A/N: Do you ever have the feeling like you're doing all sorts of work, yet
it seems like it's going nowhere? I'm just bringing up a random subject...
sorry. Anyways, please read on!
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" Tommy! Will you please listen to me??" Kat cried out, finally catching up with Tommy.
" Why should I? Why do you deserve my time?" His icy voice seemed to even surprise him, but he shrugged it away.
" Because I love you! Because what you just saw was purely an accident!" He stopped.
" An accident? Oh please Kat, don't waste your breath. I saw you and Jason together, against the wall, practically sucking each other's face! How is THAT an accident???"
" It happened all at once Tommy. Jason wanted to see Kim's bracelet, and he tripped, or something, and we smashed lips. There was *nothing* else!" She turned him around and put her cold hands on the sides of his face,
" Please forgive love. You mean the world to me, and Jason and I would never try to hurt you!" He looked into her teary blue eyes.
" If you say so," he muttered. Kat wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Everything was okay now.
" But Jason... he's jealous of me, and of everything I have." Kat froze. Wait. What?
~*~
" You're kidding me." Wes looked skeptically at Jen.
" No, I'm not. Justin and Trip were going over the data, when they noticed something funny. The sensor picked a huge amount of restrained power. It turns out that Master Evil has the Sword of," she looked at the palm of her hand for the name," Dicio-Veritas."
" The Sword of Dicio-Veritas? What is that, another form of Ultimate Evil?"
" Correct. This Sword is said to have been made by Hephaestus, the Greek Blacksmith God, who then had it blessed by Zeus to give to Hera. But, legend says that a foolish peasant stole it, and gave it to his lord... Hurnè." Wes' eyebrows shot up.
" Ah. So that's where Master Evil ties in."
" Uh-huh. But, it's missing a vital part of it... the jewel of Ignislumen. Without it, the Sword can never reach its greatest power."
" Oh great. And let me guess. We don't know where the jewel is?" When she nodded, Wes hit his forehead, leaving a muddy handprint. Jen looked at him funny, but said nothing.
" Do the others know?" Jen shook her head.
" Only Justin, Trip, you, and me." Wes got up to go tell the other Rangers, but she stopped him.
" Maybe you should go wash up first?" He looked down at his dirty hands.
" Maybe you're right."
~*~
As the sun glinted off the deep red jewel, Kat handed the bracelet back to its owner.
" I, I'm so happy you're home safe Kim, and... well, here."
" Thank you, but Kat, you seem distracted." The blonde ran her hand delicately through her hair, a habit, Kim mused, that she must have gotten from Jason.
" I, I know you and Tommy aren't on the most amiable terms, but you've know him the best, even better than Jason."
" Yeah, I guess I do. What's up?"
" Kim, he seems upset with Jason, and I wanted to know... has this ever happened?"
" You don't think best friends are happy all the time? They are rivals, just as much as they are friends. Don't worry about it. It'll blow over." Kat smiled slightly, though her face remained concerned.
" Very well. I suppose I'll go see Tanya... thanks." Kim gave a nod, before watching her friend leave.
~*~
" Ouch! That hurt!" groaned Zhane, as Dana stuck a needle into his arm.
" Don't be a baby," teased Dana, putting a band-aid onto the puncture.
" Besides, you should be happy I came up with this. It'll keep us from getting any colds or stuff until after this is all over."
" I hate needles," he grumbled, rubbing his sore bicep. Just at the moment, Karone entered the ward and saw Zhane.
" Hi Dana, I came to see if you needed help, but maybe Zhane needs me more than you." He glared at Karone.
" I'm in pain, and all you two can do is make fun of me?" Karone went over and kissed his bandage. He looked at her, puzzled.
" It's a custom on Earth to kiss a painful spot to make it better. Did it help?" He grinned and nodded.
" What if I told you I was in pain in some other spots?" Dana rolled her eyes.
" I'd say get out of my exam room and go get Max." She watched as the two shared loving gestures as they exited.
' I wonder where Carter is?' she thought wistfully, but quickly lost the thought as Max came running in.
~*~
Even though he'd been standing there for almost half an hour, Jason still could feel her lips against his. Oh God... this definitely wasn't helping him in his mission to only consider Kat a friend.
" I have to apologize. If I don't, who knows what could happen." But that kiss... No. His mind told him firmly. It wasn't a kiss, only two friends running into each other.
' Yeah? Tell that to my emotions... '
~*~
" And that's when Tommy found us," finished Kat, retelling the event to Tanya, who was listening intently on her bed.
" Kat, you're not telling me what's important." Said Tanya, as she listened to Kat's plight.
" I'm not? So then pray tell what is." Kat replied, annoyed that Tanya didn't see what was at hand here.
" Was Jason a good kisser? I mean, the only person who has kissed him besides you was Emily, but we didn't know her well enough to ask." Kat didn't know whether to hit her best friend or laugh. She did both.
