"How's it coming, Billy?" Jason asked, stopping behind him.
Billy, on a long weekend from his internship, was in Angel Grove helping Jason get things running with the ranger network. He glanced up from the computer.
"The program is running successfully at this juncture," Billy answered. "I have set it to monitor news networks for power ranger references."
"Good idea," Jason said. "The sooner we find out about new teams, the better."
Billy nodded in agreement.
"Affirmative," he said. "Also, the program will monitor for any signs of Tommy. I don't know that it will help us locate him, but at least we'll know if his name is appearing anywhere we don't want to see it."
Jason sighed, shaking his head.
"I still can't believe he'd take off like that," he said as he headed toward the kitchen. "I know he had good intentions, but still."
Going back to the computer, Billy focused on running some more tests. Something started beeping. Frowning, Billy pulled up the screen. He stared at it in surprise for a moment.
"Jason!" he yelled. "It's Tommy!"
"What?" Jason exclaimed, running back into the room.
"Never mind," Billy sighed, shaking his head. "I thought I had him for a moment, but he's gone."
Jason frowned, leaning down to look at the computer screen.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I got a hit on him traveling," Billy said. "But it's showing him arriving in at least three different countries around the world at the same time. And then the track started bouncing, finally disappearing into Eastern Europe. I'll never find it there. Even if he is actually there…"
Sighing, Jason straightened up to leave again.
"Well, at least we know it works," he said. "We're bound to track him down eventually."
"Not if Hayley has anything to say about it," Billy muttered quietly, getting back to work.
"Hayley, I'm not a fan of this," Tommy said.
She had her hands over his eyes and was leading him somewhere. He had ridden in the car blindfolded all the way from the house.
"You're fine," she said. "Just a few more steps."
"You know I really don't like not knowing where I am," he said.
"I know. I know," she retorted. "But if I was trying to do something to you I'd be a lot more creative than this."
Tommy sighed.
"Alright," Hayley said, stopping him. "One. Two. Three. Ta da!"
She removed her hands and Tommy looked around. They were standing in front of her new café: Hayley's Cyberspace.
"Ummm… Hayley," Tommy said. "I was just here yesterday."
"Yes," she said. "But today is the grand opening. Now I get to do this."
Unlocking the door, she walked inside and changed the sign from 'Closed' to 'Open'. Rolling his eyes, Tommy followed her inside. She smiled, looking around in excitement.
"Alright," she said, clapping her hands together. "You get in the backroom and get to work."
"Get to work on what?" Tommy asked, frowning. "I was in the middle of—"
"Too bad," Hayley interrupted. "I need someone to work here until I can hire someone. You don't have a job yet anyways. So chop chop."
"Hayley," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I was—"
"Whatever you were working on has already been interrupted," she said. "So it's already spoiled or it can keep. So get going."
"Alright," Tommy sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
"And you are now the proud parents of a healthy baby boy," the doctor said.
Aisha smiled tiredly as Rocky squeezed her hand.
"His name is Rockford Jr.," she said.
The doctor nodded.
"Would you like to cut the cord?" he asked, looking at Rocky.
Rocky stared for a moment at the scissors in the doctor's hand.
"I—I—" he stammered.
And then he passed out, landing on the floor.
"Rocky," Aisha sighed.
"Nurse!" the doctor called, shaking his head.
Aisha looked up as the door cracked open. Trini popped her head in, smiling.
"Hey," she said. "How are you doing?"
Trini walked into the room followed by Jason, Zach, Adam, and Tanya. Aisha smiled, adjusting a sleeping RJ.
"A little tired," she said. "But happy."
"He's so cute!" Tanya exclaimed.
Jason looked around, frowning.
"Where's Rocky?" he asked.
Aisha sighed.
"He's in the ER," she said. "He hit his head pretty hard on the floor. They wanted to make sure he didn't have a concussion."
The other rangers stared for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"He passed out?" Zach snorted.
Aisha nodded.
"He did," she said. "Right about the time they asked him to cut the cord."
"Wow," Jason said, shaking his head. "He's never gonna live that one down."
"Nope," Adam said, grinning. "Because we're not going to let him."
