AN: New story from the Syd & Z team. For the purposes of this story, Kira never took part in the Always a Ranger team-up in Operation Overdrive. Enjoy.

---

Ten years. It had been ten years since they'd retired their morphers, graduated from high school, and moved forward with their lives. Conner had gone off to study in Boston and when he was back in Reefside over the summers, he worked on building up his soccer camps, which had become a huge success. Ethan had followed in Hayley's footsteps and set out for MIT, which was followed by a shot snit at Texas Tech, before settling in Dallas and building his empire of Computer Software Design & Gaming, and eventually getting married. Trent had gallivanted to New York for Art School, and since he wasn't doing so great with his work, he'd received a degree in Education and was living in Orlando and teaching Art to High School kids. Kira had moved to New York for a brief period of time before heading out to LA and landing herself a nice recording contract. Tommy had stayed in Reefside and had reconnected with former Pan-Global Gymnast Kimberly Hart and marrying her a few short years later.

When they all parted ways to reach these individual achievements---personal and professional---there were hugs and promises to remain in contact thrown all around. The four teens swore to make pilgrimages back to their hometown to see their teacher and reconnect with one another as much as they could. Unfortunately, things got in the way. The first few years found Kira, Conner, Ethan and Trent back in Reefside for holidays, squeezing in hanging out at Hayley's Cyberspace between spending time with family. But after that, things were reduced to occasional phone calls, more frequent emails, and nonexistent face to face visits. Soon after that, even the emails became occasional things.

Trent was the one who got to use the distance factor into his trips home, often using his two summer months off to work on his artwork, and spend time with his wife Kendra and their baby girl Elise. He had been home a few times to visit his father and Elsa, but more often than not, they went to visit Trent. Ethan and Kira had very similar reasons for not returning home. Ethan was always more than knee deep in different projects, and by the time he was 25, he was one of richest men in the world in an ever expanding company. He had also married young and had a young son to take care of.

Kira however was a completely different type of busy. After exploding onto the music scene at age 19 with a punk-rock sound, she'd shot to stardom and was always gallivanting across the globe with a new tour, or promoting her albums. Although, most of the team tried to stay away from it, they usually discovered the happenings in Kira's life via the gossip sites and tabloid magazines. At 24, after calling off her engagement to a huge movie star, Kira retired from recording and moved more into the production aspect, and at 26, after returning to Reefside, Kira created her own label (Flight Records) and had settled into a somewhat normal life, helping others achieve the same dream she had as a teen. To some extent, her distance from the others wasn't completely accidental on her part. Though she missed her friends, a part of her was less inclined to spend too much time around them for fear that they'd get sucked into the paparazzi and gossip world she hated by simply associating with her. This thought increased as Ethan grew to fame with his company. A part of her was afraid, with the two of them both in the public eye, implications would be made, not to mention neither party would get a moments rest from interviewers asking them about the other party. There was no part of Kira that wanted to put Ethan through the annoyance of dealing with some teen gossip reporter asking him what her latest project was or who she was dating these days. She didn't want resentment to fill the air if the others lives were at all effected simply because they knew her. So, to avoid ruining friendships, she simply stayed away as much as she could.

Conner was the only one who was never really heard from. He sent out Christmas cards every year, but each time that Trent, Kira, Hayley or Tommy tried to contact him, he'd moved or changed numbers. None of them could ever figure out why Conner had stayed away, not until things started occurring.

----

December, 2013.

Things had been occurring around Dallas, Texas for nearly a year. It wasn't anything that the International Media was covering, but strange deaths, mysterious occurrences, things that a normal person would never pick up on. Correction, that nobody would pick up on. Unless you we're a former power ranger. 27-year-old computer genius and God in the digital world for computers and gaming was one such person tracking these strange events, and had been for a few months now. But he wasn't the only one. About a month after the attacks, murders and disappearances started occurring; Ethan had gotten in touch with Conner. He had been the only one that Conner stayed in touch with. Conner never specified why he was so elusive with the others, but Ethan had a few guesses as to why. One of Ethan's guesses had been correct. Conner had been tracking these strange things and had already figured out that they were more than likely ranger related.

