what we could do here is..." Taylor halts the Commander of the Silver Guardians, smugly remarking, "THANK you. But this is a corporate matter. It doesn't concern you." Eric glares at the two older men, and replies with a facetious grin, "I see." The solider departs, scorned out of spite by the two men who apparently never approved his Eric's status as right-hand man.

Just as Eric leaves, Wes arrives through a nearby hallway, frantically asking a passing physician, "Doctor, where's room 106?!" The man points and says, "Through there." Wes quickly heads off, searching for the proper room, paying no mind to the two businessmen standing around. He eventually finds room 106, and stares directly through the window at his father, lying unconscious in the bed. Wes remains strong, bracing himself against the gridded windowpane, though begins staring at the floor when the sight of his dying Dad becomes too much. Taylor appears, and joins him in the makeshift vigil, assuring, "I've never know anyone tougher than your Dad. He'll make it, Wes." Wes briefly glances at him and smirks, before resuming his worried observing of his father. Alex's words echoes in his brain, in a nicer tone, "You can't change your destiny. Your father will die tomorrow." Wes takes these warnings to heart. Taylor unknowingly exploits those warnings, as he urges gently, "You know, someone needs to make decisions at Bio-Lab until your father gets better. He'd want it to be YOU, Wesley." Wes looks at the soulless suit, and then his father again, considering it all despite his previous misgivings. Mr. Collins' mouth moves slightly, though he still fails to come out of his coma. The beeping of his heart, hanging by a thread, continues...

[commercials]

At the Clock Tower on the outskirts of Silver Hills, the four time-displaced Time Force Officers lead their restored leader into their humble abode of all these months. Jen throws her arms up and notes, "Uhh, here we are!" Alex, arms behind his back as usual, inspects the surroundings visually, and unimpressedly asks, "THIS... is your base of operations?" Trip envigorously replies, "YEAH! It's pretty cool, huh?!" Lucas sits on the couch, Katie by the picnic table, Trip joining her, as Jen points out, "And... We can monitor the entire city from up here." Alex spends most of his time staring upward, at the back of the yellow clockface. He pauses before it, and is taken by almost total surprise when Circuit swoops in through the side window! Alex ducks sharply, the robotic owl nearly shaving off his hair as he flies into the room. Trip chuckles nervously, the only one of the team finding this amusing. Circuit lands on a crate next to Lucas, and chipperly apologizes, "Heha! Sorry i'm late!" Alex sarcastically notes, "Great! VERY secure area." He finally takes issue with their attire, walking over to Katie & Trip, and wondering offendedly, "And WHAT are you wearing?! WHERE are your Time Force Uniforms?" Jen admits, "Wes thought it would be better, if we... blended in." Her sentence trails off from intimidation, as Alex marches over to her, and states sternly, "WES thought? Wes is JUST a civilian." Jen backs down, as if her body has been drained of its confidence by her fiance's comments. Alex rips off Trip's bucket-hat, and ridicules, "Now put on your uniforms. You all look ridiculous." Needless to say, they're speechless. Alex turns his back to them, and Jen motions for the team to do as ordered. They're quite unhappy, Lucas most of all, he glares daggers in Alex's back as he gets up.

