It was coming to the end of the day, and Trevor and Spike had gone back to the precinct to clear up a few things before they went off shift. It wasn't uncommon for cops to head back head straight home after their shift, but there was something that Trevor really wanted to clear up before he went home.

Ellie was at her desk, holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder as he got there. She had a huge pile of folders on her desk, and she was in the middle of what looked like a rather heated exchange.

"The address and the time are on the summons, you're perfectly welcome to contest the ticket then but I really can't…" She looked a little annoyed as she heard his response. "That may well be sir, but the ticket is a summons of the court, it's nothing to do with the precinct now. Since it's been processed you need to…I hardly think that's a nice thing to…well you know what sir? I go past that restaurant all the time and I know for a fact that red zone is clearly marked! Now if you want to contest the ticket, you need to go to the court and present your case, but since that red zone covers a fire exit I really do wish you luck with that!"

She put the phone down at which Trevor just started laughing.

"Way to tell him Ellie." He chuckled.

"I don't know why it's such a difficult concept to understand. If you don't want a parking ticket, park in a parking bay!" She stated. "There's tons of parking just around the back of that place, but God forbid he'd have to walk an extra twenty feet."

"Well, I can see you're busy, so I guess I'll come back tomorrow…"

"What makes you say I'm busy?" She asked.

"Well, by the looks of this in pile…"

"Actually, that would be my out pile." Ellie told him, putting another file on the top.

"That's your OUT pile?" Spike screeched.

"Yeah, I switched the trays around." She explained. "I'm left-handed so it made sense to me. It feels natural to reach to the left."

"How in the HELL did you manage to do all that in one day?" Trevor asked her.

"Oh…did I do something wrong?" She asked him.

"Only if you consider doing in one day what most of our civilian workers do in a week wrong!" He replied, looking impressed. She just shrugged.

"It's just a simple matter of being organised." She told him. "So, are you heading home?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could get a file for me." He told her. "I was looking for the forensics report from the Ranger battle this morning."

"Ranger battle?" Ellie asked. "There was a Ranger Battle?"

"Yeah, just a short way from the school." Spike told her. "Just on West Fleetwood…"

"Oh my God, Sarah uses that route!" She screeched. "Is she alright? Was she…?"

"Ellie, if Sarah was involved you'd have been the first to know. I wouldn't have let anyone do anything before we called you." Trevor told her. "No, there was a car hit in the attack."

"Hmm…let me check." Ellie told him, checking the computer. "There's nothing about a violent incident or attack on that street since 1973…"

"Try looking under RTA." Trevor groaned, rolling his eyes. An RTA was an acronym for Road Traffic Accident. What happened to the car on that street was in no way an accident, but he was more than a little used to seeing things re-classified or re-named in order to avoid mentions of monster attacks.

"Oh, there is one here…the report isn't complete yet, there are some unidentified prints and fibres in the car…and the gun?" She looked to him. "There was a gun?"

"An unregistered gun with the serial number filed off." Spike told her.

"You think this guy was up to something?" Ellie asked him.

"There aren't many good reasons someone is driving around in a burner car with an untraceable gun and runs off from a car wreck which would probably require hospital treatment." Trevor told him. "Of course, thanks to the Rangers, the odds are we'll never know what they were up to."

"Wait, you're blaming the Rangers for this?" Spike asked him. "The guy was clearly planning something bad, sure it might be by accident, but if it wasn't for this, we might not have even known we were looking for anyone before…"

"This city's administration already classified this as an accident to keep their monster attack statistics down." Trevor snapped. "You said there were prints, fibres. Please tell me we're running the works on them."

"They're being run, but so far no hits." Ellie replied. "That means it's someone with no convictions."

"It takes resources to get a hold of stuff like that off the grid." Trevor told her. "I sincerely doubt this guy hasn't had any run-ins with the law."

"Well until we get a hit on the database…"

"You have my number." Trevor told her. "Make sure I know the second they know something. If this guy was planning something bad I want to be on his ass as quickly as possible."

"Sure thing." She told him.

"Alright, then I guess I get to go home." Trevor answered. "So, what about it Kulonic, you want to come to our place? Hayley's bringing her boyfriend over and Julie always makes way too much."

