Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Saban

Author's Note: Thanks to all that are reading/reviewing/lurking :)


CHAPTER NINE: Secret Identities Suck/He Blasted Me With Science

"I am proud of you, rangers. Your bravery and teamwork saved the day!" Gosei praised the team. The five rangers sat, unmorphed, on a bench outside the mall, listening to their mentor through Troy's morpher. Troy had bought some aspirin for his injury, and ended up sharing it with most of the team, though nobody had anything broken like he did. Emma had taped his rib again back at the command center. All I need is a break. Give me a day to heal, crazy aliens.

"You guys flew!" Tensou's tinny small voice chirped at them. He sounded excited, like a little kid. Troy couldn't help but grin. He exchanged a smile with his team.

"Thanks, Gosei,"Troy said. He stuck his morpher in his jacket pocket and leaned back. "So much for normal," he sighed. He looked at the rest of the group. "Seriously, how are the rest of you still in one piece?"

"Maybe we're just more careful, oh fearless leader," Jake shrugged. "Ow!" he yelled, as Emma punched him hard in the arm. He looked at her. "What was that for?"

"Oh, it's not just you," Emma growled. She glared at Gia. "What were the two of you thinking?" she demanded. "You should have waited for us!"

"I-"

"We-"

Emma held up a hand, silencing them both. "You could have followed them to the beach and then called us for backup. There's no reason, not one, that you guys should've gone into that fight by yourselves." She looked at Troy. "Right?"

"Um," Troy began, looking at her, "right?"

"There, you see?" Emma turned to Jake and Gia. "We are a team," she stressed. "We stick together."

"It was a lot easier together," Gia admitted. "I'm sorry, Em. We thought we could handle it." She looked at Jake. "I guess we know better."

"We're pretty awesome on our own," Emma said. "I'm not saying you guys aren't amazing, 'cause you are." She smiled. "You guys are my friends and amazing rangers."

"But as a team, we're unbeatable." Troy stood up gingerly. "Speaking of unbeatable…I need to tell you guys about something that happened this morning." He looked at them. "But first, I need banana frozen yogurt like you wouldn't believe. Is that offer to go to Ernie's still good?"

Noah pointed. "It's right across the plaza," he said. He looked at Jake. "You buying?"

"Yeah, man, no problem," Jake replied, standing and hefting his backpack.

"Awesome, Jake, thanks!" Emma grinned, linking arms with Gia and sauntering away toward the mall.

Jake's jaw dropped. "I…I meant Noah…"

Troy and Noah laughed. "Just roll with it, dude," Troy told his friend. "Consider it an apology for today."

Jake sighed. Troy clapped him on the shoulder and the boys followed the girls into the mall. The air conditioning was freezing. They found Gia and Emma already in a booth back in the corner by the door, and the guys slid in next to them. Ernie was a short, bald man with a Pakistani accent and a big smile. He took their orders without a notepad, and returned in less than eight minutes with their orders and five spoons. Troy took a spoonful of his banana-flavored yogurt and then leaned back. The others stared at him around the table.

He relayed the story of Creepox to them. "I know it's not the last time we've seen him. He wants a fight."

Noah pulled his red spoon out of his mouth and studied it. "I wonder what his position is with the aliens," he wondered aloud.

"We didn't get as far as rank and serial numbers," Troy shrugged. "Just names."

"Well," Gia decided, "next time he shows up, if he wants a fight, we'll give him one."

"No," Troy replied instantly. Gia's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to start a brawl with an alien that's trying to attack our planet. I won't give them an excuse to escalate." He stood up, wincing. "I've gotta go. I'll see you guys in school tomorrow." He brushed past Emma and headed for the trash can.

"Should we go after him?" he heard Noah ask.

"No," Emma replied. "Let him go." He could feel her eyes on him until he was out of eyesight. Outside, he leaned against the window and closed his eyes. After a moment, he walked out to the curb to hail a cab for home.


Carter heard the front door open over the sounds of Van Halen from the kitchen. He turned the radio down and listened. "Troy?" he asked finally.

A few moments later, Troy came into the kitchen. "Hey," he said. He looked at the stove. "Soup and grilled cheese?" he asked, looking at the bubbling red tomato soup.

"I didn't get home til about five minutes ago. I needed something quick since your mom won't be around for supper tonight." Carter glanced at the clock. "You're home late."

"Yeah, I ah…" Troy looked at the floor. "I stayed after to do some homework. The teachers here are evil, we had a pop quiz our second day of bio."

Carter chuckled. "Those fiends," he said. "How dare they." He looked around for something on the counter. "Troy, you wanna go in the fridge and grab me butter and the cheese?"

"Sure." Troy came into the room and reached for the refrigerator door. He pulled it open and grimaced as the movement tugged on his rib.

"I knew it," Carter said from behind him. He reached in over the top of Troy and grabbed the cheese from the door. "Your mom noticed it this morning when you picked up your bag for school." Troy closed the fridge and leaned against the door. Crap.

"What is it, a broken rib?" Carter asked, tossing the pack of cheese slices on the counter. "Looks like a broken rib. Did you have someone tape it for you?"