Whimsically, Ethan invited Conner to live in their spare bedroom in Dallas, and basically become one of the family. Having not had a place to call home since his high school days in Reefside, Conner accepted. Conner took a job at the local high school as a gym teacher and worked part-time for the State University (In Dallas) as the Soccer Coach. A few days after things settled down and Conner began to lead a normal life in Dallas, Ethan and Conner sat down to figure things out. In the process, Ethan revealed that he'd built his own 'Dino Lair', which was where he had been tracking the strange things. At the same time, Conner admitted that he had gone looking for a power source, similar to that of their Dino Gems that could be used in case of an emergency. And they set to work. The two friends and former teammates thought about once again donning their figurative super hero capes themselves as well as calling in their fellow former rangers. Conner, exhibiting his excitable nature from the old days, rambled on how good it'd be to have the old team back together. Ethan could tell some of that was wanting to make amends with their friends, explain to them that his distance wasn't by choice or a lack of friendship on his part in hopes that they didn't hate him. Ethan smiled, shaking his head at how some things never changed before calming Conner down and telling him it wasn't time to call in the troops quite yet. There was still too much they needed to learn. Who was responsible for these things? What kind of creature could they possibly be dealing with here? The two spent nearly six months working out the fine details of what was happening. They were finding their answers just in time too. The incidents were become more frequent and whoever this person was, seemed to catch the attention of National media. Both Ethan and Conner knew that they we're going to call in the other soon, they just didn't know when.

---

July, 2014. Dallas, Texas (7pm.)

"Hey Conner, hurry up!" Ethan called up the stairs. Ethan, Emily and their son Ryan were treating Conner to ice cream for his 27th birthday. It wasn't a huge celebration, but given recent events, Ethan figured it was better to keep things low key. He had received a phone call from Dr. Oliver earlier that week saying that Adam and Tanya Park had been murdered in their sleep in Houston, Texas. Ethan had started to worry at that point. Former rangers, and they didn't live all that far from his family. It scared Ethan. So, the plans to throw Conner a huge celebration had been cancelled, and instead they did a small homemade dinner, followed by ice cream. A moment later, Conner came barreling down the steps, black sandled feet hitting the marble floors. He was wearing his trademark red t-shirt, and a pair of black surfer shorts. His dark brown hair was still unruly, and he face had only aged slightly.

"Ready," he commented.

"It's about time," Emily muttered good naturedly as she walked over to the two men, carrying Ryan against her hip. Conner smiled at her. In the few months that he'd been staying with the James', he truly had begun to feel like family. Much like when they were teenage superheroes, Conner saw Ethan much like a brother. Therefore, he naturally saw Emily and Ryan as his sister-in-law and nephew, and Emily and Ryan were more than happy to treat Conner in the same fashion.

"Uncle Conner," Ryan said, squirming a bit in his mother's arms. Ryan was very much a precocious little tot. Though he was only three, he didn't want to be treated like a baby. Emily sighed and set her son down. "I bet you I can eat more ice cream than you," he said, giving Conner a grin. Conner laughed.

"Oh really, little man?" He asked. He stuck is hand towards the boy. "You're on," he said. Ryan took his "uncle's" hand and the two shook on it.

"Oh great," Emily said, coming up next to Ethan as he put an arm around her waist. "If I have to deal with a sugar crazed, hyperactive three year old come bedtime, you're a dead man, McKnight," she said. Conner simply grinned at her.

"Let's get going shall we?" Ethan commented, steering the group towards the front door.

---

July, 2014. Reefside, California (5pm)

Kira had finished up for the day and was now on-route to Dr. Oliver's house for dinner. Ever since she'd moved back to Reefside, Tommy and Kim had been more than great to her. While she waited for her house to be built, she lived with the couple and their two children Allison and Courtney. Even though she'd moved out nearly a year ago, Kira still attended regular dinners at their house out on Velencia Dr. As she sped through town, Kira listened closely to the radio for more details on the deaths of Adam and Tanya Park. She had been at Tommy's house earlier that week when the call had come through about what had happened. Having never met either, Kira was not nearly as upset as Kim and Tommy, but felt a great deal of sadness in the passing of two former rangers, one being a predecessor of hers. She hadn't been back to their home since, and tonight was their regular dinner night. She felt a twinge of sadness as she pulled into their driveway. Today was Conner's 27th birthday. As she'd done for every birthday since they graduated, she sent him a birthday card to his last known address, and as expected a few days later it was returned, unopened with a 'No longer resides here' label stuck on the front. Climbing out of her yellow Chevy Cobalt, Kira headed towards the front door, noticing that Hayley's truck was parked next to Tommy's signature black Jeep. Smiling, Kira pounded on the front door before opening it and heading in. Maybe tonight would prove to be more exciting than she thought.

