Title: Never Say Never
Chapter Ten - Revelations
Original Posting Date: June 12, 2009
--
The following Friday saw Rocky moving throughout the Youth Center at quite a frantic pace, trying as hard as he possibly could to keep up with a morning rush that seemed to be growing larger and larger with every passing day. Word of mouth, as they say, is where a business thrives or fails, and the word at the local schools was so positive that Rocky need not worry about falling into the latter category. Business was buzzing and a negative word about it Rocky could not utter, especially now that Aisha was giving such serious consideration to opening her own veterinary clinic.
His mind raced as he took and completed orders, thinking about everything from his current financial situation to the recent discoveries in his "other job." To say that life was starting to get more interesting would have been a vast understatement. Truth be told, not even a few years worth of covert military operations could compare to being an active Ranger again, though the similarities between the two were abundant.
"Alright, who's got the strawberry-kiwi?" said Rocky at one point, hastily handing off a smoothie to the first person who had raised their hand.
On and on it went like that, Rocky serving food and drink to his teenaged customers, walking the floor whenever time permitted. Finally, after what felt like the longest ninety minutes of his life, the kids began to file out for school, leaving Rocky alone to clean up before he could depart until lunch time rolled around.
It was nearly half an hour later before he was able to bid a temporary farewell to the Youth Center, peering outside cautiously prior to teleporting, as though expecting to find Karma or The Hunter waiting for him just beyond the barrier of Alpha's protective shields. Upon seeing that the streets were free of villainy, though, he prepared to teleport home just as his communicator began to chime.
"Typical; absolutely freaking typical," muttered Rocky, rolling his eyes as he brought his wrist to his lips and said, "It's Rocky, what's up?"
"Hey man, it's me," said Adam, sounding a bit tentative as he continued, "Listen, you know I hate to even ask, but I really need a huge favor from you."
"Rocky's listening," he replied, with a grin.
Adam scoffed. "Third person now, huh?" he questioned, chuckling. "Anyway, like I said, I need a favor. Tanya has a few days off before she hits the western side of the country and she's flying into Van Nuys at seven o'clock tonight. I know she could just take her limo home, but it's been so long since I've seen her and—"
"And you need me, your very best friend in the whole wide world, to cover your classes so that you can pick her up at the airport?" asked Rocky.
"Yeah, I do," sighed Adam, with a small laugh. "Like I said, you know I wouldn't even ask if it wasn't really, really important to me."
Rocky seemed to think about this for a few silent moments before nodding to himself and saying, "Yeah, I think I can do that for you. Aisha has to work late tonight, you really need to get laid, and it'll be good for the kids to get a real lesson for once."
"Hardy-har-har," said Adam, dryly. "Seriously, though, I really appreciate this, bro. I owe you big time."
"And you know I won't let you forget that, either," replied Rocky, sharing a knowing laugh with his best friend. "So what time do you need me there, anyway? I don't close until six, so the earliest that I could be there is six-forty-five or so."
"That's perfect, man," said Adam. "I'm leaving Angel Grove at six and my part-time guy Stephen can handle things until you get there. My really advanced classes don't even start until seven-thirty anyway. I'll leave a key on the desk in my office so you can lock up too."
"Oh, I'm closing shop, am I?" said Rocky, his eyes twinkling ever so slightly as he made his way back towards the stock room. "Adam, my friend, "big time" doesn't even start to cover how much you owe me."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm over it," grumbled Adam, with a laugh. "Thanks again, man. You really have no idea how much I appreciate it."
"For sure, bro," said Rocky. "Just keep your fingers crossed that the asshole crew doesn't decide to strike tonight and fuck things up, especially since, you know, Tanya doesn't actually know you're a Ranger again and all that."
Sighing, Adam replied, "Yeah, I know. As long as things stay quiet, though, she'll know by the end of the night. Actually, I guess she'll know either way."
"You worried about how she'll react?"
Adam did not immediately answer, gathering his thoughts before saying, "Honestly? Yeah, a little bit. Hopefully she'll be cool about it, but I guess you never really know when it comes to this stuff."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, man," said Rocky, encouragingly. "Anyway, I need to get going. I've only got a few hours before I need to be back for the lunch rush."
"Alright then, take it easy, man. And thanks again."
"You thank me one more time and I'm changing my mind," replied Rocky.
Adam laughed. "Alright, alright, I'm done; later, Rocko."
"Yup," said Rocky, quickly ending the transmission.
Surrounded by boxes of food and supplies, Rocky gave one last look around to make sure everything was in order and then teleported away in a column of crackling red energy. Once he was home his first move was to let Aisha know by way of a text message that he was helping at Adam's school and would not be home until much later that night. From there, it was all relaxation time before he needed to return to the Youth Center.
After grabbing a sports drink from the kitchen he made his way into the living room and plopped down on the couch, retrieving the remote control for the television and the controller for his Xbox from the nearby coffee table. Lying on his back, he was on the verge of joining a game of Halo online when all the power in the house suddenly went dead, causing him to bolt upright with a bewildered expression on his face.
"What the—" he muttered, falling silent as the television quickly came back on, this time with a display of static.
Almost as quickly as the static had arrived it was gone, replaced by the image of a smirking news anchor that Rocky recognized almost instantly. His temper started to flare as soon as he saw the man, Rocky clenching his fists at his side as the man started to speak.
