I sat on my bed, thumbing through my paperback copy of The Outsiders. I had read it a million times. The spine was lined and the pages were dog-eared and stained but I loved it nonetheless.
After flipping through a few pages I came to the part where Johnny kills the Soc in the park and settled back to read it. I was so lost in the book that I didn't realize that Drake had walked into the room until he plopped down on my bed.
"Enjoying your book?" he asked.
I nodded, "One of my favorites."
"I read that back in 8th grade. It's the one where the main kid's friend kills a bully and they run off right?"
"Yeah. Now hush…I'm reading." I replied and went back to my book.
Drake nodded and I continued to read. I had only gotten a few lines down the page when I felt him lift my feet up and rest them on his lap. A moment later he began to tap a rhythm out on my legs and sing softly.
"Well this is how it starts Two lovers in the dark
On the run, from the one That they called Sheriff Spark
Six guns by their side and bullets around their waist
Two shots to the sky
Signal sound for the chase
The safe was nearly empty and They were nearly free
But were seen by the Good eye of the mean Billy Green
And he screamed at the top of his lungs They're on the run
It's the two outsiders Grab your horses and your guns
I said I wish that
We could stay here,
But I fear our time has come
We could ride out in the darkness
Chasing the rising sun
We gotta pack our bags this instant,
We're heading south-bound to the next town
And if we all arrive there so safely,
Baby you can
Lay me down…"
"Is there a reason you're singing hon?" I asked.
He shrugged, "No…no reason."
"Can you quit then so I can read, please?" I asked.
"Sorry." Drake said and I went back to my book.
A few seconds later I heard him start to sing again, softer but still.
Well it's the story of the two
Always on the move.
"They got nothing left to lose
'Cept their guns and their wounds
Now they're crossing borders
Sheriffs posse on their tail
They'd rather die together
Than be stuck up in a cell.
They drank up all the whiskey and They partied every night
Like it could be the last The bounty said shoot on sight.
So they chased the endless summer Though it came with the pride.
They wouldn't stop running till They found a paradise.
But the sheriff finally found them with his eyes seeing red.
So the lovers had to shoot him down and fill him full of lead
They were finally free To find a place to lay their head
And when they finally did he looked at her and then he said."
"Drake? Singing?" I asked.
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize I was doing it." he said.
"Just quit babe." I replied.
He nodded and once again I started reading my book. At least for a minute or two because before I knew it Drake was singing. Again.
"Well you're my green-eyed girl And I've been running around with you.
It's the afternoon and we got nothing left to do.
So wipe the dirt off, or Take your shirt off,
And we should go hit the cantina, We got work off.
I said it's hot outside Let me go swimming in your eyes.
We've been running for a while
Why don't you lay down and make smile.
I could never ask for nothing better than this.
It's just tequila and the beach, that's why its salty when we kiss."
"You're doing this on purpose." I accused putting my book aside and looking at him.
"Took you that long to realize that?" he smirked.
"You're a jerk!" I laughed and kicked him.
"Guilty." he smiled.
"Ug…you're lucky I'm fond of you. I don't just put my book aside for anyone mister." I grinned sitting my book on the beside table.
"Fond of me huh? Just fond?" he asked cocking an eyebrow.
"Well…maybe…just maybe I like you a little bit more." I grinned.
"A little bit?" he asked.
"A little bit." I replied holding my fingers up, just millimeters apart.
"A little? A little?!" he laughed and tackled me, tickling my middle.
"Ah! Stop!" I laughed.
"Never!" he cried and continued to tickle me.
"Okay! Okay! I like you a lot more! Now please stop! I'm about to pee myself!" I begged through my laughter.
"That's better." he smiled down at me, his hands on either side of my head.
We looked at each other for a few moments before he dipped his head down and kissed me. The kiss was soft and sweet for a few moments before Drake deepened it. We just kissed for a few moments before he moved and laid down behind me, pulling me so that my back was flush with his front.
The two of us laid in silence for a bit before I felt Drake pull me even closer. His hand came up to the side of my head and pulled my hair back off my neck. He placed a simple kiss against my pulse before moving his lips to my ear.
"I love you Izzy."
I felt what seemed to be a ball of lead plunge into my stomach. My heart was racing and my palms were sweating as my mind raced, trying to figure out just what to say back.
