Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…
This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives.
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The following takes place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Events occur in real time.
Reefside, CA
8:00 a.m.
Another year at Reefside High School. And just like the two before this one, the man standing at the front of the classroom was so sure that this one would be the same. No more monster attacks, no more psychotic evil villains threatening to take over the world and no more teenaged superheroes in spandex. It was just going to be another normal and boring year.
Since the defeat of Mesogog nearly three years earlier, everything in Reefside had been relatively peaceful. They were working on their third year in a row without a major attack on the city. With everything so quiet for so long, he knew it was only a matter of time before something happened. Something bad.
And if something did happen, especially in Reefside, they were all but screwed. There were no more power sources he could use to defend the city if an attack actually did occur. Only he and three others he had served with still had access to power but their connection to the power was extremely weak and only to be used in the event of an absolute emergency.
It was unlikely an attack would happen, once a bad guy had been stopped the next one usually picked another city to go after but there was still a chance one could occur. One thing he had learned in all his years as a Ranger was to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Now, he couldn't be prepared even if he wanted to be.
Then there was the class. Half of them weren't even acting like they were paying attention to him standing at the front of the classroom with his arms folded across his chest. Even if he hadn't liked school at their age he had always paid attention or at least pretended to simply out of respect for his elders. Clearing his throat loudly, he waited and got…nothing. They were so caught up in their own conversations that only the people in the front row, the ones he knew were there to pay attention, could actually hear him.
"Hey!" a brunette girl in the very back row yelled after standing up. She had obviously been paying enough attention to notice the frustration on his face. "Shut up! Our teacher's trying to talk to us you guys! Knock it off and pay attention!"
Instantly, the class settled down and fell silent. Tommy shot her a grateful smile and she nodded politely before slumping down into her seat with a look that said she was embarrassed by her outburst.
"Thank you. My name is Dr. Tommy Oliver and this is first period biology. If you're not supposed to be here, then you're already late for class and I suggest you get going," he told the students before him, watching as a few got up and left before pointing to one of the students he was standing in front of. "Let's get started with introductions. We'll start with you. What's your name and something unique about you?"
"Michael Almeida, sir," the young freshman answered. "Something interesting about me? Well...I want to study paleontology. Like digging up dinosaur bones and stuff like that."
"Really?" Tommy asked with a grin of genuine surprise, getting a head nod in return. "That's excellent, Michael. Come see me after school one of these days and we'll talk. I have my doctorate in paleontology. It's quite an interesting field if you're serious about it."
Michael Almeida smiled brightly, nodding his head as Tommy continued down the line. Twenty-four kids after Michael told him their names and an interesting fact about themselves, only two or three actually saying something he cared enough about to listen to. He wouldn't remember their names, at least not right away that is. It was more of a formality, something he did with every class to at least present some sort of semblance of interest in what he was doing. The truth of the matter though, was that he was as far from interested in what he was doing as one could be with their job. With so few kids who actually cared, it was hard to be interested no matter how much he truly loved paleontology and science in general.
Teaching had become routine, boring even, something he did because there were bills that needed to be taken care of and they never seemed to want to pay themselves no matter how much he wished they would. He craved excitement, the thrill of doing something dangerous and daring but the teenaged years of karate tournaments, tackle football in the park and the hairpin turns at extreme speeds that came with driving a race car had long since left him behind.
There was no more earring or ponytail, the rebel he had once been dying out as the years went by, at least on the exterior. On the inside though, he wanted that life back more than anything. He would drop everything just to be able to morph once again, hop into the cockpit of his Falcon Zord and race it across the sky one last time. Dr. Tommy Oliver, the man who had once craved adrenaline and adventure, had been relegated to nothing more than a simple, boring, mundane high school science teacher.
Looking at the new faces in his classroom, he wondered how his life had gotten to this point, how he had gone from the dangerous rebel without a cause as a teen to Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The black slacks, black loafers and black polo, tucked in of course, had replaced the tee shirts, jeans and tennis shoes of old. His hair was short, he wore glasses and reminded his students to study every night.
