"Data we're getting from the V-Fire is incredible!"

Eric's eyes wandered as he sat in wait, scanners and machines running test on his V-Fire. Not even a day since he had made himself know to Collins as the TimeFire and gotten control of V-Rex, and already they were trying to unlock the secrets of the V-Fire.

"There's so much information," one of the scientists remarked as he indicated a monitor. "But I think we have everything we need for now."

With a grunt, Eric walked over to where the V-Fire lay. "Can I take it back now?" he asked, holding back an acid tone. "I do have a job to do, and I need this thing to do it."

"Yes, we're done for now. We may need you back here later for more tests."

Eric narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the idea of these men digging into what made his changer work. If he didn't know better, he could swear that they were trying to duplicate it.

"Eric? You alright?"

As he was snapped out of his memories, Eric Okibi glanced over to Wes and smiled weakly. "Sorry," he said. "I was just thinking about when I still worked for your father."

"That bad was it?"

Eric shrugged, then ducked when Circuit came flying by from the window. "Hey, careful!" he called.

"Sorry!" the hawk said in apology before landing on a table. "Guys, I just picked up this television signal, I think you'll want to see this; it's about the Silver Guardians!"

Everyone in the loft rushed over while Circuit displayed the news broadcast on the wall. True to word, Wes' father was onscreen, with the background area making it obvious they were at Guardian HQ.

"Mr. Collins, word is that you've lost the services of the TimeFire, who was also the commander of the Guardians."

"Unfortunately, this is true," Collins replied, then smiled smoothly. He was up to something, and every person in the loft watching knew it. "However, I have found his replacement, and I assure you that the new commander is everything TimeFire was, and more."

Eric's eyes narrowed. Now he was really bothered. "How can this new guy be everything I was? I'm the only TimeFire there is."

"Thank god," Matt remarked, then glanced at where the V-Fire rested on Eric's wrist when summoned. Yes, it was indeed a good thing that there was only one V-Fire here. He desperatly didn't want to go through the horror that had been his primal rage again. "I already reset my V-Fire to inactive mode, so how can they have someone who can match you?"

Wes nodded at the image while gesturing for them to be quiet. "I think we're about to find out," he stated, though even he was worried.

"How can someone match the TimeFire? It's well known that he had Ranger derived powers."

"Our own labs at Bio-Synth have created an answer to that. May I present, the future of the Silver Guardians!"

The image changed again, this time shocking all seven in the room as a black and dark silver armored form walked out from behind a movable wall. A red sensor crystal adorned the forehead of the helmet, while a black visor and silver face plate hid the identity of this new being. The design wasn't the same, but all seven recognized what this meant, and the implications it represented.

"They made a Ranger?!" Matt exclaimed in horror. He never expect the Guardians to actually develop Ranger technology, it was a well hidden secret! Even Lightspeed had spent years trying to duplicate it, and that only worked after he'd sent his Digimorpher back with Kendrix. "How the hell did they do it?!"

The armored form unlocked its helmet and pulled it off to reveal a sharp female face, tied back brown hair glinting faintly in the lights. Dark hazel eyes gazed out as she took a very military stance of attention while holding her helmet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to give you Jennifer Edwards. Commander of the Silver Guardians, and the TimeThunder!"

Fire and Thunder

"TimeThunder?!"

All seven of the Rangers were shocked by this new entity. There was no way Bio-Synth could have made morphing technology on their own. Lightspeed had needed Kendrix's help to get those powers working, so how had the Guardians done it?

"It's impossible," Matt whispered. "It's just impossible, they shouldn't have been able to do this! They had nothing to-"

Eric sighed and dropped his head with regret. He knew exactly how this had been possible, and it was his fault. "They got data on the V-Fire when I was with them."

Matt turned in shock, not sure exactly how to react. The boy then groaned as he slid down into his seat. "Bloody hell," he muttered in dismay. "I should have known."

"It's my fault. Shouldn't have been so willing to do what I was told and get ahead."

With a shake of his head, Matt got out of his seat and walked over to the kitchenette. "Can't blame you, I doubt you thought they could do this. Hell, I'm surprised they have the technology to mimic the V-Fire, it took my old Digimorpher for Lightspeed to make their powers work right, and that thing is Karovian technology from KO-35."

"They've also been studying the Reavers we salvaged," Eric continued, the look on his face saying that it just kept going from there. "Jeremy Collins is quite the...junk collector in that respect. They were testing energy bolt weapons when I quit, so who knows what they have now."

Everyone else groaned at that news. It was obvious now that, even if they tried to fix it, the timeline had been damaged beyond all repair. They had ended up doing exactly what they were supposed to prevent; the creation of a new timeline. Now, the consequences could be anything.

