Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. If I did, you know Adam would be seen more in MMPR, Zeo, and Turbo. Cute Asian boys deserve more screen time xD. (I love Ninja Storm purely for that reason too. Well, that and Hunter =D)
A/N:This takes place early in the season, but Tommy is the Black Dino Thunder Ranger.
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Conner, Kira, and Ethan walked in silence to Conner's car, all of them still trying to wrap their heads around what they had just seen in the Headquarters. Really, it wasn't like anyone could blame them either, it was an...unique experience to say the least. Finally, Conner broke the silence.
"Okay, so...we're never going to talk about this moment again?" He said, turning his head to see both Kira and Ethan stare up at him.
"No doubt, this 'incident' was super freaky, and it needs to be forgotten. The only thing that needs to forgotten more than this, is the Stars Wars prequels." Conner couldn't help but roll his eyes at his geeky friend's comment, but soon looked to Kira in order to see where she stood on this dire issue.
"I don't know about that, I thought it was pretty hot." Kira said as she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and continued walking. She only stopped, when she noticed that she was alone in doing so. Looking back, Kira saw her teammates with their mouths wide open, and their eyes filled with disgust.
"You...you think it's hot that Dr. O was making out with some other dude in the Command Center? That just sick!" Now it was Kira's turn to roll her eyes at Conner's overreaction, but it could be worse; he could have been like Ethan.
Ethan was still frozen in place, and his eyes were bugging out of their sockets with his body twitching every couple of seconds. It was sort of funny to see the boys' responses to the news that Dr. O was gay, as Kira thought that the two of them had some pent up sexual frustration towards each other.
"It is so not sick, its sweet and romantic. I mean, they haven't seen each other in years and here they are united for evermore and all that gushy stuff." Conner rolled his eyes at Kira's stereotypical female response.
"Just like a woman, to make a man a woman." Kira's eyes narrowed as she heard Conner's sexist remark. Oh boy, an angry Yellow Dino Ranger was not a pretty sight to see, and Conner had invited himself to a front row seat for that show.
"What was that McKnight? I know that dumb jock brain of yours didn't say something that's going to make me need to kick your ass, right?" Conner cursed his inability to keep what he was thinking in his head, and turned around. Well, it wouldn't be a Friday if Kira wasn't pissed off at him, would it?
"C'mon Ethan, we gotta get outta here. I don't wanna die while my hair is so flowy, and I still have a chance of going pro in soccer. Imagine the strife that the world would face if that happened!" Conner pulled on Ethan's arm, leading them away from the pissed off blonde with the aid of his trademark super speed, screams of 'Come back here you bastards!' ringing in both of their ears. This, at the very least, seemed to snap Ethan out of his stupor.
"Wait guys....I wanna know what happened!"
(1 day earlier, about 5 in the afternoon)
Adam sighed and rubbed his temples. His car was right behind him, parked on the side of the road, the engine puffing out large drags of black smoke every couple of seconds. Adam just sat on the ground and waited for another car to come by and help him out, as there wasn't much that he could do. It wasn't like he was a rocket scientist or anything, that was Billy's job.
This was just the sort of thing that would happen to him, though. All he had wanted was to go home to Angel Grove for a while after the hustle and bustle of Stone Canyon had got him down, and his car just had to go and break down an hour and a half away, right outside of Reefside. Really, the world must hate the old Mighty Morphin' Black Ranger.
No one even knew that Adam was on his way to Angel Grove, as he had meant it to be a surprise, and therefore hadn't told anyone. Oh, and lets not forget the fact that his cell phone was dead, and it was getting dark. Adam couldn't believe that he had made it through Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire and Divatox, and yet a broken car, dead phone and the cover of nightfall were going to be the end of him.
The only thing that he could do now, was hope that some good Samaritan would find him and offer a lift into town, or at least a chance to use their cell phone. And maybe some food, as he hadn't eaten since this morning. Well, it isn't like no one was going to come, right? Reefside was a busy town and there was sure to be a lot of people wanting to get there, right?
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Adam hated life. He hated the Power, he hated California, and he especially hated cars. Or, more specifically, he hated the lack of cars that Reefside apparently attracted. He had been on the same stretch of road for a while, and he was getting tired of waiting.
He stood up, brushed his pants off, and started walking towards town. The only thing missing was some killer background music, as the sight of him walking into the sunlight showed. The moment just looked that cool.
Adam turned around when he saw shadows coming from behind, only to see a red convertible coming his way. Oh man, if Adam was even the least bit happier, he might have started to sing and might have even kissed the driver. Well, might.
Running up to the car, Adam started to wave his hands in a way that made him seem like an even bigger spaz than he usually was. If his old Ranger friends saw him now...Well, at the very least he would be entertained, and not nearly as exhausted. Soon enough, his hand movements made the car slow down and park a little bit behind where Adam was standing. Jogging over to the place, he heard a voice yell out to him.
"Yo dude, are you alright? Do you need a ride or somethin'?" Adam looked into the car and saw a teenage boy talking to him. The guy had shaggy brown hair, and was wearing an almost illegal amount of red clothing. Oh, and apparently he was driving alone in the dark on a school night. Hmmm, there was nothing weird about that. Opening his mouth to respond, Adam paused when an arm went out and hit the kid, and another voice started to speak.
"God Conner, can't you talk like you have a brain in that dumbass head of yours for once? Obviously he's not alright! Obviously he wants a freaking ride! Oh, and obviously you were dropped on your head as a child!" Oh, not alone then. Well, Adam had to give the girl credit-and it was obviously a girl's voice,-for a very nice burn there. It reminded him of someone....
