Chapter 10: Internships and Revelations

"Kim, try to say the correct phrase in Triforian," Billy instructed, sitting before her. Tommy looked just as annoyed as his fiancé and perhaps only slightly less than Ethan and Kira.

"Billy," she began to argue, but the former Blue would have none of it.

"There are going to be several delegates at your wedding. You must do this correctly," he scolded her. Tommy made a face before looking back at the former Blue Ranger.

"It's Trey," he said. "He's an old friend."

"He is a prince, Tommy," Billy answered, completely serious. "I understand that we know many of them, but it is imperative that we continue to do this in a correct manner."

"Why didn't Trini and Jason have to go through this?" Kim demanded.

Billy ignored the question. "Please just say the phrase, Kim."

"Billy, why didn't Jason and Trini have to go through this?" She tried again.

He looked uncomfortable and was going to try to change the subject again, when Kim's voice got sterner. "Billy?"

When you've known someone since grade school, you tend to get used to certain things. Billy, for instance, knew that tone and he involuntarily was beginning to back down to it. It was the same that she gave when he let others pick on him or made fun of himself. He also knew that she was like a terrier when she grasped onto a subject and wanted an answer which was why, at a third glance to her look, he sighed. "This is Earth, correct?"

"Last time I checked," Kim said, sounding mostly serious. He couldn't blame her for sounding a little sarcastic since, especially coming from him, it was a stupid question. He nodded and decided to quickly continue.

"Considering the majority of this planet does not accept or even know about aliens, Earth would be considered to be unneeded of interaction between this world and others. However, considering how often Earth is attacked, it was decided that there would need to be contact with other planets and a named leader for the planet to exist as it's own entity instead of a territory in the way Guam or Puerto Rico are considered to be United States territories. Considering that we do not have one leader but instead several and due to the problem of many humans not knowing about aliens, the other planets named a leader since there was an absence," Billy said, slipping back a bit into his own way of speaking. Kim closed her eyes and Tommy clenched his teeth as Billy spoke. They knew that he tended to drift into the old speaking habit when he was nervous which meant that whatever he said next, they weren't going to like it. Billy looked in multicolored Ranger's direction. "Tommy, as the longest serving ranger, the leader of two groups of rangers, the one who has met the majority of aliens, you were highly considered. When the mission to the moon took place with the various other red Rangers, it was firmly decided that you were to be their equivalent. The mentoring only added to their claim."

"What?!" Tommy demanded. Kim's eyes widened as Ethan and Kira both winced.

"Please do not ask me to repeat it," Billy begged. He'd hated to have to tell his old friend the first time and he'd been hoping that it was only honorary so he'd never have to let Tommy know. Unfortunately, that hope had been shattered recently. He reminded himself that he really did need to do something nice for Cestro for making sure he knew. If Aquitar hadn't let him know, he wasn't sure what would have happened. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to change how Tommy felt about the whole thing and he wasn't going to like the part Billy was going to have to tell him next either. "There is a little more."

"Like what?" Tommy asked, still seething. Billy decided that going anywhere near the other right now probably would be a good idea. He took a few more steps back and looked at him.

"They believe that Kim, Trini, Jason, Zack, and myself are part of your council. They already decided that I am your ambassador. It was the only way I could get the Power for our newest Rangers. Considering that you are marrying Kim, we need not come up with an excuse for her. However, that leaves Trini, Jason, and Zack," Billy answered. Before Tommy could say anything, Kira quickly cut in having a bad feeling.

"So, why do we have to learn it?" She asked tentatively. Billy gave her a sympathetic look, trying to ease the news onto her, but he was cut off.

"Isn't it obvious?" They all turned to see Conner standing in the doorway, arms folded and looking less than happy. "We're their heirs."

"What?!" Kira asked and Ethan turned to Kim and Tommy.

"Quick! Disown us!" He begged which only served to cause both of their mentors to shoot him a look. Kira gently smacked his arm.

"You've been hanging out with Conner too long," she informed him before turning on her annoyed boyfriend. "And how did you know?"

Conner sighed before looking up. "Because I had the interview today, Billy wanted me to learn it before I left. It seemed weird that he was pushing me to learn it instead of doing the usual 'stay out of the way, Conner' that most people do. So, I asked."

"You're handling this well," Kim mentioned, keeping a hand on Tommy to stop him from throwing the fit that they both wanted to throw. Conner shrugged.

"You should see our dorm room," he answered and turned to Ethan who was glaring at him. "Tell you what, you become the crowned prince of a planet before breakfast and you can trash our room next week. Okay?"