We had only been an official couple for a week now. Did I love him? With Nathan I had known the moment I had seen him. But Drake? Did I love Drake? Each second was ticking past and each one made the tension in the room grow more and more.
However I was saved by a faint sound.
"Hey…are you singing again?" I asked knowing well and good that it wasn't him at all.
"No." he replied.
"Then who's singing?" I asked and quickly moved from Drake's grasp and slid my feet into my sneakers.
"C'mon lets go see." I said and headed to the doors.
I heard Drake sigh but follow anyhow. The sound led me down the hall to Ally and Iris's room. A shoe was caught in the door and it wasn't closed entirely since at the first sign of resistance the doors stopped closing. I leaned against the door and listened to someone playing the guitar while the sang softly.
"Hey sweetie, I need you here tonight
And I know that you don't wanna be leaving
Yeah, you want it but I can't help it
I just feel complete when you're by my side
But I know you can't come home 'til they're singin'
La, la la la, la la la
'Til everyone is singin'
La, la la la, la la la
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear to you that we can make this last
(La la la)
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past
It might be for the best…"
"Who is that? They're really good." Drake asked.
I peered through the door and saw a flash of red hair.
"It's Ally!"
"I didn't know she could sing like that. Did you know?" he asked.
"Not even." I replied.
"Hey! What are you two doing?" Gray asked.
Drake and I jumped a mile in the air. His hand hit the panel next to the door and we tumbled into the room. Ally froze, looking down at us over her guitar.
"Where did you two come from?" she asked.
"Um…Earth?" Drake replied.
I rolled my eyes, "We heard you singing."
"Y-You heard me?" she asked.
"Yeah you're really good." I replied standing up.
"No I'm not…really." she said.
"No! You are! Really!" Drake said.
"She won't believe you guys. No matter how hard you try. We've all told her a million times how good she is." Gray said behind us.
"It's because I have ears!" Ally laughed.
"Whatever you wanna believe Al." Gray said sitting beside her.
Suddenly there was a siren above us and we halted our conversation. We hurried out of Ally's room and to the bridge.
"What's going on? What's with the alarm?" Gray asked as we walk onto the bridge.
"That's what we're trying to find out." Sebastian said.
"Oh my god not another false alarm." I said.
"No. This one is legit. We had a lock on a signal for a general but now it's gone and some sort of energy reading that we're not familiar with." Jakob replied.
"I've got it." Bridge said suddenly.
"What is it?" Ethan asked walking over.
"It's a time warp! I'm not sure but I think he's actually gone forward into time!" Bridge said.
"Forward?! Really?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah. The only question is to where…or should we say when." Jakob replied.
"Well how fast can you do it?" I asked walking over to stand by my brother.
"An hour maybe? It's mostly scans. Well that's if D.E.C.A has the equipment." Bridge said.
"My system has sufficient programs to complete the scans." D.E.C.A replied.
"Good. Then run the scans as fast as you can." Ethan said.
Bridge nodded and hit a few buttons and we sat back to wait.
The time between Bridge hitting the buttons and the time that the results came up seemed to take forever. When they came up all of us were on our feet waiting.
"No…no way. It's not possible. Why there?" Bridge mumbled.
"Bridge? This is REALLY not a good time for you to talk to yourself." I said.
"Sorry but it looks like Zard's general has traveled forward in time, not that we didn't expect that though." Bridge replied.
"Okay what didn't you expect then?" Steven asked.
"The time he traveled to." Bridge replied.
"Well when did he go to?" I asked.
"2027."
"No! He went to our time?!" Aria asked.
"He did." Bridge nodded.
"We've got to follow him! God only knows the kind of damage he could be doing to New Tech City!" Z said.
"But what if it's a trap? Besides tomorrow is our next planet." Daphne said.
"We can't just stand by and let him possibly tear up our home." Cameron protested.
"Daphne's right but so is Cameron. We can't just let Zard's generals destroy everything. We have to do something." Ethan said.
I saw Daphne look at my brother with surprise and he rolled his eyes, "Don't get used to it."
"What if we split our forces?" Drake said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Gray asked.
"Well is it possible to go after him at all?" Drake asked Bridge.
"There's a smaller ship built into the Megaship. If we hurry we should be able to pass through." Bridge replied.
"But what if that's what Zard wants? What if he wants us separated?" William asked.
"That's a chance we have to take. How many does that ship hold?" Ethan asked.
"Ten." Sebastian said.
