Here's another update…Alex is graduating from the Academy and getting ready to enter the Force. Will this graduation day be a day he will remember?

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex, Jen, Lucas, Captain Logan, or Ransik. They are property of Saban/Disney. I do own Christy and Chris Collins, Dr. Stein, Commander Steinback, both of Alex's grandmothers, Alex's grandpa, Jesse, Jerry, and Jessica.

Good-bye Academy, Hello Time Force

Already, Alex was fifteen years old, and his last year at the Academy was coming to an end. Alex was very excited about graduation and eager to get in Time Force. Ransik was still loose after two years of failed attempts to catch him. The Ranger Program had been abandoned completely. Alex still had his morpher, but was never called to complete any missions. It was as if none of Doctor Ferriks' colleagues had had any idea of what he had been working on. He longed to feel the adrenaline flowing through his body through the heat of an intense battle once again. It was as if he were truly alive when that happened. He had only felt it during his battles with Ransik.

Alex turned the corner on his way to his last class of the schoolyear – targets. He now had the class with Jen, and she had improved greatly since he had started tutoring her. Her grades were now higher than average in all of her classes. She was a straight B+ student, and he was a straight A+ student. Alex entered his classroom and stood next to Jen. "Hey." he greeted.

"Hi, Alex." Jen replied blankly. The teacher was speaking. It was almost time for the last test of the schoolyear. Jen was very nervous, but Alex was oddly excited.

"Ah…Collins, there you are. Would you please come up here and demonstrate to the class how to hit the center of a target?" the teacher asked him.

"Yes, sir." Alex stepped to the front of the class, unholstered his gun, and shot, hitting the target precisely in the middle.

"Good, Collins, but please demonstrate again…more slowly this time." He whispered, "This is counting for your grade."

Alex nodded, and once again demonstrated, hitting the same target once again directly in the center. If it had hit even a millimeter off center, it was not evident to the naked eye.

"Thank you. You may shoot your remaining three bullets." he addressed Alex. To the class, he said. "Each of you get five shots."

Alex's face became very focused, but at the same time appeared relaxed, as if he were confident that he would do well. He shot his remaining shots, and walked back to Jen. They stood there for half of the class period, waiting for Jen's name to be called. Finally, the teacher called her name. Jen began to walk forward stiffly. Alex put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. "Relax, Jen. You'll do just fine if you relax. Concentrate, concentrate. Aim before shooting. I'll be pra –"

"Collins, will that be all?"

"Yes, sir." he said. The rest of the class burst out laughing. Alex had never been scolded in his entire history in the Academy to their knowledge.

"Scotts, hurry up here." he barked. "Class, enough." He banged a box on the nearby table to get them to be silent. Jen obeyed, and walked up there more confident.

Jen shot her first shot. Alex watched tensely, hoping and praying that she would do well. He could barely stand to watch. Clear. Only one ring away from the center. Second shot. Center! He crossed his fingers. Third shot – right on the line between the center and second ring. Fourth – center! Alex closed his eyes, hoping she would hit the center once again. Fifth shot – center. Jen raced back to him after holstering her gun and embraced him. He hugged her back. "Congratulations! Good job!"

Jen backed away slightly. Alex looked deep into the eyes of the thirteen-year-old. He had never seen her so happy. She had changed so much over the past two years. "Thank you, Alex. Thanks for everything – training me, being there for me, coming back to me, sticking by my side… I'll miss you next year." she said, her voice growing quieter at the last phrase.

"No problem." Alex smiled one of his rare, truly happy smiles. The couple embraced again.

The teacher turned on the video camera to record the students doing their tests and walked over to the two. He tapped Alex on the shoulder. "A-hem!"

Alex let go of his grip on Jen. "Yes, sir?"

"Please save this for somewhere more…private." he said strictly.

"Yes, sir." Alex and Jen said in unison.

The bell rang with ten students still needing to take the test. "Class, dismissed. Except for –" Alex and Jen rushed out of the classroom to the outside courtyard.

"Alex, isn't it just a beautiful day? Can't we celebrate before your graduation?" Jen exclaimed. She was smiling brightly, and the smile reached her eyes.

Alex looked down at her. "Sure. What do you want to do?" he looked at his watch. "If you want to see a movie, we have to leave right away. The graduation starts in three hours, and I have to have time to get ready. The old white with silver trim graduation gown and cap." Alex sighed happily.

"I was thinking a little something more special…Like dinner for two?"

"Sure… Where to?"

"Um…how about Giardellini's? I don't know if you like Italian food or not."

"Sure…pizza." Jen and he laughed. "No, seriously. And tortellini, spaghetti…"

Jen looked at him with shining eyes. "Oh, Alex, I'm going to miss seeing you everyday next schoolyear." she whined playfully.

"And I you. Perhaps you'll be seeing me on TV bringing Ransik in with big handcuffs on him. Cryogenic containment for life for that guy when I get my hands on him."

"O Alex, you're scaring me." Jen said in mock worry.

Alex wrapped his arms around Jen's waist and smiled down at her. Jen gasped. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, but you…you'll need protection. That's why I'll go out there…for you and your safety."

