Timeline for this story is between "Just a conversation" and "I Try".
Definitely part of my Cam/Hunter series, but it focuses more on Blake/Hunter as well as Shane/Hunter bonding.

Shades of Red
By Dany
PG-13

Summary: Shane and Hunter's bickering has reached an unprecedented level, but when they end up in a precarious situation, can they put their differences aside and work together?

Yet another monster had been defeated, but as the Wind and Thunder Power Ranger Team descended the stairs of Ninja Ops, the mood was less than jubilant for two of its members.

Cam turned from his computer screen and swiveled around in his chair to face the Rangers, but his brows furrowed at the sound of Hunter's angry voice.

"You know, you really could be a little more appreciative," the Crimson Ranger snapped at the back of the Red Ranger who had just pushed past him. "I saved your butt out there."

Shane whirled around. "First of all, Burgundy, I didn't need your help, I had everything under control," he retorted sharply. "Second of all, you didn't 'save my butt'; you actually got in my way."

Dustin, Tori and Blake skirted around the two squabblers and walked into the command center. Blake caught Cam's gaze and rolled his eyes dramatically. Cam almost grinned.

"Oh really?" Hunter's eyes narrowed as he glared at Shane. The two Rangers were facing each other at the bottom of the stairs, noses only inches apart. "Well, then I guess next time I'll just leave you alone when I see four kelzaks trying to chop you into bite-size pieces again."

Hunter was towering over Shane, but the intimidating downward stare wasn't working on the Wind ninja. "If it does more harm than good again, then, yeah, maybe you should."

For a moment, the two young men simply stared, throwing daggers at each other with their eyes before Hunter turned and, with a disdainful snort, left Shane standing by the stairs.

But the Red Ranger apparently wasn't finished with him yet. "And what was that stunt with your Tsunami Cycle anyways?" he yelled after him. "You nearly took my head off! Were you trying to kill me or what?"

Hunter waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, come on. So I was a little too close when I jumped over your head with it. It happens, get over it. Besides, there were about half a dozen kelzaks behind you that I took care of with one shot while I was in the air, in case you hadn't noticed."

Shane waved his finger at the blond man. "Not before I had to scramble to get out of the way of your wheel. Dude, my grandma could have made a better jump than that!"

Next to Cam, Blake suddenly grimaced. 'Oh no, please don't go there!' he mentally screamed at Shane and took a step forward, but it was already too late.

Hunter stiffened noticeably. "Oh no, you did not just criticize the way I ride my bike!"

His voice dropped several nuances, and he was suddenly strangely calm when he approached Shane again. "So you think you can do better?"

Shane knew a challenge when he heard one and his expression turned smug. "Why don't you compare the number of times you crashed your Tsunami Cycle with the number of times I crashed mine and draw your own conclusion from that?"

Damn! Hunter knew his crash record was always the topic of many jokes around Ninja Ops, but Shane dragging this up in front of everyone right now just got the Thunder ninja's blood boiling. The next words were out of his mouth before he ever really thought about them. "At least I'm not a mediocre skateboard poser who was one step away from being expelled from the Academy." Hunter took another step closer to Shane, lowering his voice to a growl. "You want to know what I think? I think when Lothor attacked the schools…that was the best thing that ever happened to you."

That remark stung, and a grim feeling of satisfaction stole over Hunter when he saw the hurt in Shane's eyes. The Red Ranger glared at him for a long moment, then hissed in a dangerously low voice, "Tomorrow after school, the skating ramp on the south end of the Boardwalk, just you and me. First the ramp, then the track. We'll settle this once and for all." Then he turned and stalked off.

Hunter looked after him smugly, but flinched when his brother's voice suddenly sounded from right behind him. "Don't you think that was kinda out of line, bro?"

"He started it," the Crimson Ranger snapped defensively.

Blake appeared at his right side. "Maybe, but you still shouldn't have let it come to that."

Hunter made no reply, only let out a long, heavy breath and stomped off towards the direction of their room. Blake wasn't even trying to hold him back. Hunter knew he had gone too far, but from lifelong experience Blake knew that that long sigh was as close to a concession as he would get out of his big brother.

He quickly glanced around the suddenly silent room. His fellow Rangers were all looking at each other with looks of bewilderment on their faces that must have mirrored his own.

They were all used to Shane and Hunter occasionally bickering - and certainly always competing - with each other, but it had never before taken such a nasty twist.

Just as the door to the Bradleys' room slammed shut, Blake heard Cam's voice close to his ear. "They've gone too far this time, Blake," the samurai said quietly, but the way he stood with his arms crossed tightly across his chest contradicted his calm exterior.