It was a long silence even after Circuit ended the playback. No one said anything in wake of now realizing how much they had changed the history they knew. Finally, Syon stood up and took a deep breath. "Maybe the changes won't be as bad as we think," he said, trying to keep an optimistic view. "It's very possible this could change the timestream for the better."

Circuit suddenly lit his eyes up with red as he picked up something, but it was somehow different than it should have been; there was no prison tracer signal. "Guys, we got trouble!" he stated. "Odd things, I'm not picking up a tracer ID signal."

"Prisoner or not," Eric said as he jumped from his seat, "that's our cue to get going before the Silver Glocheads make things worse."

Matt nodded in agreement as he joined Okibi in racing down the stairs. Behind them, the Time Rangers followed, all seven activating their armors in a brilliant display of energy. Even as the five Time Rangers mounted their hovercycles, Eric called out the FireEagle while Matt jumped up and landed on his Galaxy Glider. It didn't take much guesswork to follow the trail, since an explosion tore out from the side of a building when the group arrived.

What was the source of the attack, however, shocked the four from the future. Yuuri especially went pale as she saw the animalistic robot tear out from the fire. "Oh god," she whispered as she recognized the machine. "A Maverick?!"

"Mavericks?" Eric, Wes, and Matt echoed in question, the former over his coms in the FireEagle. "What," the latter of the three continued, "is a Maverick?"

"Renegade Replicants," Domon answered. He narrowed his eyes behind his visor at the robotic humanoid bull. "They're Replicants that have gone berserk, killing humans without a second thought."

Matt whistled despite himself. "Damn, having Megaman X flashbacks. Let me guess, there's a class of Replicants called Hunters, who keep the balance and take out the Mavericks."

With a nod, Domon dismounted his cycle and called out his V-Cannon. "Trouble is, what the hell is a Maverick doing here? We heard about an attack a few months ago, but after that, it went quiet."

"The Quantum Hunter," Eric added, knowing what Domon was talking about. Considering he'd been there himself, he could still remember the incident in question. "I've seen that woman myself, back before I activated the V-Fire."

"We can question where she is later," Matt quipped. With a leap from his Glider, he landed on the ground and snapped his wrist to summon his Cybernizer. "Right now, we got some Maverick ass to beat down."

The Maverick, taking a step out from the flames, noticed the group of Rangers. He snorted and began moving toward them, even as he recognized the armor they wore. "Time Force, I should have known!" he spat. "If it's not that stupid bitch getting in our way, it'll be you 'ganics putting your nose where it don't belong!"

Eric came about from above and rained down a barrage from the FireEagle's main weapons. Even then, though, a blast from the Maverick ripped into the skin of the jet craft, forcing TimeFire to bring his vehicle to a rough landing. He growled, popped the canopy, and jumped out with V-Defender drawn and ready. "Alright, you video game reject! No one messes with my ride! What do they call you anyway, Toro toro?!"

"The name," the Maverick sneered, "is Taurus Bull! And you won't be mocking me when I kill you all!"

Even as the Time Rangers faced off with their Maverick foe, alarms went off in the headquarters of the Silver Guardians. Of particular note was the figure clad in a black uniform, guns holstered on her legs and under her arms. With her hair tied back in a tight bun, she slipped on a pair of Oaklie sunglasses before running to an SUV and getting in. She put on a headset while her driver tore out of the building garage, then tapped the on switch for the communicator.

"All units, this is Commander Edwards," she stated with steeled eyes. "We have a situation in the shopping plaza on Baker, I want full ready on weapons, including the new stuff. It's time we show the city what we're really made of."

As explosions tore up the streets around them, the Rangers had began the fight with Taurus Bull. Blast after blast was fired between the two sides, but while the Maverick was causing massive damage to the area, the Rangers were finding their own firepower ill met to handling the machine. The only weapons able to even make a dent on Taurus Bull had been Matt's Cybernizer and Eric's V-Defender.

"Why can't we scratch him?!" Lucas exclaimed to Yuuri while they took cover behind an overturned car.

"Our weapons weren't designed for fighting Mavericks," Yuuri replied, but none-the-less recalibrated her V-Cannon. "Reavers are one thing, but Replicants were built more endurive. We need a Hunter!"

Just then, the black SUVs of the Silver Guardians arrived. Yuuri swore, knowing that the private police force didn't stand a chance, even with an updated arsenal, then saw Bull fired a blast at one SUV that sent the vehicle spinning through the air. Even as she screamed in shock, however, a bright flash burst out from the van as it was hit.

The SUV flipped repeatedly before coming to a halt on its side. A second blast detonated the van into a fireball, scrap flying out and clattering to the ground. Bull laughed at the death of another group of humans, then stopped when something began to move in the fiery wreckage. Nothing could have survived the explosion without protection.