Kira's eyes got wider at that. "Oh god, you are the highest up, aren't you?"

"Yep. Which, by the way, is one of the many reasons I'm not touching anything red and shiny again. Blue and shiny? Sure. Yellow and shiny? Okay. But not red. Red is dangerous," Conner said, not looking happy with the situation at all. Kira got up and hugged him while Ethan put a hand on his shoulder. Kim and Tommy both looked less than pleased, but had the feeling that they weren't going to get out of it.

"Did you try…?" Tommy asked, calming down a bit. He knew that most of his old friends got worried when he got angry. An old reaction left behind from when he'd tried to kill them all. No matter how angry he was, he didn't mean to direct it at his old friend. The former blue Ranger was only letting them know and it was wrong to shoot the messenger. Billy nodded.

"Cestro informed me when he found out that I did not know and he let me know recently that it was not as honorary as I had hoped. However, without Zordon here…" Billy began and looked even more uncomfortable. "They'd send someone here. Our authority over the new Rangers would be lessened."

"We'll do it. We made a promise," Kim assured him and looked at Tommy, who nodded. They both glanced over at Kira, Ethan, and Conner who looked unhappy by the situation. Finally, Kira pulled away and nodded.

"I'll do it. I promised to help," she said. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Ethan giving her a half smile.

"As much as I'm for the disowned idea," he joked before turning serious. "I'd rather we be in charge than someone else. I mean, we've earned it."

They both turned to look at Conner who hadn't joined them yet. The happy-go-lucky mask had been forced down and the side of Conner that had been concealed was showing through: distant, hard, unhappy. He was quiet for a minute before Tommy and Kim nodded to each other. "Conner…" She started, but he shook his head.

"Give me some time?" He asked and both of his mentors nodded. It wasn't that he didn't want to help out, but he'd heard some of the stories that Billy had told the others. He wasn't supposed to have heard them necessarily, but he had. He knew that several of the other planets weren't fond of humans and one thing Conner didn't have was any sort of tact. He'd feel guilty if he managed to start a war because of one stupid comment, even if the alien deserved it.

Kim quickly changed the subject. "How did it go?" She asked, not wanting to hear the answer, really, but knowing that they'd have to find out some time.

"It was a group interview. She was in the room while one of the other people gave it. She just watched our response. I pretended like she wasn't there," Conner answered. He shook his head. "With my resume, I can't figure out how I got this far anyway."

"Be careful," Tommy said, causing them to turn and look at him. He sighed and looked directly at the young man. "I can't think of anything else to say."

"Yes, thank you. Bye," Conner said and hung up the phone before looking over at an anxious Ethan. "I got the job."

"Normally, I'd be thrilled for you," Ethan assured him and Conner nodded in understanding. Even he, who had offered to do this, was halfway hoping that they wouldn't hire him and he could get away with saying he tried. "So, uh, don't die."

"Don't plan on it," he assured Ethan. "But promise me this: If I do die, you will make sure that Trent never marries Kira."

"Can I marry her?" Ethan joked and Conner pretended to think about it.

"Yeah sure. Especially if it's the only way to keep her from marrying Trent," Conner continued, though he was grinning. Trent and he had worked out most of their differences, but that was one thing that they'd probably never completely work past. When Ethan looked uncomfortable again, Conner concentrated and the other boy's head shot up. "Don't worry so much, Ethan."

"Don't do that!" Ethan exclaimed, but he looked a little calmer. They often forgot since they were around each other and their mentors so often, but they were still able to sense each other. Conner had just proven that.

"Just keep checking. You should be able to sense me if something goes wrong," Conner said with a slight laugh before looking a bit panicked. "Ethan, come get me if something goes wrong."

"I will. Right after I stop Kira and Doctor O from panicking," he promised. Conner gave him a slight leader-look and Ethan sighed. "And after I control my temper so that I don't race into trouble."

Conner grinned at that before reaching for the phone. "We should call Trent."

"Aren't you going to call Kira?" Ethan asked and Conner shook his head.

"Are you kidding? With that demonstration? Kira's on her way over already. I'll let her know when she gets here," Conner answered. "And Doctor O and Kim will be calling on the communicators, so if you could tell them for me that'd be great."

"Why does Kira put up with you?" Ethan asked and Conner shrugged. Just as Trent seemed to answer, Conner was right and both of their communicators when haywire. Ethan sighed, but answered as his friend had requested. "The idiot's fine."

"Ethan? What's going on?" Tommy asked.

