Til I Collapse

by eclyptyk neo

COMPLETED. Sequel to: ORDINARY WORLD. A new school year starts for the students of Reefside High. Mesogog and Zeltrax are gone. But a new evil has entered the scene with a shocking past. Can the rangers defeat their newest enemy?

39. Blind Date

A/N2: First off, I wanna apologize for the long wait in updating. Things have been very dramatizing in my neck of the woods, and I haven't had a real chance to get to working on this story. So, for now, deal with what you got. I'm stilll trying to compile my ideas for the final battle. And I hope these next few chapters aren't too far out of the way of the action. See you guys when I do. And I swear, I will try to keep you guys informed better, but school is coming up soon too...

'TIL I COLLAPSE -PART THIRTY-NINE: BLIND DATE
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD

SUMMARY: A break from battle, no one said dating, nor marriage, was easy in a life driven by the power of being a ranger.

DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine.

A/N: I thought I would back off from the action scene just a little, and hit more of our heroes personal lives. Anyone else wanting to see what goes down? Yeah, I thought you would. And I wanna thank my good friend beautifulpinkcrane (aka Kimber-leigh over at Yahoo! Messenger) for her inspiration in the scenes between Tommy and Kim. Without her contributions, I don't think those scenes could have been any more perfected. Thanks again, buddy! I just had to change it up a little, edit and connect it a little more to my story. So enjoy! Now, back to the show.

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"So, I always thought that love would be one of the most incredible feelings in the world. So, why is it so complicating to understand sometimes? And why can't so many people not understand what it is about? Am I just different in this game of love? Or just one of the lucky ones? Or really unlucky after all?"-Eclyptyk Neo
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One week later.

Mesogog/Anton had sat in the small room he had considered his own in the fortress that used to be under his control. It had been run by a universal cyborg wanting to take the world for himself and more. And if he could, Mesogog would take him out with ease. He was nothing more than wires and armored plating that a knowledge in cybernetic technology would have no problem disassembling. But that guarded mind had him knowing moves set by his enemies. And there was a mystery around the cyborg. News and information he had much to learn about.

Mindshatter a name that very well gave his dark nature a presence of fear that came in contact with him. He had ways to manipulate your mind in ways no one could distinguish or understand. The nightmare of watching the destruction of the rangers on Earth shook him to the core. It wasn't just any set of rangers. It was the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers and the Wild Force Rangers. Both teams knew exactly what the situation was with this evil being, but had not actually joined the battle for the sake of protection. And now, they were gone.

He had been sent out with Dinoshade, Mindshatter's second in command, to do away with the other remaining rangers of the past. He had followed, but he could not destroy. They had traveled to Los Angeles where they had destroyed a record company, believed to house one of them. They reported back to Reefside to do away with the original red ranger and pink zeo ranger. But failed there, too. He had been one step ahead every time. And no one knew.

He had warned them, care of Tommy Oliver, and got them packing and out of there before real damage could be done. But Dinoshade had found the original red ranger and his wife and almost ended it for them. Mesogog sent a distress call to the dino rangers as he watched in the darkness of the close destruction from Dinoshade.

But as Dinoshade was hoping to go after them, he was stopped. Shielded by a wall of tyrannodrones and the sharp eye of Mesogog. He had had enough of this madness. He took captive of Dinoshade, dragging him into the darkness of the fortress traveled by so few. His army dragged him down to that main computer room where he did his magic. Worked his mind control and tried to find the mind of the dinosaur who wanted to destroy Mindshatter for the betterment of mankind and survival of the galaxy.

With the help of the main computer, it wasn't that hard to break. He had set and re-programmed the cyber-dino. And was now an ally to the team. But, he didn't want to risk revealing it to the team. Not when they've come so far. Dinoshade had spoken of the strong hold Mindshatter had on him, and that the courage and strength of Mesogog was breaking him out of it. But that little boost had brought him back to his senses. The destruction of Mindshatter, even if it included destroying himself.

But here they were, now working in the shadows of the fortress trying to figure out a series of plans to set for Mindshatter. They had no idea how much he knew, or if their plans would work. But the metal cuffs around Mesogog's wrist had acted like a homing device. It would send out painful electrical shocks into the mutant freak. He had gotten used to them, but some would be so sporadic and random, it knocked him off his feet, weakening him.

Even Dinoshade had no luck to break it free. He was locked to those until either Mindshatter was destroyed or he was. He knew that, even after all these months in captivity he would probably not make it in the reality of having a normal life. And he feared, or Anton more, feared he would never see his human body again.

In the main part of the lab, Mindshatter had sat in silence.

Thinking and foiling out another plan for his ranger friends. Psycho Blue and Psycho Yellow stood close by awaiting any orders he was asking for. He had not summoned for Dinoshade since his failures. He had enough of him and would rather rely on those truly devoted to the destruction of the rangers. He had been weary of Dinoshade since they had arrived on Earth months ago, but never showed it. But now, it had gotten worse.

He had cracked into the minds of three of the rangers. Found their deepest darkest fears and used them against each of them. Now, the Space Rangers were nothing to him. Nor were the Zeo or any other ranger that was not classified as a dino ranger. Their powers were fused into the rock connected to the vital morphing grid and strength of their power and locked in the protection of the dino rangers, the others no longer had powers that could compare. His eyes, now set on the dino rangers alone, knew he had to do away with them and quickly.

"I must play with their fears, anger and hate. It will only make them weak and easier to defeat in battle," Mindshatter grumbled mostly to himself. "In the depths of the mind, imagination can play well into illusions of a world one could call their own. Where there is freedom to explore, but freedom to develop the weakness of the human mind." He turned to look at his two loyal subjects, the Psycho Rangers. He was infuriated that the red psycho ranger had been destroyed, but pushed it away quickly. Past was past. "Psycho Yellow?"

"Yes, sir," the yellow psycho ranger stepped forward.

"I want you to work your magic and move against the white dino ranger and the black dino ranger. Do it slow and make sure your disguise is believable."

The yellow psycho ranger nodded in return and left the room.

The universal soldier looked over at the other. "Keep an eye on the red and blue rangers, Psycho Blue. If Psycho Yellow does enough damage, both the yellow dino ranger and the former pink dino ranger should be left with scars that will render them weak in battle."

The blue psycho ranger nodded and left the room to follow on his own set of instructions.

XXXXXXXXXX

Classes at Reefside High would be resuming by the following day. And it was clear that none of the teens were ready to go back to school. None of them were.

Tommy had been working closely around the teens, training them to adapt to the new powers. Understand the flow and balance of martial arts around their type of lifestyle. Being his usual mentor self, but he had been pushing them hard. Driving them to do things that no human alone could do without these super powers. But wasn't impossible to accomplish without the proper training.

Since the power transfer, they had been more energized. Full of life and energy that could have well been suitable for a child. They had learned as a team, that the others could only rely on their knowledge as martial artists, which all had backgrounds in. But the dino rangers themselves, fused with more power, had shared the characteristics and powers absorbed by the older, more experienced rangers.

And mind control was one of them. A key factor they knew they would need in this battle. Answers could never be too exact as to why. Only that when they had faced the wrath of Fossilador, his mind control was nothing like that of Mindshatter. They were on two different scales.

The entire morning had consisted of training in the woods. Tommy looked at his young accomplices, seeing and sensing their eager need to take a break. Though, all suited up, their shoulders had all slouched and their stance was no longer set for anymore training. He had to admit, he had pushed them hard during the week, even if it was spring break.

But they knew that when their mentor was serious about something, they didn't want to argue about it. There was just no way. If something had to be done, it had better. But the teens had kept it mostly amongst themselves. They felt like they were cadets, being trained by the first time from their drill major. At times, his philosophies sounded more like commands and orders rather than mind food needed to be grasped through thoughts and meditation.

Despite the idea of no longer having their powers, Tommy had refused to let any of the other rangers leave the city. Not that he wanted to sound like a babysitter, he just didn't need to take the risks. None of them really wanted to. They managed to find places to crash, hoping it would last no more than a few weeks and life could finally get back to normal. Or as normal as it got for a ranger.

The black DT ranger called attention as he clapped his hands together. The teens stood up more straighter as their gazes fell on their teacher. "You guys have done well. I don't think I could ever be more proud of you especially during this week. And I know I've been a pain. Pushing you to accomplish a lot of objectives. Drilling you with philosophies and testing your real powers and skills as a ranger. But this isn't a walk in the park, rangers. This is the fate of the world. We were slightly un-prepared for our last big battle, we won't be for this one. I will promise you that." He authorized the power down sequence as he dropped into his normal civilian clad outfit. A pair of khakis with a black T-shirt and a loose-fit flannel, unbuttoned.

The teens followed suit as they all let out a breath, relaxing a little. They could very well as lose time in training with the many hours they would put in. They knew their big battle was coming up. They knew they had to be prepared for it. They had to prep up for it. They hadn't seen much or heard from the other rangers even if they were in the city. Only Cam, Hayley and Adam hung out around the lab. And of course Kim, but that was a given for being the wife of the legendary ranger. The others would loosely stop by, but searched out ways to entertain themselves. Put the entire 'ranger thing' out of their minds, if they could. And just live a normal life. But it was hard, and they were coping for the most part.

Tommy had walked over to his students as they slumped over and relaxed a little more. "Look, I know I've driven you guys really hard this entire week, no one could deny it. But, I'll give you guys a break for awhile. I just expect you guys to keep what I've said and done crisp in your minds."

"So, what do you think, Dr. O?" Ethan asked solemnly, his face turned to sadness right away. "Think Mindshatter is really gearing up for that big huge, epic battle?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know what to believe with this guy, Ethan," Tommy replied as he sighed in what sounded like defeat. "As little as he seems to really do, he has done enough to scar a lot of people. Whatever he is planning though is never good."

"I wish I knew what his next move was," Conner breathed trying not to reveal any signs of agitation and worry. "I mean, how do we know how much he really does know about us, or if he is just saying all that bull to scare us."

"Those destructive orders he sent the cybots on seemed like enough evidence to freak us out," Kira answered for the rest of the team. "To strike us when we are most vulnerable."

"And we still are," Trent added as he felt a cold chill run down his back.

Tommy held up his hands not wanting to hear anymore discouragement come from the teens. He knew they were hurting. So was he. They all were. The surviving rangers. But even they had a lot of pressure on their shoulders. The very brink of Earth laid in their hands. It was good to have the knowledge of back-up, but now, it wasn't there. They had it, but it wasn't the same. These people were no real help to them but sent their encouragement.