"Thanks, but I've got something on." He told him. "Tonight's my Skype night with my girlfriend. She goes to Florida State, so we have to arrange times to video chat."

"Another time then." He said with a smile. "Are you ready Ellie?"

"A ride to AND from work?" She replied with a smile as she gathered her things. "What did I do to deserve this?"

At the end of the school day, everyone was getting ready to go home. Levi had offered to give Preston a ride so that he wouldn't have to try and make his way home in his injured state. They only had to wait until the other kids left to make sure no one saw him leaving and questioned why he hadn't been to class if he was in the building. Hayley had tennis practice, and since Calvin was giving her a ride home he didn't have much option but to wait for her while she worked on the courts.

Sarah and Brody were in the yard taking some time to train. She wanted to take advantage of the time she was waiting for her ride. Brody had his truck, and would happily take her to her place, but first she needed to work off some aggression.

Wrench was an irritating part of her past that just wouldn't go away. Back when she helped out the Amber Beach team in the lab, he was something of a running joke. He was Sledge's chief scientist and weapons specialist, but thanks to the brutish bounty hunter's thrifty nature and unwillingness to spend on any resources Wrench was operation on technology that while advanced, never really progressed beyond what Sledge was willing to pay for. Wrench had found himself thwarted time and again by Kendall's superior advancements and quick thinking to a point of frustration for him. He had something of a vendetta against her that was so one-sided that Kendall had even taunted him over the fact he lost a game only he was playing the first time she morphed. With Sledge, Fury and Poisandra dead Sledge's remaining prisoners had taken control of his ship and left the Galaxy of their own accord. Whether it was to try and find their way home or find themselves somewhere else to live the Rangers never really knew, but with no real means to pursue and no real reason to they had just assumed anyone that wasn't destroyed had just packed up and left once Sledge was gone.

To say it was a surprise to see Wrench again would be an understatement. Sarah didn't know he had defected from Sledge's crew and gotten the job on the Warrior Dome before the final battle. She had since learned that he was the one that helped Mick and Brody orchestrate their escape, so in a roundabout way he was the one that led to them becoming Rangers in the first place, but it seemed that he had take it upon himself to shift the focus of his vendetta onto Sarah. He was now in a ranking position in Cosmo's crew and now it was his responsibility to deliver a good show, it seemed his past with Sarah was just a storyline that would make a match more compelling. Sarah wouldn't care if it wasn't for the fact that Preston had gotten hurt.

Sarah wanted to be ready the next time Wrench showed up. All she could think about during the bout was seeing Preston lying unmoving on the ground. She was too busy fighting for her life to be able to check on him, but when she saw him lying on the ground, for a moment, she'd thought the worst. She didn't know if she had seen him smile for the last time, heard him laugh, felt his arms around her all for the last time.

"Whoa!" Brody called out as she swept his legs out from under him, hitting the ground. He looked up to her, seeing her standing over him and smiled. "You do know I'm not him, right?"

"Sorry?" She asked. Brody kipped up back to his feet.

"Wrench." He clarified, rubbing the back of his thigh, where Sarah had kicked him with such force she had whipped his legs completely out from under him. "I'm not Wrench."

"Oh…right…sorry." She replied as she sat down.

"You know, your training is really coming along nicely." He complimented her. "The way you were sparring just there was pretty amazing. I think if you were at the academy they'd be checking to see what discipline you wanted to follow."

"I think you might be over-selling it a little bit." Sarah replied.

"No, I'm serious, you and the others you're really doing great." He reiterated.

"Then why was be bouncing us around the place like a hacky sack?" She asked him in response. "Brody, I'm super focused today I admit that, but don't you also think that maybe you're a little distracted?"

"Distracted?" He asked her. Sarah tapped herself in the chest.

"Empathetic remember?" She replied. "Even if you won't let me heal my boyfriend, I can still see when your mind isn't completely on the job. I might be improving but there's no way I should be able to take you down five times to two."

"It's just not my day." Brody protested. Sarah just glared at him. "Alright, maybe my mind's on something else."

"Well, if something's bothering you maybe you should talk to someone about it." Sarah suggested. Brody looked like he was about to answer when they heard someone coming into the yard. They both looked up to see Tom coming in.

"So, this is where all the magic happens?" He asked, looking at the training equipment they had assembled in the yard.

