FRIDAY MORNING - 18th

Tommy and Jenny emerged from the woods after their run. It was much later in the morning than they usually worked out, but they decided to keep a little of their routine. Since Jenny had started training Kira, they hadn't sparred together very often and they both relished the idea.

Understanding better what she was actually capable of, Tommy pushed them both harder as they sparred. After several of his shots got through, he stopped. "Why are you holding back?"

She was startled by the question. "What?"

"I've seen you fight and the kids and I saw you go through your kata yesterday. You're holding back. Why?"

"You said it yourself, Tommy. You're not exactly a life or death type of fighter when it comes to sparring."

"But I also said - way before that, if you remember - that your advanced skills combined with whatever skills you learned in the other world would give me the opportunity to push my skills a bit." She started to respond, but he spoke again. "Besides, if we're going to be spending time in their world, I need to up my skills a bit, don't you think? Just in case?"

She waved that away. "You'll be safe there. You're a human, not a mutant."

"You don't know that."

Jenny turned startled eyes on him. "What do you mean?"

"While you were in the Medlab, I had time to think. It's possible that my Ninjetti powers might register as mutant powers."

She froze as she considered this. Finally, she spoke slowly. "I don't think so. Those powers come from the grid, not actually from your DNA. The only way to know for sure would be to run some tests the next time we go there."

"Even so, I'd be with you and the other X-men. That would put me in the category of a mutant sympathizer-"

"Which has its own risks" she finished. She sighed heavily. "You have a point, but I don't know if I can. I wasn't sure I could do it when you were under the influence of Impulse-u-pine. It was hard enough to do what I did."

"Okay, but now I'm asking you to help me train. That's different. Besides, you're holding back so much, you're letting me - basically - hurt you. I told you I'd rather you hurt me than let me hurt you."

Jenny bit her lip. "But I don't want to hurt you - even accidentally."

"How about this - we'll try it. If you really are that much better than I am, we'll quit and I'll just train with Logan while we're in their world. I'm sure he won't have a problem with it."

"Probably not" she commented dryly. "He's not in love with you. I am." She sighed heavily again. "All right. We'll try it. If for no other reason than so I don't have to try and kill Wolverine after he hurts you. That'll cause a whole world of problems."

Tommy set himself, ready to go. Jenny lowered her head for a moment, eyes closed. After a minute, she raised her head and fixed her gaze on him. For a brief moment, he was reminded of the Ice Queen. That moment was all he had before she came at him. He was driven back by her relentless attack as he tried to defend himself. He suddenly realized what he had really asked of her. By changing her mindset, she was out for blood - his.

After several more minutes of defending, Tommy adjusted to this more aggressive style and began to fight back. They continued for a while then Jenny stopped suddenly, her eyes straying toward the trees for a moment before returning to him. "You want to see how Wolverine would train you? Come on."

Tommy stayed alert as he followed her into the trees. About twenty feet in, she stopped and turned back to him. "Hide and seek, Wolverine style." She spread her arms out to indicate the woods around them. "It's not the Danger Room, but it'll have to do."

He glanced around and returned his attention to her - or rather to where she had been. He could hear her laughter echoing in the trees. Cautiously, he moved toward where he thought the sound had come from. He heard the sound of something cutting through the air and jerked back. A moment later, a knife was stuck in the tree next to him.

"Not fair!" Tommy called out. "I don't have any weapons!"

"So make it fair" her voice answered him. "You're training for the other world, aren't you? You think it will be fair there all the time?"

He grinned. "Make it fair? You got it. I need Ninja Ranger Power now!" In a moment, he had morphed and dove into the woods, putting space between them. When he felt there was enough space, he turned back. It was time for the hunter to become the hunted.

Jenny's eyes narrowed as she listened carefully from her perch. She had given him a small head start after he morphed. While she waited, she retrieved her knife and headed up into the trees. He wouldn't look for her up here, she was sure. She knew that, with him using his Ninja powers, she was the one now at a disadvantage.

A sound behind her had her attention. Still listening, she shifted her position. For a brief moment, she wished she was wearing her uniform. She snapped back to full alert as she realized that the sounds she was hearing were not at ground level. She moved quickly, abandoning her spot and launching herself into another nearby tree. She heard a thunk where she had been not a moment before. She spared a quick glance behind her, eyes widening as she realized that there was a throwing star in the spot she had just left.

Jenny dove toward the ground, using tree branches to slow her decent and swing her farther away. She hooked her arm around the last tree and dropped behind the trunk. She froze as she listened. She could barely hear Tommy making his way through the canopy toward her. Slowly, she circled the large oak that she was hiding behind, keeping the tree between them. Carefully, she peeked around the thick trunk and grinned. He was facing away from her.

