"Where is everyone?" Rocky muttered, glancing up and down the street. "Someone has got to be around."

He and Adam were standing a short ways down the street from the Rock Porium. They'd stopped by once already, but neither Tommy nor any of the kids had shown up. So they had gone back to the hotel to see if Tommy was still there. The room had been empty, though they did find his ruined shirt in the trash can. So, assuming they'd missed him, the two men had headed back to the Rock Porium. But there was still no sign of anyone and he wasn't answering his phone.

"I'll try calling Tommy again," Adam said, pulling out his phone. "He probably turned the ringer off again…Oh. Hayley's calling. I guess he doesn't have it after all."

His phone had just started ringing.

"Wait!" Rocky said. "There are the kids!"

He pointed down the street. Adam looked where he was pointing and saw the five Mystic Force rangers hurrying back into the Rock Porium.

"Well, that's a start," he sighed, ignoring Hayley's call for the moment. "But I don't see Tommy."

He didn't want to talk to her until they had a better guess of where Tommy had gone, so he turned it on silent. Rocky did the same and they both put them away.

"Maybe they know where he is," Rocky said as they started to head down the street.

Adam nodded. Reaching the shop, the two men walked in after the team. Inside, the young rangers were gathered around the counter having a quiet discussion. There weren't any customers in the store and Toby and Leelee were nowhere to be seen. But as Adam and Rocky walked in, the rangers turned.

"Adam? Rocky?" Vida said in surprise.

They smiled, walking over to join the kids.

"Hey girls," Adam said. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere."

All of the rangers hesitated, glancing at each other.

"Umm… Around," Madison said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came with Tommy," Rocky said, shrugging. "To visit for your birthday."

The kids flinched at the mention of Tommy, exchanging looks again. Adam and Rocky frowned.

"Everything ok?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Chip said quickly. "You guys haven't seen Tommy recently, have you?"

Adam raised an eyebrow, glancing over to Rocky. They both shook their heads.

"We haven't seen him in hours," Adam said. "We were hoping you guys had seen him…"

"Yeah," Rocky said. "Last time we saw him he was heading to the hotel to get cleaned up—apparently he managed to get himself too close to a ranger fight again."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"He's got the worst luck," he said. "Always ends up in trouble."

Adam nodded in agreement, though he was watching the kids. He wasn't sure what had possessed them to drag Tommy to their base, but something was definitely going on. None of them were meeting their eyes and all five looked extremely nervous.

"So, have you seen him?" Adam asked expectantly, still watching closely.

They definitely flinched again.

"Uh, not in a while," Xander said. "We umm… we lost him."

Nick rolled his eyes.

"You two should stay away from him anyways," he scoffed, crossing his arms.

"What?" Rocky said in surprise.

"Nick's right," Vida agreed. "Tommy isn't who you think he is."

Rocky and Adam frowned, looking at each other.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, confused.

Tommy hadn't said anything about the girls wanting to avoid him. Sure, he'd lost it a little, but he hadn't gone that far.

"We just—we just think you need to stay away from him," Madison said quietly. "Please?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Adam said slowly. "Why would we need to stay away from Tommy?"

"Because he's dangerous," Nick snapped. "So steer clear. We gotta go."

He jerked his head toward the door, stalking around Adam and Rocky. The other four started to follow. Madison paused in the doorway, hesitantly looking at the two confused men.

"I—I'm sorry," she said quickly before darting out the door.

Once they were gone, Adam and Rocky looked at each other.

"Ok, even I got that something weird is going on," Rocky said. "We've gotta find Tommy."

"Let's go," Adam agreed.

The two men left the shop and started making their way through the city, methodically searching anywhere Tommy might be and splitting up to cover more ground. But a couple hours later, there was still no sign of their friend. Tommy was nowhere to be found.

"Now I'm really worried," Adam sighed as the two regrouped by the park. "I know he disappears sometimes, but he's not even answering his communicator. And it's rare that he doesn't answer that."

Rocky nodded grimly.

"You don't think one of the monsters got a hold of him and the kids couldn't tell us, do you?" he asked.

"No," Adam said, shaking his head. "There's no way they would have just been sitting at the Rock Porium—no matter what happened at their base. I really don't think they know where he is."

It was Rocky's turn to sigh now.

"Then what do we do now?" he asked. "I'm out of ideas…"

"We call Hayley," Adam said reluctantly, reaching into his pocket. "Because if anyone is going to be able to track him down, it's her."

Pulling out his phone, he unlocked it and stared in surprise. He had seventeen missed calls. And they were all from Hayley.

