Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Saban and Nickelodeon do.
AN: Welcome to the sequel to Endangered Legacy. When we left off, the rangers were celebrating Christmas 2005 together and now, nine months have passed and it is now September 2006. Thanks for all great reviews and here's notes to a few individuals:
Boris Yeltsin: I have heard of that movie, but I don't know if I've ever seen it all the way through. I'll have to check it out. Thanks though, I'm glad that I was able to capture the characterization and I love details. :)
lizziestrong7135: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story
Harry2: Yep, time to kick butt. And yes, there is the mystical alignment coming which sets up the next story in this series. Not a lot more to come in this story, but much more to come in this series. :)
brankel1: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. :)
TommyOliverMMPRFan: Yep, there are multiple situations at play here. The Zara storyline sets up the next story and the Mexican drug dealers will be dealt with in this one. There is a small foreshadowing scene that points to something more though with them. See if you can spot it. ;)
Pinkrangerfan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story! :)
garnetred: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. :)
Secrets
Sequel to Endangered Legacy
Part 3/4
"Rescue"
The two hired armed guards smirked, as they watched the two young people be dragged toward the entrance to the mansion. One whistled appreciatively, as he eyed Tori. Once they were gone, the other chuckled.
"They'll have fun with that one," he sneered to his partner, who chuckled. However, a few minutes later, he frowned, as they watched a peculiar thing happening in the dirt. It looked as though something was burrowing toward them beneath the ground and they exchanged a confused glance. Suddenly dirt sprayed them and they shouted in surprise, before trying to regain their composure. There was now a chocolate haired young man in front of them wearing an odd looking black uniform with yellow piping.
"Hey dudes!" he called with a grin.
"What…where the hell did you come from?" one spat, as he raised his handgun. His partner followed suit and Dustin raised his hands.
"Whoa…easy now, I'm not a threat or anything," Dustin told them.
"And why should we believe you?" the man asked in his heavy accent.
"Cause dude…you're like totally the one that's the threat," Dustin replied. The two men looked at him with confusion, as Dustin scratched his head.
"Wait…I don't think I got that right…" Dustin rambled. His actually genius plan to use his air headed likeness was actually working, for the two men advanced, only to be blasted with some kind of yellow energy. They looked up from their place on the ground, only to find the mirth in the young man's face gone. It was replaced with a hard set glare, as several more young people suddenly surrounded him. They were about to scream for help, but one in red and another in blue leveled their handguns at them.
"Scream and you're done," the blonde man in blue threatened. Rocky and Skull grabbed the two and cuffed them.
"Duct tape," Rocky requested, as Adam tossed it to him. He placed it over the two guard's mouths, as they glared up at the group.
"What now?" Kira asked.
"We go in, but I think the front or back door won't exactly give us the surprise we want," Jason replied. Shane shot an air beam at the ground and propelled himself onto the roof of the mansion. They waited, as the air ninja took a lap around, looking for a way in from the top and
he soon returned with a big grin on his face.
"You're not going to believe our luck. Mr. Rich Drug dealer has skylights all over the roof," Shane called. Jason smirked.
"The roof it is then," Jason said, as he grabbed the rope they had brought and tossed one end up to Shane.
"Tie this to something secure," Jason called. Shane did so and they started climbing, while Shane used his air powers to propel more of them one at a time until they were soon all on the roof of the compound.
A battered and bruised Jack and Alana gasped in horror, as they watched their captors drag their daughter and a tall young man into the room. They assumed this was the boy their daughter had been dating.
"No…" Jack said, as he struggled with his bonds.
"I am a man of my word, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson. You'll see your little girl pay for your mistakes and her boyfriend too. But first…I promised my men that they could have some fun with her," he sneered.
"No…I'll tell you everything you want to know, just don't hurt her!" Jack pleaded. Palo chuckled.
"You endured hours of torture and remained resistant, yet when faced with the horrible coming demise of your little girl, you cave before we can even do anything. She'll pay for your mistakes and show you why no one crosses me and lives to tell about it," Palo hissed, as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"Such a shame…you would make a lovely pet," he sneered, as he caressed her cheek.
"Get your hands off her!" Hunter growled, as he struggled with his captors. Palo glared at him.
"And just how do you expect to stop me?" he challenged. Hunter glared back.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," he responded, making their captors all laugh at him. Tori's cerulean eyes locked with his silvery blue pair, recognizing the look of sheer determination in them. She had seen that same determination in his eyes time and again as they faced evil in alien form and knew exactly what he had planned.
"Hunter…" she whispered, shaking her head.
"No secret is worth losing you," he whispered back, confusing everyone in the room.