"Jesus Kira, give a man a warning before you punch 'em. Don't worry though, these arms were made for chicks to adore them." Rocky? Well, the red would fit pretty well in there, but no, there was no way that this kid was Rocky. Adam's angry-yellow-ranger-senses started tingling, the ones that he had ever since he had met Trini and Aisha, when he saw the girl's face and he quickly started gesturing to the back seat in hopes of delaying the inevitable fight.
"Um...thanks. I actually was wondering if you could help me out here. You see, my car broke down and I need to get it fixed, and maybe find a place for the night. Would you mind if I used your cell or-" Adam was cut off when the red dressed man shot his hand out.
"Nah, its cool dude. We can tow your car into town, and then call my friend to help you out, she's a real mechanical wizard. Oh, I'm Conner, the loud chick in the back is Kira, and the man drooling all over my nice interior is Ethan." Adam reached out and shook the extended hand.
"Nice to meet you, the name's Adam, and I really appreciate you guys doing this." Conner got out of the car, along with Kira and a drowsy Ethan, and they started to move over to Adam's busted up ride. It wasn't an entirely long walk, but the image of Ethan falling flat on his face, not once but twice, was one of the funnier things Adam had seen in a while.
"Don't worry about it Adam, Ethan and I actually like to help people out. Mr. Asshole over here just does it because he's bored." Kira said, hooking up Adam's car to the back of Conner's car. Now that Adam thought about it, Kira was a lot like Tanya and Trini- the kind of person who takes no crap from anyone. Maybe that's why his AYRS went off...
"Dude, as much as I love to burn Conner- and you know I do, we really should concentrate on getting back to town. I'm beat, and we have a science test tomorrow, and y'all know that is going to be brutal." Ethan said, walking back to Conner's brightly colored ride.
Hearing something about a test Adam shuddered, he remembered high school. His experience was surely different than these kids, as there were no evil alien forces here, but he knew how much high school science sucked.
The other teenagers seemed to slump when they heard the blue dressed boy speak, obviously remembering the torment they were in for. Climbing into the red convertible, Adam got into the passenger seat that was vacant before. Soon enough, Conner sped up dragging Adam's black truck with him.
"Man...you think Dr. O will give us a break? I mean, he knows..um..how hard we've been working and stuff? Right? Right? Man, I can not afford to flunk another test, I'll lose my spot on the soccer team!" Well, Adam wished he was the one driving the car now, because watching Conner freak out was seriously putting him on edge. Hopefully, he would calm down soon...
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Alright, so the 25 minute car ride with three teenagers wasn't the best idea. The three of them bickered worst than...well, worst than he and Rocky had about...
Shrugging off the memory that was coming back to him, Adam looked around the cafe that Conner had pulled into the parking lot of a few minutes ago. At first glance, someone would mistake the place for some sort of college lab; there were so many computers everywhere. The last time that Adam had been around so much techno-stuff, he had been wearing a lot more green clothing, and spending his free time fighting evil. After seeing him look around in bemusement, Ethan walked over to Adam, clapped him on the back, and started to speak.
"Pretty sweet, right? This is my Bat-Cave, my Hall of Justice, my Millennium Falcon. Once you see what my man Hayley can do-" Ethan was cut off when a red-head poked out of the back of Cyberspace, eeped, and rushed out to strangle Adam.
The new 120 pounds that was flung at Adam almost made him fall over, but once he recognized who the person was, he couldn't help but smile and return her hug. If Adam ever met someone who could frown around her, than he knew that person was definitely not human.
"Hayley, I kinda need to be able to breathe here. You know, maybe you could, I don't know, let go of me? Or at the least loosen your death grip? I swear, you could squish a diamond out of a piece of coal!"Adam struggled against Hayley's super hug until she let go with a laugh. Really, was there any women that Adam knew that weren't crazy on some level?
"Adam! I haven't seen you in almost 2 years! How have you been? What have you been up to? Are you happy? Where are you living now? Why have you taken so long to visit? I swear, that if you were avoiding me, you will get a computer shoved up so far up your ass, that your brain might actually be able to do math problems!" If Hayley had spoken any faster, Adam swore her head would have fallen off. Adam paused, still trying to wrap his mind around whatever Hayley had just said.
"Um...no? Wait...could you repeat most of the things you said?...Alright...um, I've been fine, happy and all that good stuff. I'm going to be opening my own Dojo down in Stone Canyon soon, and I've been living there since the last time that I saw you. Sorry I haven't visited, but I've been really busy getting ready and all, and wouldn't have been able to visit, even if I did know you were here. Happy now?" Adam almost forgot how hard it was to keep up with Hayley, and he was almost 2 years out of practice at doing so.
It wasn't a real big surprise that Hayley owned this cafe, and she was the supposed 'technical genius' that Conner had been boasting about earlier. She was always much too smart for him, and when he was in college she was the one that Adam had always copied homework from.
"Somewhat, but your holding something from me, Froggy and you should be worried. Don't tell me that you have forgotten what I'm capable of either; one way or another I will learn everything it is that you're not talking about. Like when you wouldn't tell me why you always slept with your socks on, or why you always have to have mint toothpaste when you brush your teeth-" Hayley was cut off by the sudden movement of Conner fainting. Yeah, Conner fainted. He's a keeper.
"Dude, is he going to be alright?" Adam questioned looking at Kira and Hayley. Both women rolled their eyes, and Kira nudged Ethan, telling him to help their friend to his feet.