"Umm… Rocky?" he said slowly. "Check your phone. Did Hayley call you?"

Rocky frowned, but pulled his out.

"Yep," he said in surprise. "Nine times. I've got a couple of voicemails, too."

"And I've got seventeen calls and nine voicemails," Adam said, scrolling through them. "I'm kind of afraid to hear what they say…"

Rocky nodded in agreement.

"But why do I only have nine?" he asked. "That kind of hurts…"

Adam snorted.

"Just be thankful you don't have to listen to all of those voicemails," he said. "Not that I'm going to bother with mine right now—I'm just going to call her back."

Hitting the callback button, Adam put the phone to his ear. Hayley answered nearly immediately.

"Where have you been?" she snapped. "Now where is he? Is he alright?"

Adam frowned.

"Tommy?" he said. "Hayley, we haven't seen him in hours. That's why I'm calling. We were hoping you could track him down with his communicator."

"What?" she cried. "What do you mean?"

Adam took a deep breath.

"Tommy had some argument with the kids earlier," he said. "We didn't get all the details, but apparently he got a little too close to one of their fights and then they made him go back to their base against his will—their green ranger tied him up with something. We caught up with him after he slipped away from them, but he wasn't happy and wanted to go clean up. And we haven't seen him since."

"Some chaperones you two are!" she snapped.

"He went to take a shower!" Adam protested. "We figured he could handle that on his own. He was supposed to meet us back at the Rock Porium after. The two of us went to get something to eat."

"Then what happened?" Hayley demanded. "Why did he send out an SOS call?"

"What SOS call?" Adam exclaimed in shock, looking at Rocky. "We didn't get anything."

"It was with his Dino communicator—and I didn't get the whole thing," she said, clearly frustrated. "All I got was something about an attack and someone knowing. And he hasn't answered anything since then."

Adam glanced at Rocky again, his face grim.

"Hayley, we've looked all over town and haven't been able to find him," he said. "Do you have any idea where else he might be?"

"If I knew where he was I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you two!" she snapped. "All I know is it has to be around a strong concentration of magic because that's the only thing that could be messing with my system like this."

"Then we'll start in the woods," Adam said. "The kids said they haven't seen him, but that's the only place I can think of where magic would be that strong."

"Hurry," Hayley pleaded.

"We'll find him," Adam said. "If you hear anything, let us know. We're not going to stop searching until we find him."

Saying a hurried goodbye, Adam hung up and put his phone away after making sure it was back on ring.

"Let's go," he said when Rocky started to ask what was going on. "I'll explain on the way, but I'm pretty sure Tommy's in trouble."

The two men took off toward the woods, looking for any sign of Tommy as Adam brought Rocky up to speed.

Hanging up with Adam, Hayley took a shaky breath as she continued to pace around the lab. Ever since she heard the SOS call come over the communicator she'd been in a state of panic. Tommy would never send out a call like that without a solid reason. And it was scaring her that she couldn't find any sign of him.

"Jason—I have to tell Jason," she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face. "He needs to know."

Continuing to pace, she dialed Jason's number as she glanced at her computer screen again. It was continuously running the ranger emergency tracking program as it tried to lock on to Tommy. But she'd had no luck at all in the last few hours.

"Hey, Hayley," Jason answered after a few rings. "What's going on? It's almost midnight."

She took a deep breath.

"Jason, Tommy's missing," she said without hesitation. "He was in Briarwood and he sent out an SOS and now he's gone."

"Wait—back up. I don't like those words." Jason said. "Are you serious?"

"No, I'm not," she snapped. "I just wanted to see how fast I could get you to react. Yes I'm serious!"

"Ok, ok," Jason exclaimed. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" she cried. "He was visiting your sisters and apparently he went back to the hotel to clean up after some kind of incident and never came back. Then he sent out an SOS call—something about an attack—and there's been nothing since. Rocky and Adam can't find him anywhere."

"What attack?" Jason asked. "Hayley, I'm going to need more details than that."

"I don't know anything else," she snapped. "All I know is what I told you. The message was almost all static and I barely got anything—just the words under attack and they know. There's nothing else."

"Alright," he said. "Alright. We'll find him. Where does his communicator say he is?"

"Jason, what part of missing do you not understand?" she shouted. "If I could tell you where he was someone would have already found him. I can't get a lock on anything!"

"Ok, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "Do you have any ideas at all?"

"Nothing," she said frantically. "I have nothing. Rocky and Adam are still looking, but they aren't finding anything. Jason, you need to get over here—now."