" Tanya! I can't believe you just asked me that! I mean it's hard enough reliving what happened without thinking about Jason and kissing."
" What can I say? With all that strength and heart, he must be pretty good in all the romance departments, especially the s-" Before Tanya could finish, Kat reached out and smacked her with a pillow.
" You and your nasty mind!" laughed Kat, as Tanya retied her ponytail.
" Hey Kat. Can I talk to you?" Both women looked up to see Jason standing in the doorway.
" Oh. I suppose so." She gracefully got up and walked up to him.
" Yes?"
" Um, can I talk to you in private? Not that I don't trust you Tanya!" He said hastily, looking at his friend.
" I understand, though maybe you two need a chaperone," she winked and left. As soon as she did, Jason began talking.
" Look, I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to kiss you on purpose, I really didn't, and I hope everything between Tommy and you are settled." Kat nodded.
" I know it was an accident Jase, and I don't hold it against you. About Tommy and I... well, our relationship is fragile right now, but we'll be okay." She patted his arm.
" Shall we put all this mess in the past?" He smiled and hugged her, and that's when she remembered her fiancé's words.
" Jason... " He drew away to look at her.
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hug you-" Damn it. He knew he shouldn't have touched her.
" No, not that. It's Tommy. He thinks you're plotting against him."
" What? Are you serious?"
" I'm sure he's just mad, but he said that you were jealous of him. I know I shouldn't have told you, but I'm a bit worried." He nodded his head and walked out
" Don't worry Kat. Tommy wouldn't hurt me... "
~*~
" Carinita, I'm too busy to help you out. Besides, you have 6 other sibs to pick from. What about Pedro? Or Reese? Or even Rosie?" It was true he was busy. He and Penny were going to go have a picnic by the pond, just like old times, and he would much rather do that than help his little sister move out of her condo.
" Ped's on cave guard duty, Reese is too pregnant to lift boxes, and Rosie wouldn't lift a finger. Besides, none of them can leave without military consent." Rocky groaned, trying to come up with another excuse.
" What about Ranger consent?"
" Rockwell... "
" Okay, okay. Um... what if someone else helps you? I know Adam's busy, but what about Justin? You know him and I'm sure he'd be happy to help you."
" Well, if he's not busy... sure. I wouldn't mind his help."
" Good, I'll ask him. Hold on." After a few minutes, he finally found his successor, who readily agreed.
" Okay. Justin'll be there at noon. I have to go. Bye chica."
" Love you." They both hung up to get ready for their day.
~*~
" Hey Carrie," said Justin, walking into her condo. He had been in a hurry last time, but now he could really see how nice it was.
" Thanks for coming. I had originally asked my dense 'hermano', but it sounds like he has other things to do. Do you mind packing those books into that box?"
" Sure, but it's nice to know that he wants to spend time with her." Carrie's eyes narrowed.
" Her who?" Justin knew he had said too much, and he busied himself by neatly stacking the books and putting them in. She stopped him.
" Justin? This is my older brother here. I have a right to know who he's seeing." He sighed and looked up at her. The resemblances between her and her brother were uncanny, but she was still beautiful. So beautiful...
" Justin?" Carrie revived him from his thoughts.
" Huh? Oh. Well, from what I heard, he's going out on a date with Penny."
" Penny? The girl he dated in 12th grade? Hmm. Interesting... Oh. Thanks for telling me. I promise I won't let him know you did." She squeezed his hand and went off to put some boxes into her car.
" You're welcome!" he shouted to her, feeling like a dork as soon as he did.
" I'm a loser. I'm in the company of a gorgeous woman, and I'm acting like a loser."
" No you're not. If it weren't for you talking to yourself, I'd think you quite a good catch." Carrie said, walking into his one-sided conversation.
' Oh God... I'm the biggest loser-dork ever to live.' He thought, moaning.
~*~
" Rangers! A monster by the name of MetalMan is attacking Angel Grove. Three U.S. soldiers are down!" Lucas, the only one in hearing range to Alpha 6, spoke into his communicator.
" Hey guys, are you up to a little monster smashing?"
" Sure!" Came the reply from his Time Force teammates.
" Meet you all in the Zord garage. Lucas out." He then turned to Alpha.
" You'd think by now they'd come up with better names... MetalMan? Well, tell the others that Time Force is on it, and we won't be back until we've beaten it. Time For Time Force!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know. Odd ending. Okay, that was chap. 11, and has quite a bit of Justin self-bashing in it. Note to Justin lovers: I DO NOT think he or Blake Foster are losers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to rewrite a Rocky/Penny date, and I don't even know how it's going to turn out. As they say in Italy... Ciao!
Lady Lightspeed: Thank you very much!