"I don't know what nonsense you're talking about, stupid boy, but you're going to watch us rip your little girlfriend apart and then one of my men is going to put a bullet in your skull," Palo said, as he roughly grabbed Tori's arm.
"Put him over there with the parents," Palo hissed. Two of the goons grabbed Hunter's arms and instantly recoiled in shock, as they felt themselves be shocked.
"Shit…" one cursed.
"What the hell?" the other wondered, as they stared at the blonde.
"What's the matter, you idiots?" Palo hissed, as he caught sight of the young man he had in his captivity. A strange dark red electricity coursed all over his body.
"He's some kind of freak, boss," one cried.
"Just get him and put him over there, you moron!" Palo spat angrily. The two lap dogs tried again and were electrocuted this time, falling to the ground and flailing in pain, as crimson electricity sizzled all over their bodies. Palo looked at the blonde young man in disbelief, before raising his gun to shoot him. Suddenly, he was doused from head to toe by a beam of water. Aqua ribbons of energy coursed all over Tori's body, as the dangerous leader turned to her with a murderous glare. Neither Tori nor Hunter had ever experienced their powers reacting like this, but they didn't have time to question it. Tori leapt up and kicked him in the stomach and rolled over his back, as he doubled over in pain. Hunter split kicked the two hired hands, as they rose to their feet and then shoved them together, knocking their heads together, sending them to the ground in pain. Tori's parents stared at their daughter in disbelief, having witnessed her manifest water seemingly from thin air.
"Shoot them!" Palo called to his men. Tori smashed her elbow into his nose, breaking it on contact, as Hunter grabbed her arm and sealed them behind a thunder shield, as they stood in front of her parents, protecting them as well.
"That's a lot of guns," Tori mentioned.
"Yeah, we need a plan," Hunter replied. She smirked.
"I thought you had one when you shocked those idiots," she said.
"Nah, you know I make it up as I go along," he joked.
"Sweetheart…" Tori heard her Mom say, as she turned to her.
"We'll explain later, Mom. Let's just say for now that I guess you guys aren't the only ones with secrets," she replied, eyeing them both with a raised eyebrow. Jack nodded.
"It was to protect you, sweetheart, you have to know that. But I wouldn't mind knowing where you learned to fight like that," Jack replied. By her Father's smile, she could tell he was impressed. She nodded at Hunter and in the blink of an eye, they tore their civilian clothes away to reveal their ninja garb.
"Believe it or not, we're ninjas," Hunter chimed in, as he undid their ropes, freeing them.
"My shield isn't going to absorb those bullets forever though," he mentioned, as he concentrated on keeping the shield up even as sweat beaded on his forehead.
"If we can get a couple guns, we might have a fighting chance. Ever handle a gun?" Jack asked.
"Does a blaster count?" Hunter asked.
"Close enough," Jack replied, as they scattered. Jack and Alana took cover behind some crates, while Hunter and Tori crouched behind a steel overturned table. Tori sighed momentarily, as she watched the aqua ribbons course through her hands and looked at Hunter. The same thing was happening to Hunter, crimson energy almost crackling from his body. He seemed to shock anyone he came in contact with, but she seemed to be safe against his powers, for she wasn't shocked when she put her hands on his shoulder and arm.
"I've never seen our powers react quite like this," she mentioned.
"Me either, but I'm sure Sensei will have some insight," he replied.
"Babe…we may not make it out of this," she said sadly.
"No way Tor, this isn't how we end," he replied, as he surprised her by kissing her passionately.
"You hit these assholes as much as you can with water. Then I'll hit them with thunder and fry them. It's the only way out of this," he told her seriously. She knew that he was talking about using their powers to injure or even kill and it was strictly violating ninja code, but the situation was desperate. It was them or the bastards that would think nothing of killing them. She was going to choose them and her parents. Nodding to each other, they jumped into sight and bullets bounced harmlessly off Hunter's shield, as she sprayed a torrent of water at their attackers…
Shane knelt down and peered in one of the skylights, seeing the battle raging inside.
"Looks like we're late for the fight," Shane mentioned, as they watched Hunter and Tori use their powers to stay alive.
"Okay, we'll wait till the goons are under the falling glass. Skull, when I say, I want you to shoot this glass. Billy and I have vests, along with Rocky and Skull, so we'll go in first," Jason ordered, as he watched the battle.
Tori doused two more thugs with water and they angrily charged her. Hunter grabbed a long, thin two-by-four nearby from unpacked crates and snapped it in half on his knee, tossing half to Tori.
"Thanks," she replied, as they used them like bows and staffs they used in training. Hunter rapidly spun his like he would any thunder staff and took down to two more, before spin kicking the third. Tori thrusted the wooden weapon into the abdomen of another and back flipped to evade another foe. She stopped and gasped in surprise, as the one she had evaded pulled his gun.