"Good afternoon everyone; again I'm Josh Weinstein with PRNews—where it's all Power Rangers, all the time—and I come to you today with an exclusive Power Ranger newsbreak. Just five minutes ago another identity was revealed to your host, one that I think the whole world will be most interested to hear. Ladies and gentleman, without further ado, I give to you…the Red Power Ranger."
Rocky's heart dropped at that point, a heavy lump forming in his throat as the image onscreen changed once more, switching to an overhead view of Angel Grove Park, slowly zooming in until a fully morphed Red Ranger engaged in a fierce one-on-one battle with Goldar became the primary focus.
"Maybe it's not me, maybe it's not me," whispered Rocky, repeating those words over and over as he watched the fight unfold, the Red Ranger quickly gaining an advantage over the winged Titan until at last Goldar was forced to retreat."Please don't be me, please don't be me…"
Holding his breath, Rocky was barely able to face the television as the Red Ranger looked around to insure that he was not being watched before crossing his arms above his head and shouting, "Power down!"
The sigh of relief that escaped his lips came the moment he heard the voice; he did not need to watch to know that it was Jason beneath the helmet and not himself. It was fortunate, too, because it was at that moment that watching became unbearable. Seeing his friends have their identities revealed—and their lives turned upside down as a result—made Rocky as angry as it did sick to his stomach.
"I'm going to kill that guy when I get my hands on him," he muttered, through gritted teeth, turning off the television.
As he rose to his feet and started towards the kitchen he slammed his fist against the couch in a burst of rage, completely forgetting the fact that his strength had been enhanced to gorilla-like proportions. This caused the couch to go flying backwards, flipping rapidly for a few seconds before slamming into the wall and dropping in an upright position.
"Oh, you son of a bitch," he groaned, as though in terrible pain, with a subtle shake of his head that came as a result of seeing the large horizontal crack that the couch had left in the stucco wall. "Aisha is literally going to murder me for that."
Sighing audibly, he effortlessly lifted the couch and took it back to its normal position, then returned to further inspect the damage that he had done. Luckily, the previous owner of the house had purchased when monster attacks in the area had been an almost daily occurrence. She had been a bit paranoid, to say the least, and had had all of the walls reinforced with two-inch thick steel so Rocky's damage was only aesthetical. Still, he knew that if he did not have it properly fixed before Aisha got home that the damage she would inflict on him would affect much more than just his appearance.
It was with those thoughts in mind that he exited the house and hopped into his Explorer for a quick trip to the Home Depot, but not before sending a text message to his red predecessor, offering what little condolences that he could for what was most certainly going to be one of the worst days of Jason's life.
--
Seated on a plastic chair in the faculty lounge at Reefside High School, Tommy stared at a distant television with a look of utter disgust upon his face. The television was currently playing an old Law & Order re-run, but the picture had only just returned to its regular program following the PRNews broadcast that Tommy had been forced to watch.
Though he was currently on his preparation period and had been able to see the broadcast live, even if he had been in the middle of teaching a class he still would have heard the news within moments. His cell phone had been flooded with text messages from nearly fifteen Rangers, all from various teams, almost as soon as Jason's identity had been revealed to the masses.
Seeing Katherine's identity exposed had been hard enough to stomach; that it had now happened to his best friend in the entire world left him in a state of furious sadness. Part of him wanted to reach out to Jason, which he had yet to do. The other part just wanted to punch everything in sight, and at this point he was leaning towards the latter.
Fortunately his rational side prevailed, but any preparation he had planned on doing for his later classes immediately went out the window at that point. He sat with narrowed eyes and clenched fists for the next thirty minutes. Occasionally he stared at the television while simultaneously forcing himself not to throw that out the window as well.
For the most part he stewed in silence, allowing himself only a brief expulsion of his anger when a fellow teacher had asked what was bothering him.
"It's freaking bullshit," said Tommy, feeling like his eyes might flash green at any moment. Normally he would have made sure to censor his words around his co-workers, but this particular teacher was another younger male and one of the only people Tommy worked with that he actually considered a friend. "This guy going around, exposing the identities of the Power Rangers…it just pisses me off, man. Those are people who put their lives on the line every day to keep this planet safe. If you ask me, the least they deserve is a little fucking privacy."
"Yeah, I agree it's pretty messed up, but what can you do?" replied the teacher, with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.
Tommy just shook his head as his co-worker turned and walked away. "Oh, I can do something," he muttered to himself, his nostrils flaring ever so slightly. "I will do something. It's just a matter of time."
For as angry as he was, that he even made it through the rest of the work day without exploding was a minor miracle in itself. The text messages and phone calls from the other Power Rangers continued to come throughout the day, these constant reminders doing nothing more than angering him even further.
Rangers from every team on Earth were contacting him, most of them in fear that their identities might be revealed as well. This did not surprise Tommy, though. For the last few years his many successors had treated him as though he was some all-knowing being who always had a simple resolution for everything related to the Ranger world. Organizing and leading the Red Ranger mission had left him with quite the reputation, one that often times he did not feel like he could live up to.
As the last of his students filed out, he sat back in his chair and wondered silently—perhaps a bit bitterly, as well—as to how many of the other Rangers had actually bothered to contact Jason. This, of course, also reminded him that he had not yet contacted Jason either, which left him with an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He wanted to reach out to Jason and knew that it was the right thing to do, but at the same time that conversation was one that scared him more than he was willing to admit. He was used to having the right answer, or at least some kind of plan to get the right answer; this time, however, he had nothing.
