Getting Back To Business

Summary: We get to see the real enemy behind all of this.

Rating: Did I say R before? R it is then.

Disclaimer: I don't own the ex-Rangers or the FBI. If I did I could prise other people off this computer so I could be on it a LOT more.

Authors Notes: Third chapter, people. Not a lot else to say, really. Thank you to those who have reviewed.


*Sitka Bau Colony, New Mexico*
*September 23, 2001*

"What do we do if they cannot re-unite in time?" A certain naive agent asked his boss, who was getting more and more irritable as the days went on. Although he had given the five ex-Rangers a month to gather together their old colleagues, he was beginning to think it was time they didn't have. The people who had been involved with Rita and Zedd were not going to hang around doing nothing forever. "You wouldn't really kill them, would you?"

"It all depends on how many they can get," he said absently, wandering around the spacious white room where all the technology they had been able to develop since cracking the disk was situated. So many things they had never thought possible had been proven, and now they had to deal with six humans who thought they could take the entire world into their hands and win. "We know that there are six enemies for sure. That means we should need eight of the Rangers to take them out, because they claim their old powers were destroyed. If all eleven turn up within the month, then so much the better. If they find less than eight..."

"Surely we need all the help we can get?" the agent persisted. He didn't know half of what went on behind these walls, his boss, Agent Wiltord thought grimly. He didn't know the pressure being put on him to find these Rangers, to understand this technology, to eliminate those thought to be a threat.

"Keep your mind on this technological miracle, Peters, and don't poke your nose into something you don't understand."


*345 Pawlett Road*
*September 23, 2001*

"Kim, where are you going?" her brother Jordan asked her. He was just walking out of the door as she rushed out. "Have you finally decided to get a job or something?"

"Funny ha-ha," she shot back, turning to face him. "Things to do, etc. See you later." She jumped into her car and drove off quickly.

Kim had just picked up an e-mail from Kat saying that she was catching a plane to Angel Grove and would be in California at about 2pm their time. A telephone call to Rocky revealed that Aisha was on her way back from Portland, and so they were soon to be complete. Kim had decided to go and pick up Kat, but first she needed something to eat. Rocky's two-hour stay at her house the previous night had cleaned her out of any food there may have been in the kitchen, and so she hadn't had any breakfast that day. It was 1.25 already, and a twenty minute drive to the airport.

She pulled her car into the small area outside a 7-11 and quickly grabbed her purse. Anything would do at that moment, when she stopped and thought about it no food had entered her system since lunch the previous day. Kim practically entered the small shop at a run, untils he bumped into a very familiar face.

"Watch out Speedy," Tommy smiled. "Why are you in such a rush?"

Kim hid her embarrassment by moving to the aisle which held packets of potato chips. "I have to be at the airport at 2. Kat's on her way." She didn't look at Tommy, she didn't know what his relationship with Kat was, and didn't want to. It was hard enough knowing that the FBI planned to take over their lives in just under 30 days without having all those complications that came with...

Love. She may try to deny it, but that was it. Love.

"That soon?" Tommy asked. He was completely unsure as to what would happen when Kim and Kat came face to face, and who he actually wanted out of those two, if either. If he had the chance of a normal life, maybe he'd finally get around to ignoring those common superheroes in pink. But no, he was going to be with two of them for the foreseeable future.

"Uh-huh, I got an e-mail," Kim said. "So I have to rush," she said, picking up a pack of lowfat chips and then realised something. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Lunch break. So when are we meeting up again?"

"Don't know. Try Jase, he seems to be organising the entire thing." Kim wondered as she spoke those words how it would be with Jason being in charge again and not Tommy. Although it had seemed natural when it was just the five of them in Sitka, who would emerge victorious when the whole operation began? "I'd better go pay for these. Oh, and Aisha should be here tonight as well, so keep your eye out for any weird people who look as though they're gonna take you someplace," she said lightly, aware that there were other people in the convenience store.

"You think they'd strike early?" Tommy said.

"Zack does. And it makes sense. Once we're all together, why wait?" Kim paid for her bag of chips, then said. "See you later then, I guess. But if Jase suggests my place, big brother's back so that's not an option."

"Will do. See you later." Tommy watched as Kim exited the store and drove off. He was more confused than ever, as to the purpose of the whole FBI/evil humans mission, and now that Kat would be back in Angel Grove within minutes he would have to make a snap decision.

And he didn't have a clue what to do.

*Angel Grove University*
*September 23, 2001*

None of the seven college students had bothered to go to classes that day. There really didn't seem any point to it. Instead, they all lay in the room that Jason and Zack shared, going over and over again what could happen in the next few months of their lives.

"Now that we know Kat and Aisha are on their way, we can at least be pretty sure they're not going to kill us on arrival," Trini said. "I'm still confused as to what they want with us when we get there."