He had become exactly what he didn't want to be. Average. Normal. Words he had never wanted to hear spoken or even thought about in the same sentence as his name.
It had been fun for awhile, going on digs with Anton Mercer, using the technology they had discovered to create something bigger than themselves but even that was gone. There were no more digs or creating dinosaur creatures, no more fighting evil or being a Power Ranger. He was just a teacher, just a normal guy with nothing spectacular or extraordinary happening in his life.
He hated that, despised it with a passion that you couldn't understand if you hadn't been in his exact position. Everyone he had ever served with was doing something exciting with their lives. Everyone except him, that is.
Trini Kwan was a high profile lawyer in New York City working some of the biggest cases in the country. Katherine Hillard danced and acted on Broadway while Tanya Sloan got on a stage every night and sang to sold out arenas. Zachary Taylor made a living producing records, Tanya being the biggest artist he had worked with. Adam Park was an acclaimed Hollywood stuntman, Rocky DeSantos had opened a chain of karate school all across California and Aisha Campbell had become a surgeon in Los Angeles. Jason Scott, his best friend, was a paramedic in Angel Grove and even Billy Cranston, their resident genius, was doing something exciting, working in a top secret government agency that no one had ever heard of. Justin Stewart, an adult now, was in his senior year of college at San Diego State. The only one he didn't know about was Kimberly Hart, at least he didn't know about her yet.
"Your name, young lady?" he asked, pointing to the small brunette who had spoken up earlier and now appeared to be hiding in the corner, as far away from his as possible. "What's your name?"
"Jessica, sir," she answered shyly. "Jessica Hart."
"Hart, huh? You wouldn't be any relation to Kimberly Hart, would you?" Tommy asked jokingly, not thinking that it was actually possible.
"Actually, yes. She's my aunt," she told him, the color suddenly draining from Tommy's face. "Why? Do you know her?"
Dammit he cursed himself. Why did I even ask? Way to go, Oliver. Now you have to find a way to dig yourself out of this one. Great job, chief.
"Uh, yeah. We went to high school together actually," he replied awkwardly. "Would you mind staying a few minutes after class, Jessica?"
"Umm…sure, I guess," she squeaked out. "I'm not in any trouble for yelling earlier, am I?"
"No, no. Of course not. I haven't seen or heard from Kim in a long time. I just want to know how she's doing, that's all," he answered with a slight grin, getting a head nod in reply. "Alright then, now that we're all introduced, let's get started. Let's open up those textbooks our lovely school district has so graciously provided to page ten and start reading the first chapter on cells and organisms."
His voice dripped with sarcasm at the first part of his last sentence. The textbooks were old, dilapidated and falling apart, just another reason for him to be disillusioned with his job. Apparently, the district didn't think highly enough to spring for new textbooks to replace the current ones that were ten years old. The running joke when the district's science teachers got together for their annual conference was that the books were so old that they taught creationism instead of evolution.
As the kids all opened their textbooks, Tommy took a seat in the black leather chair behind his desk wondering how just how in the world he had gotten stuck with another Hart. Maybe this semester wasn't going to be as boring as he had initially thought it was going to be.
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Angel Grove Diner
Angel Grove, CA
8:17 a.m.
Whole wheat toast with butter and grape jam, coffee with two sugars and a splash of nonfat milk and an omelet with ham, jack cheese and green peppers. He ordered it every morning before work. Or at lunch. Or at dinner depending on when his shift actually was. In fact, it had become such common place that it was usually already being prepared the moment he had walked through the front door.
"Jesus, Jason. You're never gonna order anything different, are you?" the woman across from him asked with a laugh. "How does that not get boring?"
"Liz, when you've seen the things I've seen, a little normalcy goes a long way," he replied, not paying much attention to her as he scanned the newspaper in front of him. "Besides, I like it and it tastes good. You can't beat that."
Elizabeth Carson, his partner of three years, let out a quiet chuckle and an eye roll at his response. For three years, five days a week, they came to Angel Grove Diner when they got their break from work. She never ordered the same thing two days in a row but in something like seven-hundred trips to the restaurant she had never seen him order anything other than whole wheat toast, black coffee and the omelet. It didn't matter if it was six a.m. or six p.m., it was always the same thing. She was just about to pop off with another remark when the sound of static came through on their radios.