"Yeah, David Beckham here is just a little bit of a drama queen. I'm sure he was just surprised that you two knew each other." Ethan said, lying Conner on one of the couches. Adam let out a small chuckle, and Hayley couldn't help but giggle a little bit.
If by knew, Ethan meant they had been dorm-mates and lived together all throughout college, then yes the two of them knew each other. Hey, Adam and Hayley had remained in touch for about a year after graduating too, until she had up and vanished.
"Adam and I go way back Ethan, all the way to college. He was one of my best friends there, and it's nice to see him again." Kira made a face at this answer, while Conner started to wake up.
"Friends? You mean friends friends, or friends friends, you know the 'You'll scratch my back, I'll do you' kinda thing?" Adam and Hayley both systematically shuddered when they heard Kira's lewd statement. If he and Hayley had ever hooked up...then the world would have ended long ago. Kira nodded to herself, as if she suspected how the two's relationship was all along.
"Ugh...so wait, you guys met in college? Doesn't that mean that Adam knows Dr. O, too? Were they good friends as well, Hayley?" Hayley looked a little nervous at Conner's groggy question, while Adam just felt confused. He didn't know anybody who would had a last name starting with the letter 'O' who had any ambition to become a doctor, much less one who lived in Reefside.
"Conner...er...its getting pretty late out, and your parents must be worried about you guys. You should probably start heading home, but once you go, can you let Ethan drive? I don't want you to do really difficult while you just hit your head." All the other occupants in the room raised their eyebrows' at Hayley's statement; something wasn't adding up.
"I'm guess you're right Hayley, we shouldn't let Conner do anything really difficult, but at this point I'm afraid it might be too late. He's already attempted to think, a feat that hurts his brain even when its not injured." Conner swung his fist out at Kira, missing but making his annoyance shown. Adam chuckled, it really was just like their friends, it reminded him of when Kat and Tanya teased Rocky.
Hayley had given Kira a thankful look when she had spoken breaking the suspicious mood in the room, and afterwords the two women shared more glances. Maybe they were trying to develop mind reading powers or something, but either way it made Adam uneasy.
"Oh Hayley, before we leave, we almost forgot to mention why we came. You see, we picked Adam up near the woods out of town, with his car totally owned. We towed it into to town and parked it the parking lot, but would you be cool with taking a look at it?" Conner said, standing up and walking towards the door.
"Of course. There's no way that I would let him go to a 'real' mechanic and get charged so much for whats probably a simple job." With that being said, Hayley practically pushed the trio out of Cyberspace, and took a seat with a small sigh and dropped her head down to the table,. Adam smiled a bit and walked over to the clearly exhausted lady.
"Dr. O? Did I know this 'Dr. O'?" Adam asked, taking a chair next to Hayley. Hayley looked up at Adam, her expression distinctly showing him 'to drop it, or I swear to god you will wake up tomorrow very confused, naked, and with smiley faces painted on your nipples'.Adam raised his hands in a submissive way, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, trying to move Hayley's piercing eyes away from his own. To his delight, he succeed, and he heard her let out another tired sigh.
"Let's...let's just see how badly you screwed up your car, shall we?"
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Adam now knew, without a doubt, that cars were not supposed to wheeze puffs of smoke. They were also supposed to have 'someone who actually gives a damn' own them too, but Adam chose to ignore that. It wasn't his fault that his car broke down after all.
Alright it might have been his fault, but really Adam swore that he didn't know how half the problems happened. How was he supposed to know that a car need its oil replaced every couple of months, or the tires needed to be checked, or...really anything else relating to a how motor vehicles worked? Adam wasn't a car person; that's why he had friends like Hayley.
When Hayley had taken a look at his car earlier, her response had been fairly straightforward, something people had learned to expect from the red head. She had simply whacked him on the head, called him a retard who should never get near a motor vehicle again, and called a taxi for him. Apparently, his car was so messed up that Hayley needed to spend all of tomorrow working on it.
So here was Adam, standing in a motel room, and just starring at the walls. He really had nothing left to do, since he was stuck in the motel for the rest of the night, and he didn't know Reefside at all. Adam wondered what he was going to do the next day, as he clearly couldn't pester Hayley and the only other people he knew in town were all going to be in Reefside High.
The exhaustion from the day's activities finally started to catch up with Adam, as he let out a monster yawn. His body and mind was so tired because of all the crap that he had been through, driving, his car breaking down, and then the exciting meeting with the new kids.
Adam crossed the room, and fell onto the bed near him. The softness of the pillow felt like a river of chocolate to the sleep deprived Adam, and soon enough he could feel himself slip into slumber. He could worry about everything; his car, Hayley, the mysterious Dr. O, tomorrow.
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The loud explosions coming from outside, woke up the groggy Adam, and he soon turned to find out exactly what had woken him up. Preparing to bitch at/beat up whatever woke him up, Adam was surprised when he saw a large robot walk past the motel window.
There was a freaking Megazord outside his window.
Adam looked at the calendar besides his bed to make sure it wasn't 1998 or something, as that was the last time Adam could remember seeing any sort of Zord. What...had happened since he lost contact with the rest of the old rangers?
The Megazord that was outside was clearly different from the ones that Adam knew by heart. For example, it was only made of three different Zords (the red, blue, and yellow colors were a dead give away) and the Megazord had a freaking drill for a hand.
After watching the battle between Zords and monster, Adam couldn't help but feel nostalgic for when he was wearing the spandex. He remembered all the good times that he, and the rest of the team had together back in Angel Grove. Part of the reason he had wanted to visit had been to see everyone again and revive those feelings.