"What would I even say?" he murmured, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "'Hey, sorry bud, I know your whole life just got turned completely upside down, but there's nothing I can do to help?' Yeah, right," he scoffed.
It was then, at the peak of both helplessness and anger that he started to feel a tingling sensation running through his entire body. The feeling was strange, but not unpleasant; Tommy found it to be very much similar to the prickle of the tattoo needle that had left such an intricate design on his chest and back. And though he wore a confused expression at this new feeling, the more it went on the more he started to enjoy it.
"What is this?" he whispered, slowly inspecting himself. "It feels like…power."
At the moment that the word "power" escaped his lips there was a surge throughout his body, causing Tommy to seize in his chair as he yelled in pain. What he had just been enjoying a few seconds before he was now begging to stop, so distracted by his pain that he did not recognize Hayley's arrival in his classroom until she took him by his shoulders, shook him, and said, "Tommy, what's going on? Dammit, Tommy, answer me!"
As a last resort she reared back and slapped the side of his face as hard as she possibly could. Tommy's eyes immediately went wide with shock as he turned his head to face Hayley, rubbing his cheek gingerly.
"H-Hayley?" he muttered, obviously confused. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know, you tell me," replied Hayley, folding her arms across her chest, trying not to smile at the rosy palm print that she had left on Tommy's cheek. "The alarm on my phone went off and when I checked the scanners your readings were off the charts. I've never seen anything like it before."
Tommy shook his head. "I-I don't know. One second I was thinking about how mad I was at what happened to Jason, and then the next there was this weird energy rush. I can't remember anything else after that."
Furrowing her brow, Hayley sighed and said, "Are you okay now?"
It took Tommy a few moments, but eventually he nodded and said, "Yeah, at least I think so. I have no idea what happened, though. It's like I just completely blacked out. I-I know it sounds weird, but it's like I have the strangest urge to fly now."
"Then get a plane ticket."
Tommy rolled his eyes. "Not like that. I mean, like, really fly; like Kim does."
"Maybe you can then," said Hayley, shrugging her shoulders. "You and Kim both have bird spirits. If she can fly, it really wouldn't be that big of a surprise if you could too, would it? That being said, if I was you I wouldn't go jumping off of any tall buildings until I knew for sure."
A small, half-hearted chuckle was all that Tommy could muster. "Don't worry, I won't," he muttered dryly. "It's not like it would matter if I did, though. I could just morph while I was falling if I really had to."
"Yeah, I guess so."
They remained silent for nearly a full minute after that, looking back at one another, seemingly waiting for the other person to speak. In the end, it was Tommy who finally broke the silence when he said, "So, I take it you saw that crap with Jason?"
Sighing, Hayley nodded solemnly. "It's awful, I know. I can't imagine what he must be going through right now, especially with Kat's identity being revealed as well. Have you tried to talk to him at all since it happened?"
Tommy shook his head. "That was the first thing I wanted to do when I found out. Then I started to call him and I realized that I didn't have a clue about what to say. "Sorry" just doesn't cut it for something like this, you know?"
"Yeah, I know what you're saying," replied Hayley, smiling comfortingly. "Still, I know that if it had been you in Jason's position, the first thing that I would do is call you to make sure that you were okay. Like I said, I can't imagine what he's dealing with, but I'm sure it's not very much fun. A call from his best friend might be exactly what he needs."
"I doubt it," said Tommy. At the frustrated look that Hayley sent his way, he quickly added, "But I'm sure it couldn't hurt. I'll give him a call when I get home."
"Good," said Hayley, nodding. "You might want to call Kim, too, while you're at it. Don't tell her I told you, but I think she's kind of freaked out by what's happened to Jason and Katherine. She called me at the café in a panic; she said that she wanted to talk to you, but that she didn't want to bug you."
Tommy winced. "She sent me a text after that bullshit newsbreak saying that she wanted to talk to me, but I wasn't much in the mood for talking so I told her that I was busy and that I'd call her after work. I figured if it was really bad then she'd just use the communicators."
"I don't know," shrugged Hayley. "If you ask me, though, Kim has the least to be worried about; gymnastics training from an Olympic gold medalist and a Power Ranger! Could you imagine the amount of publicity that would get her school?"
"You know it's not like that, Hayley," said Tommy. "We might never be able to live normal lives again if our identities are revealed to the public. It's not going to be long before someone starts digging into Jason and Kat's past and we already know what they'll find when they do. All it's going to take is a few group pictures from our old yearbooks before someone puts two and two together, and then we're all screwed."
Hayley's eyes went wide. "I-I was just kidding about the Kim-thing, but I didn't even think about it that way; you're right, though. I've seen the pictures that you guys used to take. Once they realize that you're all wearing the same colors in every picture, and that Jason's and Kat's correspond to their Ranger colors, it's going to be a free-for-all."
Tommy scoffed. "That's putting it mildly. Kim and Tanya have already had a taste of celebrity, so they're used to autograph requests and interviews and all that stuff, but the rest of us have regular jobs that keep us under the radar; that all changes the second our identities become public knowledge. I don't want to be famous, Hayley, or I'd still be racing stock cars for a living; and those of us who have found fame didn't get it from being Rangers, nor do they want it for that reason, either. With each identity that's revealed, it destroys just a little bit more of what we have all worked so hard to protect, until eventually it all just crumbles."