Yet, even then, a dark armored form stepped out of the fire. A blade weapon was attached to the left arm, looking like some form of high-tech buckler sword. The armor itself, however, the Rangers recognized from the news report Circuit had replayed earlier. Black main body with dark silver sections and a red crystal in the helmet forehead, it was unmistakable. This was Bio-Synth's Ranger, the one made from data gathered on the V-Fire.

"Who the hell are you?!" Taurus Bull yelled as he point to the figure. "You some kind of new little Quantum Hunter?! We finally got her off our backs, you come to take her place?!"

"I don't know who this 'Quantum Hunter' is," the woman in the armor replied. She lifted her weapon up and took stance, ready to make her own attack. "But you're about to get stung hard. This plaza is under protection by contract, and since you seem to be having a time blowing it up, that means your ass belongs to me!"

Bull roared and began firing again, causing fireballs to burst around the armored woman. Despite that, she raced forward, weapon deflecting some of the shots just before she jumped up with jets in the soles of her boots firing. With the jet boost, she did a flip in the air and twisted her body to land behind Bull and facing his back. He turned, surprised to see such skill in a human, then swung his fist only for the woman to bend back and kick him hard in the face before coming back to her feet and slashing with her hand blade to dismember his left arm.

She turned about, bringing her weapon up to point straight at the Maverick's head. "Now," she muttered, taking a step toward him. "Time to feel the thunder on your tin plate ass! Thunder..." She pulled back with her arm as energy burst from the armor and engulfed the blade of her weapon, then, taking a step back, pushed forward and impaled Bull. "Crash!"

Taurus Bull screamed as he felt the energy tear through his body. In moments, he exploded, sending scrap to the ground and chucks of his innards clattering about. His head, optics wide open, landed with a metallic thud near the wreckage of the Guardian SUV, the expression of pure horror on his face. The women relaxed her posture, then turned to the Rangers before retracting her visor up into her helmet and opening the covering face plate.

"Matthew Corbett and friends, I presume," she stated before unlocking her helmet and pulling it off. "Looks like you've got competition now, hero boy."

"It seems," Matt snapped back as his own visor snapped open, "that Jeremy Collins has gone for hiring mercs. I'm surprised he would choose to pay your bills, Jen."

Eric, looking back and forth between Matt and the armored woman named as TimeThunder by Collins on the news report earlier, had the oddest expression of confusion on his face. "Wait, you two know each other?"

"Jen here was under my brother's unit before he was assigned to Terra Venture," Matt replied. He unlocked his helmet and pulled it off to reveal a faint smile. "It's been a while, Jen. Haven't seen you since I left with the Rangers to escape the media vultures. Last I heard, you were doing mercenary work in the Congo area, clean up for what was left of the Alliance of Evil."

The woman returned Matt's smile, but it was a cold one she gave. "Well, work is work, be it for the US, or for someone else. I do have my principles though, despite popular rumors. Some middle east maniac tried to front a payment in exchange for info on how badly hurt the States were from the Millenial War. I gave him the bird, told him where he could stick it, then gave his exact location to a nice strike force that was waiting." She chuckled a bit before continuing. "Your father would have loved to see it, Corbett. Too bad someone just took over, but at least that fiasco was never so bad again."

With a grunt, Yuuri stepped forward from her group. "Miss Edwards," she stated with a calm voice. "I assume that your powers are derived from the V-Fire, am I correct?"

"That's what the eggheads told me about the V-Thunder," Jennifer replied sourly. She looked TimePink over, trying to figure out why this woman would be asking such a question. "Yeah, Okibi's little toy is what let Bio-Synth make my powers. What's your point?"

"That you're using powers I created," Matt answered as he sighed. "Essentially, Jen, you owe those powers to my work."

Jennifer arced her brow up a bit in surprise. "Little Matt Corbett made the V-Fire?" she said with amusement. A smile broke on her face. "Well I'll be damned. You're a regular little Einstein, aren't you?"

"I'd be happy if you wouldn't do Jeremy Collins' dirty work," the boy replied harshly. His eyes went cold while the smile dropped from his face. "He doesn't know what he's gotten himself into by forming the Guardians, and he doesn't know what he's dealing with in making a Ranger. I'm not so sure you're safe using those powers."

Jen raised her brow slightly. "Showing concern for others," she quipped as she chuckled. "You certainly have grown up, kid. But you don't need to worry, the TimeThunder was already in testing before Okibi left the Guardians. Jeremy Collins decide to pull me in as the user, and since I owed him quite a bit for a few years ago, who am I to say no?"

"Commander Edwards," her headset squelched. "We've managed to round up the survivors, further orders?"

"Get a clean up crew down to my location," Jen stated, holding the side of her headset to send her transmission out. "We lost some of our men to that thing. I'll handle informing their families and the services, you just make sure you all get back to base safely." She glanced over to Matt with a faint smile. "Even I have a heart, Corbett, contrary to popular belief. If you'll excuse me, I have things to take care of."