Dana Grayson: Thanks. You know, contrary to popular belief, Tommy is actually one of the most difficult characters to write about, just because of how different his personality seemed in each season.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Tommy! Will you please listen to me??" Kat cried out, finally catching up with Tommy.
" Why should I? Why do you deserve my time?" His icy voice seemed to even surprise him, but he shrugged it away.
" Because I love you! Because what you just saw was purely an accident!" He stopped.
" An accident? Oh please Kat, don't waste your breath. I saw you and Jason together, against the wall, practically sucking each other's face! How is THAT an accident???"
" It happened all at once Tommy. Jason wanted to see Kim's bracelet, and he tripped, or something, and we smashed lips. There was *nothing* else!" She turned him around and put her cold hands on the sides of his face,
" Please forgive love. You mean the world to me, and Jason and I would never try to hurt you!" He looked into her teary blue eyes.
" If you say so," he muttered. Kat wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Everything was okay now.
" But Jason... he's jealous of me, and of everything I have." Kat froze. Wait. What?
~*~
" You're kidding me." Wes looked skeptically at Jen.
" No, I'm not. Justin and Trip were going over the data, when they noticed something funny. The sensor picked a huge amount of restrained power. It turns out that Master Evil has the Sword of," she looked at the palm of her hand for the name," Dicio-Veritas."
" The Sword of Dicio-Veritas? What is that, another form of Ultimate Evil?"
" Correct. This Sword is said to have been made by Hephaestus, the Greek Blacksmith God, who then had it blessed by Zeus to give to Hera. But, legend says that a foolish peasant stole it, and gave it to his lord... Hurnè." Wes' eyebrows shot up.
" Ah. So that's where Master Evil ties in."
" Uh-huh. But, it's missing a vital part of it... the jewel of Ignislumen. Without it, the Sword can never reach its greatest power."
" Oh great. And let me guess. We don't know where the jewel is?" When she nodded, Wes hit his forehead, leaving a muddy handprint. Jen looked at him funny, but said nothing.
" Do the others know?" Jen shook her head.
" Only Justin, Trip, you, and me." Wes got up to go tell the other Rangers, but she stopped him.
" Maybe you should go wash up first?" He looked down at his dirty hands.
" Maybe you're right."
~*~
As the sun glinted off the deep red jewel, Kat handed the bracelet back to its owner.
" I, I'm so happy you're home safe Kim, and... well, here."
" Thank you, but Kat, you seem distracted." The blonde ran her hand delicately through her hair, a habit, Kim mused, that she must have gotten from Jason.
" I, I know you and Tommy aren't on the most amiable terms, but you've know him the best, even better than Jason."
" Yeah, I guess I do. What's up?"
" Kim, he seems upset with Jason, and I wanted to know... has this ever happened?"
" You don't think best friends are happy all the time? They are rivals, just as much as they are friends. Don't worry about it. It'll blow over." Kat smiled slightly, though her face remained concerned.
" Very well. I suppose I'll go see Tanya... thanks." Kim gave a nod, before watching her friend leave.
~*~
" Ouch! That hurt!" groaned Zhane, as Dana stuck a needle into his arm.
" Don't be a baby," teased Dana, putting a band-aid onto the puncture.
" Besides, you should be happy I came up with this. It'll keep us from getting any colds or stuff until after this is all over."
" I hate needles," he grumbled, rubbing his sore bicep. Just at the moment, Karone entered the ward and saw Zhane.
" Hi Dana, I came to see if you needed help, but maybe Zhane needs me more than you." He glared at Karone.
" I'm in pain, and all you two can do is make fun of me?" Karone went over and kissed his bandage. He looked at her, puzzled.
" It's a custom on Earth to kiss a painful spot to make it better. Did it help?" He grinned and nodded.
" What if I told you I was in pain in some other spots?" Dana rolled her eyes.
" I'd say get out of my exam room and go get Max." She watched as the two shared loving gestures as they exited.
' I wonder where Carter is?' she thought wistfully, but quickly lost the thought as Max came running in.
~*~
Even though he'd been standing there for almost half an hour, Jason still could feel her lips against his. Oh God... this definitely wasn't helping him in his mission to only consider Kat a friend.
" I have to apologize. If I don't, who knows what could happen." But that kiss... No. His mind told him firmly. It wasn't a kiss, only two friends running into each other.
' Yeah? Tell that to my emotions... '
~*~
" And that's when Tommy found us," finished Kat, retelling the event to Tanya, who was listening intently on her bed.
" Kat, you're not telling me what's important." Said Tanya, as she listened to Kat's plight.
" I'm not? So then pray tell what is." Kat replied, annoyed that Tanya didn't see what was at hand here.
" Was Jason a good kisser? I mean, the only person who has kissed him besides you was Emily, but we didn't know her well enough to ask." Kat didn't know whether to hit her best friend or laugh. She did both.