"I honestly don't know what to say, Tommy," said Hayley, shaking her head. "I wish I had some kind of idea, but what can you possibly do unless you destroy The Hunter before he can release any more identities? I mean, it's not like you can just wipe out years of public records."
At that, Tommy's eyes lit up. "No, maybe not," he muttered, stroking his chin in thought, "But I might be able to delay the inevitable."
"What are you thinking?" asked Hayley, sounding more than a bit worried.
"Go back to my house and call Kim. If she can, have her teleport to the house and you guys wait for me there," answered Tommy, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument whatsoever. "If not, let her know that I'll call her as soon as I can. One way or another, this isn't going to take more than a few minutes."
Hayley furrowed her brow. "What are you going to do, Tommy?" she demanded.
"I don't know yet," said Tommy, softly. "I might not have to do anything, or I might have to do a lot. I'm pulling rank right now, though, and that's all that matters. Whatever happens from here is on my shoulders and I'll take responsibility for it. Please, just go back to the house and call Kim, okay?"
Sighing, Hayley nodded and said, "Okay, but I don't like this; just promise me you're not going to anything terribly stupid."
Tommy grinned. "If I thought it was stupid, I wouldn't be doing it."
"Alright," muttered Hayley.
"Thanks, Hayley."
Hayley merely nodded her head and a moment later she was gone in a column of gray light. As soon as she had disappeared, Tommy opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a black address book, which he quickly flipped through until he found the name that he was looking for. With his cell phone in hand, he dialed the number beneath the name and waited impatiently as he listened to the line ring.
"Hello, Angel Grove High School, Principal Applebee's office," said a cheerful woman on the other end of the line.
"Hello," said Tommy, politely. "My name is Tommy Oliver and I'm an old student of Ms. Applebee's. I know school's already out for the day, but is she in, by chance?"
"She is, but she's currently in a meeting right now," answered the secretary, Tommy's expression deflating almost instantly as she continued, "May I take a message?"
"Yeah, sure," replied Tommy, hiding well the frustration in his voice. "Just let her know that Tommy Oliver called and that she can reach me on my cell at any time. My number is area code nine-four-nine, three-seven-four, eight-six—"
"Wait one second!" the secretary interrupted, disappearing for a few moments. "I'm sorry I cut you off," she added, upon returning, "But it looks like Principal Applebee's meeting just ended. If you don't mind holding for a few minutes, I'll let her know that you're calling. Tommy Oliver you said, right?"
"That's right," said Tommy, looking very much relieved as he added, "And no, I don't mind holding at all. Thank you very much."
"You're welcome; one moment."
The line clicked over to standard hold music after that, Tommy tapping his foot against the floor as he listened. It did not take long for the line to click once more, however, Tommy grinning when he heard the familiar voice say, "This is Principal Applebee."
"Hello, Ms. Applebee, it's Tommy Oliver," said Tommy. "I'm not even sure if you even remember me, but I was a student of yours when you taught; class of '97."
"Of course I remember you, Tommy! I spent so much time reminding you not to forget things…how could I not remember you?" Ms. Applebee answered, sharing a knowing laugh with her former student. "And please," she added, "we're both adults now, you can call me Gale."
"Well, thank you, Gale, but you'll always be Ms. Applebee to me," replied Tommy, chuckling. "I know this must seem completely random, but I really need to speak to you privately. Do you have a few minutes?"
Ms. Applebee did not immediately answer, but after a few silent moments said, "Well, I do have another appointment shortly, but I can always make time for a former student. What's on your mind, Tommy?"
Tommy sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it over the phone, to be honest," he said. "If you can spare ten minutes, I can be there in less than five."
"Oh, okay," said Ms. Applebee, with obvious surprise. "Nothing's changed; the principal's office is still where it was when you were here."
"Awesome," said Tommy. "Thank you very much, Ms. Applebee. I'll see you shortly."
"Okay. Bye, Tommy."
Tommy said his goodbye and returned his phone to his hip pocket, then immediately sent a page to the Power Chamber via his wrist communicator. The second Alpha-5 responded, Tommy said, "Alpha, it's Tommy. Listen, I need you to set up a temporary shield over Angel Grove High School to keep out The Hunter and Karma as fast as you possibly can."
"Ay-yi-yi, what for Tommy?" asked Alpha.
"I don't have time to explain, Alpha," answered Tommy. "Please, just do it, and let me know as soon as it's done."
"Ay-yi-yi, why do I get the feeling that Zordon wouldn't approve of this?" said Alpha, but the automaton did not question Tommy any further than that.
In less than two minutes time he had established the shield. Tommy kept the line open long enough to hear the confirmation that it was done and then ended the transmission with a mumbled, "Thank you."
Rising to his feet, Tommy closed his eyes as he brought his hand to his opposite wrist once more and murmured, "Let's hope I'm right."
His teleportation beam shot into the sky a second later, touching down in Ms. Applebee's office shortly thereafter. He landed behind her chair, took a silent step forward, and clamped his hand over the mouth of his old teacher. Ms. Applebee started to squirm, forcing Tommy to hold her against her chair as he whispered, "It's Tommy; I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to let go of you now, but you have to promise me that you won't scream, okay?"
With an extremely panicked look in her eyes, Ms. Applebee nodded hastily. As Tommy released his hold and stepped around to face her, Ms. Applebee gasped, "Thomas Oliver, what is the meaning of this?"