"I guess you could say that." Brody replied. "Levi's taking Preston home…"

"Yeah, I know he texted me." Tom answered. "It was you I wanted to see actually."

"Me?" Brody asked. Tom took off his Stetson and started to shuffle his feet.

"Yeah, I was…um…" He stammered. "Do you like hot dogs?"

"I…guess I could go for something to eat." Brody answered. Tom looked to them both.

"I could drop your friend on the way." He told them. "I'll wait while you wash up."

"We'll just be a few minutes." Sarah assured him, before they started to get their things together and headed for the showers.

Trevor pulled up outside the Thompson house, allowing Ellie to get out of the car. Ellie turned to look back in the window.

"Thanks for the ride." She told him. "I really appreciate it."

"Well, what can I say? I always try to be nice to the new starts." He told her. "We're all the new guy one time in our lives, right?"

"So why do you give that rookie of yours such a hard time?" She replied.

"I…I don't know, the kid just seems to rub me the wrong way." He admitted. "He's good, but I kind of feel like he's out to save the world or something in his first week."

"Is trying to save the world such a bad thing?" She asked him.

"Not as long as you learn how to do it properly." He told her. "I've seen a lot of rookies over the years that thought they were going to revolutionise the force single-handed in their first week on the job. More than half of them were gone the first time they got a negative evaluation."

"Do you mind if I ask what that thing was about the Rangers?" She asked him. "I couldn't help noticing things were a little tense around the subject between you and the kid."

"Kulonic just has some kind of Ranger hard-on." He snorted. "Don't get me wrong, I've seen all the stuff the do, all the flashy explosions and giant robots and a part of me thinks of all those comic books I read as a kid. I can see why everyone gets so excited about them."

"Well, they do a lot of good in the world…"

"And I have no problem with that! Except they get to hide behind masks and run around with absolutely no consequences for their actions!" Trevor answered. "I've seen guys pulled up on report for just saying the wrong thing. The Rangers have blown up whole city blocks and there isn't so much as a word said about it because we usually don't know who they are!"

"The Corsairs had their identities revealed to the public." She reminded him.

"Yes, then they got a Presidential pardon!" He reminded her. "By a President who…oh, just so happened to be a Ranger himself! Talk about a conflict of interests!"

"Look, I get it, a lot of bad things happen in Ranger cities. You're talking to someone who's now lived in three Ranger cities." She told him. "I've lived in Panorama, Amber Beach and now Summer Cove. In Amber Beach I was in a bus that was blasted by one of the monsters in the Dino Rangers battles. I was in a hospital for months, but the only reason I'm still here is because of the Pink Dino Ranger. Now, I don't know who she is and frankly the only reason I'd even care is to give her the biggest hug I possibly can and thank her for the fact I'm still alive."

"Yeah, Spike is a bit of a groupie." He sighed. "He told me he was in Panorama too."

"Wait, Kulonic, his name first name is Spike?" She asked, thinking back. "I…No…no wait, it can't be…I thought his name sounded familiar!"

"You know him?" Trevor asked.

"Not personally, but everyone in Panorama heard his name. He was the kid that helped end the Central High School Siege." She said. "I just thanked God every day that Sarah wasn't in High School when that happened."

"Kulonic?" He asked. "He broke an armed siege? In HIGH SCHOOL?"

"Yeah, it was huge news in Panorama at the time." She replied. "What a small world. I guess you never know what people are really capable of just by looking at them huh?"

"And on that rather heavy-handed take, I think I'll head for home." He told her. "Julie's lamb shank is pretty much the stuff of legend."

As he pulled away and Ellie headed inside, the stranger was standing across the street, watching them. He took a note of when she got back to the house, before pulling out his cell phone.

"It's me." He told the man on the other end.

"I thought I told you not to call again until…"

"When will you have my care package?" He asked. "I just confirmed the window of opportunity."

"The car should be in the parking lot of your motel by the time you get back." The man on the other end stated. "The keys will be in your room."

"Thank you." The Stranger said, before hanging up and limping down the street, heading back for his motel room.