" Tanya! I can't believe you just asked me that! I mean it's hard enough reliving what happened without thinking about Jason and kissing."
" What can I say? With all that strength and heart, he must be pretty good in all the romance departments, especially the s-" Before Tanya could finish, Kat reached out and smacked her with a pillow.
" You and your nasty mind!" laughed Kat, as Tanya retied her ponytail.
" Hey Kat. Can I talk to you?" Both women looked up to see Jason standing in the doorway.
" Oh. I suppose so." She gracefully got up and walked up to him.
" Yes?"
" Um, can I talk to you in private? Not that I don't trust you Tanya!" He said hastily, looking at his friend.
" I understand, though maybe you two need a chaperone," she winked and left. As soon as she did, Jason began talking.
" Look, I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to kiss you on purpose, I really didn't, and I hope everything between Tommy and you are settled." Kat nodded.
" I know it was an accident Jase, and I don't hold it against you. About Tommy and I... well, our relationship is fragile right now, but we'll be okay." She patted his arm.
" Shall we put all this mess in the past?" He smiled and hugged her, and that's when she remembered her fiancé's words.
" Jason... " He drew away to look at her.
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hug you-" Damn it. He knew he shouldn't have touched her.
" No, not that. It's Tommy. He thinks you're plotting against him."
" What? Are you serious?"
" I'm sure he's just mad, but he said that you were jealous of him. I know I shouldn't have told you, but I'm a bit worried." He nodded his head and walked out
" Don't worry Kat. Tommy wouldn't hurt me... "
~*~
" Carinita, I'm too busy to help you out. Besides, you have 6 other sibs to pick from. What about Pedro? Or Reese? Or even Rosie?" It was true he was busy. He and Penny were going to go have a picnic by the pond, just like old times, and he would much rather do that than help his little sister move out of her condo.
" Ped's on cave guard duty, Reese is too pregnant to lift boxes, and Rosie wouldn't lift a finger. Besides, none of them can leave without military consent." Rocky groaned, trying to come up with another excuse.
" What about Ranger consent?"
" Rockwell... "
" Okay, okay. Um... what if someone else helps you? I know Adam's busy, but what about Justin? You know him and I'm sure he'd be happy to help you."
" Well, if he's not busy... sure. I wouldn't mind his help."
" Good, I'll ask him. Hold on." After a few minutes, he finally found his successor, who readily agreed.
" Okay. Justin'll be there at noon. I have to go. Bye chica."
" Love you." They both hung up to get ready for their day.
~*~
" Hey Carrie," said Justin, walking into her condo. He had been in a hurry last time, but now he could really see how nice it was.
" Thanks for coming. I had originally asked my dense 'hermano', but it sounds like he has other things to do. Do you mind packing those books into that box?"
" Sure, but it's nice to know that he wants to spend time with her." Carrie's eyes narrowed.
" Her who?" Justin knew he had said too much, and he busied himself by neatly stacking the books and putting them in. She stopped him.
" Justin? This is my older brother here. I have a right to know who he's seeing." He sighed and looked up at her. The resemblances between her and her brother were uncanny, but she was still beautiful. So beautiful...
" Justin?" Carrie revived him from his thoughts.
" Huh? Oh. Well, from what I heard, he's going out on a date with Penny."
" Penny? The girl he dated in 12th grade? Hmm. Interesting... Oh. Thanks for telling me. I promise I won't let him know you did." She squeezed his hand and went off to put some boxes into her car.
" You're welcome!" he shouted to her, feeling like a dork as soon as he did.
" I'm a loser. I'm in the company of a gorgeous woman, and I'm acting like a loser."
" No you're not. If it weren't for you talking to yourself, I'd think you quite a good catch." Carrie said, walking into his one-sided conversation.
' Oh God... I'm the biggest loser-dork ever to live.' He thought, moaning.
~*~
" Rangers! A monster by the name of MetalMan is attacking Angel Grove. Three U.S. soldiers are down!" Lucas, the only one in hearing range to Alpha 6, spoke into his communicator.
" Hey guys, are you up to a little monster smashing?"
" Sure!" Came the reply from his Time Force teammates.
" Meet you all in the Zord garage. Lucas out." He then turned to Alpha.
" You'd think by now they'd come up with better names... MetalMan? Well, tell the others that Time Force is on it, and we won't be back until we've beaten it. Time For Time Force!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know. Odd ending. Okay, that was chap. 11, and has quite a bit of Justin self-bashing in it. Note to Justin lovers: I DO NOT think he or Blake Foster are losers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to rewrite a Rocky/Penny date, and I don't even know how it's going to turn out. As they say in Italy... Ciao!
Lady Lightspeed: Thank you very much!
Dana Grayson: Thanks. You know, contrary to popular belief, Tommy is actually one of the most difficult characters to write about, just because of how different his personality seemed in each season.