"So we send the Bridge and his team and who else?" Drake asked.
"I'll take my team and we'll go." Ethan said.
"We're one too many." Nathan pointed out.
"I'll stay behind and help." Jakob said.
"I should stay too. With Bridge gone they'll need help. Take Izzy in my place she'll be a big help." Chris said.
"Are you sure?" I asked looking at Chris.
"Totally. You should go." Chris replied.
"The rest of us will stay back here and take on the next planet." Drake said.
"You sure you can handle it guys?" Ethan asked.
"Totally. We've got 3 Red Rangers here. You guys go and save the future." Steven said.
"Alright then lets go." Ethan replied.
"Wait! Shouldn't we tell Billy what's going on first?" Tasha asked.
"You're right we should." Ethan nodded.
"I'm working on a contact link now." Sebastian said.
"Hey…should we like pack bags or something?" Ryan asked.
"No we have stuff that you can all use if we have to stay there for a day or so." Z replied.
"I say we change into our KO-35 uniforms at least so we look professional." Ethan said.
"You don't have to." Kiera said.
"I think we will though. Just because. You guys will be wearing yours. We don't want to stick out. C'mon guys." Ethan said.
Tasha and I quickly changed into the black pants, jacket boots and colored shirts that the uniform consisted of and headed back to the bridge. When we got there the SPD Rangers were wearing their uniforms. Since coming to the ship they'd pretty much dressed casual like the rest of us. It was rare to see them in the gray uniforms that had the accent colors on the sleeves and pants.
"Transmission from Earth will be up in a second." Sebastian said.
We turned to the screen where a moment later Billy, Alpha and Zordon appeared.
"What's going on?" Billy asked.
"One of Zard's generals have traveled forward into time. We've decided to take a team and follow him there. It's going to be the SPD Rangers as well as Myself, Izzy, Tasha, Ryan and Nathan. Chris and Jakob are going to stay back and help with things." Ethan said.
"We've already managed to contact Commander Tate as well as Dr. Manx to let them know that we'd be returning." Z said.
"Keep in mind Rangers this could very well be a trap that you and your team are walking into." Zordon said.
"We understand that Zordon but we can't just let him possibly destroy the future. We have no choice." I said.
"Very well then. Go and may the Power protect you." Zordon said.
"Thanks Zordon." Ethan nodded.
"Wait! Bridge is it possible that you could send a message through time?" Billy asked.
"I would have to ask Kat but I think it's possible." Bridge nodded.
"Then if you can we need you to send a message to Jen Scotts in the year 3000. Tell her you know Wes Collins and the Rangers are in need." Billy said.
"Right." we nodded.
"Good luck Rangers!" Alpha chirped and the screen went black.
"So are you ready to go?" Bridge asked.
"Ready as we'll ever be to time travel." Ryan sighed.
"Then lets move out." Bridge said.
I turned and looked at Drake.
"Be safe." he said looking at me.
"I'll do my best babe." I smiled and kissed him.
Tasha said goodbye to Chris in a similar manner and we headed out.
"So how are you and Drake doing?" she asked as we followed Bridge who was talking with Ethan.
"Good but…" I sighed.
"But what?" she asked.
"He dropped the 'L' word earlier." I replied.
"Seriously!? Did you tell him you loved him back?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"Why not?!" Tasha asked.
"It's early! We've been dating a week Tash and he's already told me he loved me!" I replied.
"You told Nathan the same day you two got together." Tasha pointed out.
"Yeah I know…" I sighed.
"But he's not Nathan right?" she replied.
I nodded, "Is that terrible?"
"No. You and Nathan had a connection that you and Drake don't have. The two of you connect on different level. It may just take more time. I say tell him when you're ready to tell him." Tasha replied.
"So it's not awful." I said.
"No. Not at all." Tasha said.
We all stopped in front of a pair of doors that I hadn't ever noticed before. Bridge punched in a code and the doors slid open. There was a short hallway that lead to a series of seats. There were two up front then four on one side and four on the other.
"Everyone take your seats." Bridge said as he and Cameron took seats up front..
Tasha and I took seats right behind Bridge and buckled in.
Bridge began to flips switches and mutter into the headset he wore. It was dark in front of us but a moment later the wall moved apart revealing stars for who knew how far.
"Prepare for take off." Jakob's voice said from the intercom after a few seconds.