Unit 6, we have shots fired at 8th and Sunset, requesting immediate response. Over.
"Dammit, that's Allen and Marc's area isn't it?," Liz half-asked, half-complained. "You know those son's of bitches are sitting under the bridge in the van with their radios off and a donut in each hand"
Rolling his eyes, Jason and Liz jumped up from their seats and headed for the front counter. This had happened numerous times in the past with Allen Johnson and Marc Sanchez, two medics who were notorious for being "unavailable" when emergencies like this occurred. Jason just laughed, knowing that those two had one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel as far as their jobs were concerned.
"Time to save the world," he muttered to her with a grin. "Hey, Betty. Cancel breakfast. Here's some cash anyway. See you tomorrow, sweetie."
Jason winked at the older woman and tossed a few bills on top of the counter for her. She had been working in the diner since he was ten years old and had sold him the first ice cream sundae he had ever purchased with his own hard earned money from mowing lawns in his neighborhood. To a ten year old kid, that meant a lifetime of friendship.
She had been the proverbial after school babysitter long before Ernie had opened his doors to the Youth Center and Juice Bar. As he got older, he started spending less time in the diner and more time with his friends at Ernie's place but, an adult now, the diner was more his style. On most days he could come in, have a meal in peace and read the paper without being disturbed. No kids running around, no chaos or commotion to deal with. Just the peace and quiet of Angel Grove's oldest eatery.
Running out of the diner, Jason hopped into the passenger seat, turning on the lights and siren with Liz getting behind the wheel and starting up the ambulance. Driving to the scene, neither of them noticed the black sedan that was following behind them.
Inside the car, two men in black suits looked at each other and nodded in confirmation that they were following the right person.
"Stay close but don't let them know we're tailing them," the man in the passenger seat ordered. "He'll know when the time is right."
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Mastodon Records and Recording Studio
Valencia, CA
8: 24 a.m.
"How'd that sound, Zack?" Tanya asked, stepping out of the recording booth.
"Pretty good, T," Zack answered with his famous grin. "I think you can take it a little higher when the hook comes in, put a little more soul into it, ya know? Other than that, it was perfect."
They were hard at work on her follow-up album, hoping the magic was still there after her debut which had gotten them both nominated for a slew of awards at shows all across the country. Zack Taylor had taken home a few trophies from mediocre award shows due to his production work on the album but the golden gramophone in his office was his pride and joy, a Grammy for Record of the Year. It sat on a shelf on the wall behind his desk, a constant reminder that hard work and perseverance paid off.
But Zack's lone Grammy whimpered in comparison to the trophies Tanya had in the office adjacent to his. Three MTV awards, four Kid's Choice Awards, two AMA's, two Billboard Awards and three Grammy's had made Tanya Sloan the most sought after singer in the whole country. Producers with more esteemed credentials and much more experience came calling to produce her sophomore record but each and every one had gotten turned down.
Zack had expected her to go running, leaving him behind at the mere possibility of working with a more famous producer but loyalty was something her life in the safaris of Africa and her tenure as the yellow Zeo Ranger and the first yellow Turbo Ranger had instilled in her at a very young age. Besides, they made a pretty good team in her book. He knew what she was about and had never once tried to get her to change her image or her music for the sake of popularity.
When they got together to record a song, the chemistry was unbelievable. Every piece of music he made was perfectly fit to Tanya's voice. And their partnership in the booth was beginning to look like it had the potential to blossom into something a little bit bigger than just a professional working relationship.
So there they were, hoping lightning would strike twice for them with another hit album. Sitting at the control table, the place where Zack, in his words, "made magic," they listened to her newest song with Zack pointing out places he thought she could make it better. She was just about to go back into the booth for another take at the song when a loud knock came at the door.
