Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any of the weapons associated with the Power Rangers, so if you recognize it, it is not mine. I do own the characters, Ally Jameson, Fanny Abbott, Richard Myles, Dennis Alderway, Amanda Williams, Charlie Hughes, Ashley Meggs, Amy Tillery, Meagan Sipper-Stone and Todd Billingsway as well as any other characters from "Saving the World, Again" that may be brought into this story.
XRachX: Yeah, well they may have some interesting things happen to them as well.
danhyde girl: It'll get there, these first several chapters are just establishing the plot and then a lot more Kim and Tommy will com in , I promise. It starts at about chapter 9 or 10, I think.
Daniaryezel: Yeah it was a quick update. The drama is not necessarily going to be between the two of them, well in some ways. As for Tommy's time dividing skills, they'll get challenged, as the things heat up between the rangers and Mesogogg.
Now, on with the Story!
Finding the New Rangers and Ice Cream ConesTommy's Home
"Well, what have you brought all of us here for?" Jason asked, as they sat around the living room, eating the take out Tommy had picked up on his way out there only a few minutes before.
Kim was not prepared to fix a meal this big, so Tommy thought it best to pick up the food, knowing that they would eat almost anything he served. They wanted to know if he had found the new rangers, but what he was going to tell them today, might disappoint them some and it might thrill others. It would definitely make all of them feel better to know that someone was going to be handling the situation.
"First of all, to let you see the finished command center. Secondly, to tell you that I think I have found candidates to become the new rangers," Tommy said, as Jason dropped his fork onto his plate, but quickly picked it back up and looked over at Tommy. Tommy had always had a way of shocking him and he had done it, yet again. He had been looking for only a few days at candidates for the new ranger team but Jason should have expected it to take him only a short time to find some rangers, when it would have taken the others months.
"So soon?" Trini asked, having expected it to take weeks, maybe even months to find people who would be receptive to the dino gems.
Of course, it only took Alpha a few seconds to find them so many years ago, but no one brought that up, not now any ways. Alpha had, had so many more advantages than what they had, but there was no way to admit that when they didn't even know how Zordon had selected them or even why for that matter. They were happy that he had, but they were always left to wonder about it, as none of them had ever been brave enough to ask, while he was still with them. Now they wished that one of them would, so that they would know some of the things to look for in the new rangers.
"Well, Billy's scanner was very insistent on three of my students and I did a scan every class period. They showed up every period, although they only have me two times a day. I think they are meant to be the rangers," Tommy said, as the others were quite startled by all of this. If that scanner was so insistent, maybe they needed to listen to it or maybe it needed to be reprogrammed. Although, they had never had a problem with any of Billy's devices before, so who was to say that there was even a problem now?
"This Mesogogg fellow, how much is he like Zedd? Or can you even compare the two?" Adam asked, as Tommy had only described him, as Lord Zedd on speed and that didn't sound good, for any of them.
Actually, no description of the new creature would have sounded good, but that description was not what they had expected. They didn't want to have to face it right now, but they would rather it be now than when they were settled down and had families to take care of, but they knew that might not even be too far in the future for some of them.
"The same old 'I want to rule the world bit', except he seems to have a lot of help and he wants to destroy all the human beings on Earth," Tommy said, as Kim glanced over at him.
He had been much more descriptive with her, but there were some things that were best left unsaid and this was one of those things. They did not need to worry about the technologies that Tommy knew he had, from the limited amount of research Hayley had been able to do. Kim and Rocky, however, did and they were not pleased by any of it. Tommy recognized most of it and that scared the two of them, as he knew what the capabilities were for all of it. They had never known what the capabilities of weapons were until they appeared, but now they were faced with the challenge of trying to find ways to render the weapons useless.
"Exactly how much is 'a lot'?" Trini asked, remembering Goldar and the rest of Rita and Zedd's goons so well.
They had caused so much pain to the rangers that she couldn't imagine another monster like them, but there was always a chance that there could be monsters out there that were very similar to them. There was also the chance that Zedd and Rita would come back, but they tried to ignore that as much as they could, knowing exactly what it would mean for them if that day ever came. No other team of rangers could go up against them; the only ones that could were the ten former rangers sitting in that room and they all knew that.