"Look, I know it has been hard on you guys. A lot of things has happened to us in a matter of weeks. but we gotta be strong. For the sake of everyone else. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to cry. It's okay to be angry. But you can't dwell on it. And I can only tell you guys what I know. It is up to each of you to decide how you should perceive it. But for now, take a break. Do what you guys do for fun."

The teens fell silent for a minute and knew he was right. As much as they really didn't want to say 'no', and actually continue to train. He, too, had enough for the hard work they've placed into that week off from school. But normal lives had to be resumed as much as possible to avoid suspicions. They couldn't show it.

They all slowly moved out of the woods, into the clearing and onto familiar grounds that lead them back to the lab.

"So, we basically get the rest of the day to ourselves?" Ethan asked making it sound like it was hard to believe. "I mean, we've..."

"Go ahead, Ethan. The rest of the day is yours. Unless I need you guys, I'm giving you a well-deserved break. Besides, I know that you guys have a life outside of being a ranger. I want..no, I need you guys to resume it as much as possible. We don't need anymore attention brought to us," their mentor spoke.

By the time they had gotten back to the lab, Conner was the first on his way. He said he had to catch his girlfriend on some afternoon outing for the two to just talk and hangout. He had mentioned that their relationship had been going rather slow due to his 'busy' schedule, and it worried him. Prom was coming up at the end of April, and he couldn't afford to ask anyone out if he screwed it up. The entire reputation would go down the hole if weeks, or days, before Prom they broke up and he managed to find a replacement so quickly. And the team had let him go, wishing him well and hoping their relationship wouldn't hit rock bottom.

The next to leave was Kira and Trent. In exchange, they would be teaching the other another one of their best skills. Kira had continued to teach Trent how to play the guitar, and he was getting into it. He had showed her how to mix and dj, even beat box, which wasn't that easy for one who isn't quite into that style of music.

Ethan was the last to leave, still unsure if it was okay to leave. His mentor kept on insisting on it, telling the teen in blue to work out some dance moves, or nail down the latest computer game craze over at the cyber café.

"Are you sure you don't need me to do any work in the lab?" Ethan asked upon return into the lab.

"Ethan, relax. Take a break," Tommy shook his head as he pushed the teen toward the door. "I even sent Cam, Adam and Hayley on a break, which was hard to do. But they're just hanging out with the others, wherever they bounced off to."

"So, what about you, Dr. O? Got any plans with the wife or the little squirt?" Ethan asked, hoping not to sound rude.

Tommy shook his head. "Nothing. The two went out to do some of that mother-daughter bonding thing. So, I kinda thought I'd hang out at the house for a while. Later on, I was gonna hit the mall and find a few surprises for the girls. Ya know, girls love to get surprises." He shrugged as the teen looked slightly preoccupied. "So, um...what about you? Find anyone to go with you to the prom yet?"

"That is like in a month, Dr. O..." Ethan began as he started up coming up with an excuse.

"Ethan, I know it's not my business. But, you should find someone. Before you know it, it'll be that day, and you're going or you're not. And I think you should. Find a friend if you need to."

Ethan sighed as his mentor shoved him out the door. He knew he wanted to talk about this matter more, but would see no point. He would get nowhere with it, fast. He left, keeping his mentor's words fresh in his mind.

And Tommy caught his breath for a moment before leaving the room to do what he had to do.

XXXXXXXXXX

The hours passed slow.

Tommy didn't quite know why he had found himself in the mall by himself. It wasn't like it was anything weird, but he was used to having someone accompany him on his days inside. He wasn't quite the best guy to go to toward shopping for things, let alone a gift or two.

He thought with all the mayhem going on, he would present his wife and daughter with some surprises. The only problem was, he wasn't quite sure what to get them. He had been walking around the mall for at least an hour, and had not found anything he thought was well suited for their taste.

He didn't want to call up his friends though to help him out. They would give him a hard time and make fun of him. As a husband and father, he should know what their interests were, but that was his problem. He was bent on other things. Busy. And here was a day he finally had some time to just push things aside and think about his family.

He had walked into one of the jewelry stores hoping to close some gaps on his shopping list. He began to look at the array of jewelry displayed, knowing it would be much harder than he thought. "Oh man, I hate shopping. What am I supposed to get those two, anyway?"

However, unbeknownst to him, Tommy had not realized that Kim had the same idea about taking Serena to the mall to do some mother-daughter bonding. They had hit up most stores for the blow-out prices on clothes and were on their way to the food court to go get something to eat.

Kim had ordered a plate of French fries and a deep fried twinkie, while Serena had decided to order out a slice of pizza. They had taken a seat in the lower section of the food court, overlooking a few novelty stores and a jewelry store. And the look in Kim's eye had her eyes trained on a certain male inside wearing a black clad shirt with a black leather jacket and a pair of dark khaki pants.

She had questioned the young girl about the sight of the man, asking if it was her father as she nodded in turn, watching closely, too. Both were wondering what exactly he was up to and sorta wondering if that was why he had requested the two do some bonding.

Meanwhile, in the jewelry store, Tommy was getting just a little frustrated. He had refused service from the employers and felt he may need to call his best friend to get some ideas on it. He moved over to a case of necklaces, eying a pearl necklace intently.

"Hmmm? That is an idea. A nice pearl necklace for my beautiful wife. And a locket for my daughter," he thought for a moment before groaning and running his hands through his hair. "Man, the choices! How did I agree to do this again?"

From across the store, a young woman, dressed in the riches of a celebrity, if one could say, stood leaning over a case of rings. Her hair flowed in a streak of browns, mostly dark cutting off at about half-way down the back. She was tall and despite the celebrity apparel, she was marked with a tattoo of Brown Pride and the Puerto Rican/Mexican flag, the ethnic background of her. Her clothes, were tightly worn, showing nearly every curve on her body. And she had a good curve that could consider her a runway model. She had only looked up for second, noticing the lone figure at the glass case of necklaces.

She moved toward the casing to get a better look, as if waking up from a dream. "Tommy? Thomas Oliver, is that you?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow as he heard the thick Spanish accent escape a mouth from beside him. He looked over at the figure taking aback by the surprise as he nearly jumped out of his shoes. "Isabel? Isabel Perez? No way. How... I mean what are..?" He was stuck on words. He was just too speechless to speak.

He couldn't believe it. The woman that had stood only a few feet in front of him was an old girlfriend from his past. A girlfriend he had to admit, never wanted to see again. They had a bad history he just wanted to forget. But there were things he swore was impossible, if not strange about all of this.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy managed to push air back into his lungs. "I thought you were out in Puerto Rico pursuing that nursing career you wanted so much."

The woman shook her head as she took a step forward, taking him by surprised. "Just passing by in town. I sorta dropped the entire nursing thing. Found something that suited me more. You know, dancing. Exotic dance."

Tommy took another step back, but had no more room to go. He had ended up with his back against another glass casing as he let out a breath, only realizing she was a little less than arms length away from him. But he could feel her heated breath against his face. "Yeah, how does that not surprise me? That fits you well. So, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she smiled a flirtatious grin as she pulled him into a hug. She didn't seem to make use of his other comment. "Thanks for asking."

When the hug had gone on longer than he had hoped, feeling her trail his back with her fingertips, he felt chills run down his spine. She had teased him with close hands running over his butt, he could sense, but never went that far down. He pushed her back as she finally let go. But fear still ran in his eyes. He didn't like this one bit.

"You've gotten stronger," she said as she winked at him. "I figured with all those crazy martial arts you do it's not a problem."

"Um...yeah. Um..I mean, no," he stammered as he shook his head, trying to get an understanding of what was going on. "Well, you know that staying fit and being in martial arts was always important to me."

"No. I didn't forget. So, you live here in Reefside? Isn't this where all that crazy army is doing a lot of destruction?" she seemed surprised as she took a step closer to him.

He moved away as he nodded in turn. "Yeah, I am. And time out," he had moved away again as she moved to embrace him in another hug and more by the look on her face. She was hungry for sex. "We haven't seen each other since you decided to ditch school. That was like... nearly five years ago. Things have changed. I'm married now!"

However, despite their dispute, Tommy had not realized that Kim and Serena had moved closer to the action. Kim had kept their daughter back, waiting for the right time to strike. She looked in the distance, pulling Serena into the toy store to go pick out something to buy. And once that had all been squared away, they continued to watch in the shadows of the conversation going on between Tommy and his little friend. A friend that Kim was clearly not liking as rage ran through her blood.

Isabel was laughing, making it clear she didn't believe his words. Even if he had showed her proof, she still was laughing like it was nothing. "You! Married! Out of all people I have dated, you would be the first. You were wild when you weren't always locked in your studies. There are so many nights I can talk about. There was one night where you and I were at your apartment..."

Tommy cut her off with a fiery glare. "I was drunk. And so were you."

Isabel moved closer to him again, as she grabbed him, reaching for a certain package between his legs. "But I've missed your..."

Tommy shrugged off her gesture, pushing her hands aside. He had had enough. He had told her repeatedly that he was married and that he wanted to get the hell outta there away from her. She was a bad omen from the start he had seen her. He could only hope that it wouldn't get worse.

"Back off, Isabel! What we had years ago, left me when you did. So, don't even try it. I mean, things have changed. I'm not that same guy you met in college."

Isabel looked at him as if she wanted to bitch slap him, but didn't. She looked at him, offended as she put a hand to her hips glaring at him. "Don't tell me it's that bitch from high school? Or that hoe you picked up from the Philippines?"

Tommy wanted to just strangle her neck for saying that. He had to admit, he told those he was dating about his past. About loves he thought would last, but failed. The two he had thought would have lasted had resulted in his connection to the two loves. His wife was his first love from high school. His daughter was from a love he thought would be the true one. But that blow was way too low for him to keep under wraps. And he even have to admit that someone like Katherine was on his list of possible marriage, despite their break up before college, but education came between them and not their relationship.

"You know what, Isabel," Tommy spoke as he took a step toward her. A fiery rage ran through his entire body as he tried to keep his calm, but it wasn't easy. "I don't even know how I could ever bother with you. You always had an insult for anything I ever said, even when I was serious. But why don't you do us both a favor and get to stepping before things get worse? It wouldn't matter to you who I married anyway, you just want to destroy it for me."

His ex-girlfriend gave him a wicked smile. "Did I say I always loved your angry side? You would do a lot of crazy things when you were mad..."