Once the team piles out to retrieve their jumpsuits, Alex turns around and turns attention toward the items lying around on the table. He pushes aside a clear plate with a half-eaten green apple on it, and sets down Trip's hat. Alex sits at the table, picks up a brown book (that appears to be Katie's diary), flips through a few pages, and tosses it aside. He then opens up a small black box, and removes a small stack of polaroids from within. Jen stands behind the table, slipping on the rest of her uniform (quite a quick change artist she is! Slipped into the white pants, black undershirt, tied her hair in a ponytail, and strapped on her Chrono-Blaster, all in under a minute!), which, despite appearances, is actually a two-piece set. She pulls on the jacket and zips it up, while assuring him, "Look! Alex, it's not like we're playing around here. We've been working REALLY hard to capture Ransik!" Alex checks out the polaroid pictures, the same ones taken in the previous episode. He comes to the shot of Wes playfully forcing a kiss onto the smiling Jen's cheek (which lacks Trip & Katie in it, despite being there when it was taken), pulls it out of the pile, and remarks with discontent, "I can SEE that. Looks like you've been working 'really' hard." Alex slaps the stack of photos onto Katie's diary, gets up, and walks away. Jen discovers what picture set him off, and finally understands his resentment. Alex leans against the bricken window, peering off into the sky above the city, and anxiously referring to his Chrono-Morpher like a watch. Jen heads over to his impatient side, and wonders, "What's the matter with you?" Alex gives her only a moment's notice, before resuming his sky-watching, replying dodgy, "What'd you mean?" Jen doesn't seem to know where to begin at first, but eventually lets everything out, stating, "Well... For starters... You've been alive this WHOLE time? I can't BELIEVE you didn't tell me. A-and now you, you show up, and you just start ordering us around?! B-bu... Al-Alex, you just can't..." As she speaks, Alex slowly lowers his field vision, calming down somewhat. He finally takes control of the situation, while avoiding giving answers, by grabbing her arms gently, and explaining, "Listen, Jen. This mission is MORE important than you and me, or anybody! Now unless we put our emotions aside, we don't stand a CHANCE of changing the future." Jen at first wants to protest and get clarification, but realizes that his urgency rings true and the matter at hand takes precedence.

Katie, Trip, and Lucas step up in unison, all three now dressed in their Time Force Uniforms, adjusting their collars and cuffs. Alex walks over to them, and commends coldly, "That's more like it. It should be happening, right... about..." He looks at his Chrono-Morpher, then up to the ceiling, concluding, "... Now." As if on cue, the foundation of the Clock Tower begins to quake. Katie asks confusedly, "What's going on?!" She notices one of the hanging lamps, as it begins flickering wildly and shaking violently. Katie joins Lucas, Trip, and Jen at the window, all gaping out toward the cityscape. In the skies above the Silver Hills skyscrapers, a ball of pink & white light streaks across, leaving a blackened smoke trail. Trip briefly glances at Jen, and wonders, "A comet?!" Alex, remaining in the same spot, not looking out the window at all, mysteriously denies, "No." Jen hurries to face her highly informed fiance, asking, "What WAS that?!" Alex remarks ominously, "You're about to find out. Let's MOVE!" (in last ep's preview of this one, this last section featured a different take, where Alex WAS at the window the whole time!) He leads the way at a brisk pace, prompting the other four to race along behind to keep up. Soon, at the beach, the ball of shimmering purple-pinkish teleportational light descends into the ocean, crashing down into the water and creating a magnificently colored burst. Alex and the other Time Force Officers arrive on the sands just in time to witness touchdown. The light from its landing spot out amongst the waves slowly fades, as does the smoke trail. Alex, wearing his sunglasses, gets closest to the sea, and notes, "This is the place!" He motions his arms, and presses the Chrono-Morpher, proclaiming, "Time FOR... Time Force!" In a quick flash, he morphs into the Red Time Force Power Ranger for the first time since being cut down in action by Ransik. The other four lag considerably, as if unsure that they can trust their old pal. Alex nearly growls as he asks grumpily, "Well, what're you waiting for?!" The wind batters against Jen's face, and the reflection of the reluctant four TF Officers bouncing off of the Red Ranger's visor as he stares back at them. Jen eventually turns to her friends, nods, and urges, "Come on, guys! Ready?!" She lifts her Chrono-Morphered wrist, prompting them to do the same and proclaim simultaneously, "Ready!" In equal unison, they motion their arms, and shout, "Time for... Time Force!" In a four-shot screen, they Morph into the remaining members of the Time Force Rangers. The Time Force Rangers apparently leap over onto a rocky section of the beach, as the scene shifts from sandy to stony. Pink Ranger asks Red, "NOW what, Alex?" Red Ranger turns his back to them, and promises sternly, "You'll SEE soon enough. Just STAY alert." Alex faces the ocean, and presses his Morpher, ordering casually, "Circuit, activate the Time Flyers." At the Clock Tower, Circuit flaps his wings, and obeys, "Yes, sir! YOU got it!"