"We don't know for sure, but he looks to have three or four people that are helping him, at the very least," Hayley said, as she had already started her research on this creature.
She did not have the capabilities that Alpha had, so many years before and thus she needed the extra time to do the research. She was just thankful that he hadn't attacked yet, because they weren't ready for that right now and they may not be for several more weeks, but she had learned that the monsters timing was usually most inconvenient, at least from what the semi-retired rangers had told her. She was not sure if she wanted to believe them about half of it, but they were the best information that she had.
"Wonderful," Aisha said, sarcastically, as Zack grabbed her hand to try to calm her down. She had never been a fan of finding the new rangers, but she especially didn't like it, knowing that they did not have much information to go on. These kids needed to know what they were getting themselves into. It wasn't that she regretted doing this, but she felt they needed to know as much as they could about their opponent, before they entered into this life, because it would last a lifetime. "Those teenagers are going to have no clue what is coming."
"You can say that again," Tommy said, feeling some slight regret for what he was going to have to do. He felt selfish, in trying to get out of the game, however temporarily it might turn out to be for him. Some people may think of him as the greatest ranger ever, but he was human, just like everyone else. He wanted a chance at a semi-normal life, too bad he didn't know that wasn't likely to ever happen, for him or his family. "I just hope that they will accept, I highly doubt that they have ever heard of the Power Rangers."
"Tommy, if they haven't heard about the Power Rangers, then they don't need to become one of us," Jason said, as a few of the others nodded in agreement.
These people needed to have some background on them, on everything, they were getting themselves into, but they couldn't really be so picky right now. They needed some people, who would be willing to step into their shoes and do a decent job, as they would be getting some help from the veterans, whenever they needed it. They had resigned themselves to come back in for the final battle, knowing that the new team would need the extra help, but that final battle would be a few years down the road and by then, they could have everything situated, for when they got the call.
"Jason, I'm not arguing with you tonight. We've got a lot of stuff left to do and unless you all want to be uprooted from your jobs and lives again, this is the best we can do right now. We have to be replaced; it's time that we truly be replaced," Tommy said, as he watched Jason back down, until a time when it was more convenient for them to argue.
They may be best friends, but even the best of friends have their problems and they could all see that Tommy had already been pushed over his limit, by someone today. He had barely been able to recover from Principal Randall's lashings today, so he wasn't surprised at his reaction, but he had some explaining to do to the rest of them. None of them, with the exception of Kim, knew about this boss that he now had and they were not expecting this from him right now, even she looked surprised at how he had acted towards Jason, as he had not seen him act like this in a long time.
"Tommy, are you alright?" Kim asked, as she watched him shakingly run his fingers through his hair and look over at her. He could tell that he had reacted too harshly and was able to transcend that to her in one look, but he knew he was going to have to say something to Jason and the others to explain himself.
"Sorry, Jase, I had a bad day at work," Tommy said, knowing it wasn't an excuse for his actions, but at least it explained it to all of them. Although, Jason would definitely want a longer explanation for all of this later, but he would be willing to wait.
"Okay," Jason said, noticing the tone Tommy was taking with all of this and knew he was right. He didn't want to uproot his life, not again or he was likely to never get another job in Angel Grove. He didn't want to move away from there, not yet at least. Trini and he were happy where they were in life, although Jason was struggling with some things he desperately wanted to do, but couldn't figure out when it would be best. He needed to talk to Tommy, but tonight did not seem like it was going to be a good time to talk about all of this. They had ranger business to attend to before they could talk about his plans. "But at least tell us about the kids. All we know is that they are some of your students."
"Well, they are all going to take some convincing, especially Conner, he's the schools soccer star. Kira is the lead singer of a band and Ethan is a computer whiz. It's just going to be tough, to get kids from different groups to really agree to it. I just hope that they'll at least think about it," Tommy said, as the originals all seemed to know what it was like to have to be convinced. With him, it was not a question, he owed them for everything he had put them through, and when he lost his powers, it was one of the ten worst things that had ever happened to him. The remaining nine all seemed to be tied to ranger activities as well, not that he wanted to admit that to anyone, but he could tell that some of them knew what he was thinking, namely Kim and Jason. "But I think I can do it. If not, I'll let Kim and Rocky give it a try."