Soon, the Megazord slashed through the other monster, making it explode into an inferno of sparks, something that Adam always thought about. Seriously why did the bad guys always give off sparks when he had hit them? It made no logical sense- or at least no sense in the way that a floating head in a tube had.
Tearing his eyes away from the scene outside, Adam looked back at the clock on his nightstand. It said it was 7 o'clock, but it wasn't light outside...
Dammit, Adam had slept the entire day away. Again.
This was one of the things that Adam was notorious for back in high school too, as Rocky, and Aisha had never let him forget. Adam had been late to Home Room so many times, that his teacher hadn't even bothered to call his name for attendance after the first couple of weeks. Forgetting things was Tommy's schtick, and being late was his.
Swearing under his breath, Adam remembered that he had to go and meet Hayley and get his car back. That is, if Hayley would trusted him with the car. Knowing her it was very unlikely, since Hayley was very strict about anything involving electronics or mechanics and Adam was a certified idiot.
Adam got dressed, called a taxi to get him to Cyberspace, and grabbed a small dinner in the motel's kitchen. Looking at himself, Adam couldn't believe that he ever had his hair long and curly, since he looked much better (at least in his opinion) with his hair short. He certainly had changed. Shaking his head, Adam ran outside the hotel and got into the taxi waiting for him. All this thinking about the past was depressing.
While riding through the city, Adam saw the destruction that the monster had dealt to the buildings all over the place. Rita and Zedd had never caused this much damage, and it was surprising to Adam that Reefside could continually repair itself; especially if the city always took this many hits.
A lot of things in the last few days were surprising to Adam, seeing the Megazord- which of course meant that a Power Ranger team was here, and meeting with Hayley again was just the tip of the iceberg, and he could feel more coming around the corner.
Adam looked out his window and quickly saw Hayley's Cyberspace coming into view. Paying the nice taxi man, Adam leaped out of the car and made his way over to the door of the cafe, only to learn it was locked. Glancing around, he saw a note taped to the the wall. Waving goodbye to the taxi, Adam grabbed the note and started to read it.
Dear Adam,
You were late. And as you know, I don't have any pity for those who are late, remember college? How many times did I refuse to help you with a term paper that was due the previous day, but you had somehow- most likely with your Froggy charms- convinced the professor that you needed an extra day? Anyways, I have other things to do today, so you can pick your car up at this address: 1992 Valencia Drive. Hopefully, I'll see you there, unless of course you fall asleep again,
Always,
Hayley
Great now Adam had to call another taxi.
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The trip out to the house that Hayley asked him to go to was extremely long, as it was out in the woods, a little father away from where Conner and everyone had found him last night. Whoever lived in that house was either a very private person, or a secret serial killer.
Either way, Adam just wanted to get his car, give his cell number to Hayley, and be on his merry way to Angel Grove. With that thought in mind, Adam walked up to the door of the house, and knocked. He hadn't expected the door to open as soon as he pounded on, and Adam wasn't exactly sure what to do. Well, he had come all the way out here...
Peeking inside of the house, Adam didn't see anyone around. Adam walked into the house, the words 'what the hell?' going through his head. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen, and even if something did go down, Adam could take care of himself. He had a black belt for a reason.
The interior of the house was definitely decorated by someone with a hard on for science- specifically dinosaurs. Every inch of the house was covered in either a large bookcase full of text books, or some sort of fossil. The house was clearly large too, and it seemed as if it went on forever.
Adam wandered around for a while, looking for Hayley or any sort of life, when he found himself in the kitchen. When he turned his head, Adam saw a small model of a T-Rex staring back at him. Yeah, whoever owned this house was a real creep.
Examining the tiny dinosaur closer, Adam saw a small switch in the jaw. When he yanked on it thought nothing happened...Well at least until a secret door opened.
Now Adam knew why the house was so weird; obviously it was owned by Bruce Wayne.
Now, if Adam had been any normal person, he would have turned around and called a taxi to take him as far away as possible. Screw his car, this whole thing was pretty freaky. But, Adam was Adam, a former Power Ranger, and because of that he was basically immune to just about any weird circumstances.
So without looking back, Adam descended down the stairs, much like how Alice had when she had gone down the rabbit hole; by falling on their ass.
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The passageway had led Adam to an underground laboratory, that honestly made him feel as if he knew this place. The computers, gadgets and gizmos made him feel...at peace. The feeling was so very close to how he had felt when he was in the Command Center...
Damn, this was the new Power Rangers secret base, the place where they spent their time as rangers. Adam could hardly believe that it was in the basement of the house that Hayley had told him to pick his car up at...Wait did that mean that Hayley knew the Power Rangers? She was a whiz at the computer, and it wouldn't really surprise Adam...
Adam turned around and started to make his way back to the stairs. He would go back outside, even if it was dark, and wait for Hayley to show up and give him his car. There was no way that he would get involved with-
Adam froze in place when he heard voices coming in from the hall. He didn't know what would happen when the Power Rangers saw him, as he remembered that his team hadn't taken it kindly when anyone broke into their base. What his old team did to both Rito and Goldar played through his head, while he thought of what to do.
Deciding it would be better to face them, and let them know he was a friend not an enemy, Adam remained where he was. Running would only make them think he was guilty of something, and that's not what he wanted. Right now, all he wanted was his car.
Turning when he heard the gasps from what had to be the Rangers, Adam almost choked when he saw who was standing there. It was none other than Conner, Kira, and Ethan, and all of them wearing the same shocked look on their faces. Man, all of them most look so stupid.
