Author's Note: While rifling through old school files in my external hard drive, I came across this. I wrote this back in college during microbiology. Yeah, I was that bored, and revisiting one of my favorite Power Ranger team-ups kept me awake while looking at un-pronounce-ables under a microscope.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers Ninja Storm. The Gailes Clan is mine.

Chapter 1: Bikes

It was three in the afternoon. Julia shaded her Asian eyes from the sun with her hand. She was supposed to pick something up for her brother and meet him at the race track, the dirt pit. He was a moto-cross athlete. Getting on her bike, she pedaled over to Storm Chargers.

The bells at the door clanged against each other as she entered.

"Hi, Jules!" came a shout from behind the counter. Julia turned to the voice and smiled.

"Hey, Kelly," she smiled at the blonde woman who owned the shop. Kelly made her way from behind a stack of boxes to the counter. "So, uh, is that thing my brother ordered here?"

Kelly laughed. She reached for something under the counter, a black plastic bag. "Yes, the 'thing' your brother ordered is here," she handed it over. "You know, Jules, I find it quite strange."

"Strange, what?" shrugged Jules as she put the plastic bag in her bag pack.

"You and Nathan. I mean, you guys are in one family but you're not the least bit interested in motorcycles," she pushed. "How come?"

"Ugh, Kelly," groaned Jules. "Yeah, I have four brothers who are all into extreme sports. All managed by my dad, who's a Formula One legend," she rolled her eyes. "Hmm… strange why his only daughter isn't into those kind of things, huh?" she sarcastically laughed. "Maybe it's the fact that we're all adopted? Nah," she laughed at Kelly's incredulous expression. "Let's just say I get as much a thrill in getting lost in a book as much as hitting the dirt pit."

"Wait a second," Kelly came around the counter and faced Jules. "You know how to ride?"

Uh-oh, thought Jules. Cornered.

"Uh, yeah, I do," Jules slowly nodded, "But it's not my thing. I mean, hello, two brothers into Formula One racing, the third into Tony Hawk, and the fourth into moto-cross racing and freestyling? Dad got it into his head that if his boys could do that, then his baby girl could too. So, to please him, I took up motorbike with Nathan, but that was before I discovered the world of books and left the extreme sports arena to the boys."

Jules saw Kelly raise an eyebrow at her, her blue eyes widening with disbelief.

"So, you can ride, you just choose not to," she clarified.

"Yeah," confirmed Jules. "Hey, I gotta get this thing to Nathan," she waved a bye to Kelly.

"You know the name of that thing," said Kelly, her hands on her hips. Jules turned and faced the elder woman. From the look on Kelly's face, Jules could tell she was a bit upset that Jules didn't want anything to do with extreme sports. Jules had to hide a smile; she knew how ardent Kelly was in proving the women were just as competitive in extreme sports as their male counterparts were.

She's probably thinking I'm a waste, thought Jules.

"Yeah, a hefty pair of moto-cross racing gloves with excellent grips and air ventilation to prevent slip." She saw Kelly slowly shake her head with sad astonishment. Turning, Jules headed over to the dirt pits.

As she rode, she took in the sights of Blue Bay Harbor. Her dad and brothers were in town for a while to compete, and they dragged Jules along with them, hoping that some sense would get knocked into her. It's been two years since she got on a motorbike and raced professionally. She gave that up because, like her mother, she was into literature and the arts. Her brothers, especially her dad were upset by the change, but they couldn't do anything about her passion. They tried to deter her from her novels, but they had yet to succeed that feat.

When she got there, she propped her bike against a tree and searched for her brother Nathan. Shading her eyes from the afternoon sun, she scanned the pits. She walked around, only too familiar with the helmets and zip-up suits sporting various sponsors' logos. She must have seen the certain logos a million times, maybe even before she knew how to walk and talk.

One of the reasons I don't want to moto-cross, she told herself.