He worked on putting together a sandwich, waiting for his son to respond. Finally, Troy said, "Yeah. A friend at school."

"Oh, so you do have friends," Carter said. "Besides this one that gave you the broken rib?"

"Yeah, Dad," Troy said shortly. He was mad at himself and annoyed that he'd been found out.

"And what are the other ones like?" Carter asked him, tossing the sandwich into the frying pan. "Any other broken bones I should know about?"

Troy pretended to think about it. "Nope, that's the only one," he said sarcastically.

"Any particular reason you're lying to us on your second day of school?" Carter asked as he flicked the burner on.

"Not really," Troy replied, slipping into a persona he hadn't needed to be in almost a year. "I've got homework."

"That you didn't finish after school?"

Troy closed his eyes. His dad had a keen eye and ear as an arson investigator. He should have known his dad would catch the inconsistencies in his story. Rather than reply, he brushed past his dad and went upstairs to his room. Carter heard the door slam. He took a deep breath and let it out. Knowing his wife was still at work, he picked up the phone and dialed the only other person he could think of to talk to.

"Hello?"

Carter smiled at the voice. "Hey, Bill. How's Mariner Bay?"

"Carter!" Bill Mitchell's voice said through the phone. "We're all fine here. Did a little deep sea fishing the other day with your dad and Ryan."

"Yeah?" Carter chuckled. "How did that go?"

"We have some great pictures. Caught some really nice ones."

"That's awesome. How is my dad? I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to call them."

"They're doing good. Your brother apparently bought a ring the other day…"

The image of his little brother getting engaged was hard for Carter to wrap his head around. "I didn't know David had anyone that serious."

"She's cute. She's in the same master's program he is at Sacramento State. Sounds like he's happy with her."

"That's good news." Carter made a mental note to give his brother a call later in the week and play stupid so his brother could tell him himself.

"And I'm guessing….the reason you're calling isn't?" Bill asked him.

Carter shook his head. "How did you-"

"I can hear it in your voice, son." Carter heard the TV click off on Bill's end of the phone. "What's going on?"

"I think Troy's having trouble at school again," he told his father-in-law. "He's got a cracked rib, he's been coming home late…"

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"Yeah. It was a pretty short conversation." He sighed. "I was hoping the move would be good for him. Now I'm not so sure. We're starting off on all the wrong footing."

"Has Dana talked to him at all?"

"No. She's still settling in with the hospital. She's been working some long shifts. She was the first one to catch his injury though, this morning before school."

"That medical mind of hers," Bill said knowingly. He was quiet for a moment. "Maybe this weekend you should have Chad up to visit him. I know Chad really helped him…you know, before."

Carter closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. Maybe you're right." He sighed. "Thanks, Bill. Appreciate the talk."

"No problem, Carter. That's what family is for. Don't forget to call your brother."

Carter nodded. "Thanks again. I'll talk to you later."

"Carter, if it's not too much trouble, you wanna have my daughter give me a call sometime?" Bill was quiet. "I miss her voice. And with Ryan and Kelsey being so busy…"

His father in law was lonely. Carter bit his lip. "You bet, Bill. She doesn't go to work tomorrow til the afternoon. I'll tell her she needs to call you first thing."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you. And good luck with Troy. He's a good kid, he just needs to know he's got someone he can talk to."

"I hate that it isn't us," Carter said. "I thought we were more open since every thing, you know, before."

Bill chuckled softly. "It could be the move, it could be the new school. It could just be stress. Don't worry about it too much. It'll all turn out okay. Good luck, Carter."

"Thanks Bill. Talk to you soon." Carter clicked off the phone and flipped the grilled cheese. He knew that Troy wouldn't be in much of a mood to come down for dinner, so he dished out soup and a sandwich and dropped them in front of his door. Then, he retreated to the living room with his dinner. He set it on the coffee table and reached for the paperback he had on the arm of the couch.

He heard Troy's door open and close upstairs. Curious, he got up and went to the foot of the stairs.

The food was gone.

Well, at least he ate it. Carter returned to the living room and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. Hopefully whatever's bothering him, Chad can help him with.

Before he could forget, he went back into the kitchen and grabbed the phone again, along with Dana's address book. Dana was the one keeping track of all their former teammates, and he was pretty sure she had Chad and Rachel Lee's new number. Flipping to the L's, he found Chad's home phone. He would talk it over with Dana and see what she said before he called their friend.

In the meantime, it was time to call his parents and fill them in on how things were going. Though he'd maybe leave a few things out.


Troy sat at his desk staring out his window, his plate and bowl sitting in the corner. This sucked. His behavior had nothing to do with school. School was going pretty well, based on two days in. He had friends that he could talk to and relate to. No, his behavior had everything to do with his newfound responsibilities of being a Power Ranger.

He just wished he could explain that to his parents. If anybody could understand, it'd be them. They'd dealt with the same set of issues.

But if these invading aliens ever discovered his identity, and came after people he cared about, they'd definitely see two former Rangers as a threat.

So he'd keep playing 'old Troy.' He hated his old self, but that identity was going to keep his family and friends safe.