A little while later the door opened and Rocky walked in. Jason was holding RJ. They all looked up as he paused in the doorway. Before anyone could say a word, he put his hand up, glaring around the room.
"Shut up," he said, forestalling any comments.
He went straight over to Jason and, ignoring the protests, took his son. Continuing to ignore the rest of the rangers, Rocky moved over to sit next to Aisha, smiling at RJ. Zach finally lost it, cackling as he caught himself with a chair. Rocky glared at him, but that just made the rest of the rangers start laughing. Sighing, Rocky turned his attention back to his son.
"It's a little weird doing this without Tommy," Zach said. "I mean, he's the whole reason we started getting together like this."
Kim and Kat nodded in agreement. The rangers were once again gathered in Jason and Trini's big backyard for their yearly reunion. It was the first one since Tommy had disappeared and they were all very aware of his absence. All of the original rangers were there and had been for several days. The Lightspeed rangers had arrived early that morning to help get everything set up. The Space rangers had shown up shortly after the official start time, bringing Justin with them.
"Has anyone heard from Wild Force?" Jason asked, walking out the backdoor. "They were supposed to be here by now."
Negative responses echoed around the yard. Jason sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm going to go call them," he said. "I really hope they didn't get lost."
Rangers started turning their heads to look when they started hearing voices arguing on the other side of the fence.
"I think we found them," Rocky said, shaking his head.
The backyard gate opened to admit the Wild Force team along with Wes and Eric.
"You are such a moron, Cole," Taylor snapped, glaring at him. "Next time we go anywhere, you don't drive."
"It's not my fault you can't give directions," Cole snapped back.
The rest of the team trailed in behind them. Wes, Max, and Danny were snickering, finding the argument highly entertaining.
"Come on, guys," Alyssa pleaded. "Can't you just get along for a few hours? It won't kill you."
"It might," Taylor retorted. "It already got us lost."
"Not my fault," Cole said again. "You were the one with the map."
Eric and Merrick came in last. Sighing, Merrick leaned over to Eric.
"Why did I come again?" he muttered.
"I don't know," Eric shrugged. "But I wonder the same thing sometimes. But if he doesn't shut up in a little while, just sit on him. I'm sure Rocky and Zach would love to help."
Merrick smirked, shaking his head.
"But you've been here before!" Taylor exclaimed.
"I didn't drive the last time!" Cole retorted.
"Hey rookie!" Rocky said, clapping a hand on Cole's shoulder and interrupting the argument. "You survived after all."
Cole turned to glare at Rocky.
"I'm not a rookie anymore," he snapped.
The other rangers started laughing.
"Oh, you're still the rookie," Jason said, walking over to greet the new arrivals.
"But you said I was only a rookie until I'd been a ranger for over a year," Cole protested, shaking off Rocky's hand.
Jason shrugged.
"Someone has to be the rookie," he said. "And you guys are the newest team."
"So why am I the only rookie?" Cole asked.
"We can't call all of you rookie," Zach said. "It would just get confusing. So you're it."
Taylor smirked.
"Ha," she said. "And besides, Cole. The rest of us were rangers for quite a while before you came along."
He growled at her, but Taylor just laughed.
"Don't worry, rookie," Jason said, laughing. "Soon as a new team pops up it'll be someone else's turn."
"What's this?" Cam muttered, frowning.
He was in Ninja Ops running through some programs. A new email message had just popped up with a high priority level. Running a quick scan to make sure it didn't contain any viruses or anything malicious, Cam opened the message.
Ninja Storm Rangers,
As the original red ranger, I want to extend the hand of friendship. In recent years we have found it necessary for past and present ranger teams to work together in order to keep evil from winning. I don't expect to come in and take over anything for you. You'll learn to be rangers on your own. This message is simply to let you know we are here should you ever require our assistance. You can contact me at this email at anytime, day or night. If you need us, we will come. May the Power protect your team.
-Mighty Morphin' Red Ranger
P.S. If you want to meet me in person, I'll be at Blue Bay Harbor Park at 6pm on the 8th. I'll be the one in red. No pressure to come. I understand wanting to keep your identities a secret. However, if you do come, remember the code: Christmas Ranger.
Still frowning, Cam called the Ninja Storm rangers to show them the message.