Tommy shook his head as he stepped back. He knew he wouldn't get out of this without getting any angrier. And with that diss still lingering in his head, he had to control himself from not hitting her. "No. No more, Isabel. I'm done with you. You have no idea what you did to me after we broke up. And you kept breaking up with me throughout our entire relationship, until I finally closed the doors for good."

After he had said that, he must have triggered her own anger. But instead of saying a whole lot to him, she had been making more of a scene by screaming out things in Hispanic. It was a little too fast for him to catch, but he did catch a few of the cuss words she managed to split in between every other word. Lucky for him, he was fluent in the language, just never liked to use it a whole lot.

"Daddy! What are you doing here?" a little voice called out as a small girl raced over to pull Tommy into a tight hug.

Tommy nearly jumped back at the surprise as he wrapped his arms around her, looking around confused. "Serena? What are you doing here?"

Isabel stopped to glare at the man in black. "What is this!"

Tommy retaliated with his own glare as it managed to shake up Isabel just a little. The blows were getting harder to deal with. And he swore, if she wasn't a woman, he would jump her and beat her up like there was no tomorrow. "It's my daughter. That's what." He looked down when Serena tugged on his jacket.

Isabel began to freak out some more, cussing up a storm in Hispanic. She just couldn't not believe those words and she wanted to smack him, but didn't need to bring anymore attention to them. Not that her screaming was enough to have a few bystanders stick around to see what would happen next.

"I'm here with mommy, daddy," Serena pointed at a pissed off Kim as she slowly strode to the scene. The little girl looked up to see the worry fall over her father's face. "She doesn't look too happy, though."

Tommy groaned as he cussed to himself, pulling Serena with him as he walked over to the woman he loved with all of his heart. She had dropped the bags, arms crossed, eyes dancing with fire. He leaned over to lay a kiss on her lips, but she turned away at the last minute, making it clear that he had a lot to explain. And she didn't like what she was seeing. Tommy took a step back as he looked away, understanding her gesture. Serena moved over to her mother's side, but could only look back at the woman who seemed to take a huge interest in her father.

"Daddy, who's that?" the little girl asked with much curiosity.

Tommy looked over his shoulder as the woman continued to zone off into her own world, cussing up a storm. He looked back at the little girl and the fiery glare of his wife. "Look, it's nothing. She was an old girlfriend from college. I mean, there is nothing going on with us. And I swear… …How long have you been standing here?"

"Long enough," Kim said calmly. She took Serena's hand and walked away.

Isabel had finally made it back over to the man in black, shaking her head. Another wicked smile past her face. "No. Don't tell me. She is running away again. She's the one you were talking about from high school, right? The one that…"

"Don't even say it!" Tommy cut her off, but she pulled him back gripping his arm tight.

"C'mon, Tommy. I can make it better for you. I'll only be in town for one more night. We can head over to my hotel room…" she whispered into his ear.

He pushed away the gesture as he saw his wife and daughter head closer to the door. He groaned again as he raced to collect the bags from his wife and daughter and follow them out. He began to try and explain himself, but it was clear that Kim didn't want to listen to any of it.

Kim had moved to place little Serena into her car seat by the time that Tommy had come around with the line of bags for the two. But as he tried to continue his explanation, Kim ignored him the entire time.

"Kimberly, baby, please, let me explain," he pleaded as he framed her body in his arms. But she had not looked at him. She only pushed him away and slowly got into the SUV. "Talk to me. Tell me you're not mad, please."

Kim zoned out, still looking into her own world. And though only so many words seemed to register in her mind, she didn't want to deal with it at all. She had seen enough. Her entire day was going fine until she had seen her husband with some other woman, who he swore had no other connections with. But as she tried to push the images out of her mind, the gestures this female made toward her husband angered her. She finally looked up to meet his face, so calm that it scared him as he took a step back.

"Who's your friend, Tommy?" she asked quietly.

"It's nothing, baby. I swear," he raised his hands in a surrender. The calm look on her face sent a chill down his spine. He took another step back as she held out her left hand to reveal the ring on it.

"Does this mean anything to you?" she asked. Then she moved to rub her round tummy as the evident of tears formed in his eyes. "Or even this?"

He was stuck on words. He was in shock. More fear ran over him as he felt his entire world come crashing down on him. This could not be happening. When he heard footsteps echo through the parking lot, he cringed, knowing it belonged to only one person. He didn't need this right now. The worse thing was ever seeing pain in his wife's eyes. But what made it worse was in the presence of his old girlfriend.

Isabel nearly ran into Tommy as she slowed down. "Hey, why'd you run away? We weren't done..."

Tommy looked over his shoulder, glaring at her. "Stay out of this, Isabel. Can't you see I'm having a talk with my wife?"

Isabel pushed him aside to look at the woman in the vehicle. She looked into the back to see the sleeping figure of Tommy's daughter. She turned with a raised eyebrow to look at the man, gesturing toward the round belly of the other woman. But she ignored the thought and held out a hand for the other woman as a kind gesture. "We haven't been properly introduced. Hi, I'm Isabel Perez. I've heard so much about you. How you left Tommy for that gymnastics thing. You must be...?"

"Kimberly Hart-Oliver," Kim replied as she took the other woman in a small handshake. She looked over at her husband, the calm look still in her face, but there was fire in her eyes. "Tommy's wife."

"Did I mention that I met him when he was in his army uniform?" Isabel smiled as she wrapped an arm around Tommy's arm, running a hand down his chest. "He was so sexy..."

Tommy shrugged her off, shaking his head. "Are you gonna take this from her, Kim? Look, she isn't quite herself. She hasn't taken her medicine for the day. She's just talking crazy talk."

"That's a lie!" Isabel scoffed. "He's known to do that. Just so he can get the chance to sleep with any woman he can get a hold of. He's full of so much bull..."

"Watch your mouth!" Tommy cut her off, but Isabel had pushed him aside to look over the woman in the car again.

For a long time, it seemed like years, the two woman had not took their eyes off the other. Tommy wasn't sure how he could really break it up. He had had enough of Isabel. And he knew he had to make it up to Kim big time, if he'll even have a home to go back to after this setback. The man slowly slid between the two woman, looking over at his wife with a gesture of apology. But there was no real emotion in her face that could help him out and tell him that things were okay between them.

"Look, baby. I didn't even know she was in town. I swear. No clue," he shook his head. "You mean the world to me. You and Serena and the baby. I don't think I could ever have it any other way. But..."

She held up a hand to stop him short. "Look, I'm tired and so is Serena as you can tell. And this baby has been kicking me all day. I'm gonna head home. And personally, I don't care what you do right now. I really don't care, Tommy."

Tommy sighed deeply and nodded in turn. He could see the tired look in her eyes and could tell she was getting frustrated with the jumpy nature of the baby she was carrying. She had been complaining about the constant kicking for awhile now. And he couldn't blame her. She was nearing around five months now. "Um...yeah. You should probably hit the house and get some sleep."

Kim looked away for a moment and started the SUV up before turning to look back at her husband. She didn't know what to believe right now. She was hurting, but she was relieved. Scared. There were just too many emotions going on inside of her that she didn't know what to believe. "I don't wanna talk about this right now, Tommy. But if you decide to come home, don't make me find out something I would hate to hear."

He nodded again as she motioned him to come closer. He complied as she reached up to wrap a hand around his neck and pull him into a warm, passionate kiss.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips before laying another small kiss on them.

"Love you too, Beautiful. Drive safely. I'll be home soon." he said before laying a kiss on her forehead.

He watched her back up out of the parking space and drive off into the distance. His eyes never left the vehicle until he was sure that it had safely made it out of the parking lot. But the presence and sudden gesture of hands on his ass made him jump away in surprise. He looked over at her, eyes set on kill, if only he could. The temptation was so close. A rage he had never wanted to feel again enveloped his being as he tried not to think too much about it.

"Was that really necessary?" he said, calming his voice. His clenched his fists and released them as he let out several breaths to calm his rage.

"I was only telling the truth. Was that so hard to accept?"

He shook his head. "But I've changed, Isabel. I'm not the same guy I was back in college. I have an actual life now. I got a wife. I got a daughter and a son on the way. I'm teaching at the local high school. I've been through a lot of shit since you decided to show up. You have no idea what I've been through. No clue. So, don't make it worse."

Isabel walked over to him, running a caring hand down his face. "Can I make it better for you, papi? My hotel is open to you. I did tell you this was my last night in town."

He pushed her hand away. "Don't call me that. I'm not your 'papi' anymore. I never really was after what you put me through. Do us both a favor, Isabel. Stay out of my life. For both of our sakes." He turned and walked away, heading back into the mall hoping to return to his main objective, getting gifts for his wife and daughter.

The woman watched him go. And in the flash of a late afternoon storm, a faint image of psycho yellow reflected off the woman. She turned and left the parking lot without saying anymore.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the brink of afternoon, Conner had been sitting at the window of a local burger joint with his girlfriend. They had talked about the coming future, which included prom, graduation and college. But there was a distance between them still. Conner knew, and he was worried about it.

"I don't mean to be rude, Krista. But you seem a little more quiet than usual. Is everything okay?" the teen in red asked as he reached over and gripped his girl's hand.

Krista took a French fry in her mouth before looking out of the window. "It's about what we've been discussing. I know you must be really excited about going to UNC on that soccer scholarship. It's been your dream forever. And I'm heading off to San Francisco for microbiology. I don't know," she let outta breath before looking back at her boyfriend. "I guess I'm scared to move on."

Conner thought for a moment. He knew she was right. For many, graduation was just so close, and they've all waited for more than half of their lives to get a feeling for freedom. But then it also led to good-bye, but hopefully never forever to his true friends. "Yeah, I guess so. That will be hard. On everyone. We've been through a lot at school."

Krista managed to push open a smile before pushing a fry into Conner's mouth, nearly catching him off guard. "We just need to enjoy what we have left of high school, right?"

Conner nodded as he leaned over and laid a kiss on her lips. "Can I say as long as you still want to be with me, I want to be with you?"

Krista blushed at his gesture as she looked away, changing colors. "Well, prom is coming up. I heard that Trent and Kira are offering us a place in their limo."

Conner smiled. He had remembered that they had all agreed to catch a limo on their final year of high school to the final school dance of the year. It was something they had all promised back when senior year began. But there was always one that they looked at and questioned. "So, what do you think about Ethan? Think he'll find someone by prom night or go stag?"