Elsewhere in the city, Brody was sitting at a picnic table, drumming his fingers on the table as he waited for Tom to come from the snack truck. He was starting to regret accepting the invitation, he really didn't know what if anything they really had to talk about, as far as he knew he and Tom had pretty much nothing in common. He was old…well, a lot older than Brody anyway. Not quite as old as hid dad would have been, but certainly he seemed to have a vibe about him that was more in line with the parents he had known than the kids. He was a cowboy, while Brody was a ninja. It was pretty much as far apart as he could imagine any two people being. He looked up as Tom arrived back, carrying a couple of hot dogs…or at least he ASSUMED they were hot dogs!

They were two whole baguette rolls, with a foot-long wiener somewhere inside that Tom had told him weighed half a pound. Of course, it was difficult to tell under the mountain of other toppings. Coleslaw, sauerkraut, cheese, chilli…the two massive rolls looked more like they were suited to feeding a family than two people. He also had a couple of large sodas.

"This place is just the best. I mean…other than a home barbecue but nothing's better than that, am I right?" Tom asked him. Brody just shrugged as he took a bite.

"It is pretty good." Brody said. Tom took a little sip from his soda.

"So, that breakfast didn't go quite as planned did it?" Tom asked him. Brody just looked to him.

"Tom…"

"Look, I get it. We're different." Tom interrupted him. "I…genuinely have no idea what any of this ninja stuff is or what any of it means. I took like one week of karate at the local Y before I kicked it into touch. I was always more of a football man."

"I never watched football." Brody replied. "You know…prisoner on a space ship full of psychotic gladiators."

"You've never been to a football game?" Tom asked. "You don't know what you're missing! I could get us some tickets to a game and…"

Tom could see the expression on Brody's face and just looked a little dejected.

"…and you don't care about football at all do you?" He asked. "Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe…"

"Tom, stop!" Brody stated. "Look, I appreciate you trying. I really do."

"Look, I know I wasn't the friendliest guy in the world when we first met, and the less said about that plagiarism thing the better." Tom stated. "Look, there's this whole history between you and Aiden…I mean Levi, wow that is still so weird to hear…that I'll never know and be a part of. I know he was your brother before he even met me. I really am happy the two of you found each other. I just…I guess I was just a little worried I wouldn't be a part of his life now."

"Not a part of…are you kidding?" Brody asked him. "Levi's been Levi a hell of a lot longer than he's been Aiden. I was worried I would be left out!"

"You were worried about me?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, he's been your brother almost twice as long as he's been mine." Brody told him. "I guess…I guess I was always worried if he was even still Aiden at all. I was always worried that maybe I wouldn't have a place."

"You know, I remember this one time when we were kids, it was about a month after my dad adopted Levi." Tom said with a smile. "I got up and noticed that Aiden wasn't in his bed, but he wasn't in the bathroom and the window was open so I went looking for him. I wondered if maybe he had run away."

He took a bit of his hotdog, which he then washed down with some soda.

"I found him on the lake out the back of the farm." He told him. "Not by the lake, but ON it. Like…literally walking on water, like something straight out of my Sunday School class. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Needless to say, for a kid from Texas who spent every Sunday in church finding some kid with no past and no family who literally walked on water was…kind of a thing."

"Levi never told me about that." Brody replied. "I guess that's one of the things he doesn't remember."

"He never told you because I never told him I saw it." Tom replied. "I know all the things that went through my head when I saw it, so you just know I was aware of what would happen if the rest of the town found out. So, I kept it to myself. I never even told Levi because I was worried what might happen if they knew what he could do."

"Wow, that is…you really kept that to yourself all those years?" Brody asked. Tom just nodded. "Thank you."

"He was my brother." Tom replied with a shrug.

"Then I guess we do have something in common after all." Brody replied. Just then, there was an explosion and people started screaming and running. Brody and Tom got up from the table, seeing Wrench approaching.

"A Ranger all alone, what an opportunity!" Wrench stated.

"You hurt my friend!" Brody snapped. "I'm not going to let you get away with that! Ninja…"

"LOOK OUT!" Tom screamed, shoving Brody to the ground as he saw the cavity in Wrench's chest opening up and the twin Gatling lasers coming out. Brody could only watch as he opened fire and Tom took the full brunt of it full-on.

"TOM!" Brody called out as he watched him fall to the ground, and looked into Tom's lifeless, glassy eyes. Brody snapped up to his feet and slammed his Power Star into his Morphed. "NINJA SPIN!"