It was then that Tommy got his first look in nearly a decade at his former teacher. He was subconsciously pleased to see that she looked very much the same as she had on his graduation day, only slightly thinner and with a few more wrinkles.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Applebee, really I am," said Tommy, as he took the chair across from her. "I couldn't have you screaming, though, and I knew that it would alarm you if I just appeared out of nowhere. Again, I apologize."
"How did you get in here?" demanded Ms. Applebee.
Tommy half-grinned and then answered, "I teleported."
"Teleported?" said Ms. Applebee, Tommy nodding. "What in the world are you talking about, Tommy?"
"I think you know what I'm talking about, Ms. Applebee," replied Tommy. "You're an educated woman; you watch the news. Can you honestly say that you have no idea why I'm here after everything that's happened recently?"
"I—" Ms. Applebee started, drifting off, clearly pondering something. "I saw what happened with Jason and Katherine, if that's what you mean. Beyond that, though, I'm clueless."
Though her words said one thing, the glimmer in her eyes told Tommy that she was far more knowledgeable than she was letting on. "I appreciate your subtlety, Ms. Applebee, but you don't have to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about," he replied, with a smile. "I'm sure it was pretty easy to read between the lines once you found out about Kat and Jason."
Ms. Applebee eyed Tommy carefully, as though trying to tell him that he need not do this. Tommy, however, merely maintained his smile, until eventually Ms. Applebee sighed and nodded. "You don't have to worry, though, if that's why you're here," she added, hastily. "I think it's awful what that Josh Weinstein man is doing to all of you. I promise, Tommy, your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you very much," said Tommy. "That's not really why I'm here, though. There's a lot going on right now, Ms. Applebee, more than I can explain in what little time we have. What I can tell you, though, is that we desperately need your help."
"M-me?" said Ms. Applebee, Tommy nodding. "How can I possibly help the Power Rangers, Tommy? I'm just a high school principal."
"Believe me, I wish I didn't even have to ask. Unfortunately, we're running out of options," said Tommy. "As we speak there is an intergalactic being somewhere out there called The Hunter, whose only goal is to kill me and all the other Rangers that I served with. We're fighting him as best we can right now, but there's no way that we can stop him from revealing our identities unless we destroy him for good. What we can do, though, is make it a lot harder for the rest of the world to figure it out in the interim, and that's where you come in."
Ms. Applebee's surprise and confusion did not wane as Tommy went on, but instead grew more and more apparent. "What do you need from me, Tommy?"
"I need you to completely wipe us off the school records: me, Kim, Zack, Aisha…everyone; there can't be any evidence that we were ever here at all," answered Tommy, with an expression that conveyed the utmost seriousness.
"I-I don't understand, Tommy," said Ms. Applebee. "What good would that do if this man who wants you dead already knows that you're Power Rangers?"
Tommy shook his head. "It's not to stop him, Ms. Applebee, there's nothing we can do about that; but by eliminating us from the school's history it will make it a lot harder for anyone trying to dig up information on Jason and Katherine from learning anything about the rest of us."
"But Tommy…yearbooks," replied Ms. Applebee, "Hundreds of your old classmates have them. The Bulks and Skulls of your class might not be able to figure it out, but eventually one of them is going to put two and two together."
"I know," said Tommy, nodding. "But pictures of us hanging out with Jason and Katherine aren't enough to prove that the rest of us were Rangers as well. That's tabloid news at best. There are only six of us that are active at the moment, and right now our top priority has to be keeping those identities a secret for as long as we possibly can. Living this double life is hard enough without our identities being public knowledge. Do you see where I'm coming from here, how important this is?"
It took a few moments, but Ms. Applebee nodded and said, "Yes, Tommy, I think I do, and I'll be happy to help in any way that I can. That being said, I'll try as hard as I possibly can, but I really don't know if I can just remove you from the school's records."
"You can with a little help," said Tommy, smiling. "Honestly, I would have done this whether you had said yes or no, but I didn't want to go behind your back like this if it wasn't necessary. If you'll give Billy access to the school district's computer systems he should be able to take care of the rest."
"What do you mean, if it wasn't necessary? What were you planning on doing?"
"Billy would have hacked the systems, deleted everything with some crazy hacker virus, and no one else would have ever noticed anything different," answered Tommy, pausing momentarily before adding, "Luckily, though, it didn't have to come to that."
Ms. Applebee did not seem to enjoy the idea of what Tommy was asking her to do, but she conceded nonetheless, scribbling down the necessary codes on a Post-It note that she then passed along to Tommy with a murmured, "Give these to Billy."
"Thank you," said Tommy, smiling as he pocketed the note and rose to his feet. "I really do appreciate this, Ms. Applebee, and I'm sure the other Rangers will as well. You're doing a great service here and, as leader of the team, I can't thank you enough for that."
"Tommy, after everything that you and your friends have done for this planet, helping you with this is the least that I can do, even though it sounds like you really didn't need my help in the first place."
Tommy grinned. "No, I guess I didn't, but like I said, I don't like going behind people's backs unless it's absolutely necessary. Now, I really need to get going. As I'm sure you can imagine, our world is a bit concerned after everything that's happened to Jason and Katherine, and there are still some things that I need to take care of before today's over."
"Of course, Tommy, I completely understand," replied Ms. Applebee, with a smile of her own. She then stood up and extended her hand to Tommy. "Thank you for trusting me with all of this, as well. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you Rangers."