"With as much attention as he gets, I don't see why he hasn't hooked up with anyone. He's caused quite a scene with his dance moves that people love."

Conner shrugged. He still never could believe that his best friend had turned out to be a computer gamer, but he knew that Ethan thought the same about him. "I really don't want him to go his entire senior year without really getting to know someone on a personal basis. But he's really stubborn about it."

Time had passed. And they were done with lunch. Conner had escorted Krista out, holding the door and quickly grabbing her hand as she passed through. They shared a kiss on the sidewalk as they slowly headed over to his car. Locked in their own world meant for the two of them alone, but something didn't seem right.

Then a silence. As if by heightened senses, Conner felt something wrong in the air. But he knew with the spirit of the ape hanging around in his body, it was giving him a better perspective on his surroundings. Always alert and up to face what came his way.

He turned his head to see a line of cybots appear around the corner, firing lasers at innocent bystanders. But it didn't seem like too much of a problem. Only five stood in his way of enjoying a nice, peaceful date with his girlfriend. And he didn't like the disturbance at all.

He shielded her from a line of fire as she screamed with fear. He escorted her back into the protection of the car. He could just drive off, but that would be wrong to the innocent bystanders running in fear. He had a job to do, even if he would be sacrificing so much.

"Stay here. Stay low. I gotta go take care of something," he stated as he ran off.

And before she could protest, he was gone. She sunk into the seat feeling fear run over her body. He had ran away again at a strange time and she feared the worse. She knew he was training in martial arts with their science teacher, but had not expected he would test his skills against those dangerous beings. She knew they were bad news. She knew what they could do. And could only hope that the Power Rangers would show up before he got hurt.

Conner had raced around the corner, looking briefly around for anyone, but found no one. He pulled his morpher into place and morphed. His normal civilian clothes were replaced by his protective red ranger suit as he raced into battle.

As he came out of his hiding place, he pulled free his blaster and fired upon his enemies, catching them off guard.

Two cybots went down as he came crashing into a third one, pulling it off the ground and throwing it into another. Since the power transfer, this was the first battle where he could feel the heightened strength. But it also seemed to weaken him. He wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. He would feel strong enough to take out anything set by the cybots, but at times he felt drained, like all of his powers were gone.

But it seemed his little battle with these cybots had called forth another set of cybots as two launched laser fire his way. He barely cleared it as he tumbled into a wall, surrounded by his enemies. He caught his breath as he looked around.

"Not now. Not now. I'm trying to enjoy being a teenager again," he breathed, telling himself quietly.

He pulled out his tyranno staff, swinging it about, striking any cybots who came too close. Either the cybots were getting weaker, or he, himself, was getting stronger. He wasn't quite sure, but he knew that this would have to end soon.

But two cybots had broken from the group racing toward the parking lot where the red GTO sat with Krista. Conner noticed the two as he raced forward, but four more cybots moved against him, pushing him into the wall.

"No. Krista," he breathed with fear as he tried to push them back with his staff. But they didn't seem to budge.

Then he heard the rev of an engine as the sight of the blue dino ranger on his hovercraft cycle raced into the area. He laid a few laser fire in the direction where his comrade was locked in the grip of the cybots.

"Ethan! The car," Conner called out as he pointed in the direction of the two cybots moving toward it.

Ethan nodded as he turned and raced over to the red vehicle. He revved up the engine louder to call their attention before they could grab the door. Krista was screaming from within the car. He fired two shots before racing passed them, using his tricera shield to lay out some more attacks.

The cybots hit the ground, but had turned their fire on the blue dino ranger. Ethan groaned under the impact on the surface, making him lose control of his cycle. He jumped a car and came to a halt beyond it looking back at the cybots. They had returned to moving toward the door, but this time the red dino ranger had pushed them away.

He opened the door and pulled the girl to her feet. "Go. Take cover elsewhere." He pushed her toward an alleyway as the cybots jumped him again.

The look on her face was of protest, but the red dino ranger told her to go. Krista nodded reluctantly and raced for another place to hide. The blue dino ranger raced back into the action, calling out to his comrade, but was stopped short when a laser blast caught his front wheel. The cycle lunged forward, bucking the blue dino ranger off as he hit the ground hard.

Ethan groaned under the impact as he rolled toward the direction of where the blast came. The Blue Psycho Ranger was there to greet him with a huge pistol similar to that held by the cybots. He fired two more shots as the blue dino ranger shielded himself behind his shield and slowly pulled himself to his feet.

For awhile, he battled the blue psycho ranger, trying to figure out how long he could last against him. He could hear the call of the spirit of the wolf inside him, guiding him. And with the new feeling of the mixed powers running through his bones, he felt more confident in winning this battle.

But Psycho Blue was fast, enveloping the blue dino ranger into his own world. His powers seem to grow, as Ethan was fore warned about. He knew he would be in danger if he didn't send him on his way. If not destroy him. Ethan had enough of this guy and felt it was right to end it as soon as possible.

Conner had his own hands full with the cybots as they moved against him. "I'm so over you guys." He pulled his hands across his chest, letting out a battle cry. "Super Dino Mode, now!"

His suit began to glow with a hint of red and as it cleared the spikes that resided around SDM laid on him. As the light slowly dimmed out, the echoing cry of the ape rang through his head and Conner felt another rush of energy run through his body. For a moment, he had to look himself over and catch his breath as if being in SDM was a new thing to him. He moved against the cybots, making no hesitation to stop his movement as he raced through the army of armored soldiers.

Ethan came crashing to the ground again, under another line of kicks from the blue psycho ranger. He growled in frustration as he got back to his feet, glaring at Psycho Blue. "You really don't want to mess with me."

"You don't scare me one bit, Blue Ranger," Psycho Blue stated as he fired the pistol again. The laser raining down on Ethan, but he dropped to the ground, each shot missing. And as it cleared, the blue dino ranger stood in Super Dino Mode, the echoing cry of the wolf rang through his ears and beyond. "Do you think those huge spikes intimidate me?"

"Well, let's find out," Ethan said calmly as he stood up straighter.

The blue psycho ranger moved against him, but Ethan had moved even quicker. With the swift and cunning spirit of the wolf, it seemed like he was outside himself. That some other force was in battle, something else inside him. But he wasn't sure what. But he had to admit, he liked it.

The battle raged on, and when the cybots were on a full retreat, Conner had joined his comrade waiting on the blue psycho ranger. They barked out their own insults toward the blue psycho ranger, but he didn't seem at all shaken by the gesture.

"You have no idea what you're about to face, rangers. Your end is near," Psycho Blue bellowed. He pushed a hand toward the sky and an invisi-portal took him in and disappeared.

The area was left in silence as the two rangers powered down to their normal ranger suits, looking around.

"That seemed random," Ethan stated as he thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I agree. Mindshatter is up to something," Conner sighed as he let out a breath, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Thanks for showing up on time. How'd you know?"

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. I think its these ninja powers inside me. The calling of the wolf or something."

"Yeah, well, Hayley, Billy and Cam are still trying to make sense of this entire power transfer. But I don't think we'll ever get the answer to it."

The two rangers moved into the darken alley before making the final power down, returning to their normal forms. But what they didn't know was that hidden in the same shadows farther down the alley was Krista.

She had nearly collapsed when she saw the two rangers return to their normal forms. She knew, of rumors, that the rangers were actually teenagers lead by a legendary ranger. And that was all the proof she needed to confirm her theories. "Oh my god. This changes everything."

With a quick exchange of looks, Conner and Ethan had moved out of the shadows, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, where's Krista?" Ethan looked around, knowing she had disappeared into one of the alleys.

Conner shrugged only to hear footsteps echo from behind them. His heart must have stopped when he saw who the footsteps belonged to. His entire face went pale with fear as he approached the shaken figure he knew as his girlfriend. "Please tell me you didn't just see what I hope you didn't see, Krista."

"So, when were you gonna tell me, Conner? Or were you gonna tell me at all?" Krista asked as she crossed her arms, looking for a big explanation. She looked over at a strucken Ethan as he didn't know how to back-up his friend in red.

The two guys looked at each other, unsure what to make of the discovery. They had hoped that this would never happen again. Of the discovery of who they were. There was an exception with their mentor's family and his wife's family, but that was because they were the original rangers on Earth. They knew that Cassidy and Devin knew, but they swore they wouldn't tell no one. They feared the look in Dr. Oliver's eye any time they were talking with friends at lunch. He had kept his eye on them like a falcon. And he knew they wouldn't tell the truth to no one with an eye like his. But now, there was this wall in their face. And they didn't know how to react.

Was she mad? Was she upset? Was she happy to finally know the truth? They had no idea. Her face held such a calm look that it was hard to read beyond it. Even for a pair of rangers. Or a duo with some ninja powers to read minds.

Conner took a step forward as he wrapped an arm around her waist, but she moved away. She wasn't happy, and, now, he knew. "Krista, you gotta understand. I wanted to tell you. I should have told you. But there is a code I have to abide by."

Krista held up a hand. "I thought we were gonna be honest with each other. That's the first thing we promised in this entire relationship, Conner. You know you could tell me anything, and I will back you up and support you. But this..."

"But there is a strict code..." Conner tried to explain himself.

"Lemme guess. Set by Dr. Oliver? He's the one behind all of this, isn't he?" Krista began to state as it made more sense to her. "And don't tell me. The yellow and white dino rangers are Trent and Kira, am I right?"

"Shhh!" Ethan had to calm her down as he looked around, hoping no one was around to hear her. "You wanna just tone it down a little? We don't need this to go public."

"Krista, you're taking this all wrong," Conner grabbed his girlfriend's arms to look directly at her. "What we do... what we've done... and what we've been through... there is just so much I would have told you. I should have told you, but I couldn't. But I guess now that you know, you have a right to know the truth."

Krista shrugged off his gesture as tears welt in her eyes. "Right now, I don't think I can look at you, Conner. How do I know you're not lying to me about other things? That you could be double-crossing me and going out with someone else. Jocks are known to do that."

Conner took a step forward, but she smacked his hands away. "Krista, I'm not like that. I would never do that..."

Krista turned and headed up the alley way. Conner was about to go after her, but Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Conner looked back at his friend and was about to take his advice, but didn't want to risk it. In the back of his mind, he knew that Ethan wasn't quite the best guy to go to about problems in a relationship. And as if Ethan knew what he was thinking, let him go and took a step back. Conner ran after Krista, but had not planned on any use of his powers. He just hoped his normal self could win back some of the trust he lost.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hours passed.