"Come back in fifteen minutes!" Zack yelled, rolling his eyes when the door opened. "I said come back later! This is a private sess…" His voice trailed off when he spun around in his chair to find two men standing there in black suits, stone cold faces on both of them. "Can I help you guys with something?"
"Zachary Taylor and Tanya Sloan?" one of the men asked, getting slow and apprehensive nods from both of them. "My name is Agent John Jeffries. I'm with the NBMAA. I need you both to come with me right away."
Reaching into his suit jacket, Agent Jeffries pulled out a badge and showed it to them, the pair exchanging concerned looks with each other.
"What's going on?" Tanya asked. "And what the hell is the NBMAA?"
"Please, Ms. Sloan. All your questions will be answered in time," the second man spoke up. "But for right now you need to come with us."
The two agents didn't even give Zack and Tanya a chance to respond. Each made their move at one of them, grabbing an arm and yanking them up onto their feet. When Zack tried to take a swing at Agent Jeffries, the suited man ducked and reached into his pocket, jabbing Zack in the side with a taser. The men were obviously well trained and prepared for resistance.
As Zack's body slumped to the floor, Tanya tried to kick the man and let out a horrified scream that became quickly muffled by the agent's hand over her mouth. He wrapped his arm around her neck, cutting off her air supply until she passed out, joining Zack on the ground.
"Why can't they ever just come peacefully?" Agent Jeffries asked sarcastically, pulling Zack to his feet then throwing his body over his shoulder. "I hope the others have better luck. Let's go, Bruce. We need to get them back to the base as soon as possible."
Nodding, the man identified as Bruce did the same thing with Tanya's body as they carried the pair out of the recording studio. Dumping their bodies into the backseat of a black sedan, the two agents got into the front seat with Agent Jeffries driving away as fast as humanly possible.
From the backseat, Zack let out a loud groan and slowly managed to push himself back into a sitting position. Immediately, he noticed Tanya passed out with her head on his lap and pushed her on her shoulder to try and wake her.
"What the hell did you do to her!?" Zack demanded. "If she's hurt I swear to God I'll rip you both limb from limb. You have no idea who you are messing with. I've got friends who will make your lives a living hell."
"Empty threats mean nothing to us, Mr. Taylor. We know about your friends and we're all trained to handle them," Bruce replied, Zack's mouth falling open in shock. "We're with the government, son. We know more than you think."
"Zack? Where are we?" Tanya groaned as Zack stroked her hair soothingly. "What happened?"
"Shhh, it's okay, sweetie," Zack answered reassuringly. "We're just going for a little ride, I guess."
"Ms. Sloan, like we told you inside, all your questions will be answered shortly," Agent Jeffries interjected. "We regret having to use force but you left us no other choice. For now, I suggest you rest. You'll need it where we're going."
Letting out a sigh, Zack rolled his eyes and fell back against the leather seat, keeping a protective arm wrapped around Tanya's shoulder. Introduced to each other by Tommy at a reunion a few years back, the pair had instantly bonded over their love and appreciation for music. Spending so many hours together working on her album along with the protectiveness Zack had developed for her, both knew it was only a matter of time before their friendship evolved into something more.
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Los Angeles, CA
8:33 a.m.
The morning sun high in the air, two men and a woman sat on the patio of a Los Angeles restaurant waiting on their breakfast to arrive. A hooded sweatshirt and cap to cover his face, one of the men sipped on a frothy latte with a smile. Adam Park had just landed the biggest role of his career, a lead job in one of the summer's biggest action movies.
"How are the schools coming, Rocky?" the female asked to their third companion. "Still kicking the crap out of kids every day to make yourself feel less old?"
"Only on days that end in "y," 'Sha," he replied with a grin, taking a drink from his coffee mug. "How about you? Still cutting people open and playing with internal organs?"
"Hey, I'm trying to eat here," Adam interjected, pointing to the bowl of fruit that had just been set in front of him. "Let's keep the discussion of cutting body parts on hold until after breakfast."