The Navy Ranger nodded his head towards the closed door. "He's your boyfriend. You talk to him," he murmured, even though Dustin and Tori were out of earshot on the other side of the room.

Cam gave him a contemplative look. The two Thunder Rangers had been living at Ninja Ops for about three months now and during that time Cam and Hunter had gotten to know each other quite a bit better – mainly in the practice room after dark. But that didn't lull Cam into the false confidence of thinking that he already had enough influence over the Crimson Ranger to talk him out of this nonsense he had just silently agreed to.

Cam shook his head. "You're his brother. I think you have better chances of getting through to him," he replied and turned towards the stairs where Shane had disappeared. "I'll go talk to Shane in the meantime."

With a dismayed look on his face, Blake turned on his heels and went after his brother.

Brother-talk…

The air in Ninja Ops' guest room was so thick with agitation it was almost tangible.

Hunter stood in the middle of the room, chest heaving, fists clenching and unclenching, and Blake knew that his brother would normally be been pacing furiously right now if the room hadn't been so small.

Before he could even open his mouth, Hunter was already waving his finger into the younger Bradley's face. "Don't even try it, Blake. I'm not apologizing." The Crimson Ranger's eyes blazed. "I'm so tired of his superior attitude! Oh, and if he calls me 'Burgundy' one more time, I'll get me a fake ID, go to the next liquor store, get the biggest bottle of that red wine stuff I can find and dump it over his head!"

Blake refrained from trying to get a mental visual of that threat and caught his brother's wagging index finger instead. "Bro, let it go! That's exactly what he's trying to achieve – to get you all riled up. Don't let him succeed." Blake's eyes narrowed. "And if you're even considering going to that skate ramp tomorrow…"

But Hunter never let him finish. He just pulled his finger free, let out a frustrated "Argh!" and threw himself on his bed with his back to Blake.

Seeing the futility in trying to change his brother's mind, the Navy Ranger made a face and shook his head sadly. "Guess he already has succeeded," he mumbled and turned to leave. But just before he pushed open the door, he heard Hunter turn on his bed.

"Blake," the older Thunder Ranger's voice was more sedate now. "I can't back out now. I would lose too much face."

"And what about the face you'll lose at the skating ramp?" Blake said exasperatedly, facing his big brother again. When Hunter didn't reply, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, we all know how this is going to end. He'll wipe the floor with you on the skate ramp, then you'll turn around and demolish him at the motocross track. And in the end, what's gonna be the outcome? A draw. With nothing resolved."

Hunter was staring at the ceiling. "You think I don't know that? But what was I supposed to do, huh? Let him just keep up all this name-calling and animosity?" Hunter re-established eye contact with Blake. "He's supposed to be the leader of this team, but he sure as hell doesn't act like one most of the time; at least not when it comes to me."

Blake left his spot at the door to slump down on the bed next to his brother.

Touchy subject. The question of leadership had been a sore spot between Shane and Hunter from the beginning, but it certainly wouldn't be answered by the two of them trying their best to humiliate each other tomorrow. Sighing internally, Blake made one more attempt. "I see your point, bro, but bottom line is that you can't skateboard!"

Hunter glanced at the alarm clock on their desk. "Well, it's almost three o'clock now; that gives me about twenty-two hours to practice."

Blake stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding right?" He shook his head. "Bro, even if you had twenty-two days, it wouldn't be enough."

Hunter just shrugged, trying to look nonchalantly. The two Thunder ninjas looked at each other for a long moment, and Blake sighed at the stubborn look in his brother's eyes. He wasn't getting though to him. Hunter wasn't letting him.

With another sad shake of his head, Blake rose and left the room.

Challenges…

At one-fifteen, Shane finally heard the telltale sounds of an approaching motorcycle. From his vantage point at the top of the incline of the Boardwalk's skating ramp he had a good view over the avenue that ran parallel to the beach, and he spotted Hunter's bike right away. The Thunder ninja veered off the main road and cut across the wide, grassy area that separated the Boardwalk from the street.

Shane was already striding towards him as he parked his bike next to some small palm trees. "You're late," he said without preamble.

"Class went over a little, so what?" Hunter pulled off his helmet, casting Shane a hostile glance. "I'm here, ain't I?"

Yeah, didn't really think you'd show up at all, Shane thought as he turned and wordlessly stalked off, back towards the skating ramp, Hunter following right behind him.

Once there, Shane picked up the second skateboard he had brought along and hurled it towards Hunter. The Crimson Ranger caught it with an easy, fluid motion. Grimly, Hunter noted that Shane had dressed for the occasion, wearing his favorite red, hooded sweatshirt with the words 'SHUT UP AND SKATE' printed in large, grey letters across his chest. Smart-ass!

The Wind ninja wasted no time on niceties. "Let's do this," he barked and slapped his safety helmet onto his head.