"I'm on my way," he said. "But it's going to be a few hours. I have to—aww… I've got to take Mark somewhere. Trini can't handle him while they're both sick."

"Just hurry," she begged.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he promised. "I'm going to get Mark ready and take him to my parents' house. Rose is already at Trini's parents' house, so I don't have to worry about that. Trini will be fine by herself. Do you have anyone else with you?"

"No, I don't," she cried. "I called the kids—and they got Tommy's SOS, too—but they're all hours away at school. Trent was in the Bahamas with his dad, so he's on a plane. You're the closest one right now."

It was all she could do not to start crying right now. She felt so helpless with no way to help.

"I'm coming," Jason said. "Just hold tight and call me if anything changes."

"Please hurry," she said again.

Hanging up, she clutched the phone tightly for a moment as she went to the computer again. There was still no signal. Taking a shaky breath, she went to sit down at the computer and try another series of tracking sequences. She had to find him.

"Tommy, where are you?" she muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Madison sighed, pulling her legs up on the chair. "This is a disaster…"

The rangers were back at Rootcore. After leaving Adam and Rocky at the Rock Porium, they'd returned to the forest to talk and think in private. But so far they had been unable to come up with any new ideas.

"We'll just have to watch for him," Nick said. "There's nothing else we can do until we figure out where he is."

"I'm just hoping we find him before Rocky and Adam do," Vida muttered, shaking her head. "If he hurts them…"

"I'm still having trouble believing Tommy is evil…" Chip said slowly. "I mean, he's never shown any signs before."

"He attacked Maddy," Nick said shortly. "Without provocation."

"And I think he was trying to convince me to take his side," Madison said quietly. "He kept saying something about how I didn't understand and if I just listened I might change my mind…"

Reluctantly, now that she had calmed down a little, she had started coming around and agreeing with the rest of her team. But she was still shaken up by the whole thing.

"I think this has been going on a lot longer than we think," Xander said suddenly.

He'd been quiet since they got back to Rootcore, but no one had said anything. They were all a little distracted right now. The other four turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Vida frowned.

"He's just been biding his time," he said. "Think about it. He's been watching us all along, waiting for an opportunity to try and turn us. Tommy has been evil since high school and now he finally has the chance to use us for his purpose. I'll be he's even been passing information to our enemies from the beginning."

Vida snorted.

"Oh, yes," she said sarcastically. "He's been watching us since he was in high school because somehow he knew we were going to be power rangers since we were six—that makes so much sense."

Xander paused, frowning.

"Ok, so maybe I didn't think the whole thing through," he muttered.

"But you may not be completely wrong," Daggeron said, joining them. "Tommy could have been, or still be, passing information to our enemies. You need to be careful, rangers."

He had been studying the scan since they left, but had gotten nothing further from it.

"I'm still not sure," Chip said. "I mean, if he was really trying to get information from us then why did he bolt out of here the minute he got the chance? If he wanted to spy wouldn't it make more sense to try and convince us to let him stay here and look around?"

Daggeron shook his head.

"Not necessarily," he said. "There is a chance he has been passing information since his first visit."

"How much did you two tell him?" Nick asked, looking at the girls.

"Nothing important," Vida said defensively. "We only talked about stuff that had already happened. I don't see what he could have gotten from that."

Nick didn't press the issue. They were all on edge and he really didn't want to fight with his teammates right now.

"I think we could still save him, though," Chip pressed, determined not to give up so quickly. "We should at least try."

Madison quickly nodded, glancing at Chip.

"Chip is right," she said. "We should at least try. He is Jason's best friend, so he can't be all bad…"

Daggeron sighed.

"There's always a chance," he said slowly. "But don't get your hopes up too high. Sometimes you just can't change who a person has become."

"Yeah, I know…" she mumbled. "I just—I—I hate this…And what are we going to tell Jason?"

Vida grimaced. She hadn't thought about that yet.

"I don't know," she sighed, leaning against her sister's shoulder. "I don't know…"

"I already told you, TJ," Justin said impatiently, leaning over his keyboard for a closer look at the computer screen. "Hayley is still repairing her network after the whole lab fiasco two years ago—her network doesn't reach as far as it used to. That's why I need your satellites. So keep moving—slowly—and give me a chance to try and catch a signal. He has to be there somewhere."

Hayley had called Justin about an hour before to tell him what was going on and ask for his help. Hearing the panic in her voice, he had immediately jumped on board. She never panicked if it wasn't completely serious and beyond her control. Realizing he'd need more satellite access than he could get quickly—or at least legally—he'd called TJ. Fortunately, TJ and the rest of the Space Rangers had been on earth and able to help, which meant he didn't have to use illegal means to gain access to the satellites he needed. They were now making slow passes over Briarwood and the surrounding areas allowing Justin to use their systems to try and catch the GPS signal in Tommy's communicator.