As Jennifer Edwards walked off, Eric couldn't help but glare at her back. "She's just like your father, Wes. Cold, self-absorbed, and a greedy little-"

"Don't make judgements on those you know little about," Matt said, interrupting Eric. "She may act cold, but she's not, she knows the value of human life. You heard her, she's assuming responsibility for the death of her men. Do you think Jeremy Collins would do the same in her shoes?"

Eric said nothing more. Matt was right, Jennifer had shown she contained a semblance of humanity more than Jeremy Collins did, but at the same time, she was colder, more mechanical in a way. Maybe it had to do with serving in the EDA forces, but something had impacted the woman with such an icy feel.

Jennifer, on the way back to Bio-Synths complex, looked out the window with distraught eyes. Despite the amused expression she had put on before, seeing Matt again after so many years bothered her. Memories of her time in the Earth Defense Agency that she preferred not to dwell on returned. Even as a child, Matt Corbett had possessed a profound ability to impact people. Be it through the fact he save the entire universe, or that he just had this strange aura about him, he had always been one people noticed as someone with a natural ability to lead.

Which was odd why he wasn't in charge of his own team. As far back as their family history ran, all the way back to colonial times, the Corbetts had always been natural born leaders. Hell, old stories from back then said that one of his ancestors was some kind of superpowered hero. For Matt to, after this long, still be a lone wolf, it seemed out of place. The again, she hadn't seen him in four years, many things could have happened in that time.

Her SUV pulled into the parking complex under the building and came to a stop. Jen shook out of her daze and opened the side of the van to climb out, then noticed Jeremy Collins walking over with a smile on his face. "Sir," she stated, coming to full attention. "Field test of the TimeThunder was a success, our target didn't stand a chance."

"Excellent work, commander," Collins replied, patting Jennifer on the shoulder. "It seems you're very much a perfect replacement for the TimeFire. Shouldn't be long before you're a match for him in every way, including battle machines."

"Sir?" Jen said in confusion. Collins gestured for her to follow him, then led the way toward one of the massive hanger labs. What she saw there was beyond her belief, causing Edwards to drop open her jaw in shock.

A massive machine sat in the hanger, technicians crawling over it as they did repairs and upgrades to the machine. It was obvious from the design that Bio-Synth had not built this machine, it was too large for their resources. Standing at twenty meters tall by the elongated shoulder pieces on the front legs, and probably a good twenty meters in length, the massive machine had a definite animal design to it, like a tiger. Even with the work being done, Jen could see that the vehicle was original a white color with golden trim, and a massive tail that resembled a sword curved back from the rear.

"Oh, my god," she whispered, looking at the machine in wonder. "Sir, where did you get this?"

"It was found out in the deserts near Angel Grove several years ago," Collins replied. "I took the chance to buy the parts, and we've been reconstructing it ever since." He smiled and again patted Jen on the shoulder. "She's almost ready for action, just bit more time, and this machine will be out and about when needed."

Jen couldn't help but feel a gleam flash in her eyes. "This thing," she remarked. "She got a name and a pilot yet?"

"We're calling her the ThunderCat," Collins replied, then chuckled. "And her pilot, my dear Jennifer, is you."

Meanwhile, deep in the forests near Silver Hills, Ransik had seen the events in the city over a news broadcast. His features went pale as he recognized the rampaging robot as a Maverick, knowing that the world was in even greater danger with the Mavericks resuming their own assault on the past.

"Gien!" he called, racing to the back of the ship where Frax had taken up residence. Ever since Ransik had at last revealed to the robot what had really happened so many years ago, Frax had shut himself away in self-loathing for all the hate he had once held for the mutant.

"Gien!" he cried again, reaching Frax's lab and opening the door. "Gien, we have trouble," Ransik stated. The robot looked up from a small device he was building and 'blinked' at the mutant. "It's the Mavericks."

"Them?!" Frax cried in horror. He followed as Ransik led him out to the main communications room and watched while the computers played back the news clip from earlier. His eyes brightened in shock when he saw Taurus Bull, knowing that there was indeed trouble. "They've started again," he whispered, then looked to Ransik. "If they've resumed their attacks here, that means something has happened to the Quantum Hunter."

Ransik nodded, his eyes filled with worry. "That girl was the one force standing between the Mavericks and their plans. If she's gone..."

"The Rangers are all then that stand in their way," Frax finished. Both he and Ransik knew that with the mutants and aliens held in the prison ship no longer being released, Time Force's operatives were sure to now realize they were not the threat here. But with the Mavericks attacking again, it caused a bigger problem. The Replicants were moving to slaughter whoever they could once more, and now, the battle for the fate of the future was no longer a question of preventing an injustice.

It was a matter of saving mankind from destruction.

To Be Continued...