Finally got the second chapter up! Yeah I'm late! Sorry!

I own nothing but Casey!

Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 2

"That was awesome!" Was the first thing out of Dax's mouth as soon as they got back to the Hartford mansion. Casey followed, hand tucked tightly in Mack's. She was so proud of him. He was the hero, for once in his life, he was what he had been reading about for so long and he didn't even know it. Mack's hand kept squeezing her own, and she couldn't help but smile.

"The bad guys got away with the crown, how is that awesome?" Will asked, staring at them.

Andrew Hartford smiled, before walking over to a safe. He quickly opened it, and pulled out yet another crown. "Moltor may have gotten away with a crown. . ."

"Wait? You gave Moltor a fake crown and kept the real crown? You made them all go out there, even me, for a cheap piece of junk? Well that was highly uncalled for!" Casey asked, looking at him. Mack's hand squeezed her yet again, looking down at her, telling her to calm down. Behind them, she could hear Ronny and Rose giggling a bit.

"It doesn't matter. We need Moltor to believe he has the real crown. You guys did great!" Andrew finished off, putting the crown back where it belonged.

"We were great? Mack was the one who was great! He jumped in when you couldn't!" Rose exclaimed. The others chorused together, agreeing with her.

"They're right, you did great." Casey repeated. Mack blushed, not used to all of the compliments toward him.

"Yes, great job Mack. You wanted to be a ranger and you were one. Now it's time to put that fantasy away. I'll take your tracker." Andrew stated, holding his hand out. The others stared at Andrew.

"But Dad. . ."

"Mack." Mack sighed, before handing the tracker back over to his father. "I'll be in my office in you need me." Andrew told them, before disappearing.

Mack had disappeared after that, and while the rangers had went back downstairs to check everything out, Casey went to find Mack. After a while, she found him sitting on the steps, face dejected and his book sitting beside him. She frowned, a breeze tossing her hair gently, before she slowly moved toward him. She sat down beside him and stared in silence for a moment.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't want me to help. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Mack finally broke the silence, staring off into the distance. Casey looked up at him, tucking a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear. She took a breath.

"I can do this, Case." Mack added.

"I know you can, Mack. You're a hero, you're the best hero I've ever met. And not because of all the books you've read." Casey agreed.

"Then why won't he let me be a ranger?"

"Maybe he's protecting you, Mack. Think about it." She took another breath. "I understand why he won't let me. I'm not that strong, I would probably get in the way. Heck, I'm almost scared of anything. . ."

"Casey, come on. . ."

"And he knows I love you, and you love me. And he wouldn't want anything to happen to me out there. He needs my common sense and hacking gift. He knows that if I was put out in that danger, you would probably kill him if I ever got hurt." Casey explained. Mack finally sighed and turned to face her, eyes meeting eyes.

"That is true." He finally said and she giggled.

"Then turn it around. You wouldn't want me being put out there in danger because I'm your girlfriend and you love me, right? Why wouldn't Andrew Hartford, a single father of one rambunctious twenty-one year old, let his only son, the only family he has left, go out there and put himself in danger?" She asked him, a serious tint in her voice. Mack faltered, before shaking his head and shrugging.

"I guess I need to go talk to him, huh?" She nodded to his question. He couldn't help but smile, before leaning down and kissing her softly. He pulled back after a moment and sighed. "There's a reason you're my girlfriend, isn't there?"

"I hope so." She said, laughing as he jumped up and headed back inside. She chuckled, shaking her own head and leaning back against the steps. She picked up the adventure book Mack had been reading and smiled softly, flipping through the old and folded up pages. He had read this book too many times.

"I see you got through to him?" Spencer asked, walking out with a glass of lemonade. Casey smiled and stood up, taking the glass and nodding.

"Just took a little common sense."

"A little sense from a girlfriend and a butler, huh?" Spencer added and she giggled. "Maybe." She added, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks Spence. I'm going to go see what the rangers are up to." She said, taking the glass with her and heading back into the mansion and downstairs.

Casey walked in just as Ronny found the zords on the main screen. "Those are for us? I may need to lie down." Ronny joked and she laughed.

"Andrew Hartford has this big way of 'go big or go home'." She told them, walking over.

"I'll say." Will agreed.

"So, how to you know Mr. Hartford and Mack?" Ronny asked her after a moment, leaning back in the chair.

"Wait, I thought I knew your name. You're Casey Caruso! You're like the youngest hacker ever! She can hack into anything! I've learned some tricks from reading your blog." Will exclaimed, and Casey blushed, sitting down beside them.

"Well it's nice to have some fans. Yeah. I'm a well known hacker. Can't hack into anything, but I can hack into a lot of stuff. Most of the time I use it for good. You know, getting viruses out of major computers, opening unexplained files from around the world. Those things. I've known Mr. Hartford and Mack for almost three years now. Andrew needed my help after he got a major virus on his computer from trying to locate some lost files. I saved his whole computer. I've been friends with them ever since. That man can pay some serious money back!" She finally explained to them, watching them.

"So, how old are you?" Dax asked.

"Twenty-one. Same age as Mack."

"Who happens to be your boyfriend?" Ronny teased. Casey blushed even more, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah. We've been dating almost a year and a half now. He's like my best friend and this is the one place I can call home."

"You don't have a home?" Rose asked, confused. Casey shook her head. "No parents. Died when I was seven. Bounced around from orphanage to foster homes to girls' homes until I was eighteen. By then I knew how to mess with computers and it was a good amount of money that kept me alive. Once I was kicked out, I knew I had a steady income to take care of myself."

