Tommy settled against the console, crossing his arms, and stared at Roberto. He wanted to instinctively distrust him based on what he now knew about his kind, but from what he had heard, he had been trying to help him from openly being a mentor. Which was something he had hoped to do, but then this had happened. It was easy to say he wouldn't be a mentor when there were no rangers to mentor. He could not believe that he had teleported himself to the Command Center as soon as he had gotten Kimberly settled, but he knew this was where he needed to be. He knew that as much as he wanted out, that he might always have to be in.
"I…" Roberto started and Tommy held up his hand to quiet him. He needed to process what was going on and he needed to figure out how the hell he was going to tell his wife what he had done.
"I'm going to state the obvious- you're not a pizza delivery guy," Tommy said and Roberto shrugged. Technically he was, for only one customer. It had been his way into their lives. He had monitored Kimberly for years and had never had a reason to meet her, but once Tommy was in the picture it had become obvious he needed to know them. "So you do work for Mike's Pizza?"
"Kind of. I have an agreement with their normal delivery guy that if you order, he'll give me a call," Roberto said and Tommy stared at him. He had been followed by beings in the past, but this was new. No one had gone to this effort to get into his life, at least that he knew about. "Before you ask- we couldn't stop Atlantis. He hid himself from us as well."
"That was not where I was going next, but good to know," Tommy stated as he pushed himself away from the console and started pacing. Could he trust this being? Did they need to go back into hiding? What did they know about the being that had decided to attack Earth? So many other questions flew through his mind, but one kept resurfacing. "Will this stay away from my family? If I help-will this stay away from her? From them?"
"We'll do what we can to protect them, Tommy, but she is a ranger. There is always a chance this will come after her, just like there is a chance it will come after you," Roberto supplied and Tommy closed his eyes. That did not bring him any comfort. He had thought that if he got out- it would keep it all away from them. He now wondered if there was ever a real way out. "It is better with you involved. You see- Guardians protect the rangers. We have the ability to mask your homes, work places, except against other Guardians. And well- you've always been special."
"I'm sorry. What do you mean I'm special?" Tommy asked and Roberto stiffened.
"I assumed the Command Center told you how special you are when it inhabited you," Roberto said and Tommy shook his head no. He didn't remember much of what the Command Center had done to him. He actually tried to forget the entire experience if he could manage it. "Ah, then it told Kimberly."
"It told Kimberly what?" Tommy retorted and he watched Roberto scratch the back of his head. This was not good. This could not possibly be good. "Roberto…"
"It told her that you can't walk away. Even with you promising her, this stuff will find you for the rest of your lives. You're not just a once in a generation ranger, Tommy. There's no other ranger that has ever been like you and there's no ranger that will ever be like you," Roberto said and Tommy shook his head. He was not happy with what he was hearing. Kimberly knew all of this and had kept it from him. He was not sure what he felt about that at the moment, but it did not comfort him when it came to fighting his destiny. There was no use and it was easier to accept it. "But you can be a much less…active…mentor."
"No more fighting?" Tommy asked and Roberto barely nodded. He felt himself relax ever so slightly and he sighed.
"We are disguising your signature as best as we can to keep things away from the two of you. Manhattan provides some additional camouflage that Reefside was never able to offer you. Our responsibility is to help the Power Rangers with our innate skills, while Power Rangers protect the Earth and then...well there are supposed to be prophets, but I'm not aware of any of those," Roberto explained and Tommy let out a long sigh. How in the world was he going to explain this to Kimberly?
"How am I going to hide this from her?" Tommy whispered as he stared over at the viewing globe and he wished something would give him an easy answer. He had betrayed her trust. Even if she had known this was going to happen- he hadn't. He had promised to stay away from it.
"I wouldn't suggest that you hide it for long, but maybe accidentally discover that the rangers joined your new class," Roberto suggested and Tommy shook his head. He was decently sure she would see through that, but he also knew that it was one of the few ways that this would not cause a gigantic fight. "You should go too, Tommy. I'm pretty sure your wife will remember you don't have university classes on Monday's if you're gone for too long."
"I'm not okay with this Roberto," Tommy said as he held out his hand for him to shake and Roberto firmly grasped it. "But I do understand your role. Just know- if any of your kind come after us again- you are all dead. I will not let these rangers suffer what the other rangers did."
"I'm very well aware," Roberto said as he met Tommy's eyes and a mutual understanding passed between the two of them. They had both been hurt by Atlantis, but they were going to have to work together to survive what was to come.
AN: If you or someone you know are struggling, call the Suicide and Crisis lifeline at 988 (for the U.S.). Please do not suffer in silence, reach out and get the help you need.