Title: New In Town

Author: Dingo

Summary: Lothor decides to split up the team. As a result, three Rangers are sent back in time – to 1995 – and hundreds of miles away – to Angel Grove.

Timeline: Just after The Wild Wipeout, just after Stop the Hate Master.

Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. This is my own twisted little world, wherein there is much boy-on-boy-lovin' and two hetrosexual pairs. Cool, eh?

Note: FF.net is being a bonehead of a site, so formatting is a little strange. Bear with me – next time I put up a chapter I'll resubmit this one in proper format.

Warning: there is slash in here. If you don't know what that is, it is a homosexual relationship. To be precise, two. Possibly three, I haven't thought ahead quite that far.

Pairings as determined by me: Adam/Rocky, Hunter/Dustin, Cam/?



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~-~

After introducing Dustin and their new boss, Hunter and Cam went to work while Dustin began the grand tour. This time it was less a labouring job as it was a plain old boring job – serving occasional tables and taking orders.

   Hard to believe it had been three and a half days since they'd been transported here – it seemed like only yesterday they'd been trying to solve their money troubles. Cam had helped with their little problem by working out a schedule with Ernie – Hunter and Cam would get paid every day and Dustin every week. Sounded more confusing than it actually was, considering they were getting paid in cash and Ernie was more than happy to skip the whole depositing-to-bank dealings. This way, Cam's money would get most of their day-to-day stuff, Hunter's would get the remainder of the rent and any other things they may need, and Dustin's…well, hopefully they wouldn't be here to get too many of Dustin's. Call it payback on Ernie for not asking any big questions.

Hunter had been on careful lookout for the two guys he had met that first day and spoken only Spanish to – it wouldn't really do to have a Spanish speaker taking down an order in English. And at nearly noon, he saw Guy 1 come in with some other dude he'd never seen.

Fortunately, instead of sitting at a table, they headed for the mats at the back.

Hunter nudged Cam, who was nearest to him at the time. "Dude, I can't go out there anymore."

   Cam sent him an annoyed look before rearranging the plates on the tray Hunter had knocked. "Why would that be, may I ask?"

   "You may," Hunter replied absentmindedly. "And I would answer 'that guy's out there, and I can't speak English around him'."

   "You speak it perfectly fine around me," Cam pointed out. He frowned. "Except for those times you don't."

   "But duuuude!" Hunter mocked. "Seriously. He thinks I only speak Spanish."

   "But then what would you be doing serving in a…" Cam trailed off. "Never mind."

   "Dustin can't go out there either," Hunter reminded him.

   It took a few seconds, but Cam slowly turned to look at him. "So you're saying both of you have to stay in here-" he indicated the back of the miniature café, where it was mostly cooking utensils, "-and do nothing, while I serve every table out there?"

   Hunter shrugged, again nearly knocking the tray off the bench. "Lucky you."

   Cam simply growled at him before taking out the tray that had been precariously tipped at Hunter's shrug.

~-~

~-~


   Cam hadn't been serving alone for long before there was a lull in the people coming up to the bar and orders needing to be filled. He took the opportunity to survey the various sports going on a few yards away – most particularly most of the sparring.

   There was a balance beam set up; with the springboard Cam and Hunter had carried out yesterday standing at one of the ends. He also noticed a number of weights and gym equipment in detail he hadn't been able to see earlier whilst they'd been busy.

   The thing that really drew his attention – as it had drawn Dustin's, and Hunter before him – was the sparring mats. Perhaps more specifically the people sparring on the mats. Both brunettes – one with short hair, and another with a ponytail reaching a little past his shoulders. They were fairly evenly matched – the one with the long hair had a tendency to showboat while oddly enough having little imagination, but the shorter haired one was a minor case of strength over skill. The only person Cam had ever seen who had properly managed to fight like that was a student that came to study at the Academy, one Danny Delgado; he hadn't necessarily given up technique but he most definitively relied a little more on strength. This guy hadn't either, but in a few cases his weakness was exploited when he lacked the proper technique behind some of his moves.

   "Oh yeah, they're good," Cam muttered under his breath.

   "That's Tommy and Rocky," a voice spoke up from beside him.

   Cam swivelled his head quickly as he was startled. The guy on the other side of the counter a little further down smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

   "No problem."

   The guy nodded his head towards the two, who were slowly winding down. "The one with the ponytail is Tommy, and the other one's Rocky." He wiped his hand on his jeans before offering it to Cam. "The name's Billy."

   Accepting the hand, Cam shook it before absently wiping down the bench top. "Cam."

   "Are you new in town, by any chance?" Billy asked. "I don't think I've seen you around before."

   "Just passing through."

   "You here in Angel Grove on your own, or you travelling with family?"

   Cam had to think fast. "My two brothers dragged me along, in all truth. I doubt I'd be here if it wasn't for them." True, on all accounts, Cam reflected. If that alien beam hadn't hit Hunter and Dustin he wouldn't be in this dimension. And if Hunter and Dustin had never been around he'd be dead many times over.

   Cam let out a small self-mocking laugh. "They don't seem to like normalcy."

   Billy nodded. "I hear that – my friends aren't too fond of status quo either."

   Cam's eyes were drawn back to the two men, who were now walking up towards the counter, playfully throwing their towels back and forth.

   "I'll introduce you, if you want," Billy offered.