"...A-Adam! What are you doing here?" Conner demanded, stepping in front of the other two. Adam couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. He was wearing an abnormal amount of red, and the same could be said of Ethan and Kira, with blue and yellow respectively. He had known about the color typing- hell he had lived it- and yet he was totally blind to the idea that those three were Rangers. Zordon would be so proud.
"Um..you know...uh, getting to know the land and all. Nice...rocks you have around here." The three teens didn't relax at what Adam said, and he was starting to sweat a bit.
"You need to leave dude, and forget everything you saw, and everything you're currently thinking about." Ethan said, joining Conner in front of Kira. Adam rolled his eyes slightly, it wasn't as if he could forget about fellow Rangers.
"It's for your own good Adam, if...someone finds out you were here, you'll be in a lot of danger. And, if it turns out you're working for this person, we'd have to fight you, and we don't wanna do that. You're cool, well for an adult." Kira said, standing on the other side of Conner, looking at him almost expectantly. That formation...they weren't going to morph were they?
Adam had kept in shape since high school and everything, but he didn't think he would be able to take on three morphed Rangers without knowing anything about them. Using the familiar gesture of rubbing the back of his neck and putting a hand out in front of his body to placate the Rangers, Adam opened his mouth only to be silenced by a kick.
Yes, the Rangers had decided that Adam needed to leave, and since he wasn't going to leave peacefully, they'd have to force him to leave. Fine, this was alright by Adam. Three teenagers, how hard could it be?
Dodging a kick from Conner, Adam grabbed the leg and used a spinning motion to throw Conner into the corner. The kid twitched for a little while, but then he slowly started to make his way up from the floor. Persistent wasn't he?
Adam coughed a little, when Kira punched him right in the left side shortly after throwing Conner, but soon enough he returned the favor. He parried her spinning kick, and grabbed her arm. Slowly he lifted her up, and slammed her back into the ground, after which she rolled over to the corner that Conner had been in. Kira hollered in pain, and then she too stood up.
Ethan was a little trickier, as he seemed to be the defensive kind of fighter, much like Adam. Both of them tended to use their opponents faults against them. The problem for Ethan was, that Adam had about ten more years of experience at it, and he too joined the corner of defeat.
The trio looked at each other for a minute before raising their right arms, and Adam could tell they were going to morph. Well, two could play at this game, his Zeo morpher was still good, and if they wanted a fight, Adam would give them one. All four of the rangers (or former in Adam's case) stopped however, when they heard a shrill voice.
"ADAM PARK, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE! I THOUGHT THAT I HAD TOLD YOU TO WAIT OUTSIDE FOR ME! AND, WHAT ARE YOU DOING BEATING UP THOSE GUYS? ISN'T THAT AGAINST THE RANGER CODE OR SOMETHING? DOESN'T THAT GO SOMETHING LIKE: DO NOT FIGHT OTHER RANGERS, NO FOOD IN THE COMMAND CENTER, AND DON'T LET ALPHA LISTEN TO RAP?"
Yeah, it was always nice to see Hayley again.
Conner, Kira, and Ethan had all looked at him in surprise when Hayley yelled the part about him being a ranger too, Well, surprise was a bit of a understatement, more like, disbelief. Adam didn't know whether to be offended, or glad that he could keep his secret identity so well.
"But-But-But Hayley, they started it! I was just so very worried that I didn't know where you were, that I came to find you, and accidentally found the secret passage way. Just as I was about to leave, in walked these three. Then, they of course decide 'Hey, let's try to beat up the Asian' and failed. Miserably. Have they had any real experience being a Ranger before, because they look like newbies to me."
Conner and Ethan both looked angry with what Adam had said. Sure, they might be good people, but being a good ranger meant having to constantly train. Ask anyone from the Zordon era, and they'd tell you the same thing. Oddly though, Kira merely looked thoughtful.
"Which ranger were you, Adam? I knew I wasn't wrong before, because I thought I had seen you before." Hmmm, now was the time that Adam would tell brilliant stories about his valor in battle. Adam opened his mouth, only to hear another male voice speak out.
"Adam Park was the second Black Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, The Green Zeo IV Ranger, and the first Green Turbo Ranger. He was, excuse me is, one of the people I consider my best friends as well." Adam knew that voice. That voice had haunted his dreams for the last 2 years since he had last seen him. Trying to calm himself down, Adam turned around to meet the man face to face.
"It's nice to see you too, Tommy."
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Tommy certainly looked different than he did two years ago, with that goatee and the tattoos that Adam could see even through the shirt. Right before the last time they had seen each other, Tommy had cut his hair, so that wasn't the big surprise even if Adam did like it better long. What was surprising, was seeing him here, in Reefside.
"So, you two were on a team together way back when, Dr. O? That's pretty cool, do you have any embarrassing stories about him, Adam? We could all use a little bit of blackmail." Ethan said, rubbing his hands together like a mad man.
Adam was still trying to wrap his head around two things. One, that Tommy was here, and two, that he was a the Dr. O that everyone had been talking about. Tommy a doctor? Maybe Dr. Pepper, but someone with a degree in science? That certainly wasn't something he could believe.
"You're a doctor? You sure that all those fights with Rita and Zedd didn't mess with your head to badly, T?" Adam teased, looking over to see Tommy grin. God, he had missed that grin, along with so many other things from the past.