"What happens if you can't get them to become rangers? What are you going to do?" Kat asked, looking around the table to see the other rangers were just as shocked as Tommy at the question.
They all knew Kat's position on this; she didn't want any of them back in action and was willing to do almost anything to keep it that way, including suiting back up herself. They were her friends and they had been in danger more times than anyone rightfully should, but they continued to bounce back. This time, however, they were planning to stay on the sidelines, but there was always the chance that they might be called back in again and she didn't like knowing that. She didn't like knowing that the man she loved might go out there without her to back him up, like he had the last time.
"If I can't, then we'll go back into action," Tommy said, looking down at his empty plate, but seeing that most of the others had not finished, yet. Kim now looked to be on the verge of tears and Aisha and Trini weren't holding up too good either. Kat, well, let's just say she didn't look happy at what Tommy had said. " But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and hopefully we won't have to."
If the truth were known, none of them were happy to hear this. Sure, it had been great to have one last hurrah together, but what happened if that 'last hurrah' had another battle destined to be after it, one that could possibly kill them. They had all known the risks, but as they got older the risks became more real to them, knowing that if they lost a ranger now, they were as good as defeated. They could not function without each other in battle, after so many years of working together.
"Tommy, try your hardest, please," Ally said, biting her lower lip.
She didn't want Rocky to be put in that much danger again and she didn't want him to go through the living hell of losing his powers again. They had just met the last time he went through the withdrawal and if it hadn't been for Kim telling her that this happened to everyone, she wouldn't have stuck it out. Now things were getting back to normal and she liked it that way, they all did.
"Don't worry, I will, Ally," Tommy said with a smile. He knew about the withdrawal, but the only thing that kept him going during that time was that it was a secret and the only ones who kept that secret were waiting for him to get back from his doctorate. So many things could have been different if he had never gone to get that little piece of paper, but he had and if he hadn't they wouldn't have found out about Mesogogg until it was too late to do anything about him. "Any one want to see the command center?"
"Yeah," Jason said, with as much excitement as he could muster.
This was something that was going to try all of them, but they knew it had to be done. Angel Grove wasn't the only place in danger anymore, not that this was a new to them, but now they had another town to look after. Tommy happened to be the one that had gotten the gems, that would make the morphers that could keep them from going back to a lifestyle they loved and hated, all at the same time.
Ice Cream Cones"Now, what about that ice cream cone you promised me?" Ashley said, walking up behind Charlie, and putting her arms around him.
She was still dressed in her karate pants, but she had changed into a black racerback top. He had put on his street clothes, but she could tell he had a lot on his mind today, mainly because his belt was slung over his shoulder and his bag was still unzipped, revealing the sweaty clothes that he had discarded only minutes before. The other guys were watching the two of them but merely shook their heads in disbelief as they continued to try to act like they were just friends, although there was much more there. To anyone that had a brain and eyesight.
"I thought you'd forget," Charlie said, as he took her gym bag off her shoulder and placed it in the back of his truck. Then they drove to the local Dairy Queen and picked up two ice cream cones, before Charlie went back to the park. This was a ritual that they enjoyed at least once a week and something he would miss if things didn't go well tonight.
"I never forget when you promise me ice cream," Ashley said, hopping out of his truck and heading towards the swings, which happened to be her favorites. She beat Charlie to the swings, as she always did and waited for him to walk over to the swings. "Push me?"
"Ashley, I still haven't finished mine," Charlie said, as she pouted at the rejection. Why did she have to do that to him, especially now? He wanted for his mind to be as clear as possible, but all he could see was her pouting grin and he was no longer able to focus, on anything but her face.
"I'll finish it for you," Ashley said, trying to swipe the ice cream cone, but instead landed in Charlie's other arm.
They both stood there, uncomfortable for a few seconds, before he set her back on her feet and let go of her. This was getting more and more awkward as the time went on and if he didn't start talking soon, they might never talk about this. It would have been a lot easier to never say anything, if he didn't have to worry about ruining their friendship.