Screeeeecccch!

Burning tires coming to a halt pierced the air. Her arms flew up to try to protect herself. A motorcycle stopped centimeters from her, and she could feel the air erupt around her. When the dust cleared, she waved the air in front of her. Coughing, she tried to work up a good yell.

"Excuse me?" she roared as she slapped the handlebars of the motorcycle. "In case you haven't noticed, the dirt pits are over there, not here," she circled to stand near the rider. She noticed that his primary color was yellow and various logos were patched on his suit. She couldn't see his expression for he had his helmet on. She stared at the black reflective surface of the glass, knowing that her stare pierced through the surface. Years of having brothers wear those racing helmets taught her that even though it seemed they couldn't see her glare, they sure felt the heat of it. It was the look her mother gave her dad whenever she was angry at him for racing out so late.

Jules looked at her reflection on the helmet, noting how her hair now came to just below her shoulders, her bangs doing a zigzag dance above her forehead. Her Asian eyes narrowed even further as she continued to stare down at the offending rider.

The rider couldn't take her gaze anymore, and he lifted his helmet off his head. Once he did, Jules wished he hadn't. She would have rather stared at the helmet than his hazel green eyes that looked out from under thick black lashes. His olive skin and mahogany brown curls, all glinting beneath the sun was stunning. She dared not rove his chiseled cheekbones, his strong jaw, his dry lips, slight rubble about his chin…

"Miss, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there," he apologized, kicking the stand into position and stepping away from his motorcycle. He placed his helmet on his motorbike and came to stand in front of Jules.

Oh no, so close to him, she barely breathed. She couldn't deny he was eye-candy, but wait! She was supposed to be furious with him, not mooning over him!

"What? You didn't see a pedestrian?" she angrily put her hands on her hips. "What were you doing? Off with the fairies?"

"Huh?" he asked. Ok, clearly he didn't understand, thought Jules.

"Are you a space case or something?" rephrased Jules before she could stop herself. She clamped her mouth with her hand in response. Oh wow, way to go for first impressions, Jules. Instead of getting a retort, he actually laughed. Now it was Jules' time to go, "Huh?"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," he laughed. He brought his hand to his hair and ruffled it. Jules found that action cute, and she had to fight having to sigh like a puppy-loved grade-school girl.

She couldn't stay mad at him; she found him good looking and good humored as well, not to mention he sounded sincere with his apologies.

Three strikes, Jules, she reflected. With Jules, any guy that got a three-strike impression on her in anyway was either extremely good or extremely bad. In this case, it was the former.

"Look, I'm really sorry," he repeated. He put his hands together in front of him in prayer and bowed before Jules. Jules looked around her, thanking the heavens that there weren't many bystanders to see this episode. She gently tapped his hands, and he looked up at her.

"It's ok, apology accepted," Jules nodded. She let some of her anger slip away and managed a smile.

"Great! I'm Dustin by the way," he held out his hand to her.

"I'm Jules," she shook his hand. She looked at him and tilted her head to one side. "So, are you racing or freestyling?"

"Um, I race, but I'm seriously thinking about switching to freestyling – wait a sec, you know about moto-cross?" he sounded stunned.

"Maybe a bit," she winked. His face lit up like a candle.

"Oh, cool! This is awesome, I mean, not a lot of chicks dig motorbikes. Finally, I can talk to someone about moto-cross."

"Wait, you mean, you don't have anyone to talk with?" they started walking. The scenery was green, shady trees, trailers, and the refreshment stands, which they were heading for. If one could put out the constant buzz and drone of various motorbikes racing around the bit, the setting was almost good enough for a date.

Ugh, Jules! Ok, you find this guy cute, but at the moment, he's more interested in dirt pits than asking you out for popcorn.

"True, true," mumbled Jules.

"What was that?" he stopped. Jules looked back at him, shaking her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, just thinking. You were saying?"