"Come on…" Justin muttered, shifting his phone so he wouldn't drop it.

It was currently pinned between his shoulder and ear so his hands were free to fly over the keyboard.

"Where'd you go, Tommy?" he frowned. "I know you have a knack for disappearing, but this is a little extreme. There has to be a—oh!"

He leaned closer to the computer, something on the map catching his eye.

"Slow down, TJ," he snapped. "I think I—I found him! Stop there. Stop there!"

"I'm trying!" TJ retorted. "It's a big ship. It doesn't stop on a dime."

"Just don't move unless I say so," Justin said, practically leaping out of his chair. "He's still moving a little and I don't want to lose him."

"We're stopping," TJ reassured him. "Just go get him."

"I'm going," said Justin.

And he was. Shoes already on, he grabbed his computer in one hand and his keys in the other, keeping his phone pinned to his shoulder as he bolted for the door.

"I've gotta get to him quick," he continued. "Before I lose him again."

"Just don't get a speeding ticket, kid," TJ said. "That's the last thing you need right now—getting pulled over."

Justin snorted.

"I'm not getting pulled over," he said. "I have a radar system in my car. Plus, I really don't think they're going to be catching the car I'm taking."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Justin, you own a Sunfire…" TJ said slowly. "You're not outrunning anyone in that thing."

"Not the car I'm taking," Justin said distractedly, maneuvering himself very carefully out the door. "I'm taking the one Tommy helped me with a few years ago. He doesn't get out very often, so he should be rarin' to go."

"Justin," TJ said. "What car are you talking about?"

"Well, he's more of a jeep, actually," Justin corrected, kicking his door shut behind him.

TJ groaned.

"You didn't," he said. "There's no way. You aren't saying what I think you are."

"What?" Justin said. "You guys have a ship now. I've gotta have something down here all by myself. Besides, I'm pretty sure Tommy's got Lightning hidden up at his cabin. I haven't been able to prove it yet, but he's pretty hesitant about anyone snooping around up there."

TJ sighed. Justin had made it out to the garage, juggling things to get the door open. He walked inside and hit the light switch with his elbow. The blue jeep parked inside beeped in greeting, the headlights flashing briefly.

"Hey, Blaster," Justin said, hurrying over. "We've got a mission. Tommy's in trouble."

"Justin, I don't think—" TJ started to say.

"Sorry, TJ," Justin interrupted as the door opened for him. "Gotta go. Need to focus on Tommy. Don't move on threat of Hayley. And trust me, you don't want to mess with her right now. The space ship won't save you from her if you make me lose Tommy again."

He hung up before TJ could protest, climbing in and shutting the door. Setting his computer in the passenger seat, he dropped his phone next to it and put the key in the ignition. Ignoring the seat belt Tommy had insisted on installing, Justin opened the garage door and peeled out at top speed.

"Hang on, Tommy," he muttered, glancing over at his computer to check his direction. "I'm on the way."

Gotta keep moving… Can't stop… Need the distance…

Tommy stumbled but pushed himself to keep moving. He didn't know how long it had been since he ran from the rangers, but it felt like forever. For a long time he had kept running, but eventually he had started to run out of energy. Using his ninjetti abilities to put distance between himself and Mystic Force had drained a lot of energy quickly. Now it was all he could do to force himself to keep walking—taking one step after another.

Still not safe… Keep moving…

The ground suddenly changed beneath his feet, shifting from dirt to pavement and causing him to stumble again. After countless hours of stumbling through woods and fields, he'd found a road. Without even really being aware of the decision, he started following the road.

Need to get home… Home is safe… Keep moving…

He'd been stumbling along the road for a while without any signs of cars when he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. Throwing up his uninjured arm in front of his face, he kept going as the lights drew closer accompanied by the familiar roar of a car engine.

Can't stop… Keep going…

The car pulled off a short ways ahead and he faintly heard a car door open.

"Tommy!" he heard someone shout.

Racing down the road, following the map on his computer screen, Justin was relieved to finally see a familiar figure stumbling down the road ahead of him. Pulling to a stop just ahead of Tommy, Justin quickly opened the door and leapt out of the car. Tommy hadn't stopped walking toward him.

"Tommy!" he shouted, running toward him. "Tommy, are you alright?"

Tommy didn't react to Justin's shout. He just kept stumbling forward, his right arm up to shield his eyes. Justin ran up to him, reaching out a hand.