"No, you won't," Charlie said, as he sat down on one of the other swings. He was so confused, why did he love her so much? Why did he have to fall so hard for one of his best friends, someone that he had known since he was a little kid? Why couldn't it be someone who wouldn't break his heart, if she turned him down? He didn't want to keep living with the questions, but he didn't want to have to start this conversation, as well. "Damn it Ashley, we have to talk."
"Charlie, what's wrong?" Ashley asked, sitting down on the swing next to him.
Something had been eating at him over the last couple of weeks, but he just wouldn't tell her what it was. She had asked his brother, his mom, and even the guys at the dojo, but none of them would budge on what it was, they said she had to hear it from him. The only thing was, what could be that important that she could only hear it from him? They had to know about it, but it was surprising that he had not mentioned it to her, usually when something was bothering him. He talked to her about it, but he hadn't this time.
"Nothing is wrong. No let me take that back, everything is going wrong," Charlie said, staring out at the oak trees, as he aimlessly pushed his feet against the dirt. He didn't have the courage to look at her; for fear that, she would not look at him the same way. She stared at the side of his face, hoping that would will him to look at her, praying that he would explain himself, someway.
"What does everything pertain to Charlie?" Ashley asked, scared to know the answer, be curious nonetheless.
If he never wanted to see her again, she didn't know how she was going to take it. She needed him much more than she liked to admit to herself or anyone else. The only reason she was even thinking about it so much, was because Dr. Oliver had figured it out and he would keep asking about it, until one of them gave him an answer about all of it.
"Ash, I'm worried about us," Charlie said, as he stood up to push her swing. At least she couldn't see his facial expressions this way, which were showing an array of emotions: doubt, fear, happiness, and love, all found their places on his face, but he wasn't sure she needed to see them, when they came through so quickly and each with so much power. He didn't know if he could overwhelm her anymore.
"What about us?" Ashley asked, looking up at Charlie. He looked really worried and she had only seen him like this once or twice, but she couldn't explain why he would be like that now. What could go on with her that would make him this nervous? What had changed between the two of them? "Charlie, you alright? You look really nervous."
"Why can't you spar against me when Tommy is around?" Charlie asked, as Ashley stopped the swing.
He noticed, too? She thought that it was only Tommy who had noticed. Of course, Tommy might have brought it up to him, too. It would explain why when he came back from sparring with Tommy, that he was in a very thoughtful mode. But why would Tommy bring it up to him? Why would he suggest something that would make Charlie think about them? She had always felt strongly for him, but she had never wanted to do anything that would harm their friendship.
"Well, I don't know if it has anything to do with Tommy," Ashley said and she felt Charlie let go of the swing and move around in front of her. He covered his face with his hands and then rested the tips of his fingers over his mouth. If it wasn't Tommy, it had to be him and he didn't like that, at all. He didn't like to think that they were growing apart.
"So what does it have to do with?" Charlie asked, as he sat down on the ground and propped his head against her knee. He was scared to ask what he was thinking, but knew that it was the only way to find out the answer to what he desperately wanted to know. He knew that he was going to have to take this giant leap and hope that his gut was wrong. "Is it me?"
"No, it's me, Charlie. I don't want to hurt you," Ashley said, as Charlie looked up at her, confused.
What did that have to do with anything? They never intentionally went after each other like that, most of the time, at least and even when they did, they always checked to make sure the other wasn't seriously injured. He just didn't see how that could be a problem with their sparring. He had never felt that she would do something to him, why would she suddenly think that?
"Ashley, you won't hurt me, you never have before," Charlie said, shaking his head in disbelief. She always took care when they sparred together and he did as well, hell the other guys always pointed it out to him in the locker room, even Tommy did some times. He took it easy on her and he knew it, but he was not going to go after her the way he did them. He would never do that, not unless she asked him to and she never questioned what happened when they sparred together. Often times, she landed on the mats more than both of them would like, but she always worked him mentally, which was something no one else could do. "And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Charlie, we're too good of friends for me to tell you that. I can't do this," Ashley said, as he looked up at her, with shock evident in his eyes.
She couldn't feel the same way as he, could she? One look in her eyes told him that she very well could and that scared him, but it also gave him some hope and he needed that right now. He needed hope more than he needed anything else to say what would mean the world to the both of them.