"Well, gotta do something to pay the bills, and all, Froggy. Plus paleontology is pretty cool, and with us already knowing a lot about dinosaurs from the Zords and stuff, it was a interesting topic to learn about, But now, all I do is teach at the high school, well that and this..." Tommy said, gesturing around the room to all the techno stuff that Adam didn't understand.
"And clearly that's all you been teaching them. I mean really, no offense or anything," Adam said waving at Kira, Conner and Ethan, "but these guys can't fight at all. Where's the famous Oliver flying kicks of doom? And the 'Hi-ya's?" As he finished saying that, Adam demonstrated one of Tommy's famous acrobatic kicks, with a full 'Yah!' flourish at the end. It looked sorta weak though, especially since Adam couldn't get his leg all the way in the air.
Laughing Tommy did the same, only his looked more natural then Adam's did, and his Hi-Ya was very loud and distinct. The same way it had always been.
"Speaking of who has been slacking off, I bet I could still beat you in a fight. The rematch of the century. Park vs. Oliver. Black and Green, vs. Green, White, Red, and Black." Adam face made an unexpected turn when he heard the last word. Surely Tommy didn't mean...
"Tommy, you're not...you're not an active member of the rangers anymore, right? I mean we gave up that years ago and..." Adam, biting on his lower lip. Tommy just sort of nodded his head, and moved a little bit closer to Adam.
"You know as well as I do Adam, how hard it is to leave, when the Power chooses you. I mean when you were with the Astro Rangers, you morphed when you saw someone in trouble, and that's just how it is for me. I can't stand by and let someone get hurt." Tommy replied, his voice sounding a little strained and a hand was running through his hair.
The air around the two of them grew slightly awkward at this, and the newer Rangers looked uneasy being there. They probably had no idea what was going on between the former rangers too. Luckily, Hayley was there to play the mediator.
"Hey guys, why don't I give you all a lift home, I mean it is getting pretty late and all. Adam, I'll leave you're car here and you can just pick it up and head out any time. Just make sure to take care of your car, or I swear I may have to make those pictures of freshman year available to the public."
Adam shuddered at what Hayley said. Really, all the women he had met in his life were evil in some way. When Hayley saw his reaction, she merely nodded and started moving the teenagers out of the Command Center. Before she left, Kira caught Adam's eye and winked, leaving Adam to question why she had done that. While watching the others leave, Tommy started to speak as well.
"Why don't you spend the night here, Adam? I'd be worried if you left now, I mean you've never been the best with cars. Remember when we first got the Turbo Zords; you were freaking out." Alone, with Tommy? All night? Yeah, after all that happened between the two of them, that sounded absolutely perfect.
Seeing Tommy's determined gaze, Adam nodded his head without hesitation. No matter what anyone said Tommy still gave off the leader vibe, the one that made Adam want to agree with him on anything.
Then Tommy smiled and Adam could feel himself start to lose his cool, yet again. Why was he always the one to freak out, when Tommy could act like he wasn't going crazy keeping his mouth shut? They hadn't spoken in two years, and the things that had happened between them made Adam want to yell at Tommy, and yet he was acting like nothing was wrong!
"So...are we gonna spar or what? I have some mats in the back that we could use, since we don't want you to get too hurt when you fall on your butt." Tommy said, teasingly. Of course he had mats, he wouldn't be Tommy Oliver without mats.
Adam smiled, and followed Tommy to the back of the Dino lair (What else could it be called with all the prehistoric trinkets around), where there was a room decorated like the old Youth Center in Angel Grove. Adam guessed that Tommy had as hard time as he did forgetting about the past.
"Let's warm before we fight, we wouldn't want you to complain that you weren't stretched before we fought, and that's the reason why you lost so badly to the awesome Adam Park." Adam cheekily said, already working on his leg muscle. Tommy merely laughed, and started to do the same.
"Whatever you say, Froggy. By the by, how have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while." Tommy said, his tone remaining at the same level. Well, almost. Adam knew that voice, so he heard the strain behind it when Tommy had asked about him.
Oh, so Tommy was trying just like he was, and probably harder than Adam was with that infamous Oliver temper of his, to be civil. Well, if that's the way he wanted things, the least Adam could do was give him hell. It wasn't as if he didn't deserve it.
So, Adam just shrugged and continue to stretch. He let out a miniscule smile when he heard Tommy's sigh of frustration, but also was slightly curious about what Tommy was trying to do. If 'Dr. O' had wanted to keep in touch with him, then he should have called Adam, or at least tried to communicate with him yet, here he was acting like he really wanted to know? Please.
"Really, there's nothing new? No fascinating stories about your life? No new people that you wanna mention?" Tommy asked again, his voice losing its diplomatic quality. Hmmm, if Tommy really wanted to know something, then Adam wouldn't disappoint.
"Well, I got married and all that jazz. She's a real nice lady too." Even while Adam said this, he had to struggle not to laugh at Tommy's expression. Seriously, the man would have choked if he was eating something. Moving over to the mats, Adam paused when he heard Tommy coming after him.
"W-What? Seriously? When was the wedding, man? Did your family push this on you? I mean, I know they are...were very strict about tradition and stuff, but... Like really? I can't believe-"
"And that's probably because I made that thing up. I love messing with your mind T, its the funniest thing. And besides, you of all people should know that I'd never do that." Adam said chuckling as Tommy deflated. This really brought him back, and Adam could tell that Tommy felt the same nostalgic feeling.
"...You're evil, you know that?"
"Yeah, but that's all part of the Froggy charm."
Both men readied themselves on the mats, prepping for the spar. Adam didn't know how much Tommy fought now and days, but if he was a ranger, then he had to be on his guard. Bracing himself, Adam waited for the attack that he knew was coming.