"Somebody decided to remind me that I can feel him so I shouldn't worry so much. He got the job," Ethan answered, glaring at Conner's back. If the other boy noticed, and there was no way he couldn't have, he ignored it.

"Great." Their mentor's voice didn't even have a shred of excitement in it, which didn't surprise Ethan. He was pretty sure the Lost Galaxy Rangers had heard the protesting both Kim and Tommy had given before. "Tell him to be careful."

"Will do," Ethan assured him, barely finishing up as Conner did before the door slammed open and Kira rushed in. She looked at Ethan, who was pointing at Conner and did a quick once over to make sure he was alright before her eyes narrowed.

"See?" Conner asked, not seeming to notice the danger he was in. Ethan, for his part, had gotten into the further corner placing a chair in front of him for protection. "I'll be fine."

"Not after I'm finished with you!" Kira snapped, lunging at him. The phone fell to the floor silent in all of the noise as Kira's wrath commenced.

Conner followed the man through the building, only half listening to what he was saying. He'd gotten through the important things, but he wished that the guy would hurry up and lead him to Ms. Leiurus' office like he was supposed to. Still, he just kept quiet, answering at the right time like he'd done so often for his mentors until the man finally headed toward where she was.

It was obviously her, there was no doubt about it for him. Yet, her golden armor had been traded in for a well-made business suit and her weapon of choice was now a pen. She looked just as he'd expect from someone in her position. The man, who Conner had already forgotten the name of since he was completely human and not a direct threat, turned to her and politely called to her. "Ms. Leiurus, the new intern is here."

She turned around and looked at him, no trace of recognition which matched his own at the minute. She had to have known who he was, unless they were wrong and this woman was only a look-a-like to their foe. Still, if the elder Rangers had ruled that out, then so would he. She looked him over once before putting out her hand. "Sabrina Leiurus."

"Conner McKnight. It's a pleasure, Ma'am," Conner said politely. She nodded and turned to the other man.

"Thank you, Edward. I'll take it from here," she informed the other, who nodded and left. The room was silent for a moment, both just staring at each other and Conner realized that he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say.

"Do… do we fight now?" He finally asked and she kept quiet, still looking him over. He did his best not to show just how scared he was at that point. The last time he was near her, she scratched his face and threatened to kill both Ethan and him. Only difference was, this time he didn't have to worry about anyone else. He felt himself standing ready and waited.

"No," she finally answered. "That's not why I brought you here."

Conner's hand moved to the other, pleased that he'd paid attention this time when Hayley and Billy were explaining things.

"We don't know why she hired you," Hayley informed him. "So, we needed to set up something different this time so that we don't fall into the same problem we did last time. For all we know, it could be shielded."

"Therefore, Hayley and I have set up the transporter to respond to you. All you need to do is say 'transport' and it will do so. If you are unable to talk, tap you hand as close to the communicator as possible," Billy instructed. Conner gave him a look.

"They took it last time," he reminded them and Hayley nodded.

"It doesn't necessarily need to be there. And if you take it off or it's taken off, we'll transport you out of there regardless," she told him. She handed him his communicator back and tried to smile. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine, Hayley. Thanks," he assured her and headed out.

Conner's hands dropped to his sides a bit more as he waited. He was ready as he'd assured his elders, but he wanted to know why she'd chosen him. "Then why?"

"You don't think you're qualified?" She asked in amusement.

"I saw the other resumes. They were better," Conner answered. "So, why?"

"Two reasons, really. First, you interest me. I've never seen such an unusual red Ranger before. You're still that self-sacrificing leader, but you're… different. I'm curious to know why. They all must know you're here since this was a long term plan which means that you didn't just run to stop me on your own," she informed him. Conner glared a bit, not just from her words but from knowing how true they were. The other Reds brought it up often enough as did nearly every female Ranger. While the female Rangers thought of it as a desirable trait, it was well known that he was unusual more that likely due to his mentor being a Pink. It kept him out of some trouble, but it was still a little embarrassing and definitely not something he wanted an archenemy to know about. Still, he managed to calm himself down enough to look at her as she continued. "Secondly, I don't have to hide who I am around you. You know who I am and I know who you are. We both know why the other is here. I don't have to worry if Chel calls because you know who he is. And as I said, I know why you're here."

"Then why…?" He asked, having guessed that she'd know he was spying. He just couldn't figure out why he'd gotten hired with her knowing that.

"It adds some fun to my day," she answered. She brought herself up and Conner was immediately reminded of the fact that she was a warrior first and foremost. One that, to his surprise, put the looks and posture Elsa had had when she was evil to shame. "It keeps me on my toes."