Meanwhile…

Many miles above the earth, a massive black spaceship, built to resemble a huge asteroid, floated lazily in the vacuum of space. On the bridge of said vessel stood the object of the very reason for the Power Rangers' existence: Lothor – evil space ninja and sworn archenemy of the Wind and Thunder Rangers.

He was flanked by his generals Zurgane and Choobo as he peered intently at the bridge's screen, where the scenes between the dark-skinned Wind ninja and the blond Thunder ninja played out on the skating ramp far below them. Ever since the computer's Ranger Alert had sounded, they had been watching the hostility between them with unconcealed amusement. Lothor couldn't remember the names of those pesky teens, but names really didn't matter when it came to his newest evil plan. And as long as there was at least one of the Thunder Rangers present…Cam's evil uncle turned to Zurgane. "General, we are setting our latest plan in motion right now. You know the details. Get me those two and take them to the secret lair. And don't let them morph!"

The black robot bowed. "Yes, sir!" He took a few steps, before he turned back towards his master. "Sir, if I may ask… is 'you know who' at full efficiency yet?"

Lothor glowered at him. "I will make sure that 'you know who' will be at his peak when he meets his two new chew toys. Now go!"

The space robot bowed again and scurried out the door.

Lothor turned to Choobo. "This is going to be so much fun. Two Rangers, unmorphed - all that's missing is the proverbial silver platter."

The green general bobbed his head enthusiastically, and soon evil laughter filled the spaceship's control room.

"Very soon I'll have my very own gladiator games," Lothor guffawed and gleefully rubbed his hands together. "I love it!"

Ambushed…

Hunter winced inwardly as he watched Shane execute a perfect airborne backward flip.

The Red Ranger came down smoothly and rolled to a stop an inch before Hunter's sneakers.

"I don't think that needs any comment," Shane remarked complacently and regarded the blond man with his most patronizing look. "Your turn."

Hunter did his best not to let his despondency show as he threw Shane a dark glare of his own, picked up the second board and turned to make his way towards the ramp's incline.

He hadn't taken three steps before the swarm of kelzaks appeared out of thin air with their customary 'blink-of-an-eye' swiftness. Hunter and Shane suddenly found themselves surrounded on all sides by at least a dozen of them.

"Crap!" Hunter mumbled, startled.

"Figures," he heard Shane's voice behind him. "I'm on a roll here, and they show up."

The Wind and Thunder ninjas automatically assumed defensive stances back to back, instinctively covering each other.

Suddenly a black figure stepped around the half-pipe. "Sorry to spoil your fun, Rangers," Zurgane said, drawing his swords. "But Lothor is requesting your immediate presence."

"I think we're gonna have to decline that invitation," Shane snapped.

"This is no invitation," the alien robot replied and raised one of his swords.

"CHARGE!" he yelled to his drones.

"Ready?" Shane called over his shoulder.

"Ready!" Hunter cried.

"NINJA STORM…" "THUNDER STORM…"

They never made it to the "RANGERFORM" part before the wave of black and red bodies crashed into them.

The two ninjas went down, but managed to kick enough kelzaks off them to scramble back to their feet. Their opportunity for morphing was shot, however, as Zurgane's goons just kept on coming.

Shane ripped off his helmet and threw it at the faceplate of the closest kelzak. The drone went down with a shriek. At the same time, Hunter picked Shane's skateboard off the ground and swung it in a wide arch, sending four more kelzaks flying. He raised his wrist to send out a distress signal to Cam, but before he could, three kelzaks tackled him simultaneously. Hunter reared up, trying to shake off the helmeted figures that clung to his arms and effectively prevented him from reaching his morpher.

His efforts got him only a vicious punch in the stomach. Hunter doubled over and gasped for breath. The very instant he did, a cylindrical object appeared an inch from his face, held by the black-gloved hand of another kelzak. Before Hunter could turn his head, a misty gas sprayed out of the cylinder, hitting him squarely in the face. He coughed, but could already feel its effects. The contours of the kelzak's helmeted visage became blurred, then shadowy, then…blackness.

Worries…

Blake looked at his wrist watch while he crossed the high school's parking lot, hurrying towards his motorcycle. Shane and Hunter had both gotten out an hour ago, and he was sure that by now they were already 'battling' it out on the skate ramp.

Blake sighed. After the fruitless conversation with his brother yesterday, he had run into Cam in the control room. The samurai had had just about as much luck trying to convince Shane to call off this ridiculous challenge as he had. They reluctantly agreed that there was really nothing they could do about it now. The damage was done.