Several days later, Shane, Tori, and Dustin arrived at the park. They waited in the parking lot for a moment, still hesitant about the meeting.
"Are we sure we should be doing this?" Dustin asked. "I mean, do we really know this isn't a trap?"
Shane shrugged.
"If it is, it's a good one," he said. "Cam ran every possible test he could on that email."
"Besides," Tori said. "If it's real, we shouldn't pass up on the chance for allies. Who knows what kind of help we might need if things get out of control."
Taking deep breaths, the three Ninja Storm rangers climbed out of the car. They headed into the park, looking around. Tori spotted him first.
"Is that him?" she asked quietly, pointing over toward a bench.
The man was sitting with his back to them, looking out at the water. His shirt was red. Shrugging, the three rangers walked cautiously over. They paused behind him, but he didn't turn around. They exchanged looks.
"The Christmas Ranger flies at midnight," Dustin whispered.
Jerking in surprise, the man spun around nearly fell off the bench. Tori and Shane both groaned, slapping a hand to their forehead.
"Dustin!" Tori exclaimed.
"Shhh!" Dustin said. "I'm Yellow One."
His teammates rolled their eyes.
"I'm assuming you're the Ninja Storm rangers," the man said.
"Yes," Shane said. "And you are?"
Smiling, he held out a hand.
"Jason Scott," he said. "Original red ranger. It's good to meet you in person."
They shook hands, the three Ninja Storm rangers still looking around nervously.
"So did I hear you say you were the yellow ranger?" Jason asked, looking at Dustin.
"Yeah," Dustin said. "Why?"
"Hmm…" Jason said. "That's a new one."
Dustin frowned.
"What's a new one?" he asked.
Tori and Shane looked just as confused. Jason smiled, shaking his head.
"You being the yellow ranger," Jason said. "Trini is going to love that one."
"Who's Trini?" Shane asked.
"My wife," Jason answered. "And the original yellow ranger."
Dustin stared at Jason in surprise.
"The original yellow ranger was a girl?" he asked.
Jason laughed, nodding.
"Man, all of the yellow rangers before you have been girls," he said.
"Really?" Dustin said, his shoulders slumping.
"Don't worry," Jason said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They'll love you."
"I'm Shane," Shane said. "Red Ninja Storm ranger. And Tori is our blue ranger."
Jason looked at them in surprise for a moment and then shook his head.
"You guys are full of firsts," he said.
The Ninja Storm rangers exchanged looks.
"What do you mean?" Tori asked.
"Well," said Jason. "You only have three rangers when it's usually five to start with. Plus, your yellow ranger is a boy and your blue ranger is a girl. Not exactly something we've seen before."
"And what's wrong with that?" Tori asked, glaring at Jason.
He laughed, shaking his head.
"Absolutely nothing," he said. "The blue rangers are going to love you. I think it's time the five of them got shaken up a bit. Can't wait to see Rocky's face when I tell him."
"Well, if they don't love her," Shane said, "she'll beat them up."
Jason just laughed harder.
"Oh yeah," he said. "She'll fit right in. All of you will."
The Ninja Storm rangers smiled, relaxing a little more.
"Sorry about scaring you," Dustin said after a moment. "Moving quietly is part of the whole ninja thing."
"Yeah," Jason sighed. "I know. It's going to be interesting having more ninjas around."
They looked at him in surprise.
"There are more ninjas?" Shane asked.
"Yeah," Jason answered. "Although most of them don't use those abilities anymore. Except Rocky when he's trying to sneak a midnight snack without his wife catching him. She's another yellow ranger, by the way. Or Tommy. Tommy is scary good at sneaking. He just—disappears. We can't ever keep track of him…"
They were all silent for a moment.
"So… did you really come alone?" Tori asked, looking around the park.
There was no one else there. At least not that they could see.
"I did," Jason said.
"But what if we weren't really us?" Dustin asked.
Jason looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm pretty sure the ninja gear gave it away," Jason said.
The three ninjas looked down at themselves.
"Darn it!" Dustin exclaimed. "I knew we were forgetting something."
Shane and Tori rolled their eyes, groaning.
"But what if we were in disguise?" Dustin persisted. "This whole thing could have been a trap."