"Do you stay here with them?"

"Man, what is with all these questions? Every once in a while. Spend most of my days here if I'm not somewhere on a job. It's just easier. Now I'll be spending more time here I guess." She finished up just as the doors burst open an Mack came barreling in, accompanied by Spencer.

"He's gone! And his office is trashed! It's gotta be those lava freaks that took him!" Mack exclaimed.

"Who?" Dax finally asked as they all stood up.

"Master Hartford is missing. They left a mess that I am not going to clean." Spencer explained to all of them. Casey touched Rose's shoulder, pointing back to the computers. Rose was a young genius, they could easily track Hartford.

"Don't worry, Mack. We're going to get your dad back." Dax reassured.

"Thanks. I just hope he didn't take the tracker." Mack agreed.

"Ah yes, the tracker. . .What a pity it's in your father's office, locked in a fool-proof safe. Impossible to break. . . ." Spencer's eyes wandered toward Will. "Impossible!" Casey turned around just to see Will running. She couldn't help but smile, before turning back toward the computer.

A red, blinking 'H' appeared, and Casey smiled. She looked over at Rose, who grinned. "Found him!" She exclaimed.

"Rotuma Island. I've never heard of it." Ronny said, walking over to the computer screen.

"It's a remote island in Australasia, approximately four hundred and fifty kilometers north of Fiji." Rose explained, which didn't really surprise Casey at all. "Now, what I don't know is how we're going to get there."

"Well, the fastest way to get there is to use the Special Hydro-Aero Recon Craft. Or as your father likes to call it, the SHARC." Spencer explained, typing away at the computer until a screen popped up, showing a new vehicle.

"Sweet! I'm driving!" Ronny exclaimed.

"I'm going too, and don't try to stop me Spencer." Mack said, stopping the four.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Sir!" Spencer added. Casey ran over, catching Mack's arm before he moved.

"Be careful, please?" She asked him softly. Mack smiled softly, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "Wouldn't dream of leaving you so soon." He said. She smiled and nodded, taking a step back. She looked to see Ronny and Rose giggling and pushed them playfully. It was nice to have two girls as friends for once.

"You guys aren't going to leave without me, are you?" Will asked, catching up with them and tossing the tracker to Mack.

"You got it?" Ronny asked.

"Was there a doubt?" Will smirked.

"Not from me!" Casey called as they disappeared. She looked toward the screen, watching the rangers move and slip into the SHARC, before it was gone. She sighed.

"He'll be fine, Miss Caruso. You already know that." Spencer said softly, touching her shoulder. She touched his hand and sighed.

"Still, that doesn't make me any less worried, Spence."

It was a while before the rangers finally came back, Andrew Hartford in tow. "Thank goodness you're alright, Sir! I was getting worried about you." Spencer told them as they walked toward them. Casey moved and hugged Mack tightly, smiling as he squeezed back and then let her lean into his chest where they were standing.

"Spencer, are you turning into a softy in your old age?" Andrew joked.

"Never, Sir!"

They laughed, before an alarm sounded. Turning toward the t.v., they looked to see the monster that the rangers had defeated was now back, and bigger than ever.

"Sounds like it's time for the big stuff!" Ronny exclaimed, a bounce in her step at the thought of using the zords.

"Alright, Ronny. Guys, get your drivemax zords and go!" He told them. The rangers nodded, moving to grab their weapons. Mack moved, kissing her forehead once again and turning to move. "Mack." Andrew stopped him.

"Dad, they need my help!"

Andrew looked at him, before looking at the rangers. They nodded. He then looked at Casey, who nodded softly.

"Be careful." He let Mack go, now and forever a red ranger.

Casey sat in her seat as Mack stood there, getting his genes modified. Yeah, it sucked. She wasn't a ranger. But she was glad Mack finally got the adventure he actually deserved.

"Your DNA resequencing is now complete, sir." Spencer said, the beams now turning off as Mack stood there.

"I don't feel any different."

"It takes a few minutes to kick in." Ronny added. Mack smiled, looking over at Casey walked over to them.

"It's great to have you on the team, Mack." Rose said, handing his tracker. Mack was grinning, taking the tracker and putting it on his shoulder.

"I can't believe this is really happening!" Mack exclaimed.

"I'm proud of you." Casey told him, smiling. Mack nodded, hugging her tightly to him.

"Wait, if Mack's a ranger now, that means he's the hero. So that means you, Casey, are the damsel in distress." Dax exclaimed to them, grinning and nodding. Casey rolled her eyes, walking over to him. She grabbed his outstretched arm while he was still laughing and twisted, flipping and tossing the blue ranger to the ground.

"Yeah, she's not a damsel in distress. I learned that the hard way." Mack commented to where Dax laid, catching his breath. The rangers laughed, Will helping Dax to his feet. They smirked, before Mack frowned, before reaching and grabbing Spencer's collar. He lifted the man then, over his head.

"When I asked for a raise, this was hardly what I had in mind." Spencer muttered as Hartford came back in, letting Mack lower him back to the ground. Hartford chuckled. "I see you've given Mack his enhanced powers."

"I had the re-sequencer re-calibrated especially for him, sir."

"Listen up rangers. It's time to get to work. Our enemies have the crown, and now they're going to be after the jewels. It's going to be the mission of Operation Overdrive to find them first!" Hartford explained to the others.

"Yeah!"