In the year 3000, all the hovercars clear out away from the launchpad. The female computer voice plays over the stock footage i've described ad infinitum, "Launch sequence initiated. Prepare to launch Time Flyers in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Launch. Launch remaining Time Flyers. Launch Shadow Winger." The Trans-Warp Megazord does all of this, as usual. The Flyers exit the time vortex over the dome, and the Rangers hop into them. Alex sits in the Time Flyer cockpit for the first time, presses a few buttons, and calmly commands, "Alright. Shadow Force Megazord, Mode Blue!" The Flyers come together into Time Force Megazord's Blue Mode, which then spins around and locks into the Time Shadow's transformed body. Shadow Force's Blue Mode is recreated. In the ocean, near what appears to be a dam, the sea flashes and boils, as something beneath the waves is apparently taking a stroll. Shadow Force hovers in the sky above. Inside of its control room, Blue Ranger asks in shock, "What is THAT?" Suddenly, Frax's tall robotic masterpiece pokes his upper body out from under the water, and splashes violently about. Its head is V-shaped, kinda like Frax, though its neck is longer, it has a tail, its coloring blue, silver & rust-like red, and its face metallically bestial. Its mouth opens and closes a lot, though not a single sound is emitted. Alex reveals to the Rangers, "THAT... is Frax's super robot, Dragontron. IT is more powerful than ANYTHING you've ever encountered before." Pink Ranger asks, "Can we beat it?" Red Ranger "It WON'T be easy. It's got MORE power than ANY Megazord." Green Ranger hopes, "There's GOT to be a way!" Yellow Ranger wonders, "Does it have a weakness?" Alex confirms, "It does. There's ONE vulnerable spot. The energy core. And THAT'S where we have to focus our attack." A green-tinted computer readout of Dragontron appears, showing us exactly the spot where its Achilles Heel is located, a tiny porthole on the small of its back. Shadow Force Megazord in Mode Blue floats high over the ocean, as Dragontron silently awaits orders. In the control room of the Megazord, Blue Ranger scoffs, "That doesn't sound so tough!" Red Ranger relieves pressure by explaining, "Well it IS! If we miss it... by a millimeter... the core will explode, taking ALL of us with it." Jen thinks aloud, "It's too risky!" Lucas agrees, "Yeah." Trip worriedly exhales. Katie figures bravely, "Maybe. But it's our ONLY chance!" Near the rocky shore, Frax is hanging out near the shallow area. Dragontron marches by, stomping its giant feet less than a yard away in the background. Frax gloats, "Dragontron! My BEAUTIFUL creation! The Power Rangers have no IDEA what's in store for them!" Dragontron holds its hands out menacingly, as water drips off its metal exterior, and gears grind loudly while it stands taller and more upright. Frax exclaims viciously, "ALL the world will fear ROBOTS, when we're through demonstrating your AWEsome power!"

Meanwhile, at the mirrored-glass skyscraper that is the Bio-Lab office building (not damaged one bit from the attack earlier that day), a board meeting is underway. It's the same meeting room we saw last episode, except now the rows of chairs are filled with men and women of high corporate standing to varying degrees. Eric enters, flops his red beret on the massive table, and takes a seat at the far end edge, uneasy. A man passing out black folders drops one in front of him, which the meeting agenda likely within. Eric about to open it, when at the other side of the room, Taylor enters, immediately announcing, "Good day, ladies & gentlemen! Let's get started, shall we?" The dark haired man with glasses stands at the head of the table, mentioning to the board of directors, "Now we're all VERY concerned about Mr. Collins' recovery. But I do have some GOOD news. Wesley Collins has agreed to take his father's place!" Taylor turns, inspiring Wes & Jennings to enter the room. Wes is wearing a black business suit, with a crimson tie, and sticks out like a sore thumb by his perplexed expression alone. The people in the room are all astounded, one lady hamming it up for the camera by oohing and awing. Eric is the only one displeased, though he actually manages to hide it. Taylor explains, "He'll be in charge, until Mr. Collins is well enough to return." Eric doesn't hold back his anger for long, tapping a number 2 pencil against the black folder uncomfortably. His frustration grows in a short time, to the point that he grips the pencil in his fist, and crushes the wooden writing utensil into two pieces! Nobody notices, which is something Eric reluctantly is used to. Wes & Taylor sit at the head of the giant conference table. Wes, while adjusting the buttons on his coat, is handed an opened folder by Jennings, who then pats the young man on the back. The brand new Mr. Collins has achieved his tedious and boring destiny at last.