Rocky DeSantos and Aisha Campbell both laughed at their friend and his inability to discuss anything that was even remotely gory. For a guy who had been splattered with fake blood, strung upside down from fifty-stories in the air, jumped from burning buildings and tossed off a bridge into the Pacific Ocean, his stomach had no tolerance for talking about the horrifying things Aisha's job as a surgeon forced her to deal with on a daily basis. If it was fake, he could talk about it but the moment it became real was when he lost it.
It was probably because he had seen firsthand the destruction that occurred inside hospitals and emergency rooms. Working on a film, he had broken a bone in his leg two years earlier and while being wheeled through the emergency room, saw a gunshot victim pouring blood all over the place. From that moment on, discussing stuff like that was off limits especially while trying to eat.
"Hey, check that out," Rocky muttered, pointing to a black sedan that had just pulled up on the curb. "Looks like the Men in Black or something."
Adam chuckled at Rocky's pop culture paranoia while continuing to chew on the pieces of cantaloupe and banana in his mouth. Every time the former Red and Blue Ranger saw something even remotely associated with a movie he felt the need to make note of it. Random British guys were instantly Austin Powers regardless of physical appearance so it was only natural when two men in black suits got out of the car that Rocky referenced Men in Black.
"They're coming over here," Aisha whispered. "Rocky what did you do this time?"
"Nothing," he told her, Aisha returning an unimpressed and unbelieving look. "I swear I didn't. Just because a cop caught me having sex in a Safeway bathroom you think I'm some lifetime criminal or someth…"
"DeSantos? Park? Campbell?" one of the men interrupting Rocky's rant asked, all three nodding. "Good. Come with me."
"Umm…no?" Adam asked in a reply full of sarcasm, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down and pointing to his fruit bowl. "See, I'm eating breakfast and I don't like it when people I don't know interrupt my breakfast. So unless you have a purpose here, I suggest you take a walk."
The two men in suits looked at each other and smiled. As one reached into his jacket, all three at the table got scared looks on their faces, thinking he could possibly be reaching for a weapon. When he pulled out what appeared to be a black leather wallet, they all breathed sighs of relief.
"Agent Adamson, NBMAA," he told them. "You, your friends and your family are in danger. Please come with us."
Looking from Rocky to Aisha, Adam suddenly felt a sting of fear in his chest. Who were these men and what were they talking about?
"You're gonna have to come a little more specific than that if you want us to go with you," Rocky added with confidence. He was a trained fighter, a fifth-degree black belt. These guys, whoever they were, didn't scare him. "Momma always told me not to go with strangers."
"You must be DeSantos. We heard you had a smart mouth," Adamson replied, Rocky beaming with sarcastic pride. "You think this is funny? You think people dying is funny? Well, if you want their blood on your hands, fine. Let's go, Pierce."
With that, the two men spun on their heels and began walking back towards their vehicle. The trio at the table exchanged concerned looks, knowing what they had to do. Adam's film didn't start shooting for a couple more weeks, Aisha had the next two days off and Rocky, owning his own chain of karate schools, never had to go into work. That's what he had employees for. Aisha looked at Adam who slowly nodded his head then turned to face Rocky and got the same reaction from him.
"Wait!" Aisha called out, the two agents turning back around to face them. "We'll go."
"Good. Let's go then," Agent Pierce commanded sternly. "Like we said earlier, everything will be explained when we get back to headquarters."
In unison, all three got up from their seats and tossed some cash on the table, jogging to catch up to the pair of agents.
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Unknown Location, CA
8:41 a.m.
From his spot at his desk, a man with sandy blonde hair typed feverishly on the keyboard resting in front of him. His hands flying over the white keyboard, his eyes quickly made their way across the computer screen, absorbing the last of the information his superiors had sent to him.
Pictures were on the screen, changing every few seconds only to be replaced by another. Accompanying each picture was a small biography on the person being researched. The first picture in question showed a man about six-feet tall with short, spiked brown hair and glasses wearing a lab coat.
Name: Thomas J. Oliver, Age: 28, 6'0" 174 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Green (MM), White (MM), Red (Z & T), Black (DT), Leader, Residence: Reefside, CA, Profession: High school teacher, Reefside High School
After Tommy came a picture of a man of close to the same height just a little bit bulkier. He had on navy blue pants with a matching short sleeve button up shirt and was standing over the top of someone who was visibly wounded.