---

July, 2014. Orlando, Florida (8pm)

"Here comes the choochoo," Trent said as he waved a small spoon in front of his daughter. The seven moth year old girl simply stared at her father with a blank expression. Trent persisted regardless of Elise's closed mouth. "Chuga chuga chuga chuga, toot toot!" He said as the spoon got closer to her mouth. He sighed. Seeing it was useless, he put the spoon back into the jar of baby food and rested his elbow on the corner of the kitchen table, his chin resting on his upraised palm. It had been five days since he received the phone call from Dr. Oliver telling him of the passing of Adam and Tanya. On the surface, the names did not mean much to him. He'd never met them and wasn't around when the others saw Dr. Oliver's video diary, giving faces and personalities to the names. But, beneath that, he was saddened. He figured it had to do with them being fellow former rangers. All rangers were like one family under the Power Ranger surname. He saw Adam and Tanya like a couple of distant relatives. Sure, he'd never known them but they were connected to him in some way. With their death also went away any future possibility of meeting the two Zeo/Turbo rangers. Since hearing their news, Trent hid his feelings about the tragedy from his wife and child, opting to just continue with his life and spend more time with the two most important women in his life. It's true, death, no matter the lack of closeness you may have had with the deceased, makes you think of the people in your life and wanting to hold onto them as hard as you can. Trent blew a puff of air from his lips, the hair that fell over his forehead floating up a bit before falling back to its resting spot. He cast a look at Elise, his pride and joy, as he sat up and resumed his efforts with the spoon. "Toot, toot!" He said.

"She doesn't like the train," came a voice as Kendra, his wife, entered the kitchen and made her way to the stove to start cooking dinner for herself and Trent. Trent looked at her.

"She doesn't?" He asked. Kendra shook his head. "Every kid likes the train," he insisted. Kendra laughed.

"Well, not our kid," she said, filling a pot with water. "She likes the airplane," she said.

"Airplane?" He asked. He looked back at Elise and shrugged. "It's worth a shot," he muttered to himself. He hummed, sounding like the engine of a turbo jet and waving the spoon around. As Kendra predicted, the little mouth opened and happily accepted the spoon. Trent raised an eyebrow. "Well, how about that," he thought aloud.

---

July, 2014. Dallas, Texas (8pm)

He had barely been gone five minutes when the explosion went off. It was very close to him, he could feel the flames licking at his back as he crashed to the pavement. Slowly, Conner pushed himself up, dusting off the debris as he went and turned around. There, where he'd been sitting with Ethan and his family, was engulfed in flames. Crying out, Conner sprinted back towards the destroyed area, pushing through the hordes of injured and dead before stopping at the patio where the Ice Cream Store once stood. Instead of the patio and adjoining building, there was a massive empty hole in the ground. Ground Zero. Choking back a sob, Conner fell to his knees and took in the chaos around him.

Someone had planted a bomb here, where Ethan's family had been sitting. And where he should have been as well.

It was deliberate. Someone knew what he and Ethan were planning, and they weren't going to stop until they were dead.

Conner doubled forward, his forehead touching the ground as he buried his face in his arms, his body shaking with sobs that could not be contained. Over the sound of the burning wreckage and the cries of pain and panic around him, Conner could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance. He knew that he only had a few precious moments until the cops, fire department and paramedics got here, and he knew that if someone had deliberately done this, the next logical place they would attack, would be Ethan's basement. He'd have to get there quick if he was going to prevent this person from doing even more damage. Conner willed himself out of his black hole of sorrow and grief as he pushed himself up to his feet. He took a deep breath, not caring of the smoke entering his lungs.

"They won't get away with this, I promise," Conner spoke, the smoke burning his lungs, making a vow to his dead family. He slowly stepped away, making his way back to Ethan's house. His ranger instincts screamed in his mind, telling him to go back and help the wounded, but he had to get back to the house. He knew that once he got back and figured things out, he was going to have the daunting task of calling the other rangers to inform them of what had happened... And he wasn't looking forward to that. When he thought about calling his friends and talking to them for the first time in years, this wasn't what he had in mind.

---

July, 2014. Dallas, Texas (8:30pm)

Conner stumbled into the house and headed straight for the basement door. He swung it open and flicked the lights on. He galloped down the stairs and quickly took inventory of the room. Thankfully, nothing seemed out of place as he headed over to the computer and activated the security system. He quickly entered some information and locked it down so that in case of a breach, nobody would be able to access the information. Sighing he stood up and glanced around the room for a moment. He headed over to the phone and sat down. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the phone off the receiver and began dialing the all too familiar number for Tommy Oliver.

---

July, 2014. Reefside, California (11pm - 1am Texas time)

Kira was just nicely curled up in her chair watching the evening news. It had been a long day at the studio and on top of that she'd had dinner with Tommy and his family as well as Hayley, which had been a great dinner, had just increased the length of her day. Now, as part of her evening routine, she was going to watch the news, then have a nice hot bath before bed.