Tommy stood very still, listening. He'd lost her again. A small sound made him turn, only to find her in mid-launch. He ducked quickly and she flew over him, tucking and rolling at the last minute, before she disappeared into the trees again. Once more, he began to hunt.

AN HOUR LATER

Tommy and Jenny exited the woods, both of them a little tired and achy. They were almost to the house when Jenny spoke. "I know we were talking about going to the other world for the weekend, but with two monsters unaccounted for, I don't know if it's a good idea."

Tommy thought for a while before he responded, "I don't know either. They might attack again today. If they do and we can finish them, I'd feel a lot better about it. But after the last time we went, I just don't know."

"Well, we're probably not going to wait until Mesogog is defeated before we go back, so we'll have to think of something. Besides, we're not planning to stay as long as the last time you were there. We'll be gone less than three hours this time."

"That's true" he admitted.

"Do you have any heavy winter clothes?" she asked.

Tommy was puzzled by the change in subject. "Not really. Why?"

They were on their way upstairs and she stopped and turned to him with a grin on her face. "Because January in New York is completely different than January in California. It'll be cold and probably snowy."

He sighed. "I really don't want to go shopping. Besides, I called off to spend the day with you."

She smiled at him slowly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, we do still have a few hours before the Rangers are due here for training. I suggest that we take those hours for ourselves, deal with training and then I can run out and get you a few things in case we are able to go. We weren't planning to go before morning anyway."

He smiled back and kissed her. "You have some of the best suggestions."

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Jenny was in town, shopping for Tommy. As she left one store and headed for another, she heard screams nearby. Quickly, she headed for them. She turned the corner and stopped in dismay. Both of the monsters were in the park, terrorizing people. She dove back out of sight and triggered her communicator. "The Pine Brothers are at the park! Get down here while I try and get the people out of harm's way!"

She hurried over to the park and started directing people to safety. She saw Dean Reed and his friends nearby. "Dean! Get those younger ones out of here! Now!" She pointed to a group of kids that the monsters had corralled near the play area.

The boys headed for the children as she turned her attention to the rest of the park. She could hear the Raptor Cycles coming. She sighed in relief - but it was short lived as the monsters summoned Tyrannodrones. She rolled her eyes and got to work.

The other Rangers arrived and began battling as well. Jenny suddenly realized that Dean and his friends had gotten the younger children out, but were still way too close to the battle. There was no way she could morph with them that close. She moved between the monsters and the students. "Boys! Get out of here! Now!"

She turned her back on the teenagers and realized too late that the Pine Brothers had both turned their attention to her. She had no time to react as they both fired on her, scoring several hits each. She gasped in pain and dropped to her knees as the Rangers moved in front of her. She pulled the quills out and stared at them. They were different colors. She looked at the monsters and then back at the quills. She struggled against the effects of so many quills and the opposing effects that they had. The Black Ranger knelt next to her as she rapidly sorted the quills into four piles.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He was aware of the kids behind them and tried to stay neutral.

Jenny gritted her teeth as she tried to hold on. "I know what to do. Rangers, pay attention. Black and Yellow Rangers, take these quills and go after Impulse-u-pine. Red and White Rangers, take these quills and go after Pity-u-pine. Blue Ranger, you need to get those kids out of here. I think that if you can hit them with the opposing quills, it might do them in. The effects are just too different."

"What about you?"

Jenny was losing the internal battle with the quills and wasn't sure who was speaking. "If you can beat them, I should be fine. But, please, hurry. Go now!" The Rangers separated as instructed. Almost as soon as they were in motion, Jenny collapsed. She lay on the ground, completely unable to follow the battles going on around her.

Tommy and Kira fought their assigned monster, bobbing and weaving around each other as they attacked. Tommy, aware of Kira's new skill levels, made good use of them and in short order they had both stuck their quills into the monstrosity and it collapsed. Their opponent defeated, they turned their attention to the other battle in time to see both Conner and Trent sink their weapons into their target. Less than a minute later, the monsters were both destroyed.

The four Rangers hurried back over to where Jenny lay and was being guarded by Ethan. Tommy turned to him but before he could ask, Ethan said, "They're gone - or at least out of hearing range."

Tommy spoke to her. "Jenny? Sweetheart, are you okay?"

She didn't speak for a long minute as she waited for the remainder of the effects to fade away. "Yes. You guys need to go." She sat up slowly and looked at Tommy. "I'll see you at home. Get out of here before other people show up."

Tommy sighed, but knew she was right. "Let's go guys."