Name: Jason L. Scott, Age: 28, 5'11" 187 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Red (MM), Gold (Z), Leader, Residence: Angel Grove, CA, Profession: Paramedic
Coming after Jason was an African-American man. In the black and white snapshot, he was walking through downtown Los Angeles with an African-American female, one hand on the small of her back and the other being used to hold his cell phone to his ear.
Name: Zachary A. Taylor, Age: 28, 5'10" 165 lbs. African-American male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Black (MM) Residence: Valencia, CA, Profession: Record producer, Mastodon Records
Following Zack was a photo of a man with dirty blonde hair and glasses. Judging by his appearance, it had to be an old picture. Underneath the picture were the words "Newer Photo Unavailable."
Name: William J. Cranston, Age: 28, 5'9" 159 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Association: Blue (MM), Technical advisor (Z) Residence: Unknown, Profession: Unknown
An Asian-American man came next. He was standing on the ledge of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, looking like he was preparing to jump from it into the water below.
Name: Adam Y. Park, Age: 28, 5'10" 167 lbs. Asian-American male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Black (MM), Green (Z & T) Residence: Los Angeles, CA, Profession: Actor/Stuntman
And it went on like that until they had gone through a total of twelve people, ironically starting with Tommy and ending with someone he knew all too well.
Name: Rockford W. DeSantos. Age: 27, 5'10" 172 lbs. Hispanic-American male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Red (MM), Blue (Z) Residence: varies, primarily the Los Angeles, CA area, Profession: Owner/operator Red Fist Dojo
Name: Justin M. Stewart, Age: 22, 5'10" 168 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Blue (T) Residence: San Diego, CA, Profession: Student, California State University at San Diego
Name: Katherine R. Hillard, Age: 28, 5'6" 114 lbs, Caucasian female, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Association: Pink (MM, Z & T) Residence: New York, NY, Profession: Broadway performer
Name: Aisha M. Campbell, Age: 27, 5'4", 124 lbs African-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (MM), Residence: Los Angeles, CA, Profession: Surgeon
Name: Trini Kwan, Age: 28, 5'5" 110 lbs. Asian-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (MM), Residence: New York, NY, Profession: Lawyer, Goldstein, Johnson and Jones Law Firm
Name: Tanya C. Sloan, Age: 27, 5'6" 116 lbs. African-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (T & Z), Residence: Valencia, CA, Profession: Singer
Name: Kimberly A. Hart, Age: 27. 5'2" 101 lbs. Caucasian female, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Pink (MM), Residence: Reefside, CA, Profession: Owner/operator Reefside Sports Center
Sighing, he turned off the monitor, pushed his chair away from the desk and got onto his feet. They'd be there shortly, all of them and when they did, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. Well, all but one of them would be arriving shortly, one was already there. After all, he was one of them and the reason they were on their way.
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Reefside, CA
8:49 a.m.
"Alright, class. That's it for today," Tommy told his students who all began to scamper at the bell. "Ms. Hart, I'd still like to speak with you if you have a minute. Don't worry, I'll write you a note for your next class."
The young brunette nodded her head, waiting until the class had cleared out before hesitantly and quietly approaching Tommy's desk. Looking at her, he immediately noticed the uncanny resemblance she shared with her aunt. She had the same petite frame, the same deep brown eyes and that same nervous smile that had made him fall in love.
"What's up, Dr. Oliver?" she asked softly.
"Nothing. Your aunt and I da...were close friends in high school but I haven't heard from her in a long time," Tommy explained, trying to cover up his near slip with a smile. "How is she? Is she doing okay?"
"Yeah, she's good. I live with her now," she answered, ignoring Tommy's flap as he tried to absorb the news. "She took me in when…"
Tears started to fill the eyes of the young girl, Tommy in between maintaining a strictly professional stand or offering some kind of comfort. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue and he would have kept his distance but she was a Hart, after all. Apprehensively, he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Jessica. I'm sorry," Tommy said softly. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories. I just…I just wanted to know how Kimberly was doing."
