Chapter 21

Frowning, Josephine walked towards the SUV's. Jessica was climbing out of one of them, followed by a man she didn't know.

"Sica," she said tonelessly. She couldn't honestly say she was happy to see her sister.

"Phine." Jessica answered the salutation with the same toneless voice. The custom of calling each other by the last syllables of their names came from their childhood, and even after they had grown apart, they kept calling each other that, as a memory of the two little red-haired girls who used to invite each other's dolls over for tea.

The twins gave each other a cold hug. Jessica was very resentful of Josephine, and was envious of her happiness and her freedom. Josephine had run away, and had left Jessica to take her punishment for her. And not happy with that, Jessica had been the only contact with the family Josephine had had, and had had to help her sister in countless occasions, especially those regarding the health of their children or their cattle.

Josephine was angry at Jessica since that day, when her children were around three, when an angry Jessica had told her father where Josephine was. Her father had showed up at their farm, calling Kevin a rapist, and their children bastards. He had slapped Josephine across the face, had denied her as his daughter and informed her she was out of his will for being an irresponsible traitor. The scene had taken place not only in front of the three-year-olds but also in front of their nanny, and some of the farm workers. That public humiliation, that had originated rumors inside their farm and in the surrounding ones, was still burning inside of Josephine and Kevin's hearts.

"You'll have to wait for lunch," Josephine informed dryly.

"I'm not here for lunch, Phine," Jessica said. Josephine looked at her puzzled.

"What's wrong?" she asked, following her instinct. She stood straight and folded her arms, looking her sister in the eyes. But before Jessica could answer, a trail of smoke called for the short-haired twin's attention. "What's that?" she asked out loud. Jessica and the man with her turned and saw the smoke. The plume grew bigger and suddenly a second one, closer to the house appeared.

Josephine ran to her house, yelling: "KEVIN!! Kevin! There's a fire!! There's a fire by the cereal field!"

Kevin ran out of the house, followed by Mathew and Mark. "What?!" he called. Josephine pointed to the smoke. "Go to the house and call the firemen, I'll go and try to hold it back with Ritchie."

"Come on," Josephine instructed, taking Mark (the smallest and weakest of her twins) in her arms. Jessica took Mathew in hers and walked behind her, followed by her personal guard, Eric.

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Inside of one of the SUV's, the Time Force officers tried to make out what was going on outside. Jen's gaze was lost and they all stared at her. They could hear Josephine calling for her husband and making plans to put out the supposed fire that was burning in their cereal field.

Jen snapped out of her stupor just as Kevin Simmons was running to the fire with another man. Both of them looked like the stereotypical cowboys, the ones who ran funny and dressed like country singers, with squared shirts and jeans. "That's not a fire," she said, opening the door.

Alex grabbed her hand. "Jen, Josephine can't see you," he warned her.

"It's one of The Mistress' henchmen, Alex," Jen said. He let go and they all climbed out of the SUV, to be greeted by Josephine's amazed stare.

"Mr. Simmons!" Alex yelled, running to him. "Mr. Simmons, that's not a fire, wait!" But it was too late, an energy blast caught the floor in front of Kevin and Ritchie and they both flew a couple of feet away.

"KEVIN!" Josephine's mortified cry broke the air and she started to run to her husband, but Eric grabbed her by the arms.

"No, Mrs. Simmons, it's too dangerous, you have to get inside of the SUV along with your children and your sister, the officers will take care of it.," he instructed, pushing her towards the SUV.

Inside the SUV, Josephine turned to her sister and slapped her, the best she could. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, Jessica put a hand over her hurt cheek, but didn't answer. Eric started the SUV and sped away from the house. "Is there ever going to be a day you come to my farm and don't bring trouble?!" Josephine yelled at Jessica.

Jessica lost control of her temper too and slapped her sister back. "We just saved your life, you ungrateful bitch!" she snapped before she could remember her two five-year-old nephews were sitting between them.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Mathew asked. That seemed to cool both women down.

"I don't know, honey," she said, holding him close to her body and kissing his head.

"Is Daddy okay, Mommy?" Mark asked in his turn.

"Is he?" Josephine asked Jessica, who just shrugged.

"The officers will take care of him and will protect him and help him," she said. "Phine, you have to trust me this time, I wouldn't be here, taking you away from your farm if this wasn't important," she pleaded.

"Explain to me what's going on? Who are those people? What happened to my husband? Who was that woman who looked so much like us?!"

"Not here, Phine" Jessica said, pointing at the children.

"They have the right to know what happened to their father," Phine insisted. Jessica shook her head and looked away.

Eric watched both women on the mirror for a second. So alike and so different. They must have been close at some point in their lives, but now they were as apart as two planets. But what called for his attention were the tears that were streaming down Jessica's cheeks.

Now, that doesn't match the idea of this woman I have. Perhaps Wes was right.

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The Rangers divided into two groups. Trip and Lucas went to help the two injured men and the rest went to stop The Mistress' envoys. They morphed and pulled out their weapons, ready to take down the mutant that was trying to get to Josephine and her children, but stopped in their tracks with surprise.

It was Wes. He was morphed and he was accompanied by the butterfly mutant that had attacked the hospital.

"Wes?!" Jen called.

"I thought he didn't have his morpher with him anymore!" Katie said.

"Apparently he does," Jen said, setting her weapon to the lower energy level, and standing in a fighting stance.

"You're going to fight him?" Alex asked.

"We don't have a choice," Jen said shrugging.

As they aimed at the ground in front of Wes and the mutant, trying to stop them, The Mistress, wearing the same mask she had once worn before, appeared in the field for a second and teleported out, with both Wes and the mutant.

Jen, Alex and Katie shared a look. Jen brought her morpher to her face and called, "Eric, keep on moving! Get to the manor as fast as you can!"

"All right, Jen," he agreed.

"Call the vector cycles, we have to move," Alex said.

"No, we are using the teleportation system," Jen said. "Kevin Simmons," she reminded him. The rangers reunited by the side of the two men, who seemed shaken up and scared, but not hurt.

"We have to go to the manor," Jen informed them.

"What manor?" Kevin asked.

"The Collins manor," Alex said.

"I'm not leaving my farm," the man said stubbornly.

"You don't have a choice," Jen said.

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"Why did you take us out of the field?" Fly-tag asked annoyed. "I've already kicked some Ranger butt!"

"Not these Rangers' butts, you haven't!" The Mistress answered. Fly-tag sat sulkily.

"Fly-tag, you and the others are my children. I don't want you destroyed or captured! Now you have to understand me," she said in a lecturing voice. "You are my children, you are young and untrained, you are not ready to face the Power Rangers."

"How are we supposed to learn if you don't let us fight?" asked a male mutant that had a human-like look, with long untidy hair that fell from his head and around his shoulders and arms. However, if you looked closer, you would see that if Centaurs ever existed, he would be one of them.

"Centauricon," The Mistress said sternly.

"Sorry, ma'am," the mutant boy said, bending his front legs.

"You will be trained in a different way," she informed them. "But before that we have to get you some trainers," she added. She turned to Wes, who was standing near two of the ugliest mutants of the group. "Say goodbye, cherub, you've served our purpose, and now you must go home."

"You're letting me go?" the blond man asked surprised.

"I'm trading you," she corrected him. To be continued.