"Tommy," he said again.

He put a hand on Tommy's arm, but immediately had to jump out of the way. Tommy jerked and nearly hit Justin in an instinctive reaction.

"Whoa, hold on," Justin said, backing off a little. "Tommy, it's me. It's Justin. You're safe now. I came to take you home."

Tommy took a few more hesitant steps forward as he stared at Justin and then he finally stopped. But he still didn't say a word.

"Oh, this is good," Justin muttered grimly. "Tommy?"

He reached out hesitantly again. Tommy didn't try and hit him this time, but he flinched and put his arms up in defense. But almost instantly he grimaced in pain and brought his left arm back down, cradling it against himself. Seeing Tommy's reaction to moving the arm, Justin took a deep breath. He'd been afraid of something like that—he'd been hoping his guess about Tommy being hurt would be wrong.

"Come on, Tommy," Justin said, trying to coax him now. "Come get in the car. Blaster and I will do the driving—all you have to do is come along for the ride and you'll be home before you know it."

Tommy still didn't budge.

"Definitely in shock," Justin sighed. "Don't know what happened, but someone really did a number…"

He continued to coax Tommy, trying not to touch him as he finally got him moving toward the car. Darting ahead to open the door and move his computer, it didn't take much longer to get the injured ranger in the car. Deciding he was better off just getting Tommy back to Reefside, Justin didn't check injuries other than to make sure he wasn't bleeding. As soon as Tommy sat down in the passenger seat, he curled defensively into himself. Leaning forward with his head down, he kept his left arm cradled against his chest and his right arm up with his head resting in his hand.

"Let's go, Blaster," Justin said as he climbed back into the driver's seat. "We gotta get him home."

Taking off as fast as he dared with the injured Tommy in the seat next to him, Justin grabbed his phone and dialed Hayley. He'd been waiting until he actually had Tommy to call her, but now he didn't want to put it off any longer. She answered after the first ring.

"Justin? Any sign of him?" she asked desperately. "Please tell me you found a signal."

"I've got him, Hayley," Justin said. "He's in the car and we're on our way."

"Oh, thank the Power," Hayley gasped in relief. "Is he alright? Can I talk to him?"

Justin sighed.

"I don't think he's up for talking right now," he said, glancing over at Tommy. "He's in shock… And I didn't spend too much time checking for injuries—especially in the dark. I just wanted to get him home. So I know he's hurt, but I don't know how bad…"

Hayley took a deep breath.

"Ok," she said. "Just—just please get him home. I need to see he's ok…"

"Coming as fast as I can," Justin said. "We should be there within the hour, so be watching. He may need help getting in the house…"

"I'll be watching," Hayley promised. "Just get back here safely."

Hanging up with Hayley, Justin turned his focus back to the road as he sped through the dark toward Reefside. Despite several attempts, Justin couldn't get Tommy to respond to him. The older ranger just stared down at his feet and ignored anything Justin said to him. By the time Justin finally turned into Tommy's driveway, he was really starting to get concerned.

"We're back," he said, pulling up in front of the house. "Hayley is waiting for us. I saw her at the window."

Justin parked and started to climb out of the car. The front door of the house had just flown open and Hayley was rushing toward them. But before she could reach the car, or Justin could even get out, Tommy was moving. Surprising Justin and Hayley, he flung the door open and bolted out of the car. Hayley stopped, expecting him to come to her. But he ran straight past her and into the house. She spun in surprise, hesitating for a moment before going after him with Justin not far behind.

"Tommy!" Hayley exclaimed, rushing after him.

Hayley and Justin got into the house in time to see Tommy disappearing down the hall toward his office. By the time they got down there, he'd vanished.

"He's down in the lab, isn't he?" Justin said, looking around the empty office.

"Yes. Yes he is," Hayley sighed, walking over to the desk. "But at least he's home."

She hit the switch to open the door and turned around. Nothing happened. The trapdoor stayed close. Hayley stared at it in surprise for a moment and then tried again. Still nothing. She frowned.

"He locked it," she muttered. "That's not like him…"

"I told you," Justin said as she grabbed the computer off of the desk. "He's in shock. He ran to the lab because he knows it's safe."

Hayley sighed, fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Well, the good news is my password overrides his," she said. "So just a few more numbers and—well, that's odd…"

She frowned at the trapdoor in confusion. She'd entered the override, but the door still hadn't opened.

"Ok, that's it," she growled. "I'm getting down there right now."

Justin muffled a snicker as Hayley bent over the computer again as she continued trying to override whatever was keeping the trapdoor shut.