Chapter Twenty-Three

Melissa wandered into Jason's studio to see him working out on a heavy bag. She was now clad in her green and white layered tank top, a pair of blue jeans, and her favorite pair of sandals. She wanted to be comfortable for this confrontation and she just wouldn't be comforatble in a dress. She let out a small sigh as she walked up to him. He paid no attention to her as she stood there.

"Jase?" She asked. He didn't answer as he kept punching. She walked around the bag to look at his face. He looked as though he was in pain. Pain that she caused. She bit her lower lip as she held back her tears and let out a long sigh. "Jase, I'm really sorry about leaving, tonight… It was something that I just had to do."

"For work?" He asked, finally, but not pulling away from the punching bag.

"Yes… I'm not saying that my job is more important than going out on a date with you. It was just that I couldn't miss out on it."

"It couldn't have waited?" He asked, angrily.

"I'm sorry, but it couldn't. There was a monster attack in town and I had to take notes on it. I needed it for my article." She got a disgusting taste in her mouth as she lied to him. That was something that had never happened to her. Of course, she had never hurt someone this badly by running off on them.

He stopped punching and looked at her, an angry and disappointed glare on his face. "It seems as though you've got your priorities wrong." He then went back to the heavy bag.

She tried to explain to him a little more, but she just wasn't able to. She let out a frustrated sigh as she gave up. "Fine. But, for what it's worth, I really would've liked to finish our date." She then proceeded to the door, where she ran into Tommy.

"Hi." He said, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets.

She gave him a meek smile. "Hi."

"I'm really sorry…" He tried to say.

"Don't be. You needed me and I made the choice to help. This isn't your fault." She planted a small kiss on his cheek for reassurance before she turned to leave.

"Let me talk to him."

"Good luck." She said as she exited the studio.

Tommy let out a nervous sigh and approached his best friend. "Hey." He greeted.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk." Jason said, punching harder than he should've been.

"You're going to hurt yourself is you keep doing that."

"I don't care." The former red ranger said as his punching got even harder. He was lucky that he was wearing gloves.

"Jase, come on. We need to talk."

"About what?" He asked as he pushed away from the heavy bag. "About how I got my heart stomped on, last night? No thanks."

"Jase, I'm really sorry about that."

"Why'd she do it, man? For one stupid article?" He paused as he looked at his friend. "Is there something that I'm missing?"

Tommy let out a frustrated sigh. He didn't want to do this, but he feared that nothing would be right if he didn't. "It's my fault, 'Bro."

"Don't take the fall for this."

"But, I have to… Look, I was the one who called, last night."

Jason looked at him in surprise. "You?"

"Look, before you jump to conclusions, there's something that you have to see."

"What are you talking about?"

"You can ask questions later. Just please come with me." The Black Ranger said.

Jason let out a long sigh and nodded. "Okay."

Melissa sat in the living room, trying to work on her article, but she couldn't concentrate. So much was running through her mind that nothing was coming out on paper.

She let out a low growl and threw her notebook onto the coffee table. "Oh, it's hopeless." She said as she heard the front door open and close. "Tommy?"

"Yeah." He said as he walked into the living room.

"How'd it go?"

"We're about to find out." He said as Jason entered the room, examining everything around him, until his eyes set on Melissa.

She gave a puzzled look as she stood up. "You're not going to do what I think you are… are you?"

The Black Ranger nodded. "Yeah."

"Tommy, are you sure you want to do that?"

"Mel, it's Jason and I think he had the right to know. It's my fault you left anyway."

She shook her head. "No. It's not. How many times do I have to keep telling you? You needed me, so I made a choice."

"Can we please get this over with?" Jason asked agitated that he didn't have a clue of what they were talking about. Plus, tehre was the fact that he didn't want to be in a room with Melissa any longer than he had to.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah. Follow me." He walked over to the dinosaur statue and pulled down the jawbone. He saw Jason's eyes go wide as Melissa walked down ahead of them. He let Jason go ahead of him so he could close the panel.

"What is this?" Jason asked.

"Just wait." Tommy answered.

Jason's eyes went wide a second time as he saw the many computer consoles and the dinosaur footprint emblem all over. "Wow!" He said.

"Okay, now that you've seen this, I suppose I should tell you what it all is." Jason nodded. "Jase, welcome to the new Command Center for the Power Rangers' Dino Thunder team."