Shaking her hand, Tommy simply nodded and said his final goodbyes, a wave of teleportation energy washing over him a moment later that carried Tommy back to his home in Reefside. He arrived in the kitchen to find that his house was deserted, but that Hayley had left a note for him on the refrigerator door: she had had to get back to work and Kimberly would be coming by the house in a few hours to talk to him.
Remembering his earlier conversation with Hayley, he retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator and then made his way to the living room, collapsing on the couch with his cell phone in hand and Jason's number already dialed. As he listened to the line ring he thought about what he was going to say when Jason answered; unfortunately, he was still as clueless now as he had been that morning.
By the fourth ring Tommy was starting to wonder whether or not Jason would answer at all. His question was answered following the next ring, when the line clicked over to Jason's voicemail message.
"Hey buddy, it's me," said Tommy, after hearing the beep. "Listen, I-I meant to call you earlier, but I didn't know what to say. Truth be told, I still don't know what to say really. I feel terrible, man. I just…I guess part of me feels guilty, like this all would have been avoided if I had just been able to stop him the first time, you know? Anyway, give me a call back when you can…or if you even want to. You know I'm here if you need someone to talk to, bro. Later."
Sighing as he flipped his phone shut, Tommy haphazardly tossed the device onto the nearby coffee table and then lay back down with closed eyes. He had not intended to spend much time like this at all, but the day's events had left him so drained—physically as well as emotionally—that he ended up drifting off within a matter of seconds.
Deep as it was, though, his sleep was also a restless one that was continuously plagued with images of his teammates both former and current, attempting to fend off thousands of civilians and paparazzi. For nearly an hour he remained like this, his eyes squeezed shut as he tossed and turned on the couch. At one point he was almost certain that he had heard someone repeatedly say his name, but the voice was distant at best, not nearly enough to wake him from his slumber. Not long after that, however, the voice in the back of his head started to become more prominent.
"Tommy…Tommy…it's me…Tommy, wake up."
"Huh? What? Who's there?" said Tommy, clearly flustered as he bolted into a sitting position and began rubbing his eyes. Blinking rapidly, a silhouette slowly came into focus. "Oh, it's you," he added, with a yawn, upon seeing Kimberly standing nearby. "What's up?"
"You tell me," replied Kimberly, folding her arms across her chest. "Hayley told me that you had some harebrained scheme up your sleeve. Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid, Tommy."
"Define stupid," said Tommy, with a grin that Kimberly seemed none too pleased to see. Sighing, Tommy shook his head and continued, "No, I didn't do anything stupid, Kim, and it wasn't a 'harebrained scheme,' either. I just needed to take care of something, that's all. I don't think you have to worry anymore about your identity being revealed, though; at least not any time soon, anyway."
Kimberly furrowed her brow. "Who told you I was worried about that?"
Tommy shrugged. "I just…I guess I figured you'd be worried after what happened to Jason and Katherine," he lied, not wanting to mention his earlier conversation with Hayley, for obvious reasons.
"Hayley told you that, didn't she?" questioned Kimberly, a heartbeat later, her tone leaving no room for anything except the truth.
For a brief moment Tommy simply sat there with his mouth agape, trying to fathom how she could have possibly figured that out in such a ridiculously short amount of time. After regaining most of his senses, he swallowed hard and said, "She asked me not to say anything, so I'm not going to, but I'm sure you can read between the lines."
Kimberly rolled her eyes. "I'm not worried about my identity being exposed. With everything going on right now, that's the least of my worries."
"So what's going on then?" asked Tommy. "You said you wanted to talk—"
"I did," said Kimberly, nodding, "But not about that. As soon as I saw that newsbreak I knew it was going to piss you off. I mean, hell, it pissed me off, and you're way more temperamental than I am. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to go run off and do something idiotic like trying to take out The Hunter on your own."
"Is that it?"
Kimberly nodded. "That's it," she answered.
It was at that point that Tommy burst out laughing. "Oh come on, Kim," he replied, shaking his head. "You didn't really think I was going to do something that moronic, did you? I want to end his life as quickly as possible, but not at the expense of my own. I've seen firsthand what he's capable of doing; there's no way I could take him by myself."
Scoffing quietly, Kimberly said, "If anyone could do it, it would be you, Tommy."
"Don't," said Tommy, with another shake of his head. This time, however, his expression was far more serious. "I'm sick of everyone having these unrealistic expectations of me," he continued, sighing. "All day long different Rangers have been blowing up my phone. Not just our Rangers, either, Kim, but all of them. I'm not the Wizard of fucking Oz; I don't have all the answers, and I'm not some invincible superhero just because I've been doing this longer than everyone else. Me trying to take The Hunter one on one would be no different than if it was you, or any other Ranger for that matter."
Kimberly just smiled as she closed what little distance remained between them, taking the seat next to Tommy's. She then laid her head against his shoulder, gently took one of his hands, and said, "No, Tommy, you're not invincible, but you are the best and there's no denying it. The things you've done in the Ranger world…it's not a matter of opinion, it's a fact. I know you might not want that pressure, but the truth is that you're the only one who can handle it."
"It's not the pressure that bothers me, Kim, it's the sheer logistics of the whole situation," said Tommy, audibly exasperated. "Look, I don't mind being the go-to guy for the six of us—ten if you include the others—but I can't be responsible for every team on Earth. I'm not Zordon, you know? Sometimes I wish I was, though. It would make everything a whole hell of a lot easier, that's for dam sure."