Tommy didn't let him down either. He sent a flurry of kicks that almost made Adam crumble. Well almost. Tommy would have to show him better stuff than that if he wanted to get Adam to give. Crouching, Adam caught the next kick that came his way and moved to flip Tommy, only to be flipped himself. Groaning, Adam slowly moved so that he was kneeling and scowled when he saw Tommy's smirking face.
"Is falling on your face part of the Froggy charm as well? Or, is that just something you happen to do a lot?" Instead of replying, Adam opted to grab Tommy's leg and pull, making the taller man come tumbling down.
"You were saying, T?" Adam quipped, a smile pulling at his lips. He let out a laugh when he heard Tommy's mock growl, and nearly jumped when the guy tackled him.
The two of them started wrestling on the floor for a while, struggling against each other's hold. The stayed like this, trying to get the other one into a hold, for a good five minutes, before Tommy finally succeed in pinning Adam. Both of them were panting from the exercise, and from this distance, Adam could see the beads of sweat running down Tommy's forehead.
"Ready to give Kermit, or do you think that you'll be able to weasel your way outta this one?" Tommy said, his voice low and serious, despite the joking words. Adam suddenly felt very anxious and uncomfortable with what was going on, and tried to break the former Zeo V's hold, but it was to no avail. Tommy's arms were just too strong for Adam. Then, he suddenly felt a pair of lips descend upon his own, capturing them in a fierce kiss. Adam felt his mind go blank, as he thought about what was happening.
Tommy was kissing him.
Shit, just like old times.
Adam couldn't help himself, he gave in. The feeling of Tommy on top of him, brought up so many memories, that his defenses fell. Hard. So, he let his mouth be plunder by Tommy's skillful and familiar tongue. He let things escalate, and he kissed back with the same fervor that he was being kissed with.
Adam, let all this happen, until he felt Tommy's hand at his waistband. Grabbing the wrist, he pulled it away, and regretfully pulled himself away from Tommy. He wasn't ready for that to happen again.
"Tommy...what are you doing?" Adam said quietly, not looking the taller man in the eye. To Tommy's credit, he didn't yell at Adam. He didn't curse, or hit him, but he didn't have to. The anger that Adam heard in what he said was enough.
"What do you mean Adam? What do you mean what am I doing? You're the one who doesn't call for years, only to come back to town with no warning. What kinda games are you playing with? I, at the least, tried to get in touch with you, but your phone just kept saying that you had disconnected your number! What the hell do you mean, what am I doing? You're the one who's in trouble here not me!"
"...I moved. I moved away from Angel Grove, after you didn't come back. After you left town two years ago, and didn't come back, I was so lonely. Then, out of nowhere, Hayley says she has to leave too, got a new job in some other town. So, I moved, because I had nothing left for me there." Adam said, keeping his gaze right above Tommy's shoulder.
"Hayley...Hayley never told you anything? And neither did Kat? I asked Kat to explain things to you...There was a mission, Adam. Something that required all the old Red Power Rangers to join together. It was...so sudden Adam, and I didn't know when I'd get back. When I finally got back, I had to come here to...to start the Dino Thunder Ranger Project."
" I needed Hayley to help me out, and I didn't really tell her why she was coming. She just knew she needed to come. I'm so sorry Adam. I never...I never meant to... I had told Kat what was going on, told her to tell you! Why didn't she?" Tommy said, unconsciously holding Adam closer. Adam let out a sardonic chuckle. He knew why Kat would keep those things from him.
"She never really got over you, T. She became bitter, with you turning her down to go out with me. I bet she even came onto you after I 'didn't wanna talk to you', right?" Adam said, a twisted smile on his face. He could feel Tommy's gaze, and soon enough, he felt Tommy cup his chin.
"Hey, I'm so sorry about everything Adam. I'll do anything...anything to make it up to you. You want me to leave you alone, I'll do it. Say the word, and I'm gone." Tommy said softly, his eyes filled to the brink with guilt. Ah, it seemed as if the famous Oliver guilt complex had struck again. Meeting Tommy's eye for the first time since the kiss, Adam started to speak.
"Silly, you've always been so silly, T." Adam said, leaning up to barely touch his lips to Tommy's. Laying back down, he giggled when he saw Tommy's puzzled expression.
"You couldn't have known that was going to happen, and its not all your fault. I should have followed Hayley, and found you. I had tried to find some way to you too, only everyone said that they didn't know where you were, even Jason didn't know." Adam said, relaxing when he saw Tommy's eyes clear.
"So...this whole thing is just misunderstanding?" Tommy said, running a hand through his hair.
"Looks that way. If you think about it, it actually kind of funny that-" Adam said, before he was cut off by Tommy's glare. If this was a cartoon or something, there would be steam pouring out of his ears.
"If you think that this is in the least bit funny, then you seriously need some therapy. I think Trini became a therapist..." Tommy said trailing off, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that let Adam know that the former Green Ranger was just joking.
"Of course I'm mental T, I dated you!" Adam said rolling his eyes. Really, even Kim admitted that dating Tommy was, to say the least, a very...interesting experience. If you called having race-car sex interesting that is.
Tommy however, looked displeased by what Adam had said, and before you could say 'It's Morphin' Time!' Adam found himself pinned to the floor. Again. Looking up, Adam could see the smoldering heat in Tommy's eyes, and he had to swallow because that look brought back so many memories.