"A large explosion occurred earlier this evening at a local ice cream store in Dallas, Texas," The news reporter said. Kira's ears perked up at that. She shifted on the couch as the news showed video footage of fire fighters trying to extinguish the flames and paramedics tending to wounded people.

"Upon latest reports," another reporter's voice could be heard as the camera spanned back to a local on scene reporter. "The blast killed at least ten patrons and injured many others. At the moment, authorities have not released details on what might've caused the…" The ringing phone a few feet away Kira made her jump slightly before she grabbed the remote and lowered the volume a bit. She stood up and walked over to the small end table where her cordless phone rested. As she made her way over, she sort of hoped it was Ethan calling. Maybe he figured the explosion made news and was calling to tell her he, Emily and Ryan were safe and sound, much like people in New York had done after the attacks on the World Trade Center over ten years ago. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone, placing the white receiver against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Kira?" Came a voice. Kira furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had been expecting, hoping, it'd be Ethan, maybe even Emily, and was therefore surprised to hear the voice of someone she hadn't spoken to in years.

"Conner?" She asked, confused. She heard Conner take in a shaky breath. She wasn't sure whether to be happy to hear from him, or angry that it'd been so long. "What's going on?" She asked, her mixed emotions causing her to sound neutral.

"Kira…..I….." She could hear the sadness in his tone. Absentmindedly, Kira made her way back towards the TV, her pent up emotions making her feel restless and in need of a good pace.

"What is it?" Kira asked. She stopped as the TV screen showed a photo of Ethan during one of his recent press conferences, talking about upcoming games his company was developing. Kira's hand shook a bit as she raised the volume a bit.

"…..lost his life in the explosion along with his wife and……"

"Kira," Conner spoke again. "It's Ethan, he….."

"Oh god," Kira nearly sobbed as the phone fell out of her hand and her knees buckled beneath her, making her fall on her pale yellow carpeted floor.

"Kira? Kira?" She could hear Conner's voice coming through the phone as she sat there, staring at her TV screen. During the brief period when the phone lay forgotten on the floor, tears had streaked their way down Kira's face. She was stationary for another moment before reaching for the phone. She could hear Conner's terrified cries, asking her if she was okay.

"I'm okay." She whispered. She heard Conner let out a relieved sigh

"I thought that," he paused, his voice trailing, he sighed again. "Never mind," he said. Kira slowly brought herself back up to her feet. She shut off the TV that now featured a CEO from Ethan's company, expressing the company's grief over losing such a bright young mind like this.

"Did his parents call you?" Kira asked, making her way to her room. She figured Ethan's family had been notified and made the rounds of calling friends.

"No," Conner said. "I…..I was there," Conner said. Kira stopped, letting that news marinate in her mind.

"You're in Texas?" She asked. Well, she thought to herself, looks like that birthday card won't reach him. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Are you hurt?" She asked.

"I'm fine," Conner said definitely.

"Conner," Kira said, she knew that wasn't the truth.

"I breathed in some smoke and got some cuts and bruises, I'm fine," he said after a sigh. Kira let out another sigh.

"Thank god. I don't think I could stand to loose another friend right about now." She replied. A thought struck her a moment later. "Conner, why are you in Texas?" There was a moment of silence.

"It's a long story, Kira," he finally said. "I'd rather give you guys the full explanation face to face." Kira made her way to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling her legs up and curling them beneath her.

"Why do I get a feeling there's more to what happened today than the news is telling?" Kira muttered. Conner let out a low chuckle.

"There is more to the story Kira." He told her softly. "But I can't tell you that over the phone..." He trailed off. Kira picked at the non-existent lint on her duvet.

"I'll be booking a ticket down tomorrow morning." She replied.

"No need for that Kira... I've already booked flights for you, Dr. Oliver and Trent." He commented, trying to make it sound as if it was something he did everyday. Kira was flabbergasted.

"What?" She managed to sputter into the phone. Conner could picture her face, trying to understand what he'd said, and in spite of the moment, he smiled.

"Under Ethan's credit card from the company." He replied as he focused on sending the information off to the former yellow ranger. He had already sent the information to Trent and Tommy, and Kira had been the last person to talk to, and therefore being the last to send the information to as well.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, and arriving in Dallas at 7pm." He told her as he hit the send button on his computer. "I just e-mailed you the e-ticket." Kira sat there for a while as she took in all the information. There was something inside of her, tugging at her heart and soul. She could best describe it as desperation.

"Conner?" She whispered after a while.

"Yes?"