"Yeah, but then you'd also be a giant floating head in a tube of green mist," said Kimberly, laughing. "Where would that leave us?"
Tommy chuckled. "Yeah," he replied, pulling her in even closer, "I guess you're right. Still, it's like…part of me wishes there was something I could do to change all of this, but the other part knows I can't do it by myself. I just…I just want this all to end, Kim. I'm sick of seeing my friends get hurt like this, and what makes me even sicker is that I can't do anything to stop it from happening."
"So that's what's really bothering you, isn't it?" said Kimberly, knowingly, Tommy shooting her a puzzled look. "It's not that everyone is coming to you for help, it's you feeling guilty that you can't help them. I guess it's not that big of a surprise. I mean, it's not like this is the first time you've beaten yourself up over something that's out of your control."
Rolling his eyes, Tommy replied, "I really don't need this right now, Kim. Jason and Kat…their lives are ruined now and they didn't do a damn thing to deserve it! One by one this is going to keep happening and pretty soon none of us are ever going to be able to live normal lives again."
"I hate to break it to you, Tommy, but normalcy is something we all lost a long time ago," said Kimberly. "When you've traveled to planets no one has ever heard of, piloted massive robots, and worn spandex armor to fight evil space villains, normal pretty much stops existing. I know what you're feeling, because I feel it too. I hate that Jason and Katherine are going through this crap, but the fact of the matter is that we can't change what happened; all we can do is try our hardest to stop it before it goes any further than it already has."
As Kimberly's words slowly set in, Tommy chuckled softly and said, "You know, usually I'm the one that's supposed to say stuff like that. You're right, though," he added, with a slow head shake. "Still…this has gotten way out of control. We have to stop The Hunter before he can do any more damage and that's all there is to it."
"I agree completely," said Kimberly, nodding. "We will stop him, Tommy. One way or another, we always come out on top."
"I hope you're right, Kim," said Tommy, sighing. "I really, really hope you're right."
--
At ten minutes to seven that night the distant sun was nearly set, casting only the faintest hint of an orange glow over the Van Nuys Airport where Adam was currently waiting for Tanya's plane to arrive. He was parked just off the nearest runway in a section of the airport reserved for privately owned planes, tapping the steering wheel impatiently as he stared off towards the horizon with narrowed eyes.
A slowly approaching speck in the distance caused him to squint ever so slightly while wondering if the dot could finally be Tanya's plane. With each passing moment that the far away speck grew closer Adam could feel his heartbeat start to quicken as well, almost as though the excitement of seeing her again was taking control long before he had even laid eyes on her.
Fortunately, his anticipation was not in vain. As the dot became the blurry form of an airplane, Adam mused that the last thing he needed today after what had happened with Jason was another disappointment. He, like most of the other Rangers, had attempted to contact the former Red, only to be left with either Jason's voicemail recording or an unanswered text message.
It seemed like Jason did not want to be disturbed and, truth be told, Adam did not blame him. Closing his eyes, he briefly tried to imagine what life would be like had he been the one to have his identity revealed. Almost instantly, however, he realized that a life like that was one that he did not even want to think about.
Returning his sights to the approaching plane, he allowed himself a small smile before letting out a sigh. Ever since Tanya had called the day before to let him know that she was coming home, her impending arrival had dominated Adam's thoughts. Now, though, part of him was starting to hope that the plane was not hers after all.
As Rocky had reminded him this morning, he had still not told Tanya that he was an active Ranger once more. He was also well aware that her reaction to the news would more than likely dictate what happened next in their relationship. He could see her being angry just as easily as he could see her understanding; needless to say, he was hoping for the latter.
Then he could see the plane begin its descent, the seconds creeping by until at long last the wheels of the Ultra Long Range Learjet hit the runway, bringing it to a stop a few hundred feet away from where he sat. Taking a deep breath, he said a quick silent prayer and clambered out of the car; walking towards the plane, he watched intently as the plane's hatch opened wide and a mechanical staircase slowly unfolded towards the ground.
Adam had made it about halfway to the plane when the first person exited: a man with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes; in his mid-to-late forties; and dressed to the nines in a designer suit, shirt, and tie. He, as Adam already knew, was Tanya's business manager. Next was a much taller and wider black man. His head was completely shaved and he wore a black tee shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans, his eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses even though night had already fallen. This was Tanya's cousin, Tony, who was now her bodyguard as well.
A few more people got off the plane as Adam continued towards it with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark blue jeans. Then he saw Tanya and it was as if everything else around him had disappeared entirely. Frozen on the spot, he could do little more than stare at her in awe of how gorgeous she looked in nothing more than black sweats and a yellow tank top, a small yellow backpack hooked around her shoulders and a matching bandana tied around her head.
Their eyes met almost as soon as she had started down the stairs, Tanya sending a smile Adam's way that immediately shook him from his stupor. Grinning back, he continued towards the plane and was already at the bottom step waiting for her before she had reached the ground.
"Hey—" started Adam, only to be cut off when Tanya launched herself at him from three steps away. He caught her at the waist, Tanya securing their position by wrapping her legs around his torso before kissing him passionately.