In minutes, the Rangers were gone. Jenny sat where she was for another minute, gathering herself. A hand appeared in her field of vision. Startled, she flinched away as she looked up.

"I'm not going to hurt you" Dean said. Hesitantly, she grasped his hand and he pulled her to her feet. She took several steps back, watching him warily as his friends moved up behind him.

One of the other boys addressed her. "Thanks, Mrs. Allen. That was pretty cool."

Her eyes skimmed over the group once more. "You guys go ahead and go home." They all departed and she headed back to where she had been before the attack. Thirty minutes later, she was ready to head home.

As she pulled into the driveway, Jenny saw that Tommy was waiting on the porch. She got out as he hurried over to her. "Sorry" she apologized. "I picked up some dinner while I was out. I should have called." She handed him the food before going to the trunk and retrieving a couple of bags. "While I was waiting for the food, I got the other shopping done."

He paused and looked at her. "You couldn't call to tell me that you were okay, but you went shopping? You hate shopping."

"It still needed to be done" she answered as she headed for the house. Once inside, Tommy stopped her and turned her toward him. He studied her eyes, looking for any sign that she was still being affected by the monsters. Smiling slightly, she looked at him calmly and waited for the verdict.

Finally satisfied that she was okay, he smiled and kissed her. They sat down and ate and conversation returned to the possible trip to the other world. "We should have a few quiet days now, so it's as good a time as any to go" Tommy said.

"And the kids have certainly earned the weekend off - unless we wanted to take them with us. Although, it might be a good idea to check with the X-men first."

Tommy grinned. "Probably should. They might not have room."

Jenny frowned as she did some figuring in her head, talking out loud as she did. "Let's see - one week for the two of us is about three hours here. Four additional people, each one cutting the time in half - about ten minutes or so here?" Quickly, she redid the math. "Yeah - if the conversion rate holds, about ten or twelve minutes."

"Of course, there's no telling what might happen while we're there."

"If we were going to bring them, we'd have to run tests on them, too. The falcon said that the grid exists there which is why you can morph into the Ninja Ranger there. BUT - we don't know if the Dino Thunder powers would work there. And even if they do, I don't think it would be a good idea for any of us to Dino Thunder morph there. Power Rangers are fictional there."

"We'll have to see what the tests tell us first" Tommy commented. "So - are we going?"

Before she could answer, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and grinned as she answered it. "Hello? What's up? Yeah, we already know. They were here yesterday." She jerked the phone away from her ear as the person on the other end started yelling. After a minute, the yelling stopped and she warily put the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, I know I should have called you, but I've been trying to cope with it. I really don't want to go through it all again, but I'm sure that someone will be getting a phone call soon and you'll probably want to be there for it. Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye."

She disconnected the call and then sent a quick text before turning her attention back to Tommy. "Okay. So now Heather and Crystal are both updated on what happened yesterday. And I think that we could probably go. If we leave in the morning, we could be back before noon."

"Then let's let the kids know that they can have the weekend off. That gives us a week there and the rest of the weekend here before work on Monday."

"Well, work for you anyway. I'll call Kira and Ethan." Tommy nodded and pulled out his phone. Half an hour later, the calls were done and the kitchen cleaned up. They headed upstairs to pack for the trip. Jenny frowned. She knew she had lost weight since the last time she had been in the other world, but how close was she to that size?

Tommy realized that they wouldn't need to pack much since they had left some things behind. He noticed her frowning. "What's up?"

"I know I've lost weight since the last time I went there, but I'm not sure how close I am to that size." She looked at him. "Do you know?"

"No idea" he admitted. He grinned at her as he took her in his arms. "I'm a whole lot more - familiar - with your body now than I was then. I'm pretty sure you're not the same size though."

"Intimately familiar" she agreed. Suddenly, she blinked as a thought hit her. "Uh oh." Before he could ask, she answered his question. "You remember how I changed when you brought me home? I'm going to change when we go too. Fortunately, it's not the same, but still."

"Okay-"

Before he could continue, another thought crossed her mind. "Oh and that's something else. I brought back one of the small scanners when we came home. It's not nearly as detailed as the ones that Hank has, but it would give them more information than they have now. I'll need to scan both of us before we open the portal."

"Slow down, Doctor. One thing at a time." He was amused and fascinated at the change in her as her scientific mind came into play.

Unexpectedly, Jenny turned a smoldering look on him, running her gaze slowly over him. "Oh the research I could do on you." Her voice lowered as she continued. "Things you like, things that make you moan in pleasure, groan in need, what makes you completely lose control."

He kissed her deeply and then replied, "Well, what are you waiting for?"