Chapter 2

"Where is she?" Alex asked his father while he still hugged Jen.

"She's home," he said. "I'm assuming you will come with me immediately. Jen too, of course."

"No," Jen said quickly. "This is a family moment. I'd rather stay here and keep looking for clues."

"Nonsense!" Mr. Drake said. He grabbed her hand and patted it softly. "You are family now, Jennifer," he assured her.

Jen shook her head. "I'd rather not go," she said, lowering her head. "Mrs. Drake doesn't like me much," she whispered.

"And what is she going to do?" the old man asked playfully. "Put a gun to your head and force you to sign divorce papers? Oh, please!"

Jen looked at Alex. They hadn't told Mr. Drake anything about his wife being The Mistress, and he obviously hadn't figured it out. He had no idea of just how dangerous his wife was.

"Dad, if Jen feels uncomfortable, maybe it would be better if she didn't go," Alex agreed.

Alex's father shrugged. "Well, if that's the case, I'll see you at home." He walked away.

Alex took both of Jen's hands and looked into her eyes. She seemed scared. "Hey, hey," he started, kissing her softly on the forehead. "Go from here to Time Force headquarters. I'll pick you up at your office, go there with an escort, please," he instructed.

"Alex, I'm scared, she hates me," she said.

"Hey, no problem," he assured her, hugging her. "I'll solve this thing tonight, okay? Our marriage is safe, our love is safe, we are safe," he told her.

"This is a good moment to think in terms of you and me," she said, her broken voice sounding like a whisper. "You are safe, I am not."

"To get to you, she's going to have to kill me first, and we both know she won't do that." They kissed deeply, and then looked into each other's eyes when they broke apart.

"You and me, Jennifer."

"Forever."

"I love you," he said pressing his forehead against hers.

"I love you too," she answered.

"Go somewhere safe," he instructed and then left. Jen stared after him holding her breath.

She bit her lip. She was scared, really afraid for her life. She knew the attack against the good doctor and his wife was nothing but a distraction; if The Mistress was back, she no longer cared much about mutants, or about the people who had removed her license, who had destroyed her dreams. If she was back, she was back for one thing: to get her. Jen knew destroying her was The Mistress's new reason to be and that she wouldn't stop until Jen was apart from Alex. Or even worse, dead.

Jen lifted her morpher to her mouth and called. "Lucas?"

"I hear you Jen," he answered.

"Are you with Katie or Trip?"

"Yes, I'm with Katie."

"Would you two please pick me up at my crime scene, I need an escort."

"Escort?" Lucas asked worriedly. "Why?"

"I'm a potential victim."

"Ok, stay where everyone can see you, we are on our way there," Lucas assured her and closed the communication.

Jen walked back to the house and sat on the stairs of the porch. Her hands were shaking, and her powers started to get out of control.

*************************

Samantha Drake sat on her bed, wearing a silk nightgown, while a doctor checked her health. She was thin and pale, but her lips were pursed in a disapproving look, that intensified when Alex entered the room.

"I heard," she said as a salutation.

"Hello Mom, it's good to see you are fine," Alex said, kissing her forehead. He was resented and hurt, but since his father didn't know about his mother's secret he had to pretend.

"Samantha!" Alex's father said excitedly, holding his wife. She hugged him back just as strongly. Alex sat next to the bed, certain that he wasn't the only one playing a part in that room.

"Richard!" she said effusively. They even kissed softly. "You've been everything I've thought of for the past months."

"I can say the same," he answered sweetly. The doctor finished his exams and stood smiling.

"Mrs. Drake is fine, she just needs to sleep in a comfortable bed, eat well and take a warm bath, which I believe she already did," he said.

"Thanks, doctor," Richard said.

"I'll see you to the door," Alex told him and stood up, walking to the door with the other man. Once Alex and the doctor were out of the room, Samantha looked at her husband.

"Richard," she started. "Why did you let Alex marry that farm girl?"

"Jennifer?"

"Yes."

"She's a good girl, she works hard, and something you can't deny is that they love each other, Alex and her."

"She comes from a farm."