Tommy Oliver had returned home with gifts in hand. Though the rain only came for a brief time, it was enough to calm him down. After seeing his old girlfriend, a relationship, he longed to forget, he had hoped he could find comfort in his wife and daughter.

He had stepped into the house, shrugging off the slightly wet jacket and placed it on a hook by the door. He moved over to the living room where he heard the soft soothe music of jazz play in the background.

He noticed the sleeping figure on the couch, dressed in a pair of his sweat pants and T-shirt. A small smile passed his face just thinking about the number amount of clothes his wife had stole from his closet for her figure in the passed few months and thought about the coming future. "It'll only get worse. And I won't have anything to wear. Or she'll have to hit the store every other week."

He moved over to the couch noticing the small plate of food set on the coffee table. It consisted of pickles and chocolate syrup. And he had to gag just a little knowing her mixture of foods was starting to disgust him. But he knew it had to do with being pregnant. Luckily, she also had a nagging for spicy food, which wasn't too extreme.

He took a seat beside his wife and leaned over to lay a kiss on her forehead. As he did, she stirred quietly. "Hey, Beautiful."

Kim groaned quietly, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Hey."

Tommy laid a kiss on her lips, before placing a bag on the table beside her plate. He pulled out a small wrapped box tied with a red ribbon. "I got you something."

"Cookies?" she took it as a joking smile passed her lips. "Kinda small."

"Not quite," he moved aside to reveal the bag of buffalo wings. "But I know how you are about your spicy food. And surprises."

Kim slowly sat up as she pulled the ribbon away and opened up the small box. For a moment, she caught her breath at the beauty of the necklace inside. "It's beautiful."

Tommy shrugged absently. "Yeah, it's a pearl necklace. But you know how I am about finding nice presents..."

"No," she shook her head as he pulled it out of the box. Tommy moved to place it around her neck before laying another kiss on her lips. "I love it. But not as much as I love you."

Kim slowly got off the couch, but had a little trouble. Tommy wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up, locking his other arm around the other side of her waist to make her look at him. He laid a hand on her round tummy as they exchanged a smile and quick kiss.

"Thanks. I'm getting pretty big, huh?" Kim smiled again as she placed her hand over his.

Tommy nodded as he felt the kick against his hand from the baby inside. "Kinda crazy little guy, isn't he?"

"He is. Kinda like his father. Been dancing all day," she giggled, but winced. "Ow!"

Tommy fell into a quick panic, grabbing her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. He just kicked my kidney."

"That kid is gonna be a real fighter." Tommy had to admit as he relaxed a little. But when he looked at his wife again, her gaze turned more serious. He took a step back in confusion. "What! Did I do something wrong?"

"Who is she, Tommy?" Kim asked as her tone grew with some anger. She didn't seem to get those images out of her head, despite the sleep. She crossed her arms, needing more answers to his past with this other woman.

Tommy shook his head, hoping to drop the subject all together. "Kimberly, baby, no. Don't do this. That's old news. It's not a big deal..."

"Not a big deal! She just put her hands all over you like she wanted to take off all of your clothes. I think you got some explaining to do, Thomas," her tone grew even more serious.

And at the mention of his proper name, which he hated to hear, he knew he had to tell her. He sighed sadly as he ran his hands through his hair. "All right, I'll tell you, Beautiful. ...She was an old girlfriend from college. Yeah, we met when I was in my army suit. But I had gotten back from some late training at the base and she was lingering around in my apartment complex. I mean, it was nothing serious. We went out for a few months. And you know how I am about a relationship. I'm committed. She told me she wanted to be a nurse. Work with babies..."

"Yeah, your babies," Kim looked away disgusted.

Tommy sighed as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess. ...I was serious about my studies. I was serious about our relationship, but she wasn't. She double-crossed me and I had no idea until months later. So, I broke up with her. Funny thing was she was the only real girl who hurt me. No. It didn't compare to you. Or Kat. Or Elena. She really put me into a lot of shit. I fell into depression. I thought I wasn't gonna finish college. I was drinking constantly. Never could think straight in class. I would pass out in my apartment for days. I mean, it was bad. Luckily, Adam had finished out in Korea and came by to visit. He set me straight, and I got back in the run to complete college. I avoided dating for a long time. I mean, I did go out with a few girls from time to time, but it wasn't like it would last. Or I slept with them. I shut myself out. Didn't want to risk getting into a relationship." He stopped for a moment to watch as sadness fell over his wife's face. But as painful as it was to speak of, he was glad it was finally coming off his chest. He hadn't told anyone about it except Adam. No one. Not even his best friend, Jason.

"It's kinda funny, actually," he continued on, knowing he had to close up some more doors. "I hadn't really slept with anyone since I broke up with her. That was like five year ago. I was far too serious in the whole dino research and my thesis. But when I had saw you at the funeral ... I was really hurting on the inside. I never thought I could have wanted you more and more to be back in my life. And look what it's gotten me."

"But according to her you guys shagged like bunnies," Kim said sorta absently as if trying to avoid the truth of what he was saying. But as she looked up into his eyes again, she knew that he had spoke the truth to every word that fell out of his mouth.

Tommy sighed. "Yeah. we did. But that doesn't compare to what we share. You and me. What we have is more intimate. It is pure. It's really special. We make love. We don't have sex. That's two different things."

At that point, the tears had finally escaped her eyes. She walked over into his protective arms as they shared a hug. "If I would have known she did that to you, baby, I would have hurt her right there."

Tommy chuckled lightly, knowing that she would. "Go ahead. I don't like her anymore. I really don't know what I saw in her."

"I do. She has the looks that could fulfill any man's dreams," she said almost out of jealousy. But it was clear in her tone that she had hoped, he would not fall into her look again. That she was really the woman in his dreams. "A real skank."

"No, but you're not," Tommy shook his head as he wrapped his arms around her tight. "You're beautiful in every other way. It's not just your looks, but your personality. Your heart. And you're my beautiful crane."

Kim smiled brightly as she stood up to lay a warm, passionate kiss on his lips. When it broke, Tommy pulled his wife into a tighter hug as her own arms locked around him. The round belly played a little obstacle between them as he felt the little kick from it.

"I'm due pretty soon, Tommy. And we still haven't decided on a name," she spoke as she poked at the round belly.

Tommy nodded as he sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Then there was a knock on the door. With a look of confusion on their faces, Tommy slowly moved toward the door. Kim woddled behind him just as curious to see who it was.

Tommy slowly opened the door and peeked out to see who it was. When he noticed, his heart nearly stopped as he opened the door up a little more. "Shit! Isabel! What are...? How did...? You have a lot of nerve coming here."

The Hispanic woman could only flash a little innocent smile. lowering her sunglasses. "I never thought I would see you again, Tommy. We never got to finish our chat."

"No," Tommy shook his head as he planted his foot into the door. She had been hoping to get in, but not with his foot stopping it from moving anymore. "We did. Haven't you done enough?"

Kim had pulled the door open a little more to see the other woman. Her face fell into a heat of fire as she glared at the woman before her. "You're joking, right? Why don't you just leave before I put a print on your face?"

Isabel looked at the pregnant woman, not at all intimidated at her threat. "How did you ever leave me to get back with her?" She looked back at Tommy sending him another sultry look. "She isn't even half the woman I was. And aren't you gonna be a gentleman and let me in?"

Tommy had to keep his cool. And he knew that. He would have let that door fly open and allow his wife to attack his ex with everything she had. He personally didn't care and would love to see it, but had to think back to Kim's condition.

"No, he's not. Now go away, before I make sure you stay away," Kim growled under her breath. Her fiery rage was growing as Tommy placed a hand around her waist to stop her.

Tommy shook his head as he laid a kiss on her head. "Kim, Beautiful... calm down. Remember, the doctor told you to avoid these temper tantrums. It's not good for the baby. I'll handle this."

Kim looked over at her husband making it clear that if he didn't he would see a side of her that he would regret to see. She stomped upstairs, as she began to cuss in French. It made Tommy cringe just to hear that come out of her mouth. She wasn't much for a foul mouth, and when it went into a foreign language, it was bad. Real bad.

Tommy sighed and looked over at his ex. "What are you still doing here? You've done enough and you gotta hit the road."

"What!" Isabel smiled as she pushed the door open, walking closer to him. "Not gonna get into one of those angry phases. You know you want to. It makes you harder faster."

Tommy took a step back, looking away. As much as he knew how to control his emotions, it was times like these he hated to deal with. Anger for the presence of his ex. Sadness for his wife. Worry for his daughter. Too many emotions and feelings that was blocking him from his immediate goal, getting his ex out of his house and out of his life for good.

"Don't try all that psychological mishaps on me, Isabel," Tommy shook his head as he held his hands up. "It's not gonna work this time. Don't make it harder for yourself. I'll give you a minute to step out of this house before I will be forced to kick you out of this house."

Isabel didn't seem at all intimated by his threats as she continued to approach him. He continued to step back as his legs hit the stairs and he fell onto them. She found a comforting place on his lap as she moved to kiss him, but he had placed a hand on her face, pushing her back. He recovered as he locked her in his embrace, trying to shove her out the door, but her feet almost seemed to be glued to the floor as he struggled to get her out.

"Ooh! I like it when you're rough," she whispered running a hand down his face. He shook it away as he inched closer to the door, but soon found himself being shoved into the wall, a hand planted firmly on his chest. "Why you gonna do this to me, Tommy? Admit it, you've missed me. Missed what I can do to you."

At that moment, Tommy wasn't quite sure how to react. He almost felt like he was in a trance. Outside of himself watching helplessly as this woman, his ex, tried to do him like she wanted. And he couldn't seem to break out of it. Isabel took a step toward him, teasing him with a heated breath as his breath fell into a ragged heap. Suddenly, a cool breeze fell over his chest as she ripped away his shirt, and inched closer to lay a kiss on his lips.

But at that moment, he had shot back into reality. That in some distance place he heard the cry of the crane. Tommy looked toward the top of the stairs and saw the shaken and shocked look on his wife's face. His heart sunk as he shook his head pushing Isabel back and raced up the stairs.

But Kim had turned away as tears fell, racing toward their bedroom. Tommy tried to catch the door before it slammed shut in his face, but was too late. He turned the knob, but it was locked. He pounded on the door in a panic as his own eyes welt with tears.