It took Adam a moment to realize what was happening, but then his senses returned and moments later he was kissing her back, kissing her as he had never kissed her before. Lost in a wondrous sense of blissful oblivion, only when both were short of breath did their kiss reach its inevitable end.
"I take it you missed me as much as I missed you?" said Adam, smiling.
Biting her lip, Tanya nodded. "Yeah, I did," she replied softly, through a grin of her own.
Slowly turning around, Adam carefully set her back on her feet and said, "I'm glad you're finally home."
"It's good to finally be home!" said Tanya, still smiling up at him as she wrapped her arms around his nearest bicep and rested her head against his shoulder.
Adam just winked discreetly as the surrounding group started to gather to say their temporary farewells. There was much that he needed to say to her, but he also knew that this was not the appropriate forum for that particular conversation. No, there would be plenty of time for that later; right now he just wanted to get her home as soon as possible.
"You ready to go?" asked Adam, once all the goodbyes had been said.
"Yeah, I am," said Tanya, nodding. Adam took her hand, gave it a squeeze, and then they were off. Heading towards the car, Tanya added, "It'll be nice to finally sleep in my own bed for a change. You have no idea how awful it is sleeping on a tour bus bunk every night."
Adam smiled. "Well then you'll be happy to know that I actually did all the bed laundry this morning: sheets, pillowcases, the comforter, everything."
"And I'm sure I'll be doing it again in the morning," replied Tanya, with a seductive wink that left Adam grinning his trademark squinty-eyed grin.
As easy as it would have been to forget everything else that had happened, Adam simply could not allow himself to do it. It was with a soft sigh that he said, "There's some stuff we need to talk about, Tanya."
"I figured you'd say that," admitted Tanya. "After what's happened to Jason and Kat, I don't blame you for being worried—"
"It's not—" started Adam.
"I mean, I totally understand why you would be," continued Tanya, speaking right over the top of him. "I'm out there on the road and you're not there, so you're already worried about that."
"Tanya, it's not—" tried Adam, once more.
"Then there's the fact that I could be the next one to have my identity revealed," Tanya went on. "I'm already a walking target for attention because of my music, but if everyone knew I was a Ranger, too…well, like I said, I can understand why you'd be worried."
Closing his eyes to prevent himself from rolling them, Adam stopped at the front passenger door of his car and opened it for Tanya who slipped inside with a smile. He then proceeded to make his away around to the driver's side while muttering a few choice words beneath his breath. Upon settling into his seat, he immediately turned to Tanya with a serious expression on his face and said, "Are you done? Because that had nothing to do with what I wanted to talk about."
"Oh," said Tanya, taken back a bit. "Go ahead then; I'm sorry."
"It's fine," said Adam, nodding. "I just," he continued, pausing as he reached behind his back. Moments later, he extended his fist towards Tanya, opened it wide, and added, "I just thought you should know about this."
He had expected Tanya to be at least somewhat surprised at the sight of the small golden disc emblazoned with the image of the frog, but she looked neither surprised nor concerned. Instead, she simply smiled and said, "Adam, did you really think I wouldn't already know? The Rangers are always big news, even more so now that this guy is starting to expose our identities."
"You-you knew?" asked Adam, incredulously. Tanya nodded as he questioned, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
Tanya shrugged. "I guess I figured you'd call if you wanted to talk about it," she answered, as Adam brought the engine to life. Once he had started pulling away she continued, "Whenever you feel unsure about something, I'm usually the first one you go to. The first couple times I saw you on TV, I came real close to calling you. Honestly, though—and I'm going to sound terrible for saying this—I just couldn't find the time. When I had time, I knew you were either at work or asleep; plus, like I said, I figured you would have called me if you wanted to talk."
"I was more worried about your reaction than anything else," said Adam. "Part of me thought you might flip out or something."
Tanya furrowed her brow. "What would make you think something like that?"
"Tommy," admitted Adam, with a quiet chuckle. "He's told a couple of stories about some of the other Red Rangers he went on that mission to the moon with. Most of the guys had ex-Rangers as girlfriends or wives, and I guess a few of them weren't very happy when the guys picked up their Morphers again."
"I'll admit, sometimes it worries me to know you're putting your life on the line again," said Tanya. "At the same time, I know what a capable Ranger you are. If Aisha wasn't out there to keep Rocky in line, I'd be worried about him—"
She paused at that point as she and Adam shared a laugh. "—but you?" she continued, reaching out and gently touching the side of Adam's face. "Deep down, I know that I don't really have to worry about you."
"You have no idea how happy and relieved it makes me to hear you say that," said Adam, smiling as he took her hand.
Their conversation took a much more casual turn at that point, as both realized that they had been worried about different things for no reason whatsoever. They made it down the freeway, perhaps only fifteen or twenty minutes away from home, however, when things took a sudden turn for the worst.
So sudden was Jared Grant's appearance in the middle of the fast lane that Adam did not have time to react. Tanya screamed as both braced themselves for impact, but the impact they were preparing themselves for never came. Instead of flattening Jared Grant completely, he lowered his shoulder and pushed against the grill of Adam's car, causing the front end to crunch as it crushed inward on its passengers. Inside the car, Adam and Tanya were both being tossed around like ragdolls as Jared Grant effortlessly lifted the car and sent it flying through the air, rapidly flipping over and over on itself.
From the corner of his eye, Adam was able to spare a brief glance at Tanya, just enough to see the frightened expression on her face. Then his head slammed into something hard and his entire world went black.
--