"So what? She's been living in the city for a long time, and she has trained in Time Force as hard as Alex has."

"That doesn't change her genes!"

"She is no worse than Alex. I dare say she's even better," Richard said playfully.

Samantha crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him angrily.

"How dare you say that? I made Alexander myself, and he is as good as they get!"

"But she has these powers, and they are really strong and she has a great deal of control over it, and these great faculties as an officer, she is the Pink Ranger and--"

"That doesn't justify this marriage, she's poor, she comes from a farm and-- "

"She signed the prenuptial agreement without complain."

"I suppose they have this awful idea of having children now."

"They have tried, but she has miscarried both of them. Their morale was low for a while."

"You knew I opposed that marriage, why did you agree to it?"

"Because Alexander is a grown man, and my opinion really doesn't make any difference in his life. Nor does yours."

Samantha looked away, he was right. It had taken her too long to come back, and she was too late to forbid the wedding. So now she had to tear them apart. She had to come up with a plan and it had to be quick.

****************************** Jen started to lose control of her powers as she grew more nervous; she moved around the house mentally, picking stuff up, checking it out, and watching for clues. She didn't mean to actually lift any of the objects, but soon she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Captain," She looked up, it was Major Logan.

"Sir," she said.

"You are moving the objects inside of the house, the investigators don't appreciate it," he told her.

"Oh, sorry," she said distractedly, putting all the objects back where they belonged. "I'll try to focus on something else," she said.

What was that new Ranger suit the doctor had been thinking about before he died? Was it an upgrade for their suits, or was it a new Ranger? If it was, was it Alex? Was it anyone else?

Her mind was uneasy, so she focused on her motorcycle. She lifted it from the ground and then put it back down. Up, Down. Up, Down. Up, this is getting boring, Down. Up, This was never fun actually, Down. Up, maybe I could start reading minds while Lucas and Katie get here, Down. Up, I'll do that, Down.

She left the motorcycle alone and returned her attention to the house, to the people inside. Their minds were incredibly vague and vulgar. Nothing out of the ordinary in any of them. She mentally walked through the house, reading the first thought of each person. Most of them were related to the case, a couple of them were related to how hot she looked in her new uniform, and others were related to how lucky Alex was to have married her, and how much of a lucky bitch she was to be Alex's wife.

She smiled at those, she had to admit she was lucky to be married to Alex, especially after she broke up with him. It had been such a wonderful moment when he had taken her back, after she had thought she had lost him forever. But she had been wrong, he still loved her and they had gotten married, and they were going to be together for the rest for their lives. She was thinking about Alex when she picked up the strangest thought.

When will they all leave? When will they leave? They make so much noise, they are hunting me, I want them all out, I want them all out!

"Now, what's this?" she said. The voice was almost like a roar, it was deep, as if the person talking liked to force it into sounding darker.

I want to go home, but I can't while they are still out there. They make so much noise, I can't sleep, I can't think, she didn't say they'd be here, she lied, she always lies. Always lies.

The voice sounded almost familiar, but it sounded weak. However, it was his words that tipped Jen to the identity of the secret thinker. "She always lies," she repeated. "The Mistress always lies," she remembered that from a year ago.

She heard someone call her name and looked up. Lucas and Katie were there, walking towards her. "Jen, are you ok?" Katie asked.

"Do they already know who did this?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, and maybe," she answered. "We think it was The Mistress."

"You mean she's back?" the Black girl asked, her voice tainted with fear.

"Yes, she is home right now, Alex and his father went there to see her."

"But why this?" Lucas asked. "And how do you go from a dead doctor to a dead you?"

"In the beginning I thought this was a distraction. Now I think she just needed the house, and thought it appropriate to kill the man who created a weapon that makes her beloved mutants so vulnerable to us." Jen explained.

"What makes you think she wanted the house?"

"I heard a voice, you know, thoughts."

"And?"

"It didn't belong to any of the humans inside of that house, it was someone else, up in the attic."

"Want us to go and check it out?"

"No need," she said. "I already know who it is."

"Who is it?"

"It's Ransik."

To be continued.