Jason's mouth dropped as he stared at his friend. "Power Rangers?"

"Afraid so." Melissa spoke up.

Jason gave her a shocked look. "You knew?"

"That's kind of why I had to leave…" She held up the arm with her bracelet on it. "You see this?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's beautiful."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the only one who has one."

Tommy pulled up his sleeve and help up his own. "And it's not just us." He said, typing something up on the main console. "You know Conner, Kira, and Ethan, right?" He asked as their pictures appeared on the screen.

"Not them too?" Jason asked, surprised by all of this.

"They were the first three Dino Thunder Rangers."

"First three?"

"Then, it was my turn." Tommy flicked his wrist to show his friend his morpher.

Jason looked from Tommy to Melissa. "And you? You're in on this too?"

"Afraid so. I was the last one." She said.

"There is another, though. Trent. But, he's on a mission at the moment." Tommy said.

"I can't believe this. Rangers again?"

"You act as if we planned this, Jase." Melissa said. "There's a difference between these gems and the old power coins."

"How so?" The former Red Ranger asked.

"These gems bond to your genetic structure. You become part of them." Tommy said.

Jason shook his head to clear it. "This is just all too much. I think I need to sit down." He took a seat in front of the main console. He stared at it for a moment, then back at his friends. He stared at them in awe.

Melissa knelt down in front of him and placed a gentle hand over his. "Now, do you understand why I had to leave?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I just don't see how you got involved in this. How could you agree to do this again?"

"Well, that's the thing." She said.

"The Dino Gems in the morphers choose you. You don't choose them." Tommy finished for her.

"Where'd the morphers come from?"

"A programming genius."

"Billy?" Jason asked.

"Not exactly. Hayley. She's an old friend from MIT. She built them, the Raptor Cycles, and even the Zords." Tommy explained.

"I can't believe this."

"Well, you're going to have to." Tommy said as the all too familiar alarm began to sound. "We've got trouble." He turned to Melissa. "Ready?"

"Ready." She answered.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up! Ha!" He exclaimed.

"Green Dino Raptor, Power Up!" She cried out.

Elsa cackled loudly as she loomed over the fallen Conner. She held her sword to his chest as the evil gleam in her eyes began to glow. "Why didn't I think of this, before? Taking you brats down one by one would be much easier."

"Don't be so cocky, Elsa!" The Black Ranger's voice called to her. "You still have us to deal with." He said, meaning him and Melissa.

"Ah, yes. The mother and father have come to protect the whelp… But, it won't matter once I destroy him."

"Just try it!" The Green Ranger called to her.

"And what are you going to do about it, huh?"

"Raptor Whip!" She called out, revealing the brand new weapon that Hayley had created.

"Ooh! I'm so scared." Elsa mocked.

"You should be." Conner said as the whip latched itself onto Elsa's sword and yanked it away, allowing him to roll to safety.

Melissa pulled her whip back as Conner ran over to her and Tommy. "You've got some explaining to do." She said to him.

"Later." He said as he revealed his morpher. "Dino Thunder, Power Up! Ha!"

"Oh, no." Elsa said as the three of them faced her.

"Give up, Elsa! You won't win!" Tommy said.

She glared at them for a minute before flashes of light appeared around her. "For now, Black Ranger. But, my master shall destroy you and this miserable planet! T-Drones, take care of them!" She then disappeared from their sights.

"Let's get 'em!" Tommy said, charging toward their enemies. He managed to kick two in the chest, while Melissa and Conner took down two each. They were too easy to defeat. There was something up, but they didn't really care at the moment the Tyrranodrones disappeared. All that mattered was that they were gone.

"Power Down!" The three said in unison.

"Thanks." Conner said.

"Why are you out this late, anyway?" Melissa asked, checking her watch. "It's after midnight."

"I know. I just needed to go for a walk." The teen said, rubbing his sore neck.

"Something wrong?" Tommy asked.

"I guess it's everything that's happened this passed week. I mean, with Mel coming to visit and becoming a ranger again. And hearing everything about what happened last time…" He trailed off. "You guys have been through a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, we have." She answered.

"Did you ever think it was too much?"

"Sometimes, but then we remembered all the good we did. That makes it all worth it." She continued.

"Don't worry, Conner. You'll get used to it and you'll feel the same way." Tommy finished.

"I hope so." The teen said.