"Be there tomorrow, please?" She asked. "I just…….I need to see you there, I need to be sure you're okay." She was surprised by her own words. She tried to brush it off as grieving for Ethan and not wanting to be filled with further uncertainty about another friend, but she wasn't sure.

"Kira," he said in a tone so firm, Kira knew if he was standing before her, he'd be staring in her eyes to make sure his point went across clearly and without question or doubt from her. "I will be there." The desperation lessened a bit at that.

"Good," she said. She paused as another thought occurred to her. "What about the others?" She asked.

"Others?" Conner asked.

"Hayley, Trent and Tommy's wives and children," she explained. "Will they be safe?" She asked. Something about what was going on told Kira it was a valid question to bring up. Conner was silent for a moment. This irked Kira a bit. "Conner," she said, her tone somewhat close to snapping at him. "If what happened to Ethan is in any way connected to what happened to the Parks, which your cryptic tone seems to point to, then-"

"Kira," Conner cut in, his tone was tired, imploring. "I'll be honest, there's no telling whose safe and who isn't safe right now. But,"

"But what?" Kira asked.

"You guys and Hayley suddenly traveling to Texas after Ethan's death isn't suspicious. You'd be here for the funeral. Tommy and Trent uprooting their wives and kids and bringing them along might garner some attention…..the wrong kind." Kira hadn't thought of that.

"Oh." She replied. There was a beep on her phone. "That's my call waiting," she said in an apologetic tone. "I'll just ignore it."

"No, take it," Conner said. "I need to get some things done before tomorrow, not to mention try to sleep."

"Oh," Kira said. She bit her lip. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Kira asked. Conner made an 'mmhmm' affirming sound before the two ended their conversation and Kira clicked over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kira," came the reply of Tommy's voice. She quickly detected the sadness and barely contained tears in his voice.

"Dr. O," Kira replied, the sound of his voice bringing her own tears back to her attention.

"I……uh…just wanted to call to see if you wanted to ride to the airport with me and Hayley," he said. Kira took a deep breath and smiled a bit through her tears.

"Yeah," she said, sobbing a bit. "That'd be nice," she said. The two spoke for another minute or so before saying goodbye. Kira wiped at her eyes and went to her computer to print out the e-ticket Conner sent her. Sleep didn't come easily that night for Kira. In fact, she tossed and turned for most of it, sleeping no more than ten minutes at a time, and waking up panicked that someone was in her house. After she repeated this routine a few times, she sighed, giving up on sleep since even if she did fall asleep for longer periods of time, she knew it wouldn't be a sound sleep. She shuffled about her house, figuring she might as well get her packing taken care of. As she walked through the rooms, she switched on all the lights, thinking it would ease her fears. But even as she puttered around, it didn't help to ease any of the tension that she could feel in the house. It felt as if someone was watching her. Although it sounded strange, Kira knew that her ranger instincts were hardly ever wrong. Glancing at the clock, she noted that it was nearly 4am. She gave it a moment's thought before she picked up her phone and began dialing.

"Hello?" Came a tired, groggy voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Kira blurted out. There was silence on the line for a second.

"Kira?" The voice said through a yawn.

"Yeah," she said. She heard shuffling and figured Conner was sitting up in bed or something to that nature.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice more alert. Kira let out a long breath.

"I….." Her voice trailed, unsure what to say. She bit her lip as she debated whether or not to tell him. She closed her eyes, sighing. "I'm scared." The sound of panic in Kira's voice pushed Conner's brain into full-working mode.

"What happened?" He demanded. It wasn't a request that she tell him, it was a demand. He tucked his trusty Bluetooth onto his ear and pressed a button, connecting himself to the portable phone so that he could still listen to Kira while he got ready.

"Nothing happened," she said, her voice shaking. She was already freaked out enough as it was, but she just thought it was paranoia. Now, with Conner's change in attitude was telling her maybe she had something to fear. An old saying came to her mind: it's not paranoia if there really are people out to get you. "I just…..something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?"

"I……I feel like I'm being watched," she told him with the utmost honesty. The hair on the back of Conner's neck stood up when she told him that she felt like she was being watched. If he and Ethan had developed teleportation capabilities with the new power source, what was stopping this new guy from doing the same?

"Shit." Conner whispered as he pulled on his jeans and shoved his keys, wallet and cell phone into his pocket. He pulled his red shirt over his head and slid his leather jacket over top. "Kira, do NOT answer the door or the phone until I get there." He told her.

"Until you get here?" Kira asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Kira, there's no time to explain. You're just going to have to trust me," he said hurriedly. Kira could hear him running and then heard the sounds of computer keys being typed. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Kira said without hesitation. Conner smiled on the other end.