She walked toward him until they were less than a foot away from each other. Conner managed to keep his calm as well as could be expected. "Oh."

"Now, Conner, you just do your job right and we'll pretend to get along splendidly, won't we?" She asked and he nodded once.

"Yeah," he answered and she smiled at him. It wasn't a nice smile.

"There's a good boy," she said.

Kim led the two hyperactive children down into the basement where Hayley and Billy were arguing once again. Tommy insisted that as long as they weren't so bad that Neen was making up a song to go along with the arguing that they should just fight it out. It was apparently how they dealt with things. Kim agreed, but there were definitely times when it got on her nerves a bit. Ethan had tried to explain it to her by telling her that geniuses got that way around each other and that had gone a little better. Jera and Ethan, after all, tended to get the same way around each other, though not to the degree that Hayley and Billy did and certainly without the sexual tension.

She turned to the two kids and looked at them seriously. "Now, what aren't you supposed to do?"

"We should not bother Papa or Hayley," Neen answered. "And we should try to keep the raptors away from them."

"Good girl. Dante, did you call home?" Kim asked and Dante shrugged.

"She's not home yet," he answered. "I'll call her later, okay?"

"Just keep an eye on the time," Kim instructed, glancing at her wrist to keep track of the time herself. It was only twelve in the afternoon, well, a bit past twelve. When it reached near five, she'd remind Dante again. She headed over to Hayley and Billy, ignoring their arguing and trying to keep her voice calm. "How's it going?"

"It's shielded, just like we thought it would be," Hayley answered. "I'm working on trying to find a way to make audio possible since she might not have thought about that. Billy wants to find a way around the shield so that we can see what's going on."

"Any progress for either?" She asked.

"No," they snapped at the same time and Kim held her hands up.

"Sorry I asked," she muttered. She knew that Conner would have gotten out of there if it was too dangerous and she'd worry until she got home. Still, she couldn't let it affect everything she did. She sat down next to the two kids and pat Red when he laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm going to play with you guys. Hayley and Billy aren't playing very nicely."

Neen looked up at her. "I believe they need a nap," she said seriously and Kim nodded just as seriously back as they continued their game.

Elsa rubbed her eyes. It shouldn't have been this difficult. She was used to the usual problem student or the normal fight. She just didn't expect them to be the same people who were supposed to be saving the world. Yes, Conner, Kira, and Ethan had gotten detention when the year started out for them, but they weren't Rangers yet and the only time they got it after that was when she gave it to them for ditching, even though she knew why. That's what evil did.

"I know you're worried. We're all worried. We're going to be worried about him until this whole thing is over," Elsa said, making sure she was completely in 'principal' mode at the moment. "But you can't let that take over your lives. You still have to go to class and pay attention in it."

"Yes, Principal Randall," they answered.

"And you," she said, turning to the worst of the offenders. "You actually need to teach your class!"

"Yes, Principal Randall," Tommy answered just as the other four had. "But Amber did a great job, didn't she?"

"It's not her job, Dr. Oliver. She's a student," she answered, reminding him of their working relationship. "Conner knew what he was getting himself into. You four voted for him to be able to do it and you knew he'd be capable. Why are you acting like this?"

"We're just worried," Ben said softly. "He went to her. She doesn't seem to be the nicest of people. Right, Seth?"

"'I met a lady in the meads,/Fully beautiful- a faery's child,/Her hair was long, her foot was light/And her eyes were wild.'" Seth quietly quoted in response. When they turned to look at him, the young poet shrugged. "La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Keats."

Tommy nodded. "It fits."

"How does that poem end?" Jera asked and Seth looked at the ground.

"It's sort of implied that he dies," Seth answered. Jera hit him over the head.

"Stop quote death poems. Quote something that ends happily," she snapped, hugging herself in worry. Tara sat next to her and offered a small smile.

"We don't know that he's dead. And Doctor Oliver would know," she reminded her teammates, causing them all to turn around and look at their teacher who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"There," Elsa said. "You know he'd not dead. So, please pay attention in class. And teach class. I don't ask that much out of you."

"Yes, Principal Randall," they said in unison.

"Good. And the next person to slack off, I will put in detention. No, Doctor Oliver, I don't mean you'll have detention duty. I mean detention. Understand?" She demanded and they all looked sheepish.

"Yes, Principal Randall."

"I thought class got over an hour ago," Kim said as Ethan and Kira made their way into the house. She quickly noticed that they were each carrying quite a few bags and hurried to help them. Before she could take too many, however, she felt someone else helping her and glanced up to see Jason. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking up the groceries," he answered, motioning to the bags. "I asked Kira and Ethan to help me out."