"I have friends, it's just that all of them are already either moto-cross racers, or skaters, or surfers. So yeah, they're already sports-minded – not that you're not already sports-minded," he quickly added, seeing Jules give him a look. "What I mean is – uh, wait," he ruffled his hair again, thinking.

If he doesn't quit the action quick, my knees might just buckle, giggled Jules. He looked at her.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at you," she explained. "You just look cute when you do that with your hair." She realized what she said, turned around and took a breath. Give yourself away, why don't you? "Uh, I mean, its fine," she faced him, "I understand what you're saying, no offense taken." She looked across the pits, focusing on finding her brother.

"Whoa, hold on," he sounded amused. He stood close to Jules and had a huge grin on his face. "You think I'm cute?"

Jules frowned, but couldn't keep it for long. The look on his face made him look like he hit a jackpot. She wondered why. I'm not that of a chick, she thought. Maybe he's psyched about the part that I'm knowledgeable about something he's into. At that thought, Jules had to laugh. Yeah right!

"Does that laugh mean a yes?"

Jules brought herself back to the present. She faced Dustin with a raised brow.

"Ok, I admit you're easy on the eyes, but don't get your head too swelled, dude. Besides, I came here to find my brother, Nathan Gailes." The mere mention of his name sent Dustin into a row of "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jules was used to people getting all googly at the sight, sound, or mere allusion toward her father or her brothers, so she just stood there, waiting until Dustin was over with his spell.

"No way, dudette! He's your brother?" he was so enthused she was sure he was going to pounce on Nathan for an autograph the minute they found him.

"Would you like to see a DNA testing to back me up?" she sarcastically answered. She found his fervor, though not new to her, contagious. In the end, she conceded and told him about her life as a daughter and sister of Formula One racers, a skateboarding champion, and a moto-cross rider. As they circled the track, they found Nathan in conversation with two other racers. Their primary colors were red and blue. Nathan had his back to Jules and Dustin. The two riders caught sight of Dustin and started waving frantically.

"Dustin! Hey, dude," said the one in blue. "You are not going to believe this!" The Asian had a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah!" agreed the one in red. The tall blonde one had an equally large grin.

"Let me guess, Nathan Gailes?" questioned Jules. The red and blue riders were rendered speechless as the one they were talking with turned at the sound of her voice.

"Jules! Finally," said the star moto-cross racer. He smiled, stretching his hand to pull Jules into a bear hug. Nathan looked nothing like Jules. He resembled her other brothers who were all Caucasian in origin. Nathan had a mat of red curls and suntanned skin that flared pink-red due to his fair complexion. Out of the corner of her eye, Jules could see the two red and blue riders gape at them.

"Argh, Nath! I can't breath, you lug!" laughed Jules as she fought her way out of his arms for air. She dug into her bag and extracted his gloves. "There you go. Hey, guys," she waved at the red and blue riders. They stood like statues, their jaws dropped to the floor. Jules looked at Nathan, then at them, then at Dustin.

"Um, Dustin, I think your friends are frozen," she joked. Dustin stood between them and clapped their shoulders hard, sending settled dust on their suits flying.

"Dudes, snap out of it," laughed Dustin. When he caught sight of Nathan, he froze and dropped his jaw as well.

"Oh no, Nath," groaned Jules. She slapped his arm. "Now look what your celebrity status has done!" she waved her hand in front of the three, but their gazes were fixed on Nathan. Why wouldn't they be? Thought Jules. They were looking at their idol.

"Me?" shot back Nathan, his lips curving into a smile. "You would be in my pickle if you continued with your racing." Jules caught the same sad wonder on his face like the one Kelly had on earlier. He still couldn't figure out how his sister traded in her motorbike for books.

"Ha ha, no thanks," she patted his arm. "Well, I better hit the library if I'm going to finish my paper…" I looked at the three statues, "Think you can handle them?"

"All covered, little sis," he laughed.