   Cam glanced uneasily over his shoulder to where he knew Hunter was attempting to burn a hole through the wall with his amazing glare powers. _Get to know the enemy,_ a voice that sounded disturbingly like his father echoed in his head. _What enemy?_ he asked rhetorically. _Only enemy around here are those other ninja people, and I don't see any of them around._

   "Hey," the shorter-haired brunette greeted, sliding easily onto the stool next to Billy.

   "Hey yourself," Billy returned. "Looking good."

   "Always are," the one Billy had called Tommy said confidently.

   Cam barely covered a snort. This guy sounded like a bad mix of Shane and Hunter – nearly too confident for his own good. Bold, italics, underscore, highlight on nearly.

   Billy turned a smile back to Cam. "This is Cam. Cam, this is Rocky and Tommy." He indicated the pair in turn, as if he hadn't already told Cam their names beforehand.

   "Nice to meet you," Rocky nodded.

   "Hi," Tommy grinned.

   Suddenly remembering what exactly he was being paid to do, Cam turned to motion at the room behind him. "Did you want a drink or anything after that little display?" he offered.

   "Nah, we're good thanks," Rocky smiled as he stole a water bottle from Tommy's hand.

   Cam grinned back. There was a few seconds of silence.

   "You new here?" Tommy questioned.

   "Yeah," Cam answered, again rubbing vaguely at the countertop. "Hopefully my brothers and I are just passing through. Ernie gave me a job here to pay the rent."

   "S'where you from originally?" Rocky asked, leaning on the counter and sipping at the water bottle.

   "Originally?" Cam asked, thinking quickly. "A city in China called Yinchuan." It wasn't a lie, at least not a big one. He had been born over there, but had moved back with his parents to the States as soon as his mother could travel. And his father and uncle – he could barely think of his uncle, banishing it from his memory as soon as he had thought it – had been raised there for a fair few years of their lives. And now if they wanted to go looking for his 'brothers', they would probably look for two more Chinese boys – instead of a born-and-bred Californian beach blonde and a brunette Brazilian.

   "Really? So you can speak Chinese?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

   "Not well," Cam hedged. "I moved early on."

   There was a sudden beeping noise, and glancing up through his eyelashes Cam saw the three exchange significant looks.

   "Hey, sorry Cam," Tommy apologised, grabbing the water bottle back from Rocky in an overtly casual move. "Rocky and I have a science project, and Billy here offered to help us with it."

   "No problem," Cam grinned back. He noticed a girl down the other end of the counter, waiting to be served, and quickly back-pedalled. "See you later."

   Billy waved over his shoulder as he exited. Cam watched his back until he disappeared around the corner.

   "I'll just be a second," he smiled at the girl, sticking his head through to the back room. "They're gone," he said, rolling his eyes.

   Hunter coughed slightly as he and Dustin separated. "Thanks, Cam."

   "Yeah, man, thanks," Dustin grinned as he exited past him.

   Cam stopped Hunter with a hand to the chest. "Don't you get enough make-out time at night in bed?" he asked, before turning and exiting.

   Hunter was left to sheepishly wipe his mouth and rearrange his shirt.

~-~

~-~

   "You know the first thing we should buy?" Dustin questioned.

   "What, babe?" Hunter replied, twirling his fingers lazily in Dustin's short brown curls.

   "A razor," Dustin said decisively.

   Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason?"

   "Stubble burn," Dustin said meaningfully, running a palm over Hunter's chin.

   The blonde playfully snapped at his fingers. "But it looks so manly and handsome," he protested.

   "And is gonna give me a rash," pointed out Dustin. "Unless you just don't want me to kiss you any more?"

   "Cam!" Hunter called urgently into the kitchen. "We need a razor!"

   Cam poked his head around the wall separating the two 'rooms'. "I can hear you, you know," he stated dryly, indicating the fact that the kitchen itself was a foot and a half away from where the two were reclining on their bed.

   "You need one too, dude," Dustin said, intrigued. "You look like one of those mobster people with the whole tough, unshaven look."

   Cam sent him a look. Before disappearing behind the wall again, he self-consciously brushed the back of his hand against the stubble growing on his chin.

   Dustin laughed. "You look cool!" he yelled out.

   "Not as cool as I do, though, right?" Hunter asked, posturing where he lay.

   Dustin propped himself up on an elbow and studied him, considering. "Not really, dude," he said at last.

   Hunter gave the merest hint of a pout that had Dustin relenting. "Alright, alright…you look cute."

   "I don't like cute," objected Hunter. "Cute makes me think of kittens and Tori with puppy dog eyes."

   There was a 'ding' noise from behind them, and Cam reappeared to go into the bathroom. "Done, guys," he said as he re-emerged, throwing two clean shirts onto the bed.

   "This really blows, dude," Dustin commented, picking up his own off-yellow shirt and surveying it.

   Cam sighed as he dropped onto the couch. "I know it 'blows', Dustin, but we don't really have much choice. We don't have enough money to buy any new clothes – at least not for a while."

   "Why do you always have to be the smart one?" Dustin muttered.

   Cam raised an eyebrow. "Because neither you nor Hunter are decently equipped to be the smart one, as you put it."

   Dustin visibly deflated. "Oh yeah."

   "Don't feel bad, babe," Hunter said cheerfully. "We get to be dumb ones together!"

   Dustin lifted an eyebrow. "Wouldn't we be the dumb two, then?" he asked, perplexed.

   Cam settled himself in for watching a very strange half-argument. It beat anything else to do around here.