"You know that you're making no sense, to me don't you?" Charlie asked with a laugh, as he continued to stare into her eyes. She was determined to not break her gaze with him and as she looked at him, she felt his hand brushing against her bare foot. "Did Tommy talk to you about me?"
"How did you know?" Ashley asked, surprised at his thinking, as she was enjoying the mini-foot massage she was getting, although Charlie seemed to have no clue what he was doing to her.
"He talked to me about you when I sparred with him last week. He seems to think we've been hiding something and I know that I have, for way too long. What about you?" Charlie asked, noticing her shock, but continuing anyway. He had to get this out, even if she didn't want to hear it, but she needed to, she needed to know all of it. He had held it in for far too long as is and if he continued to do that, then it wouldn't be pretty, for either of them.
"Maybe," Ashley said, as Charlie reached up to grab her hand. They felt the same shock that they had experienced earlier this evening, but this time neither shoved it off as a mere coincidence, it was something more. They both had the feeling that it was much more than some simple static electricity.
"Ashley, I'm scared," Charlie said, as she looked down at him. She couldn't think of any reason for him to be scared, other than them messing things up between each other, which honestly scared her as well. He meant more to her than any other guy did and she did not want to risk losing that, but if she did, she could possibly gain something more. "I don't want to mess things up between us."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Ashley asked, but she was unable to read his facial expression. Why hadn't she noticed him feeling the same way before? They spent so much time with each other that it bewildered her why she had never noticed it at all, but some times, what is right in front of you is hardest to see. She was learning that lesson now. "Charlie, Tommy talked to me about this too."
"Same here," Charlie said, with a small smile. Their teacher may have been planning on this happening, although neither one of them ever thought that it would, not for a long time at least. "So, do you want to give it a try?"
"Yeah, I do," Ashley said, looking down at her watch. She hated the curfew that her parents held over her, but if she didn't uphold it, then she didn't get to do anything with Charlie, for a very long time. "We better get going or my parents will start looking for me."
"Okay," Charlie said, standing up and wiping off the back of his pants. "What'll happen next?"
"I don't know. Why don't we just see where this takes us?" Ashley said, hopping on his back for a piggyback ride back to his truck.
Richard's Report"So are you finding anything out about Dr. Oliver?" Mesogogg asked, waltzing around the lair. He had been worried about being able to keep tabs on him, but he had been about to keep up with him rather easily, so far. The man had not been able to figure out that he was being trailed, as of yet, and he hoped to keep it that way for a long time to come. It would be necessary, as things became more complicated there and on Earth as well.
"Not enough, but I have been able to keep tabs on Ms. Hart rather easily," Richard said, trying to hide his obvious interest in Kim. He had really agreed to this job when he found out that Tommy was her fiancé, as to be closer to the woman he felt so much for.
"Well, I guess that'll do since she is with him the majority of the time," Mesogogg said, as Elsa appeared. He could tell there was something more in Richard's past with this woman, but he did not need to know that now. If it got in the way, then he would ask about it. "Do you know what they have done with the dino gems?"
"They are finding new rangers, although it is possible either of them could become rangers themselves. They have done it in the past," Richard said.
He had left to come talk to Mesogogg after the training session at the dojo, wondering if some of the students there would be going up against them soon. They all seemed very capable, but it didn't seem that Tommy was interested in them becoming rangers, although that made no sense to any of them.
"Tommy was a Power Ranger, so were all the people in his house the night he came home," Elsa said, as Mesogogg became livid. Elsa had decided to monitor the little meeting they were having and she recognized many of the people as former rangers, immediately. They had been taught about them when they first came here and she wondered why Richard had never noticed.
"This man will try to ruin my plans! We must destroy him, no matter what," Mesogogg roared, as Elsa and Richard backed themselves against a wall. When he got like this, all they could do was merely say yes to whatever request he was making, however outrageous it might be. "Go, create monsters and prepare them for battle. He will not be able to battle without his powers."
"Yes, master," they said in unison and quickly walked out of the room, to begin their work for the night. They did not want to receive any more cruel treatment from him for today, as they knew it was only going to get worse as the time went on.
AN: Tell me how you like it! I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter and I'll have a new chapter out pretty soon. Until then, happy reading.