"I think they'll teleport us to the colony within the neext couple of days," Zack hypothesised. "There's no point in them waiting around killing time when we could be there...carrying out their evil deeds."

"I still don't know why they want us," Tanya said. "What can we do without powers that FBI agents couldn't do just as well?"

"I guess we'll find out when it happens," Jason said. "They said not to tell anyone where we were going though. That scares me."

"How are they going to cover for us?" Adam asked. "I could sort of understand if it was eleven people that didn't know each other, but a lot of people in Angel Grove know that we've been friends."

"Adam, we've all disappeared from different places," Billy told him. "We weren't in Angel Grove when we were teleported. Trini and I were in New York, Jase was in Boston, Zack was in Seattle and Kim was in San Diego. I'd like to know how they're covering from us having disappeared from there."

Zack banged a pillow against his head. "I hate this," he admitted. "I liked my life before. It feels kinda good to be saving the world again, but I thought if we ever got the chance again it would be with Zordon, not humans, especially the FBI. They could do anything to us and no-one would ever find out."

"That colony's so huge they could hide our bodies for weeks and they wouldn't be found," Jason agreed. "But, we can't think about that. Just concentrate on the job in hand, and then soon enough we'll get the chance to find out what is really going on."

"That's easier said than done," Trini said. "Just think of our families, Jase. Think of those people who have no idea where we are at this moment in time. And what if they keep us there after we've done whatever it is they want? Try to make us agents or something?" Trini was growing more and more hysterical as she listed off the possibilities. "Who knows, these people could have some of Zedd and Rita's powers, they could kill us all with a flick of a wrist!"

"Calm down, honey," Billy said, putting an arm around her. "We've always got through this before, I'm sure that we can do it again."

"We had our powers before," Trini said stubbornly. "Now all we have this time is ourselves."

"As far as we know," Tanya said tentatively. All twelve eyes swiveled round to look at her. "Did the people you spoke with tell you any more details about this disc that they found? Other than it had our details, how to teleport and who these people were?"

"No, not that I can remember," Jason said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I don't know what Zordon and Alpha kept on discs, it could have all kinds of things on it, but they were never mentioned to us."

"Are you thinking that the FBI could have access to how we got our powers?" Rocky asked, eyes wide. "Could that be possible?"

"It would be possible," Billy said slowly, and they could see the cogs turning in his brain. "I would have thought it would be too advanced for just the FBI though. No-one has any prior knowledge of the technology that Zordon used to create and modify our powers. If they've only had access to the disc's contents for a couple of weeks then I don't think that would be enough time, unless they've got someone who is fantastic in that particular field."

"There's no point really in dissecting what we think they can do," Adam said wearily. "There are so many options available to them, and we barely know anything about what we're going to be asked--or forced-- to do. All we can do is wait."


*Angel Grove Airport*
*September 23, 2001*

Kat walked through the baggage claim area after stopping to pick up her one solitary suitcase. She hadn't really seen the point in bringing all her belongings, after what Trini had said in the e-mail it didn't look as though they'd be hanging around for long. Although she'd dropped everything in her life to come back to Angel Grove, she wasn't sure that she was doing the right thing. It couldn't be as serious as Trini had described, could it?

She walked into the arrivals area, looking desperately for a familiar face. She didn't know whether Kim had picked up her e-mail that morning, so if she didn't see anyone familiar Kat had decided on the plane she'd take a cab to Aisha's place and try to figure something out.

"Kat, over here!" she heard someone say, and came face to face with Kim. The tiny girl took Kat's suitcase, and swung it over her shoulder. "How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Kat surveyed the girl who had been so much before her. Kim looked tired and yet somehow alert of all that was going on around her.

"Been better, but that's life. I just got a call from Adam," she said as they walked out of the airport "and he said to go to the university and they're all there in Jase and Zack's room. Well, all except Tommy and Aisha."

"Where are they?" Kat asked. "I thought they were both in Angel Grove still? Or are they not getting involved?"

"Tommy's at work and Aisha's on her way back from Portland. They'll be there asap." They reached Kim's car and she unlocked it. "So how was your flight?"

"Long," Kat said, grimacing as she slid into the passenger seat of Kim's Fiat. "And the food was disgusting as well."

"There's half a bag of chips by your feet if you want them," Kim offered as she started the engine. "I bought them on the way but found I wasn't really hungry."

Kat picked up the barely touched chips. "Kim, what exactly is going on?"

Kim drove out of the airport car park before she answered. "I don't know. We're needed by the FBI to remove people who made deals with Zedd and Rita to stay alive is all we were told. What kind of deals, who these people are, we've spent all our time trying to figure out, and come up with nothing. We don't even know how we're supposed to go about it." She stopped at a traffic light and glanced at Kat. "What did you tell everyone?"