"Good. Now, I need you to give me your address." Conner listened as Kira, still confused, gave him the address, her reciting of her address was met with more typing sounds. "All right. Now," he said, "hang up the phone and stay away from the windows until I get there." Before Kira could respond, she heard him hang up. Doing as she was told, Kira backed away from the window and tucked herself into a corner, arms wrapped around herself. She froze as she saw a shadow cast by the window in her living room from her corner. She began to tremble a bit. Even as she spoke to Conner, a part of her still held onto the idea that this was all paranoia, now she was not so sure. She slowly inched away from the wall, curiosity driving her to want to get a look at who might be there. Just as she was about to get a look, a loud bang made her jump and shriek as she quickly sunk back against the wall. After her jumpiness faded, she realized it was the sound of her metal trashcan being knocked over. Though, that did nothing to ease her trembling. She kept her eyes on the shadow on the carpet. It stood there for a few minutes before disappearing completely. Kira closed her eyes, unsure what was going to happen next. As long as the shadow remained in her sight, she at least knew where this intruder was. Now that it was gone, she was afraid to think where it could be. Suddenly, a red, life size prism surrounded in electricity appeared where the shadow had been. Kira had to shield her eyes from the brightness for a moment, and when she looked back, she saw jean clad legs. Kira closed her eyes as her trembling increased, afraid the bearer of the shadow had somehow managed to get into her house.

"Kira?" Came a voice. Kira's eyes snapped open as she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Slowly, she stepped out of the corner she had hidden herself in and nearly fainted at the sight of Conner standing there in her living room.

"Oh my god." She whispered, pushing herself into a standing position. Conner moved forward and threw his arms around Kira in a tight hug. He felt Kira bury her face in his shoulder, her body shaking.

"It's okay, it's okay," Conner whispered to her, trying to sooth her. Kira closed her eyes as the stress from the past few minutes finally took its toll on her. "Whoa," Conner said as he suddenly felt Kira go limp in his arms. He tightened his hold on her and got down on one knee to keep her from falling. He looked down and saw she had fainted. Conner sighed and gently brushed a blonde curl from her face. He stood back up, shifting her in his arms so he was now holding her, his arms supporting her across the shoulders and under her knees. He walked deeper into the house, walking around until he found her bedroom. He was relieved to see that the room only had one window. He went to the bed and gently laid her down on the yellow duvet before going back and shutting the light off in the room. After doing this, he crept over to the widow, careful to flatten himself against the wall by the window. From his spot, he slowly inched the yellow curtain aside to sneak a look outside. All he saw was the darkened yard, street, and houses with sleeping neighbors. He let the curtain fall back in place as he made his way back to Kira. He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Kira," he said, shaking her shoulder. "Come on, we've got to get out of here," he said. Kira opened her eyes, gazing up at him with a questioning look. Conner smiled down at her before reaching over and taking her hands in his. "Come on," he said as he gently pulled her up to a sitting position.

"What's going on, Conner?" She asked in a low voice. Conner sighed and kneeled before her so they were at the same eye level.

"Kira, I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just, not here. You're not safe here," he said. Kira tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean I'm not safe here?" She asked. Conner shook his head.

"We have to go. Now." He told her. Just as the two were standing up, there was a loud crash from the kitchen. Both of them jumped to their feet. "Shit," Conner muttered. The crash was from the kitchen window. The two were silent as they heard the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. Conner grabbed Kira around the waist. Kira looked at him. "Hold on," he told her. Kira slowly put her arms around his neck. Behind her, she felt Conner touch something on his wrist. Kira jumped at the sound of her bedroom door being kicked open. She turned to see who was there, but the red prism surrounded them before she could get a look. The pair was soon gone. Kira felt like she was being crushed from all sides. Her breath was pushed from her lungs and she could feel everything starting to go dark. Then, just as quickly as the red prism had appeared, it faded away. Kira looked around and saw she and Conner were standing in some sort of lab. It greatly resembled the one that was in Dr. Oliver's basement. If it weren't for some differences in spacing and layout, she would've thought that she and Conner had been transported to the basement they spent a lot of their teenage days in. Kira noticed that she was still clinging to Conner, afraid that if she let go, he'd disappear.

"Where are we?" She questioned. Conner's grip on her waist slacked a little as he relaxed, being back in a friendly environment. Kira stepped away from him as she walked around the space, looking around.

"The short answer is, Ethan's basement," Conner said as she watched her studying every thing in the room, trying to understand and come to the only natural and logical conclusions, given their past.