"Umm… Jason?" She started. "I know this might be a new concept for you, but there are stores in Angel Grove."

"No stores that sell Asian items," he answered happily. "At least not the stuff Trini wanted. She was specific down to the brand."

"Cravings set in, huh?" Kim asked and Jason nodded.

"Yep. But the Power affects it," he answered. "It's like it's protecting the baby a little more, but it needs energy to do it."

Kim's eyes widened. "You mean the baby might come out with the Power already?"

"Trini doesn't think so. She thinks that it's coming more from her than from the baby," Jason answered. "Extra protection. Sort of like how the womb is insulated. With the trouble we get into, we're happy for it."

"Been reading the books Billy gave you?" Kim teased and Jason grinned as he nodded. "That doesn't explain why you were using my students."

"Oh, well, I wanted to get the stuff as quickly as possible so I called Kira and Ethan for help," he said cheerfully, pulling money out of his wallet as he did so.

"Get your own pack mules," Tommy said as he entered. "My students."

"I'm guessing by Mr. Cheerful's attitude we haven't heard from Conner?" Jason asked and Kim shook her head, a little amused at his guess. Tommy just glared as his friend who put his hands up. "They agreed."

"Ethan also agreed to follow you to Vegas. You're not making a good point," Tommy answered and Kim just shook her head toward Jason who sighed, but dropped it. A quick look to Kira and Ethan caused them to stop the tirade they were about to go on too. Everyone was just stressed.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Jason asked and Tommy nodded once.

"Lunch," he answered. He didn't say anything else and Jason was guessing he hadn't driven home.

"Conner should be home soon, right? Like in a few hours?" Kira asked and Kim nodded. "Good. I don't like the waiting."

Jason looked at Tommy and Kim, grinning a bit. "You two ready for the wedding?"

"Except for the dignitaries, yes," Tommy answered. "Goddamned…"

"Which can't you get?" Jason asked and Tommy sighed.

"Sardarian, Tardiarish, and Triforian," Tommy asked and Jason snickered a bit. "It's not funny!"

"Like hell it's not! You knew a Triforian," he answered, still looking a bit smug. "And you're having problems with it. The only thing worse would be not knowing Aquitian."

"Neen's a good teacher," Ethan and Kira said at the same time before wincing and looking at Tommy who was glaring at them.

"'Happened to know it?' 'Look, we're further than Dr. O. Can we go play Raptorball?'" He demanded. "You both got out of practice using that!"

"And we bought Neen a giant ice cream cone for being such a great teacher. For the record, Dante's bilingual now. Just so you know," Ethan answered calmly and Tommy groaned. He couldn't leave any of them alone for a minute.

"She taught him Aquitian?" Tommy groaned and Ethan shrugged.

"As well as she could. It's not an easy language to learn," the younger man answered. "I kept saying 'eat the shark' instead of 'see the shark'. Neen finally taught me the right click, but that would have been embarrassing."

Tommy grumbled and headed out of the room, leaving the others in their own thoughts. Kim finally shook her head and sighed before heading back down to see how Billy and Hayley were doing. The way the two geniuses and her fiancé were acting, she might have to kill one of them. At least Billy and Hayley were doing something useful with their annoying her. She was less likely to commit homicide.

Conner finished typing the page, quickly looking it over to make sure that he hadn't screwed up. Not for the first time, he was thankful he had Ethan for a friend considering the other boy had taught him to be more proficient with the keyboard. He sighed and leaned back for a minute, collecting his thoughts as he looked over at the stack that he needed to continue. He felt two hands clench his shoulders and his head whipped around to see Sabrina looking at him in amusement. "Well, at least you finished the letter."

"I was figuring out how to do the next project," he said stubbornly, not surprised when she laughed. He would have argued it further, but he thought better of it. "Did you need help with something?"

"I have a meeting. I need you to answer calls," she instructed. "I'll just be in the other room, but I don't want to be interrupted."

"Okay," Conner agreed. She nodded once at that and slipped into the other room. Conner stayed at the desk for a few minutes before heading to the door and listening in. He pressed his ear to the door carefully, just as Jason and Zack had taught him so they could find out things that Kim and Doctor O hadn't wanted them to find out.

"Well?" Conner knew the difference between Sabrina and Scorpina's voices. She might have been in costume still, but she was definitely in warrior mode.