"I know. You must think I'm a freak breaking down like this," Jessica laughed, wiping at her eyes. "My parents passed away in a car crash a couple years ago. Kim and my dad, her brother, were really close and she promised him she'd take care of me right before he died. We lived in San Francisco for awhile but the city reminded me of them too much so we moved here. Crazy coincidence, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry about your parents. God, you look just like your aunt. I bet you get that all the time," Tommy murmured, both of them chuckling as she nodded and wiped at her eyes with her shirt sleeve. "Listen, I don't want to seem weird but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. I know I'm just your teacher but I know how you Hart's operate."
"Thank you. I appreciate that," Jessica replied with a genuine smile. "Do you want me to tell my aunt you teach here? If you guys are old friends I'm sure she'd like to see you. She's always talking about her friends from high school."
"Oh, no, I don't think that's necessary. We haven't talked in so long…" his voice trailed off momentarily, getting an awkward look from Jessica. "Well, yeah, tell her I'm your teacher and that if she has time to give me a call and that I said maybe we could get together for a cup of coffee or something. Here's my number." Tommy scratched out his home number on a piece of scratch paper, wrote her a pass for her next class and gave them to her. "Go on or you'll be really late. First impressions are key. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks again," Jessica said graciously. "I'll remember to remind my aunt know about you. See you tomorrow, Dr. Oliver."
Tommy nodded, laughing to himself as the young woman started to jog out of his classroom. Hearing the door shut, he turned to his computer to check his email since second period was his prep class and, being the first day of school, he had no real work to do. When the door opened a few minutes later, he looked up expecting to see Jessica again, maybe Principal Randall or another faculty member. Instead, he was greeted by two men in black suits.
"Dr. Thomas James Oliver?" one of the men asked.
"Yeah," Tommy answered. "Who are you?"
"My name is Agent Adam Reeves. I'm with the NBMAA," he replied, quickly flashing Tommy his badge. "We need you to come with us immediately. Something is happening and we need your…expertise."
The emphasis on the last word instantly made Tommy realize that these men new something, something they shouldn't have even had a clue about. How did they know? No one who hadn't been one of them besides Hayley knew their identities.
"Umm…I have class all day guys," Tommy replied in confusion, trying to maintain his composure. "And I don't know what expertise you think I have but I can't help you guys. I'm just a high school science teacher."
"Don't insult our intelligence, Dr. Oliver. We know exactly who you are and we've already spoken with your boss, Elise Randall. Your classes have been taken care of for the next few days," Agent Reeves answered. "Now please, follow us. It's a matter of national security."
"Umm…alright, I guess. You guys better have answers," Tommy retorted apprehensively as he began to gather his personal belongings. "Just give me a minute to get my things together.
With his briefcase in hand, the two agents nodded their heads to each other and began to escort Tommy out of his classroom and through the hallway. A few lingering students in the halls gave him concerned looks, especially those who he had had as his students in previous years.
Giving them all reassuring looks and smiles in return, he continued to follow the agents, maintaining a distance of a few feet behind them just in case they tried something and he needed to react. As they reached the front door of the school they hadn't done or said anything else to him. Walking out the door, he looked at his watch just as it struck nine o'clock.
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Okay, so this is something I have never seen done before, at least not with a Power Rangers story. I've had this idea mulling around in my head for a long time but I never wrote it down because of my other stories. I got terrible writer's block today trying to write for Don't Ask Me To Be Friends and this popped back into my head so I wrote it down. It's a Power Rangers story with a 24 twist. If you haven't watched 24, it's 24 episodes in a season, each episode being an hour of a day, the day being the whole season. Writing in a time table of only an hour makes it a lot harder to write 7 or 8,000 word chapters but I did my best to get this as long as possible. I think the majority of these chapters are going to be somewhere in the 5-6,000 word ranger. Hopefully you guys like it. Your thoughts on this are going to determine whether I stick with it or abandon it so let me know what you think. Talk to you soon.
WK