"You mean..." She trailed off, turning around and facing Conner and taking in his actual appearance for the first time since he'd rescued her. His dark hair was lighter than it had been when they were in high school. He was a little taller than what he had been before, and if anything more muscular. The part that shocked her the most was that his normally 'stop-traffic' face had aged more than the rest of his body. There were worry and sag lines that hadn't been there ten years before. And mostly, he looked tired. His eyes seemed to have lost the ever present sparkle they had as teenagers. Forcing herself back to present and out of memory land, Kira waited for Conner to answer. He sighed a moment before nodding.

"Yeah." He replied.

"How long?" She asked.

"Since Ethan and I started working together? A year." He replied. He paused a moment.

"Before that... I worked solo for five." He finished. Kira did the mental math in her head. She nodded slowly.

"That's why all your birthday cards were returned to me." She whispered to herself. Conner stepped towards her.

"You sent birthday cards?" He asked. Kira looked at him, her eyes narrowing. Now that they were in a safe place, she could let her anger come up.

"Of course I did!" She snapped. "We all did. We tried getting in touch with you but you just fell off the face of the earth."

"I'm sorry," Conner said softly.

"We didn't know if you were okay," she continued on her rant. "We didn't know if you were alive or not. I don't hear from you for the better part of the decade….and this……this is how I hear from you? Ethan's death, and all this?" Conner sighed, the guilt seeping through him again. Ethan had said something similar to him when he'd contacted him. Granted everyone had still been alive at that point, and it had only been two years since he'd graduated college... But that wasn't the point. Kira was right; he should have stayed in contact.

"I know its worthless now, but I am sorry Kira. I never imagined that this was how I would get to talk to you again." He replied softly. Kira glared at him. By all rights, she should accept his words and just be grateful that he came to get her. But she just couldn't. Maybe she was angry about Ethan's death, maybe it was a culmination of everything that had gone on in the past few hours.

"You're right," she said. Conner looked at her. "It is worthless now," she said. Conner looked down, feeling like she had just sucker punched him. Sure, he deserved it, but it didn't change how it made him feel.

"I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, because everyone else was off living their lives and I didn't want to disrupt that," he told her.

"Oh, don't you dare make yourself out to be the martyr here, Conner McKnight. Don't act like you sacrificed so much. You could've at least kept in contact, even if you omitted all of this," Kira said.

"Kira, I'm not making myself out to be a martyr," Conner said. "Then what are you doing?!" She yelled at him. Something inside Conner snapped. He closed the gap between them and grabbed her by her arms.

"I was trying to protect you!" He exploded. Kira's eyes widened at his actions and words. She'd never seen Conner like this, and was a little scared. Conner blinked, realizing what he was doing. He quickly let her go and stepped away, putting distance between them. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What?" Was all that Kira managed to squeak out. Conner shook his head.

"It's nothing, forget it." He replied walking over to the computers. Kira took a few tentative steps towards him.

"Conner," she said. "I won't forget it. And it's obviously something if it made you react like that." Conner stopped and turned back towards her. He took a deep breath.

"Look at what happened just now," he said. "I called you, and suddenly your place wasn't safe anymore. I was living here with Ethan and his family and….." His voice trailed off as his chin quivered, trying to keep himself from crying again. "It's my fault." He whispered, still trying to contain himself. "I found this, whatever it is, six years ago and I've been running ever since... I finally managed to think that I'd shaken him off and I got Ethan's family killed!" He finished. Kira watched as he slumped against a nearby table and buried his face in his hands. Kira looked at him, her anger fading. She couldn't see him like this. She could feel it broke her heart.

"Oh, Conner," she sighed. She went to him and wrapped her arms around him. Conner's knees gave out and the two of them slowly sank to the floor together, Conner sobbing and Kira trying her best to comfort him. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered against his hair as he curled up against her, letting her engulf him in her arms. "These things, whatever they are, would've found us somehow. They found the Parks, didn't they?" Conner thought about it for a moment before something dawned on him.

"They're attacking former rangers... Anyone attached to the grid." He whispered. He sat up, making Kira release him. "The question is, why?" Kira thought for a moment before the figurative light bulb went off over her head.

"So that there'd be no one to take up the mantle again, to stop them," she concluded. Conner spun around.

"You're right! But the better question is why doesn't whatever this is want former rangers to stop him? What is he going to do?" Kira shook her head, showing she had no idea.

"You're the one who's been tracking this for five years, I have no clue." Conner sighed and sat back, resting his back against the table. Kira sat up straighter as a thought occurred to her. "Oh no," she said. Conner looked at her.

"What is it?" He asked. Kira gave him an incredulous look.