"They finished with the samples." Conner's blood turned cold for a minute as he recognized Chelone's voice. Being in the same building with both of them didn't make him feel better, but this was why he'd taken the job.

"Good. And the breeding?" She demanded.

"On schedule. Everything is in order," he answered.

"Good," she answered. "Send Chupacre. Send him to the school. It will be harder for them to turn into Rangers if there are others watching."

"Yes, Milady," he answered. Conner moved away from the door, praying his communicator worked. If there was ever a time for Billy and Hayley's stuff to go right, now was it. He just hoped that they'd stay busy for a minute or two so he could do this. He headed to the desk and kept his voice low.

"Guys? They're planning to attack the school so the Rangers can't morph. Tell Elsa…" That was the last bit he got out before a shot of electricity hit his wrist, destroying the morpher. Forgetting the mess he was in, he frowned up at his boss. "Why'd you have to do that? They're going to have my head for breaking another one!"

"Mmm," Scorpina answered and she was definitely Scorpina. Conner had no doubt that that was a note on the door that instructed others not to interrupt. "If I don't take it first."

"For what?" Conner asked, trying to sound smooth about it instead of terrified. She still had that Stinger out and he couldn't help but wonder if it was just a sword or if it was poisoned. Not that it matter if she shot him anyway, but he wanted to know all of the different ways it could kill him at the moment. None of it would affect an active, suited Ranger that much, but it would affect him now. Then again, if she did behead him, then poison and electricity wasn't really something to work about.

"Don't play games with me," she answered. "Eavesdropping doesn't isn't your strong point, Conner. You're not much of a spy."

"Sorry?" He offered, wondering how well the desk would work as a shield if she started shooting. He'd only need it for a couple of seconds, hopefully, assuming that Hayley and Billy's equations were right. He really, really hoped they were.

"It's too late for me to change things," she informed him. "So, I guess you have this one. Don't bother waiting to get pulled out, I changed the frequency."

Maybe if I never go back, I won't get pummeled. Because they're going to be in a bad mood already from the frequency change when I hand over the communicator I broke again. I wonder how Tahiti is this time of the year. The thought ran through his head as she headed toward him. He tried to figure out if he could make it around her if he ran and realized that when he stood up, she'd probably shoot him down. "So, what now? You said you knew why I was here…"

At this point, just staying alive seemed like the best of plans. "I could kill you," she said easily. He tried not to gulp as he realized that he'd have to use his super speed at this point to dodge the shot. She brought it up so it wasn't aimed at him. "But, I'm not going to. Because I get something out of this."

"You do?" Conner asked, looking confused.

"Well, you figured out my plan and you'll do it again because dangerous or not, you have to help them," she said calmly.

"That's what I get. So, what do you get?" He asked nervously and a smirk came onto her face as she leaned down to whisper in his ear before she turned around and left.

"You," she answered. "I own you."

Elsa pulled the five aside when it happened, having been prepared when Conner gave his mini-report. She was not about to tell them that he'd been caught and was probably dead. Kim was already dealing with that and she couldn't have both mentors and an entire team of Rangers not able to do their job. She pushed back her own tears and led them into her office, nodding for them to change. "I arranged it so that no one would be around," she assured them. "Go ahead."

They quickly morphed and headed out the door to fight off the new monster and the Tarantumen. Tommy had given them a few pointers and told them to let him know if they were having difficulties. He mentioned that Kim would know, but Elsa quickly cut in that they were there and could handle it. The teens nodded before they left. Tommy turned to Elsa. "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked and Tommy gave her a look.

"Why couldn't they tell Kim? What's going on?" He demanded.

"Sit down," she told him. He did so and she looked nervous, not wanting to be the one to tell him. "We knew they were going to strike the school because Conner reported in. He managed to get out the location and the plan, even my name since he knew I could help."

"What happened?" Tommy asked and Elsa forced herself to continue.

"He was shot, Tom," she answered. Tommy's eyes widened and Elsa nodded. "It's possible he's alive, but…"

"Probably not," Tommy finished. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around, trying to process that. "I need…"

"To stay here," Elsa insisted. "The kids need you and I already know your fiancé is breaking down a bit at home. We don't know for sure, Tommy, he might be alive. There might be a reason. If there's one thing other than getting into bad situations that Conner's got, it's getting out of them."

"I never…" Tommy started and Elsa literally shook him.

"I'll slap you next if you don't start paying attention. Because if you don't, we're going to have four more funerals by the end of this!" She snapped. Tommy's eyes hardened and he nodded, going completely into warrior mode. Elsa nodded back in response, knowing he'd break down later. For now, they just needed to get past the day.