"Kimberly, open the door," he cried. His head was spinning. He had no idea what had just happened, but didn't like it one bit. "C'mon, baby, please. Open the door. It... This isn't what it looks like."

Isabel had raced upstairs after him, shaking her head. She ran a hand down Tommy's back pulling away the remains of the torn shirt. "You know what the difference is between her and me, Tommy? I want you. She doesn't. Why do you think she's running away?"

Tommy turned to glare at his ex. He was so tempted to slap her, punch her, do something, but knew it would do nothing for him. She seemed to be enjoying this little fiasco against husband and wife. "Get out of my house! You've done enough damage."

Kim opened the door, pushing passed her husband, duffel bag in hand. She moved across the hall to the other room where Serena was, slamming it shut and locking it.

Tommy held his breath as he raced over to the other room, knocking on the door. Pleading for forgiveness and hoping to get inside. But he knew that he had screwed up big time. He could hear the crying from inside, from his wife. And it sent a fury into him. He hated to see her cry for anything, especially directed towards him. "C'mon, Kim. Open the door, please. This isn't what it looks like. Talk to me, baby."

Isabel walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. The tease of her heated breath ran down his back. "Look at this, Tommy. She's doing it again. She's running away from you. Just like before. It'll never change."

"Like it hadn't for you." Tommy pulled away her arms, looking at her briefly. At that point, he watched as his hand came up inches to her face. But had stopped short as he held back, letting out his angered breath seethe through his teeth. He turned away and continued to bang on the door. "Baby, please, talk to me. Kimberly, open the door. Serena? This isn't what it looks like, please. Just let me explain."

"What is there to explain?" Isabel laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him back. "You came onto me, Tommy. Just like you're doing right..."

Tommy had had it. He turned around, gripped her arm tight and dragged her down the stairs. "That is it. You're gone. You're outta here. I've kept my cool long enough. And you've just pushed me over the edge, Isabel." He moved to the door, pulling it wide open as he shoved her outside. "Get the hell outta my life! You put me through enough of your bullshit! And I've had it. It's time for you to grow up. We're through! Done! I don't ever want to see your face again!"

For a moment, the Hispanic woman had taken several steps back, looking down with guilt. Tommy stood on the porch, catching his breath. He didn't know how else to put it. He had had enough of this woman and didn't understand why she just couldn't get it through her head. They were done, years ago. He had other things to worry about. Trying to live a normal life, or as normal as it got for a ranger, but she didn't know that. She had no clue what he had gone through in his life. And it would be more than she could really muster up in her mind.

"So, it's like that?" the Hispanic woman spoke in her native tongue as she looked up at him. A small stream of tears fell from her eyes. "You're just gonna throw me out on the streets and leave me to fend for myself?"

Tommy shook his head, showing no pity for her. "You've been doing that for years, Isabel. You threw away your life toward becoming a nurse to go around stripping for strange guys. Tell me that doesn't sound like a coward who was scared to face the consequences? Scared to finish off college just because your partying fiasco took over your studies? And you thought it was cool to cheat on me after I showed you how committed I was to the two of us? No. Whatever I saw in you... I don't even wanna know. Just get out of my life, Isabel. Stay away from my wife. My daughter. And especially from me."

The Hispanic woman took a step off the porch. Either she was thinking hard about what he had said, or it just wasn't registering in her mind. That she was only trying to formulate another way to win back his heart, if that was possible. She didn't want to give up, and within seconds she had stormed back up the porch, locking lips with his as the force pushed him into the wall.

For a long time, Tommy had struggled to break the kiss, but she had only gone deeper. He called up for air, tried to slide away, but she had him planted against the wall with no real place to go. He wasn't going anywhere until she wanted to move. And another side of him, possibly his wild side, if not rebellious, just couldn't seem to let that kiss go. He had sunk into the kiss, melted into its heat.

Time passed slow, down to a heartbeat as Kim strode downstairs.

She ran with Serena in one hand, the duffle bags in her other. And when she cleared passed the door, she swore she almost threw up. For a sight she never could imagine to see in her months of marriage, in her time spent with the man she loved dearly. He had been planted up against the wall kissing another woman. And not just any woman. But his ex, a woman that had sent his life into turmoil like no other, including hers.

Tears formed in her eyes. She turned Serena away from the painful image as they raced down the porch and into the awaited SUV to pull them away from this painful image. And back into a reality she could live with. She locked little Serena in her car seat and hopped into the driver's seat, tears still falling.

When Tommy had heard the slamming of a car door, his entire world was turned around. Again, he heard the echoing cry of the crane intertwine with a painful cry of the falcon. He pushed the woman glued to him away, racing toward the retreating SUV, still catching his breath from the mind-numbing kiss. He slammed into the door, shaking his head feeling the tears form in his eyes. But Kim had locked the door and refused to roll down the windows.

"Kimberly, baby. Don't do this. Don't. Please. You have no idea... let me explain," Tommy pleaded as he fought to get the door open, but it was locked shut. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you and her," Kim screamed, but it sounded crystal clear beyond the glass that kept them apart.

And as she finally turned out of the dirt driveway, she gunned the pedal, tires screeching and sped away. Tommy watched as the vehicle drove off into the distance. His world locked away in there. The most important part of his life. Gone. He let out a scream as if someone had stabbed him right in the heart and collapsed to the ground. But someone did stab a knife in his heart. His ex-girlfriend. He sunk his head into his lap, tearing running down his face. The clap of thunder rumbled through the area, calling forth a storm.

Tommy could hear the footsteps behind him grow closer. He was too psychological drained, emotionally hurt, to do anything. But he was hurting. The fire inside, a fire he knew that existed only during his evil reign, fell over him. But with all the other emotions playing a drum inside him, he didn't move. He was too hurt, emotionally, to move.

A hand fell onto his back, running up to massage his neck. "You know what will make you feel better, Tommy," Isabel suggested as she pulled him to his feet. "You, me, and a bed." She yanked him into the house, but Tommy was too empty to really realize what she had mentioned.

He could only follow her into the lonely house. Isabel had knocked away pictures she had seen of Kim and headed upstairs. Without any hesitation, she had tossed him onto Serena's bed, the closest room to fulfill her pleasure, and jumped on top of him.

She moved to kiss him, but this time another side of him kicked in as he twisted out of her lock, pinning her to the bed. A fire of rage and pain fell over his eyes and she knew at that point, he was done playing games.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he spat as a angry growl escaped his lips. "You already ruined my life! Now, my marriage! What more do you want!"

"To make you feel better," she smiled a wicked smile. Then she wrapped her legs and arms around him pulling him even closer. "And you always liked it on top."

Tommy tried to pull out of her grip, but it seemed like a death grip. There didn't seem to be any way out of it, even if he tried. Even with his skills as a martial artist, or a ninja, it didn't seem to work to his advantage. She laughed, enjoying his struggle, teasing him more with heated words of what she wanted to do to him, or he should do to her.

And then she pulled him into another wet and heated kiss. A kiss that dragged a man to their knees and made them follow the call to the girl a kiss like that belonged to. Mesmerizing. Sensual. Heated. A start to a night where any dream of pleasure was literally possible to accomplish.

But when the kiss was finally broken, and Tommy had the time to catch his breath. His vision was finally returning, he had looked down, only to see the image melt away. And the woman, he swore was his ex, was not. But a face that would scar him for his entire life. The face of a phantom. Of a complete psycho.

He sat up in a flash as his heart seemed to stop. "What the...!"

"Stupid black ranger," Psycho Yellow hissed as she kicked him off.

Tommy went flying off the bed, and out into the hall, coming to a skid on the other side. But the impact and the shock of the news had shut him down. He heard the echoing footsteps coming his way, but his eyes grew heavy and he fell into a deep, dark painful slumber.

"Black is down. Now, onto yellow and white," Psycho Yellow reported more to herself. She raised a hand to the sky as an invisi-portal opened up and she had disappeared through it.

A few minutes later, a set of footsteps echoed into the house through the open door. Slightly drenched from the rain that started to fall, the young blue dino ranger stammered through the house. He knew he had to talk to his mentor about the recent discovery, even if it was best the red dino ranger speak to him himself. But he knew that Conner was far too busy to fix his relationship with his girlfriend to face his mentor right now. But he knew that Dr. Oliver had to know the truth about Krista's discovery.

Ethan came to a halt looking around the house, seeing the overturn pictures. Some smashed on the ground. Confused, he looked around the living room, seeing the evidence of food on the coffee table. But it seemed as if something had disrupted the Oliver household.

"Dr. Oliver? Coach? Serena?" Ethan called out as he slowly headed up the stairs hoping to find that things were okay. As he cleared the last few steps, he saw the motionless figure laying on the ground. He raced over checking for a pulse, shaking his mentor awake. "Dr. O? Dr. O, wake up!"

But there was no response. He raced into Serena's room, seeing the open drawers. He headed over to the master bedroom, seeing over turned drawers. Clothing scattered the floor. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but could only conclude that Coach and little Serena had bolted out of the house, leaving the science teacher behind. But for what reason, he wasn't quite sure.XXXXXXXXXX

Driving across town at top speed, Kim didn't even think too much about what she had seen back at her home. Any time she did though, it only brought more tears to her eyes. She knew she needed some place to crash at, and felt the only real person who could provide the comfort she needed was her friend in the black ninja suit.

She had parked the vehicle in the parking lot of the Reefside Journey Apartment Complex where she knew Adam was staying. And as much as she hadn't want to disturb him, she just needed a place to hide out for awhile to clear her head.

She took Serena out of her car seat, pulling her into her arms. She grabbed the duffel bags and headed into the building and where Adam was residing. Serena had asked her mother why there was a sudden rush to leave the house, and Kim could only answer with the feeling that Tommy was gonna get back with his ex and leave them.

But at that thought, more tears formed in her eyes and she nearly collapsed as she made it to room 106. She knocked on the door as she almost collapsed to the ground from the emotional scars of seeing her husband lock lips with his ex.

The door opened and with quick reflexes, Adam raced to grab Serena and wrap an arm around Kim, pulling her back to her feet as he slowly escorted her into the apartment. Kim slowly backed into a wall, collapsing to the ground as tears streaked her face like waterfalls.

Adam looked at the little girl locked in his arms, looking down at the crying woman on the floor, slightly confused. "Kimberly, what happened? Where's Tommy?"

Kim caught her breath long enough to look up at the concern face of the medical doctor. "He kissed another woman, Adam."