"I didn't even tell my roommate I was going," she admitted, keeping her eyes on the people vrossing the road in front of the car. "I was up checking my e-mails because I couldn't sleep, and then I saw yours and Trini's. I spent a long time thinking about it, and then I thought, I owe it to everyone who helped me when I moved to America. And I don't want people to die just because I'm reluctant to give up my scholarship. So I replied, checked on flights and told you as soon as I knew. Packed a suitcase and here I am."

"It's very much appreciated," Kim said softly. "We're not going to have a lot of time to say any of this, so I guess it'll be me. We were all petrified that you wouldn't make it in time for us to escape the FBI's casual death threat, and to hear that both you and Aisha would be back in time was the best news we'd heard since the whole thing began."

Suddenly Kim swore loudly. "Shit, I think we're being followed."

Kat twisted around in her seat. "Which car?"

"The black one, couple of cars behind, one lane over," she said tensely. "Do FBI agents normally drive black cars?"

"I don't know," Kat said. "Do you have your cell phone? Do you own a cell phone?"

"Pass my purse here," Kim said. Kat dug out a mini-rucksack from the back of the car, and found a phone in the front pocket. Kim took a hand off the wheel and dialled a number quickly.

"Jase? It's Kim. I've picked up Kat and we're on our way back, but I think we're being followed." There was a pause, and Kim whispered to Kat, "Is he still there?" Kat nodded, and Kim said, "Yeah, he is....I knew he thought that, I told you I agreed.... Okay, will do. See you in about ten minutes....really? I bet that's why then. See ya." She pressed the button that would end the call, and handed the phone back to Kat. "Tommy and Aisha are at Jase and Zack's place, both moved hell and earth to get there, so the general conscenus is that they've been stalking us and know that we're all together."

"The best thing to do is head straight for Jase's, yeah?" Kat said.

"Yep, and then it looks as though we'll be back at the colony before long." She paused, before saying, "It's not a nice place, Kat. We were all so scared when we got there, and everything is white apart from their clothes which seem to be black, black or black. No-one seemed to have any concern for us at all...if the death threat hadn't reared it's ugly head we'd have all agreed to do whatever it was they wanted, walked out and not thought anything more of it."

"But you had to," Kat said.

"That would be it," Kim agreed. She swiftly glanced back, and said, "I'm pretty sure that's one of them, the car looks official to me."

"We'll soon find out," Kat said as they pulled into the road that would take them to the university. "It looks as though things are going to start moving quickly."

*Angel Grove University*
*September 23, 2001*

"So they think it's the FBI in the car?" Aisha said.

"Unless there's some other organization involved then it sounds pretty likely," Zack said. "Sorry we couldn't welcome you back properly Aisha," and with that gave her a dazzling smile, "But it looks as though we're not going to be around here for long."

"Did Kim say how far away she was?" Tommy asked.

"No, just that they'd be here soon. Kim never pays attention to speed limits at the best of times, if she thinks they're being followed then she'll be like a bat out of hell."

"So I guess this is it," Adam said. "If these are our last moments of freedom, then shouldn't we be making the most of them?"

"We don't know what they are yet," Trini said. "We don't know whether this is it, we don't know how long this will take, we don't know whether we'll ever see Angel Grove ever again. And as much as that pains all of us, there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it."

They all exchanged glances, somehow feeling that there should be more to this moment than silence, that words should be spoken. But it's hard to know quite what to say when you fear you're about to be taken to New Mexico by the FBI to carry out a basic form of human extermination. No-one ever saw a purpose to inventing words that would describe such an experience.

The heavy silence was broken by a frantic pounding on the door, and a call of "Jase, it's us, for god's sake let us in!!!"

Tasha quickly opened the door, being the nearest to it, and Kim and Kat nearly fell into the room.

"Followed us all the way from the airport and into the university," Kat managed to get out through gasps. "We managed to lose him once but he was behind us when we ran up the stairs."

Both of them were sweaty and looked as though they'd ran from the university entrance. "Kim, where did you park your car?"

"By the entrance, we thought we could shake him off but it didn't exactly work. I got a pretty good look at the guy when we ran from the car and I think I recognize him."

There was no time for further explanations. With one short, sharp kick the door to Jason and Zack's room was catapulted off its hinges. The man that Kim and Kat had been trying to escape stood in the now empty frame of the door, surveying them all. When he spoke, his voice was as though someone had sucked all of the emotion out of it years ago.

"Jason Scott, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan, Billy Cranston, Kimberly Hart, Thomas Oliver, Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park, Aisha Campbell, Katherine Hilliard and Tanya Childs. You will come with me."

No time for complaints or requests for explanations was granted. Within moments all eleven felt the familiar tingling feeling that paralysed their senses whenever teleportation was about to take place. Seconds afterwards, the university room disappeared around them.

Their time had come.