Leaning down, Tommy started to kiss Adam's neck, letting his teeth roam over the sweet flesh there. Moaning slightly, Adam tilted his head to let the elder man have better access. Tommy continued to mark Adam's neck, claiming it as his own, when he stopped abruptly.
"Dated? I would say that it seems like bad idea to leave it in the past. Obviously we both want this." Tommy said, articulating what he said with a hip roll.
Oh, Adam could feel how much Tommy wanted this. His 'morpher' was at the ready, and Adam knew that his was the same way. Giving in, Adam thrust against Tommy, and felt a rumble of agreement. Things just felt so right between them.
"Tommy..." Adam said, before he felt those oh-so-familiar lips press against his. Deepening the kiss, Adam couldn't help but let his hands wander around the other man's body. It had been so long since he really did this with anyone.
Soon enough, Adam felt Tommy take control of things, just as he always had. Adam felt his jacket being tugged off his body, and moved to help Tommy rid him of the garment. Wanting to do the same, Adam removed the long sleeve shirt that Tommy was wearing, unveiling the large amounts of tattoos beneath the fabric.
Moaning in approval, Tommy snaked his hands around the smaller man, to let his hands sit on Adam's ass. Squeezing, Tommy had to laugh when he felt Adam jump closer to him, before pouting into the intense kiss exchanging between them. Adam had never liked his ass being manhandled before either...
Adam thought he was hearing crashes, but that had to be the sound of the fireworks going off between the two of them. Sipping his hands under Tommy's short sleeve shirt, Adam started to rub his hands over the much appreciated muscles there. This was just so god damn perfect, and nothing...nothing could ever ruin-
"WHOA! HOT MAN SEX! HOT MAN SEX! !"
"Hey guys...I think Dr. O might be gay."
THUMP
Hearing the voices, Adam and Tommy broke apart, both of them panting. Adam turned and almost jumped in shock when he saw the Dino Thunder teens standing there, well almost. God...why did God hate Adam?
Kira was smirking with her arms crossed, looking at a puzzled Conner, who was scratching his head. Looking down, Adam could see Ethan passed out on the floor. Really, what was with all these new rangers fainting? Adam couldn't remember any of the old Power Rangers fainting- unless it had been from exhaustion. These guys were real wimps.
"Conner! Why are you guys here?" Tommy barked, obviously angry at being interrupted. Adam had to agree, he was pissed off that these...teenagers would interrupt his Happy Time. Adam needed his Happy Time.
Conner, too his credit, look up immediately at Tommy and glared at him. Well, kid had balls, Adam had to give him that. Not many people would brave an angry Tommy, and that made Adam think that Conner really was a Red Ranger.
"After Hayley dropped us all off, the Dino alarm went off, and we thought that another Dino egg must have been spotted. We tried to contact you, but you didn't respond. So, I picked up the other two, and we drove back over. We...I didn't expect to see you...busy."
"Really busy. Like hot damn, man." Kira mumbled under her breath, but Adam heard her though and blushed. Kira had as much class as Aisha had, and that was saying something. Damn, it must be a Yellow Ranger thing.
"Hmmm....It's too late to do anything about it now, so you guys go home, sleep, and we'll figure out what to do tomorrow. It's a Saturday, right? Perfect. Bye." Tommy said, pushing the teens out of the room, while Conner was dragging the still dead Ethan.
"Have a good night Dr. O. You too, Adam." Kira said with a smirk, and left the two men alone in the room. God, why did this sound familiar?
"Well, that was a mood killer, eh T? T?" Adam said, looking around for the spikey haired man. Really, Tommy seemed to have the innate ability to disappear whenever he wanted to, he always had. It was actually pretty useful whenever they had conspired together to prank Hayley.
"Tommy? Where could you have gone?" Adam said, stepping out into the main area of the Command Center. Suddenly, he was bum-rushed and knocked to the ground by an unseen force. Preparing for a fight, Adam only relaxed when he heard a chuckle, and Tommy's figure came into view.
"You should have seem your face Froggy, it was the funniest thing I've seen in forever. Guess the whole being invisible thing threw you for a loop, huh?" Tommy said grinning his dopey smile.
"Threw me? How about nearly gave me a heart attack, you insensitive ass! Man T, you have to stop surprising me." Adam said, getting up and brushing the dust from his pants. Why did he have to be in love with the biggest, smartest idiot on the planet?
Then, the aforementioned idiot pulled Adam against his chest so that Adam could feel the remnants of his and Tommy's fun earlier poking into his thigh. Dude, this was so not cool.
"Really Tommy? Really? How can you still wanna... when Kira, Conner and Ethan just walked in on us? I swear anything would turn you on!" Adam said exasperatedly, when Tommy started pushing him towards the door.
"Most likely, as long as I have my mind. Then, I can replay the memories of when I found out that you used to do ballet. Do you remember that day Adam, because I haven't been able to look at the color pink the same way since. Makes speaking to Kim really awkward." Slapping Adam's ass, Tommy rushed up the stairs, to what Adam assumed must be the bedroom.
"Tommy, come back here!" Adam yelled after him, trying to keep up with the the former Green Ranger.
"No, no, no. I gotta welcome you back home. All night long."
God Tommy had no class, but Adam wouldn't have him any other way. Home wouldn't be home, if there wasn't a horny Ranger waiting for him.
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A/N: Hahahahahahahaha....Man, I had a lot of fun with this one, and I spent the better part of the month coming up with ideas for it. Adam is just so fun to think about, don't ya think? Hope you all enjoyed it, and please, any feedback is welcomed. Till later, Space-Cadets~!