[commercials]

At the beach, Frax commands, "GO, Dragontron! Fight the Megazord, and DESTROY the Power Rangers!" Dragontron, its body slowly moving in a reptilian, hunched-over stance, wades through the ocean, seeking out its demanded prey. The boot-jets of the Shadow Force Megazord in Mode Blue allow it to loudly hover down from above, descending moderately and landing on the shore. Dragontron, lacking a superior amount of artificial intelligence, continues strolling out to sea, despite the great thud the Megazord made while setting foot on land. In the SF control room, Red Ranger orders, "Lock on target." Shadow Force lifts its glowing blue-bladed saber in blaster mode, grips the yellow handle, and takes aim at the Evil Zord's lower back. Frax cries out, "Dragontron! Look out behind you!" As an added incentive, the golden robot fires his left-hand in cannon-finger mode at Dragontron, striking sparkily against the huge metal creature's neck. Dragontron turns itself around to face the would-be Megazord sniper. Alex laments, "Oh, no. Frax warned him. And now he's coming back for us!" Dragontron opens its mouth, charges up the three cannons on its forehead V, and snaps open its two shoulder gatling armament of missiles. Shadow Force Mode Blue trembles slightly, but keeps its saber/blaster poised for firing. Dragontron readies its final arsenal, shifting the lump square-center in its chest around into two rows of three red dots. Those are fired first, shooting several rapid rounds of reddish laserpower. The sharp bolts blast into the Megazord, and are instantly followed by the shoulder-missiles! The bombardment of explosives rocks the Rangers within the control room, all screaming in agony as they're shaken about.

Back at the Bio-Lab board meeting, Jennings rambles on and on about "figures." Eric seems interested by what the man has to say, but his enjoyment of the reports gets interrupted, when a Silver Guardian enters the room. He leans in and whispers into Eric's ear, likely telling him about the big battle occurring at the beach. Taylor blabs business, "Now, let me bring you up to speed regarding the Canadian market. Bio-Lab is currently trading at 48.9. Which is 4 points up from last quarter. Our subsidiaries in Canada are also doing well. It's time for us to decided, whether or not to expand into other..." Wes focuses on the SG whispering to Eric, intensely curious. Eric nods to his solider, and says, "Alright, let's go." He glances over at Wes as he gets up and departs, Wes staring back with an expression displaying desperation for some Ranger-related action. Wes is about to get up to follow along, when Taylor places a report in front of him. He acts heartbroken, stuck being mature and responsible in a way he's spent his lifetime trying to avoid. Wes picks up the report, and continues swallowing his pride raw.