So Blake had decided to swing by the Boardwalk after school and clandestinely observe the whole thing. He didn't mean to spy on them, he just wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any serious injuries – apart from bruised egos that was. Those would definitely get hurt. Blake had no doubt about that.

'But who knows,' he thought as he kicked his bike into gear, 'maybe something might just come out of this.' But almost immediately he shook his head at himself. 'Yeah, right, Bradley. Keep dreaming!'

He swung out of the parking lot and into the street, heading towards the beach. All the while he made a mental inventory of the first-aid kit he had in his backpack.

Just in case.

The south end of the Boardwalk was pretty much deserted. No wonder, it was Tuesday afternoon, overcast and windy. Not very appealing 'hang-out' weather for most people.

Blake parked his bike behind a large souvenir stand, a good distance from the skate ramp, so as to not alert them to his presence; he knew Hunter would pick up the sound of his bike. Walking the last few yards, he suddenly had a feeling of uneasiness creep upon him, a dark sense of foreboding he couldn't seem to shake. Frowning, he picked up his pace and rounded the cluster of palm trees where the skateboarding ramp was located just a few feet behind. Initially, Blake had intended to hide behind the broad trunks, but now he stepped around them without a second thought.

The ramp was deserted.

For a moment Blake relaxed, figuring they had already moved on to the dirt bike track, but then he spotted Hunter's bike parked next to another cluster of palmettos. He jogged towards the motorcycle, and his frown intensified when he realized that the bike was unlocked.

Hunter was meticulous about security; he had spent a pretty penny on an ultra-hard, stainless steel chain and padlock, and wrapping it around his wheel was normally the first thing he did. His brother's crimson helmet was hanging off the handle bar, equally unsecured. Hunter had a chain for that, too.

Without hesitation, Blake unzipped the bike's saddle bag. One look revealed that the chains were inside, together with his brother's school books.

That did it. Something was wrong.

The younger Bradley's head shot up, eyes darting in all directions. The sense of uneasiness was increasing rapidly. Then, over by the left incline of the skate ramp, he spotted an oblong object that looked disquietly familiar. He was crouched down next to Shane's skateboard an instant later.

'Maybe, just maybe, Hunter would leave his bike unlocked for some reason, but there was no way Shane would just have his board lying around like that.'

By now Blake was worried enough to throw Cam's rule about using their morphers in public out the window and raised the device to his mouth. "Blake to Hunter."

No answer.

"Blake to Shane."

Same results.

The skating ramp had been built less than five feet from the beach, and now, as Blake once again let his eyes roam over the immediate area, he spotted another ominous sight.

Footsteps in the sand. Dozens of them.

Blake was not a tracker, but he could distinguish between boot prints and sneaker prints and what he was looking at right now were most definitely boot prints.

Hunter and Shane were not skating in boots.

Blake raised his morpher once again. "Blake to Cam."

"Cam. What's up, Blake?" came the answer an instant later.

"You better come down to the skating ramp by the Boardwalk right away. We have a problem."

Questions...

"Yup, definitely boot prints. And not ninja training boots, either," Cam said while crouched down, peering at the tracks in the sand. Blake cursed under his breath. He had been hoping Hunter and Shane might have, for some far-out reason, changed into their training gear and maybe slugged it out between them on the beach.

Ok, really far out, there.

Cam raised his head and locked eyes with Blake. "You said you tried to hail them?"

"Yeah, but no luck," Blake's face was tight with worry. "Tried it several times."

He sighed and finally voiced his suspicion. "You think this is Lothor's doing?"

Cam shrugged noncommittally, dug into his pocket and brought out his communicator while he scrambled to his feet. "Cam to CyberCam."

"'s goin' on, dude? Cam's holographic twin answered.

"I need you to try to lock on to Hunter and Shane's morpher signatures, let me know their locations."

"Awright, gimme a sec."

Blake and Cam waited tensely, and a moment later CyberCam's voice resounded again. "Dude, that's weird. I can't get a signal from either of them. They won't even show up on the screen."

Cam clenched his jaw. Not good, not good at all. This definitely smelled of Lothor.

He met Blake's eyes again, saw the anxiety there and knew it was showing on his face as well. "We need to get back to Ops. Regroup, figure things out from there."

Blake nodded curtly. He retrieved his key ring from his pocket, separated a single key from it and handed it to Cam. "Take Hunter's bike, ok? He wouldn't want us to leave it here. I'll get Shane's board and meet you at Ops."

It felt strange, really strange, to ride Hunter's motorcycle, to wear his helmet, and as Cam raced down the road that led out of town and into the mountains he had a hard time keeping his focus on the street. Confusion, worry, no - downright fear - for the safety of Hunter and Shane had his attention slipping every few moments.

'What the hell happened at the beach? Where are you, Hunter?'

TO BE CONTINUED…