Conner had sat there for a minute, waiting, before he tapped his wrist as the other two had instructed. When he felt the pain, however, and no transportation, he looked down at his hand finally and noticed just how burned it really was. Adrenaline fleeting, it was also starting to hurt, badly. He pulled himself up and headed into his boss' office, ignoring the irony of asking her for time off when she'd caused the problem. "Ms. Leiurus?"

"Yes, Conner?" She asked, looking completely like Sabrina again. It was unnerving how she could do that.

"Can I go home? I think I have a third degree burn," he informed her and she glanced at his wrist.

"Of course," she answered calmly, not bothering to pretend not to know how he had it. No one could overhear them. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Conner said and headed out the door. Once he was out of the building, he hid in one of the alleys, making sure it was empty, and pressed a few buttons on his cell-phone that Ethan had messed with. It wasn't as strong or as powerful as Hayley and Billy's work, but it got the job done. He felt the transporter pull him away.

Kim had given up on crying by this point, though she wasn't doing much better. Neen and Dante were asleep in the corner as Blue had draped herself around them. Kira and Ethan weren't doing much better than Kim, but were controlling it enough to watch out for the new Rangers and to make sure that Conner didn't show up on the scans. Hayley and Billy were still in work mode, determined to get something of Conner back: either the boy or his body. Jason was comforting Kim to the best of his ability. Ethan looked over at Kim. "He's fine."

She looked at him incredulously. "How do you know that?"

"We thought he died when the house collapsed. It didn't," he started.

"We thought he died in the Megazord with Ethan, but he didn't," Kira added.

"We thought he was dead with the gem," Ethan added. "He wasn't and he pressed the right button to get out us out of Scorpina's lair last time. So, he isn't dead. He's too lucky to be dead. He's just… busy."

"You think," Kim started. "You two have been throwing out 'I'm here' feeling and he hasn't been responding with it."

"He probably hasn't noticed we've done it," Ethan argued. "If I was being shot at, I wouldn't. He's okay. Well, he's alive."

"Ethan…" Kim started and Ethan's look darkened.

"He's alive," he said sternly. He glanced over at Neen and Dante and sighed, hoping he was right. They weren't stupid. They'd figured out what was going on, though Neen didn't want to believe it and Dante had said he wouldn't believe it if he didn't see a body like on T.V. He couldn't see the dried tears on Neen anymore nor did Dante's expression look quite so lost. Time and sleep had done that for them. He looked over at Kira who nodded back at him, believing his words. They'd let Trent know since Conner would have wanted them to, but they didn't want to even really think about it beyond that.

He blinked a couple of times and looked at the screen, confused, as the readings looked weird. "How are they doing, Kira?"

"Megazord. Why?" She asked.

"I'm going to check on this then…" Ethan started, but his eyes got wide. "Oh no."

Before Kira could ask what the problem was, Conner materialized near the ceiling, falling to the ground in a pile. He groaned at that and looked over at his friend. "Now I know what you meant by 'not finished'."

"Conner?!" Kira exclaimed as Ethan groaned. They rushed over and helped their teammate up, halfway ignore whatever injuries he had. Kim had stood up herself and Jason leaned into his own communicator.

"Elsa? Tommy? He's alive," he said quickly before turning to the younger Ranger before they could respond.

Conner moved past them for a minute, heading over to Billy and Hayley. Sheepishly, he held out the charred remains of his communicator and looked ashamed. "I broke it."

Hayley stared at him for a minute, not sure what to say to that. Billy, on the other hand, took it and set it aside, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Thank the Power you're alive."

"Why didn't you do what we told you to?" Hayley asked and Conner held up his hand which got everyone's attention. They started to swarm, but went flying in different directions until only Hayley and Billy were near him again. Conner's eyes widened as Red stood in front of him, making a threatening noise at the others to allow the geniuses to get to work on fixing his partner. Hayley and Billy quickly went to work on Conner's wrist to the best of their ability and not necessarily using normal materials. They promised him that within an hour he'd be back to normal. Red nudged him gently before finally getting out of the way, acting like his normal self once more.

"Are the new Rangers okay?" He asked, turning his attention to the screens. Kira and Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, they're finishing up. They'll all probably be back here soon," Ethan answered. Kira nodded in agreement. They'd deal more with everything later. Kim stared at the red Ranger in front of her.

"You got shot!" She snapped and he nodded, holding up his hand to show her it was better. "I thought you were dead!"

"I'm not," Conner said helpfully, slightly glaring at his near-snickering teammates.