At the beach, Dragontron marches along the stone-floored beach with its total of six toes. The Quantum Ranger makes the scene, rushing up onto a cliff, assessing the situation, and then pressing his Quantum Morpher, summoning, "Q-Rex, attack!" In the Shadow Force control room, the Time Force Rangers get a grateful breather. Yellow Ranger spots their savior, gasping, "Quantasaurus Rex!" Alex, his agenda concerning Eric dating back to sending him the Mega Battle (and seemingly the TF Eagle), comments expectedly, "Quantum Ranger... Right on time." The Q-Rex races through the forest, snarling and kicking up a trail of dust. It fires at Dragontron's head, causing the emotionless machine to leisurely turn toward the oncoming Zord. Quantasaurus lunges at Dragontron, roaring deeply as it bites down on the robot's left wrist! Dragontron struggles to be released from the Zord's toothy-hold, shifting their positions some, to no avail. Shadow Force Megazord in Mode Blue watches from nearby. After causing a couple of spark-bursts, Q-Rex releases his chomping grip on Dragontron, and proceeds to sharply bash his head into the robot's chest-cannon! Quantum Ranger presses another button on his Morpher, and activates aloud, "Quantasaurus Rex, Megazord Mode!" Q-Rex transforms into its upright and locked position. Eric hits a button again, and shouts, "Quantum Missiles, FIRE!" The Quantasaurus Megazord aims its gatling right-hand at Evil Zord, and unleashes the six explosive rockets. All six smash against Dragontron's body, causing sparks & smoke, but neither damaging nor fazing the inhuman creature. Quantum Ranger gasps in disbelief, "Huh!?" In the control room, Green Ranger remarks in amazement, "Did you SEE that?! WHOA! Our missiles didn't even SCRATCH it!" Eric concurs, "Whoa, I don't believe it!"

Shadow Force Mode Blue joins the Q-Rex Megazord's side, towering over it, as they both face Dragontron. Frax's ultimate robotic masterpiece stomps towards them, firing its trio of V-forehead cannons as one combined laser beam. Two condensed bolts blast into both Megazords, knocking our heroes about. Dragontron whips its tail around, lashing into both Megazord's chests with bursting results. Shadow Force staggers backward, stepping in a massive puddle before regaining its footing. Red Ranger grips the controls and stresses, "Everybody... Hang ON!" Pink Ranger notes, "He's just WAY too powerful for us." She then asks, "What're we going to do, Wes?" Lucas grunts, "What?!" Katie gasps, "Wes?!" Trip quietly expresses concern for her Freudian slip-up. Jen shifts uneasily, realizing her mistake, but having to force herself to admit, "I mean... Alex." Dragontron slowly marches toward them. The current and original Red TF Ranger turns and remarks mercilessly, "Jen. Let's just try and stay focused. GOT it?" Pink Ranger pleads for forgiveness from her fiance, "I'm SORRY, Alex. I didn't mean to..." Alex looks away from her, and demands, "Just FORGET about it." He activates, "FULL power to lasers. Lock on and FIRE!" Shadow Force Mode Blue shoots its saber/blaster at Dragontron's feet, causing a bright flash. Dragontron passes through their vain attacks, blasting more rounds of red-power from its chest-cannon. Both Megazord are struck again, prompting Quantum Ranger to huff, "Oh, NO!" The Shadow Force Megazord has taken one hit too many, and begins to erupt with explosions within the control room cabin. In overly dramatic slow motion, our heroes are engulfed in sparks. Pink Ranger grunts, "We're NOT strong enough!" Yellow Ranger grouses in agony, Green Ranger covers his helmeted head from the sparks, and Blue Ranger yelps and comments, "I sure wish that Wes was here to help us!"

Speaking of the corporate devil, Wes is exiting the Bio-Lab building at that moment, deep within the city. He approaches a black limousine, Taylor & Jennings heading around one side of it. The driver rushes to Wes, opens the door for him, and offers, "Here you are, Mr. Collins." Wes pauses for a moment, as if someone stepped on his grave, before brushing off the effects of being called the name his father's vastly known by. He sits in the limo, the door locks automatically, gaining Wes' emotionally weary attention. He stares at it, probably noticing its symbolic attachment to how he's literally locked into this lifestyle, according to Alex. The limo pulls away, and drives down the busy street. Wes is shaken gently by the rocking of the vehicle as it flows through traffic. His mind drifts to his former teammates. It seems Trip's psychic powers were passed on to him, as his left eye is focused in on, showing the Rangers in peril amid Wes' pupil! All five of the Time Force Officers cry out in agony, as the Megazord fills with bursting sparks. Wes seems unaware of the show going on, both in his eye and at the beach, trapped inside a limo in the middle of city traffic.