"Don't be silly!"

"I'm serious." Alex's face became stoic and he released her from his grip, allowing her to turn and look him in the face.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Yup." Alex replied, a smile returning to his face.

"Well, let me go get changed, and we'll meet here before leaving for dinner." "Sounds good to me." The two parted ways, and Alex headed over to his dorm to change.

He opened the door to his dorm, whistling "Canon in D" happily. Jesse looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Why are you so happy?"

"Last day at the Academy, onto bigger things – perhaps even capturing Ransik – and Jen and I are going out on a date." Alex said, picking out a nice suit.

"Did her father ever approve of you?" Jesse asked curiously.

"Yes. He said we could feel free to date. He has it all set up in his mind that we're going to get married when we're older." Alex shuddered.

"And what's so repulsive about that? Getting married to the love of your life…"

"I don't know, man. It just seems weird. I mean, I'm only fifteen."

"I see what you mean, I guess. You'll change your mind by the time you're nineteen like me." Jesse teased.

"I think I shan't ever get married."

"Trust me, you'll change your mind. When you meet the one, you definitely will."

Alex shook his head. "Whatever. I've got to get changed. Otherwise, Jen may think something's wrong. Afterall, girls are supposed to take forever, not guys." Alex entered his cubicle of the dorm and changed. He checked his hair in the mirror, and decided to gel it back. He had tried it once before, and Jen had liked it then. He walked out of the dorm, shouting "Good-bye!" to Jesse.

Alex met Jen at the appointed place, and they went to the restaurant for a good two hours. They had a good time, laughing and reminiscing. Jen had worn a light pick sparkly gown with spaghetti straps. It had a scoop neck, and the bottom hem slanted down to the right. She had her hair up in a French twist with a few delicate strands hanging down. Matching high-heeled sandals adorned her feet. A simple silver chain decorated her neck. Silver dangly earrings hung from her smooth, rounded ears. A silver band adorned her right ring finger. To Alex and many other guys there, Jen looked absolutely gorgeous, just dazzling.

As they walked back hand in hand to the dorm for Alex to have time enough to get ready, the sun was setting in the sky. They watched the beautiful pink, purple, orange, and silver streaks in the sky for a few moments. The sight nearly took away their breath. Neither one had paid much attention to the sunset before. This one was simply gorgeous. They felt like they were the only two on earth.

After a few minutes standing there, they realized that Alex would be late if they did not return to his dorm at once. They walked back and parted ways once again. Alex quickly threw the gown and cap on and rushed to the auditorium where a mass of students was gathered listening to teachers giving directions. Before he knew what was going on, he was lined up, and, after a long wait, he got his badge and diploma with a congratulatory smile from Logan.

Alex walked slowly off the platform and sped up his pace when he was near Jen, Jesse, and Lucas. Jen hugged him and Jesse and Lucas shook his hand firmly. "Only one more year for you now, buddy." Alex said to Lucas who eyed him surprisedly when he said "buddy."

"Yeah. It's all gone by so quickly."

"Yes, it has indeed. It seems like just yesterday that you were an annoying freshman asking one too many questions."

"Was I really that annoying?"

"You were." They fell into silence.

They watched the many other graduates come down the platform with bright, smiling faces. A tall young woman walked off and came running towards Jen. The two embraced, Jen looking oddly smushed.

"Katie, Katie, let go of me." Jen said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry…I forgot in all the excitement."

"Sure." Jen rolled her eyes and then put back on a smile. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks!"

"Jennifer, who's this?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry, Alex. Alex, this is Katie Walker. Katie, this is Alexander Collins."

"Nice to meet you." said Alex's deep voice. He tried to place her in his mind. "Oh, yeah. Now I remember you. You're that girl that has super strength."

"Right. Nice to meet you, too. You're the guy who's supposed to be the best student, right?" Katie extended her hand, and Alex shook it, but could not get free of her grip.

"Is that my reputation? Woah… But, even you could beat me."

"Yeah? Well, the super strength does help a bit." Katie said, smiling.

"Yeah, but just a little." Alex joked. The group laughed.

Finally, everyone had received their diplomas and badges. The graduates threw their caps and rushed out with their friends. Alex, Jen, Katie, Lucas, and Jesse decided to go out to a nice Mexican restaurant nearby to celebrate. They all piled into Jesse's car and drove away.

There was a bunch of laughter as they entered the restaurant. The waitress seated the group. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jessica, and I will be your waitress this evening. May I start you out with something to drink?"

"Yes, please." the group agreed. They all asked for water, and soon water, tortilla chips, and salsa were placed in their midst. The group talked and looked at their menus.

The waitress returned. "Are you ready to order?" The group nodded. "May I tell you about our specials today?"

"No, thank you." Jesse spoke for the whole group. They proceeded to order and had their meal after twenty minutes. They talked, agreeing not to lose touch. They all returned to their dorms.

Alex, Lucas, and Jesse entered their dorm room and sat up for a while, watching television. Afterwards, they all went to bed. Alex was looking forward to the next day – the day he would join Time Force.