Adam felt his heart jump. Did he just hear that right? No way. There was no way. He shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "What! You're not serious, Kim..."

"I saw it, Adam," Kim cried as she sunk her head into her lap. "I saw it."

Adam reached down and pulled Kim to her feet. He escorted her to the couch setting her down. Serena jumped on it beside her mother pulling her into a hug. Adam had to grasp the news again. He didn't want to believe it. It wasn't true. There was just no way. "Shhh! It's okay. Are you sure?"

Kim nodded. She caught her breath as she cried out in pain, feeling the impact of the baby inside her kick her hard. "Owww! The baby just kicked me!"

Adam knelt down beside her running a hand over her face. The tears slowed down and she seemed to relax under his touch. "Relax, Kim. Take a breath. You've been through a lot right now. C'mon, lie down." He slowly helped her to lay down on the couch. He ordered Serena to head into his bedroom to get some herbal ointments as he laid a hand on Kim's round belly. He felt the impact of another kick, telling her to relax and breathe.

Serena had returned as he began to dab the woman with one of the ointments. Her eyes grew a little heavy as she seemed to finally calm down and sleep. But she had grabbed a hold of Adam's hand as he slowly sat down on the floor beside her. "Please, Adam. Don't leave me."

And her eyes grew heavy and she went into a deep sleep. Serena didn't know what to believe or what exactly to do. But she didn't want to leave her mother's side as she made a place to lie in her mother's arms. Adam slowly placed Kim's hand back on the couch and got to his feet as he left the room.

He was taken by surprise by her visit, let alone still couldn't believe what he was hearing come from her mouth. He felt that there was something about this entire thing, and that last statement she had mentioned before she fell into a deep slumber sorta scared him. He was quite sure if it was merely just the word of a friend, or possibly even more. And he didn't want to think it was nothing more than being a friend and a trustee hand of a doctor.

His cell phone had been vibrating in his pocket. He answered the call, noting it was coming from Ethan. "What's up, Ethan?"

"It's Dr. Oliver. I don't know. I just came by the house and found him unconscious on the floor. Do you have any idea where Coach or Serena is?" Ethan seemed to go into a panic.

"Relax, Ethan," Adam breathed, but still was trying to get over the shock of what he heard escape Kim's mouth. He could only hope that Tommy wouldn't make something of it, but wasn't guaranteed it would. "Um... they're here with me. But Kim looked really upset. I put her to bed, but she claimed she saw Tommy kiss another woman," Adam reported.

"No way! Are you serious! Dr. O wouldn't do that," Ethan breathed, not believing the news at all.

"It doesn't make sense to me either. Some thing's not right about this. But, I'm gonna stay here with Kim and keep her company. Keep an eye on Tommy. See what you can find out from him when he wakes up."

Ethan knew that he couldn't argue with that. He did what he was told, hoping he could close the gap with what was going on with his mentor and his wife. And Adam had to say the same thing.

XXXXXXXXXX

The hours passed slow.

But that's how Trent and Kira liked it. It gave them more time to spend alone with one another. They had hoped that nothing would get in their way.

They had been hanging out at Kira's house, while everyone else in the household was out doing other things. Not that they were doing anything wrong, they were just hanging out. Being a secure and rather reserved couple. And Kira's parents were cool with Trent. He wasn't like most guys. He was willing to make conversation with them, help out in the kitchen on times he decided to share a dinner with them, made sure to get Kira home at a reasonable time, and being a true gentleman.

Not that their relationship really had a chance to really get anywhere. They had worked really slow to build it, and it was sorta a challenge to manage. They had to deal with the life of a ranger, being on call whenever they were needed, school, work, a personal life, etc. But they were trying, which was a good thing. They did manage to let those three little words - I love you - escape their mouths, but it always seemed hard to say, and they never quite said it as much as what one could call a couple. But they had said it from time to time, mostly over phone conversations that went into the late night on occasion.

They knew there was talk around school. A lot of talk. Many found the two to be a cute couple, others found it rather a hand-me down. That since Kira had failed to get with Conner, she went for the next best thing - Trent. Which wasn't true at all, she always wanted to be with Trent. Yet, she still had to admit that she was rather confused about her friendship with Conner. She didn't know if it was good or if it was bad, or moving in directions that would pull it into some sorta dating scam. She didn't want that at all. Her thoughts and feelings were leaning more toward Trent as the days grew between them.

Sitting on the couch, searching for something to watch, Kira laid a head on Trent's shoulder. He pulled her closer when his arm wrapped around her waist.

"You know what, baby? My parents like you enough to joke you are one in the family?" Kira stated as she took the remote from him, searching for herself.

"Are you saying that like I would pass as your brother or something? Or nearly joke as if we were gonna get married or something?" Trent said as a chuckle fell over his lips.

"Well, you're the first guy I've brought home that's been quite a real gentleman," Kira had to admit as she sat up. She clicked off the tv and laid a quick kiss on his lips. "Actually, you're the only guy I've brought home who's been that way. And my mom says in a society like today, it's really hard to find a guy who really cares not only about his girlfriend, but her family, too."

"Well, that's the only way I really know how to act. That's how I've been raised. Not just by my biological parents, but by Anton, too. Not all rich guys are asses, though he was like that when we first moved to Reefside," Trent sighed. He looked away for a moment, as the painful images of knowing where his father was struck his mind.

Kira placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She knew how much it hurt him just to see his father as a prisoner of his own mistakes and of their newest threat. And she didn't like that it was effecting him more and more as a person. At times, she felt shut out by him. At times, he would go sleepness nights or his grades were slipping slightly. "We haven't given up on him, Trent. We'll get him back. We will."

Trent sighed as he shook his head. "So many times, we were so close to save him, but we had to pull back every time. And I really don't know how much more he can take of this. It's been months now. And we have no real idea what Mindshatter has done to him."

"But you said that somewhere in Mesogog, your father was still in there clawing out," Kira protested. She never liked to hear the negativity escape his mouth, especially about feeling no hope to save his father. "If he's held on this long, we can't just hang up our morphers and give up on him. We'd all probably be dead by now if he hasn't done all that's he's been doing to protect us."

Trent thought for a moment, nodding slowly. He knew that she was right. He had to keep telling himself that. It was so hard for him to say that to himself, but when another told him that, it made it better. Trent pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Kira."

When they had broken from the kiss, it had fallen silent for only a few moments. But soon, sparks fell over them and lips locked with lips. Though their make-out sessions never seemed to get far for some strange disturbance, they were always intimate. It just gave them one more chance at grasping a moment alone in their own world.

Then when they had finally seem to melt into the moment, Trent's phone had went off. It had cut them short again as they broke the kiss, each groaning in turn for the disruptions. Sitting up, Trent scanned through the text shaking his head.

"Who is it?" Kira asked as she peered over his shoulder at the message scrolling down the screen.

"Rob. He says I need to close up the cyber café tonight. Hayley left early and since I'm the only other person with the keys, I gotta close up," Trent sighed as he got to his feet. There was only a few number of people that Hayley had entrusted to closing up the café if she wasn't there to do it. One of them was Trent. All of the other employees had yet to really work up to her trust as a manager.

Trent looked out the window to see that the sun had gone well below its stay for daytime. It was approaching the evening hours, and on a Sunday, was always closed early. At eight o'clock. Trent didn't seem to realize that the hours seemed to go that fast, but knew he had to go and get it done.

Kira got to her feet, taking hold of his hand. "Well, can I come just to keep you company, baby?"

Trent smiled lightly as he leaned over and laid a kiss on her cheek. "Sure. You can come. It's our last day to enjoy what time we have before going back to school."

The two had moved, hand and hand, out of the Ford household and over to his car. They conversed quietly, mostly about the sadness for not really having much of a spring break. It had been centered around their superhero lives that there was no real time to relax or spend time together. Or even with their other friends.

The ride to the café was slow, and rather lazy, but Trent didn't care. He never liked to close up when told last minute. He hadn't been at work for nearly the whole week, but only because Hayley had issued him a break. He was on a 'vacation' just so he can work closely with his mentor with their new powers.

Trent got out of the car, telling Kira to just stay in there. He promised her it wouldn't take long. And just a boring process, though she had come to keep him company numerous times on his shifts for closing the café. But she was feeling rather tired anyway, and had agreed to just stay in the car and wait for him.

He left and headed into the café, making some final check-ups. Make sure that everything was shut down, cleared up or put away. He had to make sure that chairs were up, computers shut down, glassware and dishes were cleaned. And that the security system was locked and set for the night. When he was sure that things were set, he moved to the back room and placed the final security codes in before heading out the back door and locking up there.

Then he heard footsteps behind him, slightly confused. "I told you to just wait in the car, Kira. I'm almost..." But as he turned around, he had stopped short. His mistake. It wasn't Kira at all. He felt sorta bad, but confused.

It was another girl. He knew only so little about her. She had just transferred into Reefside High weeks ago; a junior. She was still getting a feel for the strange activity in the city, and he could tell, slightly shaken by the strange activity. She was about his height, long flowing blonde hair. She was skinny, like she didn't eat much or would refuse to eat fast food, but wasn't one who actually refused to eat. Yet, she was sort of slow and ditzy, but really liked class in a guy, and he knew. She, herself, would wear clothes that made her look rich, but she was just an average girl. She had been eyeing him for some time, when many girls had told her about his background. He was the son of a very rich and powerful man. Yet, out of all the things, he never knew her name at all.

"Oh, um...hey. The cyber café is closed, if you wanted to get in. We close early on Sundays," Trent began to explain. "Sorry."

The girl shook her head as she took a step forward. "No, I know. Yet, I can't help but notice that someone like you working in a place like this. Isn't your dad some big, rich and powerful man?"

Trent looked at her with some confusion. He found it odd to see a girl like her out, or even questioning him about his father or him as a person. It seemed out of place on a Sunday in the alley behind the café. But he had nodded, seeing as it wouldn't hurt to talk to her. "Um, yeah. But I don't try to make much of a big deal about it..."

"It must be nice to live like that. Have the money to get whatever you want, even date whoever you choose. You must even get into those high class celebrity parties since your dad is kinda big and popular." she continued.

Trent shrugged again, not making it too much of a big deal. At times, there were formal events that his father would take him to. They weren't those big celebrity parties, though he has hit a few, but those formal, rich people banquets. He was never much for that, but did it only at the request of his father. "You're new at Reefside, right? You just transferred in a few weeks ago. Where did you come from?"