"Conner…" she nearly growled.

"I'm okay, Kim. See? One piece," he assured her. "I just hope it works that way next time."

Everyone in the room froze at that, even Kira and Ethan, as he said the words. "Next time?" Kira finally asked softly. Conner turned and pulled her into an embrace with a slight smile.

"We're Rangers. It's what we do. If I hadn't gotten the information, more people could have died. Like the Newbies," he told her. "I have to go back."

Kira sighed, but nodded knowing he was right. Ethan grinned at him. "Don't worry. I'll take care of things around here."

"Dude, you didn't let her near Trent, did you?" Conner joked and Kira glanced up, knowing that she probably wanted to hear this.

"Nope. Just as I promised," Ethan answered. "Do anything and everything to keep her from going to Trent."

"Oh God, you married Ethan," Conner said turning to Kira whose eyes got wide. She elbowed Conner in the gut and turned around, knocking Ethan's feet out from under him, causing the former Blue to go down before nodding to herself.

"I can make my own choices, thank you!" Kira snapped and both boys recoiled from the look. Jason and Billy both snickered as they'd been on that side of a Yellow's wrath before.

"Okay, okay. We got it, Kira," Ethan muttered.

"No more plotting," Conner promised. She helped him up and turned to Ethan, a slight smile on her face.

"Marry you?" She asked and Ethan shrugged.

"Why not?" He answered, though he was grinning back.

"Are you alright?" All three turned to see Tommy standing in the doorway, looking less than pleased. Conner took a step forward.

"Yep. Just shot in the wrist. Billy and Hayley took care of it," he answered before looking stubbornly at his mentor. Kira may have been the most stubborn, but that didn't mean the boys weren't at all, just not as bad as their female teammate. "And I am going back."

"You're the sensible one?" He demanded and Conner nodded.

"It needs to be done," he answered. "I'll try to be more careful."

Tommy didn't know what else to say to that, though there was guilt in his eyes for letting Conner do it instead. Teacher or not, it was no secret that Tommy would have rather been the one to do it instead of letting the young man do it. Still, he recognized that look of determination and dropped it, just as unhappy as his fiancé.

"So, I've been thinking about it," Conner said slowly. "And I'm still not happy about being an heir to Earth, but if I can spy on Scorpina, go to school, be a mentor, and be a Power Ranger leader, then I think I might be able to be diplomatic enough not to tell any ambassadors to go screw themselves, so I guess you've gone a lead heir."

"World's doomed," Ethan joked. He headed over to Neen and Dante, gently shaking them and surprised they'd slept through the noise. "Hey guys? Conner's back."

"Papa said he was shot," Neen informed him. Ethan tried not to laugh, but pointed at Conner who waved at the kids.

"Just a flesh wound," he assured her, holding up his hand. Both kids rushed him and Neen even kissed his hand to make it feel better. "So, you're looking at the new heir of Earth."

"What's that mean?" Dante asked and Neen thought for a minute before answering.

"It is like a prince," she tried to explain to which Dante nodded.

"I don't gotta call you anything, do I?" He asked, making a face which Conner shared.

"No," he answered. "Just Conner."

"'Kay," he answered. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"Speaking of which," Billy said, heading back over before Conner could answer back. "We don't have long until the said wedding and there are still several more languages to learn."

The chorus of groans could be heard outside as Elsa and Mercer headed toward the house. Both of them merely laughed.

Author's Note: First off, by languages, I mean simple phrases. You know, "Hi." "How are you?" "Please don't blow up my planet." Things like that. Certain planets: Aquitar, Triforia, and others that they're closer to they have learned more than that, but for the most part, it's simple things. Considering I have had to learn languages, two of them actually other than English, I understand that languages have complex rules in the former of grammar and pronunciation. Considering it's something I would have wondered about, I figured I'd let all of you know that I wasn't insinuating that they knew too much of the language.

Second, and far less important: Keats. With Seth, there will be various quotes from poetry and possibly other English works. Usually the author's name will be within the chapter itself, but possibly not the work. If I use it, I will put both the author's name and work in the notes if it's not already stated in the chapter itself. One, because it's not my work and two, so if anyone is so inclined, they can run off and find the poem on the internet. Just thought I'd give you guys a heads up in case.

Third, I am so sorry I've been taking forever on writing. Life didn't seem to calm down after Christmas like I planned. So, I apologize for the time lapse. However, I felt guilty about it, so you get two chapters at once. I hope that makes up for it. Even a little? Maybe?

Fourth, thank you for continuing to read this and for your reviews. I appreciate all of it.