There were some bangs and the ship lurched forward with a jerk. We moved away from the ship as Bridge and Cameron controlled the ship. The rocket turned and we moved away from the ship.
We moved along for a few moments before a large vortex like thing appeared in front of us.
"Alright everyone hold on. This is going to get bumpy." Cameron warned.
I grabbed onto the harness as we got closer and a second later the cabin began to shake. The closer we got to the vortex the more and more it began to shake.
"Entering the time warp!" Bridge said and the rocket began to shake like crazy.
I felt like I was on some kind of crazy amusement park ride. We were tossed and turned as we made our way through the time warp. Tasha was beside me holding onto her harness just as I was, her eyes squeezed shut. I however kept my eyes open. I wanted to see everything.
Lights flashed in front of the window of the cockpit, alternating in different colors. I was pressed against my seat but I was loving every moment of it.
Very quickly though everything stopped. The force stopped and our ship sat still.
"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the year 2027." Bridge grinned from the front.
The trip to Earth took a total of an hour and a half. Soon we were moving through the atmosphere, the forms of buildings and such rising up from under us.
"Dr. Manx to Astro Shuttle." A female voice came over the intercom.
"We read you Kat. We have entered the earth's atmosphere and are making our way to New Tech City SPD." Cameron replied.
"Very well Cameron we will see you soon." The voice said.
Twenty minutes later we docked in the landing bay of SPD headquarters.
The ten of us exited the ship and found lines of people in dark gray jumpsuits with 3 people waiting at the end of the two lines. The SPD Rangers took the front and we followed in a line behind them, shoulder to shoulder. I was a little nervous about the eyes on us but I shook it off and kept my eyes forward.
We didn't stop until we stood in front of the three people at the end of the line.
"Welcome home Rangers." the guy in the middle said. He was tall with short brown hair and big blue eyes. His uniform consisted of pants and a long jacket.
To one side of his stood a guy with blond hair who wore a jumpsuit. On his other side stood a woman with dark curly hair, green eyes, cat ears and fangs that wore a white coat, black skirt and black shoes.
"Good to be home Commander." Bridge said the sides of his mouth twitching.
"And welcome to you as well." the Commander said looking to us.
"Thank you for having us." Ethan replied.
"This is Dr. Kat Manx and her assistant Boom. They are in charge of our Ranger technology here at SPD. And I am Commander Schuler Tate." Commander Tate said.
"I am Ethan Hart and this is my team Tasha Smith, Ryan DeSantos, Nathan Scott." Nathan said.
"And I'm Izzy Oliver, Wind Ninja Ranger." I replied.
"Come with us and we will get all the information we need of you and what information we have." Commander Tate said and he turned.
We all headed up a set of escalators and then walked down a few hallways before entering a large Command Center. Once the doors closed Commander Tate relaxed a little.
"So Bridge how is everything going. Really?" Commander Tate asked leaning against a panel in the center of the room, arms crossed
"For the most part it's going really well. We've ran into a few hiccups but nothing that we couldn't entirely handle." Bridge replied.
"Hiccups? What do you mean hiccups?" Dr. Manx asked looking at the team.
"Well there was the traitor who was brainwashed…" Aria said.
"…and the planet that was burnt to a crisp." Kiera replied.
"What?! Are you serious?!" Boom asked.
"Dead serious. It looks like one of the Wind Ninja Academy Rangers sabotaged the ship we're on. We lost well over a week of travel time and got to the planet too late. There have been other occurrences on the ship such as the destruction of Nathan's Gi as well as a false alarm." Bridge explained.
Commander Tate turned and looked at me. He was back to his formal stance, shoulders back, head up, body stiff. His eyes raked over me for a few silent moments before walking closer, looking at me again, closer this time.
"How do we know that the whole team hasn't deflected to the enemy side? It wouldn't be the first occurrence. Especially with the similarities between her and Charlie." he said looking at me coldly.
I looked at him appalled. He was accusing me of being an enemy? I didn't care if he was a Commander or not. He had no right to talk to me like that.
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing. I am NOT one of your Cadets Commander Tate nor am I one of your officers. I have been nothing but a loyal Ranger from the moment I was given my powers and I plan to remain that way. The fact that my teammate was brainwashed by General Tryonin, after the General and his men beat him, has no baring on how I conduct myself. I am of my own mind. The fact that we could've saved that planet will haunt me to my dying day. And if you remember I am older than you and you would do well to respect your elders." I said, venom dripping from every syllable.