"Oh, just some small town in Arizona. The name's Jennifer. My dad switched jobs and got us a place here in California. I was kinda hoping for a place in LA where all the celebrities hung out, but I guess my dad didn't want that. So, we settled here. I hear you're sorta a celebrity in this town. Trent, right?" she asked as she held out a hand.

He nodded as he took her hand in greeting. "Yeah, it's Trent. Celebrity, me? Maybe because of the new research my dad is working on, but I wouldn't consider it celebrity status."

But at that point, Jennifer had taken a step closer to him. Trent raised an eyebrow as he backed away, but didn't get far for the wall was behind him. He held his breath as he watched the fire of lust, if that's what it looked like, dance in her eyes. And he swore, now, that she was truly hitting on him.

She shook her head. "I heard from a certain news reporter at school you did some work around this city on a crime-fighting basis."

Trent held his breath. What! There was no way that Cassidy would have told anyone. Or even dared to hint at it. He shook his head. He knew that their science teacher would hang them and erase their existence before news like that got around. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, I do a lot of volunteer work to keep the city clean or help out at the local shelter with food and clothes. I make lots of donations with my dad, but that's it. I mean, I don't consider that on a crime-fighting basis."

Jennifer shook her head as she came closer. This time, she was a little over arms length away, but the way she was breathing had indicated more than he needed right now. He was taken. He had a girlfriend. He would never do anything to hurt her. But somehow, he didn't quite know how to react. He shifted, but she seemed to follow like a magnet. But as he seemed to fall into a deeper panic, and about to run, she had stopped him, planting him against the wall. She ran a caressing hand down his face as she let a heated breath escape her lips. She put a finger to his lips.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. Ya know, you and your girlfriend, right? The one in the car in the front? And that computer gamer, star soccer player, and that hot and sexy science teacher you hang around. Are you sure he's married? He's too hot to have a wife," she seemed to ramble on, making Trent shift uncomfortably.

"Whoa! Time out, Jennifer," Trent tried to push her hand away, but it seemed to be made of steel. It wouldn't budge off his chest. "I have a girlfriend. And whatever you're thinking about Kira, or Ethan, or Conner, or Dr. Oliver or whatever. It's not true. I do martial arts training with Dr. Oliver. He is a fifth degree black belt, and he trains the four of us for competition. It's true. You can go ask him yourself."

Jennifer laughed as if those words meant nothing to her. She shook her head as she inched closer to him, closing the gap between them. Their lips were nearly centimeters from each other. And still teasing him, she seemed to enjoy his struggle. But he was getting nowhere, fast. And it was clear, he didn't like it at all.

"Relax, rich boy. You can always buy a new girlfriend," she said as she ran her free hand down his face again. She ran it down his chest, pulling his shirt up as he shrugged it away. "Like me. Don't worry. I'm not like that pathetic excuse for an Avril Lavinge wanna-be."

Trent felt a heated anger roll in his heart. He hated to hear that come out of anyone's mouth towards Kira. Not towards his girlfriend on a matter like that. He shifted his weight and pushed the girl off of him. "Don't ever call her that. You know, it's people like you I can't stand. All you want from a guy like me is my money. Not my charm or personality. Well, I ain't like that, Jennifer. I would rather date a girl who likes me for more than my riches. And Kira's given that to me."

Jennifer hit the ground in shock as she got to her feet, but he was already sprinting forward. She seemed to move faster as she tackled him to the ground. He came crashing forward, as Jennifer jumped on top of him. "We never finished our conversation. That's rude of you, Trent."

Trent groaned as he pushed her off. "Get off me, Jennifer. You came onto me, and I already have a girlfriend. Why don't you find someone else who is willing to be your trophy to parade around? Because, I'm not gonna be it."

Jennifer had grabbed his pant leg, pulling him back. If he could, he would have kicked her. And he knew if he could just get around the corner, Kira would see it and help him out. They both knew how a lot of girls at school would try to hit on him, mostly for the expense that he was a rich guy, but that wasn't the way with Kira. She had never at all thought about using him for her advantage at all. She liked him for who he was as an individual, not the bills he rolled.

"Trent, stop running," Jennifer laughed hysterically as if she was a lunatic. "You know you would rather be happier with me. Treat me like a Queen and give me whatever I want. Then you'll have a reason to spend that money."

Trent twisted into a windmill move as Jennifer let him go and he got to his feet. But as he seemed to round the corner, he felt the imprinted of a fist grab the back of his shirt, swinging him into the wall. And his lips had locked with another. But the way it was rushed and felt, didn't belong to the one girl that he loved to kiss. Not his girlfriend, Kira Ford, his first love. It was that freak Jennifer who finally got her wish.

Though it was brief, and almost to the point. Another figure wasn't too far to witness it. Trent had pushed Jennifer away, spitting out the kiss as if he just kissed a cat. Only to see the other figure who had witnessed the whole thing. It was Kira. And her face just went pale and tears slowly formed in her eyes.

Trent shook his head as he knew what she had seen. And he hoped that he could explain his case, but as he walked up to her, she could only back away. "Kira, wait, baby, you gotta..."

"I'm not your baby, Trent," Kira spat as a line of tears finally fell from her eyes. "How could you do this to me! To us! I thought you were serious about our relationship. I thought you loved me? And you double-cross me for some junior girl? Whatever," she pushed him back, not even giving it one single thought. "Maybe I was wrong about you. That you had to date a girl who really needed to use your money just to make you happy." She turned away, walking out of there.

Trent didn't even bother to look at the other girl who had ruined his relationship with his first true love. He raced after Kira, pleading forgiveness. But the other girl seemed to drift off into the shadow of the night. He began to plead his case, but she didn't seem to hear him. "You got to believe me, Kira. I swear. I would never do this to you. You know that. She came onto me. I didn't even any idea what her name was or how she even knew I was gonna be here..."

"So, her lips just happened to fall onto yours?" Kira glared at him. And for the first time, he had never seen such fire in her eyes that it crushed him. It sent cold, dark chills down his back. She pushed him away. "Don't bother, Trent. It was great while it lasted, but I guess some things have to end, right? That there are so many types of love, and you were only using me to make yourself look like the better man. By taking some girl who sings her heart out in every song she sings maybe because you felt sorry for her, since she hasn't landed a record deal, and your money can save her from falling into turmoil. I get it, Trent. It's starting to make a whole lot of sense, now."

"Kira..." Trent pleaded as his eyes welt with tears. And for the first time, he swore real tears had fell down his eyes for a crash in their relationship. He didn't think there was any, and there wasn't, a time where they had gotten into a huge fight. "No. She came onto me. No lie. I tried to contact you, but I...it slipped. You know, she was freaking me out. I don't know how but she knows about us. About what we do in our 'night shift' as crime-fighters. And I would never think of you like that, Kira. I would never want to hurt you."

Kira stopped to look at him, tears stained her face like scars. And it sent more guilt down Trent's spine. "Do you actually want me to believe that, Trent? I mean, honestly."

"But, it's the..." he tried to explain again.

"Truth?" Kira finished and turned away as she continued to walk off. "Don't even, Trent Mercer. Forget it. I just need some time alone right now. And maybe we should just take a break from each other. It could be the best thing for us right now. Or never talk to each other again." She turned to look at him, the glare still heated. "How could you do that to us? I thought you were different. But, I guess I was wrong."

Trent stopped short as if a wall was placed before him. He hated, and never expected her to use that tone, or say his name like that at all. He had never seen her this angry, and wanted so badly to replay those painful moment before she saw Jennifer's lips lock with his. He wanted her to believe him, but it was clear she wouldn't. And he hated to hear that they should take a break from each other. Or never talk. That was the worse news he could hear. He didn't want to hear that, at all. It was painful to his ears.

"Kira, please," he felt his knees weaken. It was crushing his mental control to see this even going on. This was one fear of his. To lose his girlfriend to something like this. And it wasn't his fault.

But she had not even looked back. Her figure disappeared into the dimmed shadows of an alleyway. And Trent had given into his loss as he hit the ground. He kicked himself for even letting something like this happen. He got to his feet, treading back to the café, hoping to find Jennifer there, but there was no one there to greet him. It was like no one had even stepped anywhere near the café since he had closed it up for the night.

He wasn't quite sure what he could do, but call up Kira, hoping she would answer. But she had not. He jumped into his car, trying to call again. But again, no answer. He sent a text of apology, explaining the situation, hoping to get one in return.

It chimed as he popped it open, starting up the car. "Don't bother with me, Trent. I need to be alone. I hate you."

It hurt to see those words ever come from Kira. He knew that she was a person you could never lose trust with. Once you did, it would never really be gained back. Even if he was trying to explain, plead forgiveness, she didn't have it. She was hurt. Scarred. And he had seen two sides of her he never wanted to see, especially if he was to blame. Tears of sadness and hate and anger on a level that no one would want to see from her.

He had called, left voicemails, knowing she wouldn't listen to them right now. But hope give them a chance without deleting them.

And that night, he didn't even bother to go home to clear his thoughts. He had retired to the cove where he sat, sleepless thinking about how he had screwed up a love he thought would have lasted forever. If not for a good amount of time.

And he had hoped that he could fix it, and perhaps, find some advice or comfort in his teacher or other friends at school the following day.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mindshatter had sat in his chair, clenching his fists as a hiss of satisfaction fell over his lips. He had just been reported by the two remaining psycho rangers that the plan to divide the team had worked better than expected.

But as they left, he had moved over to his display of five candles, left untouched, but under surveillance and close watch. The five candles that had connected to the powers of the dino rangers. He could have just lit them, making them completely useless, but enjoyed messing with their minds.

"They are weak. As skilled as they may think they are, even a simple manipulation of their darkest fears and worse nightmares will destroy them," Mindshatter stated as he pulled out an object from under his cloak. It was designed like a sword, but was still in need of work as he looked over it before placing it into a casing beside the Geno-Randomizer. "No one will stand a chance against me. No one."

to be continued...

A/N: Whoa! I didn't mean for that to be that long. Man, I need to stop trying to add every little detail to this story. But, it is coming to an end. I hope you like it. I really hope you do. I gotta thank my friend, beautifulpinkcrane, for her help on the fight with Kim and Tommy. It wouldn't have been so effective without her help. And then for the other creative minds who have added to my work. Thanks. But, enough shout outs. That's not the point, right now. You all are wondering if these couples can fix their mistakes before it gets worse? Let's hope they do. How will they deal if it doesn't work? Find out next chapter. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You.