At said beach, the battle rages on. Dragontron gets some head-battering payback for earlier, by slamming his noggin into the Quantasaurus Rex Megazord's chest! Quantum Ranger presses another Morpher button, and calls out, "Q-Rex, Dinosaur Mode!" It does as commanded, shifting back into its savage beast transformation. Q-Rex howls bloodthirstily, and chomps down on Dragontron's right arm this time around. The sparking beneath his teeth flares up, but the savage Zord manages to hold on, and causally reposition Dragontron so that its back faces the Shadow Force Megazord. The porthole on its back becomes visible, with Red Ranger pointing out as such, "Alright, we've got a CLEAR shot at the energy core." Shadow Force Mode Blue lifts its saber/blaster, and takes careful aim. Q-Rex continues munching on Dragontron's wrist, until the robot wises up, by opening up its chest-cannon again. The pointblank blasting into Quantasaurus Rex causes an electric surge of bluish energy throughout the savage Zord's body. Q-Rex's body explodes, as he's blasted away from Dragontron, but not without taking a little souvenir. In the sparking confusion, Quantasaurus Rex managed to bite off Dragontron's right hand! It remains in his jaws, bursting repeatedly. Dragontron looks down at the spark stub, and if it could feel, it would be feeling a world o'hurt. Taking a page from the book of Tankenstein, Dragontron suddenly regenerates its right arm with a quick wire-filled restructuring. Frax orders his robot, "Dragontron, retreat! I MUST assess your damages!" Dragontron leaps back into the ocean, and zooms to safety, stealthily beneath the waves. Inside Shadow Force, Katie wonders, "Huh? Where's it going?!" Trip, despite his supposed alien intuition, replies, "I have NO idea. But i'm SURE it'll be back." Frax vows, "NEXT time, Dragontron will FINISH the job. I PROMISE you that. Hahahahaha!" He walks off, feeling victorious about round 1, even though it really just an incomplete draw.

[commercials]

Eventually, back at the Clock Tower, Alex relentlessly scolds his team of Time Force Officers, all standing at attention, screaming, "TRUST ME! With the kind of performance you gave out there today, we don't have CHANCE against Dragontron! Do you REALIZE what could happen?! Do you CARE about the future, have you forgotten about it COMPLETELY?!" All four are as silent and motionless as statues, even Lucas, whose face Alex yells directly into during that last line. Katie, once the most worried about changing the future, blurts out defensively, "We HAVEN'T forgotten!" Alex gives her a deadly glare for backtalking him. Katie nervously corrects herself, by reluctantly respectfully adding, "... Sir." Alex, with quiet contempt, adds, "I hope not. 'Cause unless this mission succeeds, there won't BE, any future to remember. DISMISSED!" Alex spins on his heel and departs. Lucas doesn't even wait for his superior to be out of the room, before pounding his fist in the air with intense frustration. He stares at Alex's back, and grumbles under his voice, "I'll dismiss YOU." Trip sits down on the bench, and seems quite depressed. Jen remains standing at firm attention. Katie reminds them, "WE care about the future, more than ANYone." Lucas asks Jen with extreme prejudice, "What in the WORLD did you ever see in that guy?!" Jen simply looks at him, as if silently agreeing with him. Lucas shakes his head and walks off. Katie asks distraughtly, "What did we do to make Alex so MAD?" Jen claims, "We didn't do anything, Katie." Trip confides, "I kinda miss Wes." Jen concurs, "We ALL do." She looks at Katie, and swallows hard, some missing him more than others, it appears.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Wes enters room 106. The heart monitor continues beeping at the same healthy rate. Wes has his business coat off, and loosens his tie as he sits down at a chair beside his father's bed. Mr. Collins lies tranquil, his face scabby, his eyes remaining closed. Wes locks his fingers together, in a near praying position, as he leans his elbows against the bed. He's somberly mourning for not only his fastly fading father, but for his own free will. Alex's remark replays in his head once again, "You CAN'T change your destiny. Your father will DIE tomorrow." Wes gently rocks back and forth some, holding his clasped fists against his mouth in contemplation, while staring at his Dad. His eyes squint, his brow shifts, and just when he looks like he's about to bust into an understandable weeping fit...

[To Be Continued...; Scenes from "Destiny Defeated"; End Credits]