Jason shrugged.
"Then I would have been in trouble," he said. "Oh!"
Pulling back his sleeve, Jason brought the communicator he was wearing closer to his mouth.
"Andros," he said. "I'm not gonna need that emergency transport."
"What?" came the faint and mumbled reply. "Emergency transport? Got it."
"Wait Andros!" Jason exclaimed. "No—"
He disappeared, leaving the three new rangers staring around in surprise.
"Where did he go?" Tori asked.
"I don't know," Shane answered.
Jason appeared in front of them again, shaking his head.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Apparently the twins didn't want to sleep last night and it was Andros' turn to take care of them. Now where were we?"
"You disappeared faster than we do!" Dustin said.
"Yeah," Jason muttered. "And went all the way to outer space and back. That was not fun."
"You went to outer space?" Shane asked. "But how?"
Jason shook his head.
"That's a story for another time," he said. "Anyways, we've got a lot to cover before heading home. Why don't we find somewhere to sit?"
Tommy pulled up in front of the house and parked his jeep. Turning it off, he took a deep breath and climbed out. Pulling out his key, he unlocked the door and walked in. The only sounds he could hear were coming from the kitchen.
"James?" he heard his mom say. "I'm in the kitchen."
Shaking his head, Tommy sighed and walked down the hallway. He paused in the doorway.
"Hey mom," he said.
She gasped, dropping the glass she was holding and spinning around.
"Tommy!" she exclaimed.
Rushing over, Mrs. Oliver threw her arms around Tommy, pinning his arms to his sides.
"Umm… mom?" Tommy said, looking down at her. "I can't move my arms…"
She didn't budge, hugging him tighter.
"Mom," he said. "Mom, I can't even hug you back. Mom?"
The front door opened again. A moment later Mr. Oliver walked into the kitchen. Seeing Tommy he stopped in surprise.
"Tommy!" he said, breaking into a smile.
"Hey, dad," Tommy said.
He glanced down at his mother again, and then back at his dad.
"Help?" he asked.
"You fools! Haven't you had enough?" Lothar sneered.
The six Ninja Storm rangers stood in front of him, powerless but still fighting.
"Hah!" Lothar yelled, shooting an energy beam at them.
The rangers yelled in pain, falling to their knees. But determined not to let Lothar win, they got back up.
"Hyah!" they yelled, charging forward.
"Let's finish this!" Lothar said.
Despite not having their powers, the rangers fought hard. But they struggled to keep going. Lothar knocked them back again.
"I have your ranger powers," he growled. "You are at my mercy once and for all."
Panting from the effort of the fight, the rangers stood before him.
"We won't let you win," Shane said.
"What can you do to me without your powers?" Lothar laughed.
The rangers glared at him, determination in their eyes.
"We may not be power rangers," Shane said. "But we still have power. Power of air!"
"Power of earth!" Dustin exclaimed.
"Power of water!" Tori added.
"Ninja powers!" they called together.
Combining their powers, the three ninjas sent a burst of energy at Lothar. It hit him hard, sending the villain flying backward.
"No!" Lothar screamed as he fell into the abyss. "Aaaahhhh!"
He disappeared into the depths of the abyss and it closed on him. Cam, Hunter, and Blake climbed back to their feet and joined the other three. They all stared for a moment in surprise.
"What happened?" Tori asked.
"Lothar's evil," Blake said. "It must have overloaded the abyss."
"Causing it to implode on itself," Cam added.
"So he's gone?" Dustin asked. "Really gone?"
"I believe so," Cam answered.
"And our ranger powers?" Hunter asked, looking at his morpher.
All of them glanced at their own morphers.
"They're gone too," Shane said.
Tommy paused, looking around as the crowd passed by him. This was definitely not what he thought he'd be doing with his life. Taking a deep breath, he headed toward the building. Inside, it took a few minutes but Tommy finally found the right room. The teenagers inside were all talking and goofing around. Taking another deep breath, he strode in. Tommy shut the door behind him and moved to stand behind the desk.
"Take your seats, please," he said firmly, setting down his things. "I'm Dr. Oliver and this is first period science."
There was a pause as the students scrambled to take their seats.
"Now, before we start, are there any questions?"