"You've got Hayley, Trent and Tommy coming here tomorrow. Slight problem, Kimberly's a former ranger. What's going to stop this thing…….or things……..from going after her and the kids while Tommy's here?" Just as Conner opened his mouth, the phone rang. Conner and Kira gave each other fearful looks, afraid of what new news it could bring. Conner and Kira jumped to their feet as they ran up to the main level of the house, Kira following him to the nearest phone. Conner skidded to a stop before the phone, hitting the speaker button on the base, his hands shaking too much to pick up the handset.

"Hello?" He asked. The line was filled with the sound of sirens. Kira's face paled as she reached Conner's hand, squeezing it.

"Conner?" Came Tommy's voice after a few coughs.

"What happened?" Conner asked.

"There's been an explosion here," Tommy said.

"Oh god," Kira muttered. "Is everyone okay?"

"Kira?" Tommy asked, shocked. "How'd you get there?"

"We'll explain later. What happened?" Conner asked.

"Something……somehow……got into the old lab," he said. "I don't know what happened. All I know is one second we're all sleeping peacefully, then there was a loud explosion downstairs. Everyone got out all right," Conner felt Kira's squeeze on his hand lessen. "What the hell is going on?"

"Dr. Oliver, this thing…..whatever it is…….we think it's going after former rangers," Conner said. Tommy was silent for a while.

"Is it only getting rangers here on earth?" He asked. Conner paused.

"I……I think so," Conner said. "Why?"

"I've still got some contacts over at NASADA," Tommy informed, his voice lowered. Kira and Conner were silent as their former science teacher came up with a plan to put as many past rangers into hiding on Mirinoi and Aquitar as possible. Conner nearly kicked himself for not thinking of that himself. Maybe Ethan, Emily and Ryan would still be alive if he had.

"What about families?" Kira asked. Tommy knew she was referring to Kendra and Elise.

"I'll call Trent. See if he can get them here right away. I'll make sure they stay with Kimberly and my girls. Kimberly will make sure they're okay." Kira sighed. After Elise had been born, Trent and Kendra had named Kira as the baby's godmother. She wanted to be sure they were safe. "Conner, this means we won't be able to make it to Texas for a few days."

"That's okay... As long as you, Kim and the girls are safe." Conner replied honestly. He knew that to Tommy, his family was everything. He sighed. "Dr. O, if you'd rather stay with them, I-"

"Conner," Tommy cut in sternly. "Trent and I will both be in Texas in a week at the latest. I'm not going to leave and let my students face this on their own. You're my family as much as Kim and the girls are." Tommy knew there was no way Conner would go into hiding. From the tone in the younger man's voice, he could tell he was invested in this mission. He wasn't going to go off to Mirinoi and leave Conner to face whatever this was all alone. "So since you avoided it before, what is Kira doing in Texas, with you?" Tommy questioned. The two friends paused, detecting the suspicious in his tone.

"It's not like that," Kira said quickly. "Something got in my house," she explained. "Conner showed up and got me out of there before anything happened."

"I see," Tommy said. "And how was Conner able to do this?" Kira paused, seeing as that was a question she had herself.

"Ethan was able to develop teleportation technology before…." Conner's voice trailed a bit.

"I see," Tommy said.

"I would use it to get you, Trent and get the others to NASADA, but," Conner stated, his trademark sheepish half smile gracing his features. "I'm not the tech genius. It was pure luck that I was able to get to Kira."

"Don't worry about it," Tommy said. "Just glad to hear you guys are okay." Tommy said, taking up his role of father figure once again. "I have to go, Kimberly's having trouble keeping the girls from getting restless."

"All right, man," Conner said. They bid there farewells before ending the call. Conner turned to Kira. "Kira," he said. "Look, if you want to go with Kimberly and the others, I can get you back to California. I-" Kira stopped him by putting a hand on his cheek.

"I'm staying," she said softly, her voice filled with certainty and determination. Conner sighed and placed a hand on the one on his cheek.

"Kira, I don't want you to get hurt," he said. "I can't lose you too. Consider it, will you, please?" Kira looked off, as if in deep thought, before looking at him again with a small smile.

"I considered it. You're not getting rid of me that easily," she said. Conner smiled. As much as he wanted her out of harms way, he was glad she was staying. The short time he'd been around her just now just told him he'd need her strength and support as this went on. He pulled her close and hugged her. They stood there for a while before disentangling. Conner noticed her yawning a bit and smiled.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" He suggested, telling her where his room was. "I want to do some scans, see if Tommy needs help tracking down any other rangers." Kira nodded. The idea of sleep seemed like a positively blissful thing at the moment. The two hugged once more before Kira went upstairs to Conner's room.

TBC…