Commander Tate looked at me, shock etched in his face. After a few seconds he opened his mouth to reply but before he could someone spoke up.
"She has a point Commander Tate."
We all looked to the door to see what I can only describe as a large blue dog in an outfit similar to Commander Tate's.
"You cannot let your prejudices regarding your experience with A-Squad in the past to taint the ones in your future. As she said, just because one of her teammates turned has no baring on her nor the rest of her squad." the dog said.
"Allow me to introduce Supreme Commander Anubis 'Doggie' Kruger. Doggie, these are the Rangers that B-Squad traveled to help." Dr. Manx said.
"You all look like a fine and capable group of Rangers." Supreme Commander Kruger said looking at all of us.
"Thank you sir." Ethan nodded.
"You'll be the leader of this team then?" Commander Kruger asked.
"I am sir. My name is Ethan Hart. My sister is a co-leader of her team." Ethan replied pointing to me.
"Ah yes…the opinionated young lady." Commander Kruger said walking down to look at me.
"I'm sorry that I lost my temper sir but I don't believe in being talked down to or accused by people who do not know me." I replied.
"It is understandable Ms…?" he asked.
"Oliver. Izzy Oliver." I replied.
"Then Ms. Oliver it is understandable that you should feel that way." Commander Kruger said.
"I was just making a suggestion Commander based on the fact that teams often stick together." Commander Tate said.
"That is understandable as well." Commander Kruger replied.
"Sir we have no reason believe that Izzy could be a danger to our mission whatsoever." Aria said stepping up.
"I second that." Bridge nodded.
"Very well then. What is the status of your mission?" Commander Kruger asked.
"At the moment we have searched over two dozen planets and taken out two of Zard's Generals. A third was able to get away and there were casualties after the sabotage of our ship. Our crew consists of five different teams of Rangers including ourselves and one from KO-35." Bridge said.
"And now you believe that one of those Generals have come to our time?" Commander Kruger asked.
"Yes sir." Bridge replied.
"Do we know why?" Commander Tate asked.
"No idea." Bridge replied.
"Kat…have you found any readings on a suspicious energy source?" Commander Kruger asked.
"Not yet. We're constantly scanning the city though." Dr. Manx replied.
"Good. Let us known when you've found something. Until then I will relay this information to Headquarters. It was pleasure meeting all of you." Commander Kruger said and with a tip of his head he left.
"You should all go and get settled in until we find something." Dr. Manx said and turned to us.
"We've set up a couple of the Cadet's quarters for you. Hopefully you'll find them comfortable. They're set up near the B-Squad's." she said.
"Thank you for your hospitality Dr. Manx." Ethan smiled.
"Please call me Kat. All the Rangers do." she smiled back warmly.
"C'mon we'll show you around. You coming Sky?" Bridge asked.
"Why not?" Commander Tate shrugged and we walked out of the room.
As we walked everyone pointed out different places. I would never remember everything but I hoped that I wouldn't have to because hopefully I wouldn't be here long.
Finally we reached the Cadet quarters and saw our rooms. Tasha and I shared one, Nathan and Ryan shared another and Ethan had his own. All had beds made up with colored sheets but only Nathan and I's didn't match our color. Nathan's were green while mine were pink.
"We didn't realize that there would be two Red Rangers." Commander Tate said.
"It's okay. I actually used to be a Pink Ranger until I started my ninja training." I replied.
"And I want to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have assumed that you had turned just because of your teammate." Commander Tate said.
"It's okay Commander Tate. No hard feelings." I smiled.
"Call me Sky. At least when we're not being official. I used to be a Ranger too." he replied.
"Blue and then red right?" I said.
"Yeah how did you know?" he said looking confused.
"Bridge's ramblings the night he and the others came on our ship." I replied.
He smiled, "That sounds like Bridge."
"You should've seen Izzy jump him." Tasha laughed.
"Hey! He snuck onto our ship. It was his fault." I replied sitting on my bed.
Sky laughed, "You two get settled in and please don't jump anymore of our Rangers." and with that he left.
Tasha and I were just relaxing when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Tasha called and a moment later Bridge walked in with Ethan.
"What's up?" I asked sitting up.
"Get up and come on." Ethan said.
"Where are we going?" Tasha asked as we stood.
Bridge smiled, "On a field trip. We have some old friends to see."