"Tori!" Hunter called, as he tried to get to her. Before he could fire though, glass came raining down on him. Tori hit the ground, as he fired into the air and watched Jason drop onto him. He disarmed the thug and cuffed him, as Billy, Skull, and Rocky fired on anyone that raised their guns to them. Hunter crawled to Tori and they stayed down, while their friends provided back up.
"The Calvary has arrived," Hunter said, as he helped her up.
"Hey dudes!" Dustin called, as he hopped down from the skylight.
"How did you guys find us?" Tori asked with a relieved smile.
"Long story, but you can thank the Power Rangers F.B.I. over there," Dustin replied, as he joined the fight. Thanks to the added power, Palo and his remaining goons were forced to surrender.
"Who are you?" Jack Hanson asked.
"Jason Lee Scott, F.B.I., this is my partner Billy. And this is Rocky Desantos and Eugene Skullovich, Angel Grove P.D.," Jason replied.
"F.B.I. has no jurisdiction here, nor do these American police scum," Palo hissed.
"We're not here on police business, Ass hat," Rocky spat back.
"I'm confused. If you're not here on police business, then we can't legally arrest them! You just blew five years of undercover police work!" Alana exclaimed.
"Trust us, we'll explain everything. Just call your superiors and tell them you've arrested Palo Vasquez and his crew," Jason replied.
"And what happens when they start spilling the guts to my boss?" Jack asked. Billy smirked, as he pulled out a device.
"Don't worry, in a couple minutes, they're not going to remember any of this," he said. Jack and Alana had no idea what he could possibly mean, but a nod from their daughter allowed them the leap of faith they needed to trust these people and Jack made the call.
Tori sighed in relief, as Kira, Kim, and Aisha gathered around her, exchanging hugs with their ranger sister. Since the fiasco in Goldar's dark dimension, they had all kept in pretty close contact, especially the girls. But Hunter wasn't surprised when he was practically tackled by the three former female rangers with hugs.
"I don't know how you guys found us...but we're really glad," Hunter mentioned.
"You guys need to thank Billy. He happens to have a friend that works at the DEA who mentioned yesterday that two of their best agents had gone missing. Billy saw the names and pulled the files and was worried that these goons might be going after Tori when he saw that they arrived at LAX. That's when we used the ranger express to meet in Angel Grove and headed to Blue Bay from there," Kimberly explained. Tori chewed on her bottom lip.
"He and all his men saw our powers. How are we going to keep them from spilling their guts?" Tori asked. Aisha smirked.
"Doc Cranston, genius extraordinaire has that one covered too. You'll see," Aisha promised, as they followed them to watch the interrogation that was going on right now.
"Would you like some water?" Skull asked, as he placed a cup on the table in front of him.
"My hands are cuffed behind my back, you moron," Palo spat. Skull smirked.
"I know...I've always had a bit of a sadistic sense of humor, though it's nothing compared to your level of sadism," Skull retorted with a glare. Palo smirked deviously.
"Aw...you're talking about the dead little whores that smuggled my drugs over the border, aren't you? Don't lose sleep over that trash. No one misses a few pieces of ass like that. There's always more where they came from," Palo said smugly.
"Those girls had families, you piece of shit!" Rocky growled, as he threw the water in the man's face. His partner held him back form attacking the smug dealer.
"Easy bro, don't blow this," Skull warned. Palo scoffed.
"Your little good cop, bad cop routine isn't going to work on me, gentlemen," Palo informed.
"Fine, but you're going to talk...in fact, I think I'll have you singing like a canary soon," Jason said, as he loomed over the scumbag. Palo chuckled.
"Fat chance of that happening. You are screwed, police scum! I'll have your badges for interfering where you have no jurisdiction. You have nothing on me!" Palo spat, as he sat handcuffed to a chair. Jason approached him with a smirk.
"Nothing, huh? How do you know your employees aren't spilling their guts down the hall right now? Some of my associates can be very persuasive," Jason goaded. But Palo was unfazed.
"My men are loyal to me. They won't talk to the likes of you and when the real cops get here, I'll be telling them about this little crusade and demand an apology from the bureau. Then I'll tell them that they might want to have someone take a look at that blonde freak and his little whore! I saw what they did! I saw them shoot lightning and water from their fingertips!" Palo screamed. Jason kicked his chair out from underneath him and caught the man's chin before it hit the table.
"It doesn't matter what you think you know, slime ball. You picked the wrong people to mess with and in a few minutes, you're not going to remember anything from the last few days," Jason spat, as he hauled him up and put him back in a chair.
"You're...you're not cops..." he spat in disbelief, as he watched the blonde man in blue take a device that looked like it belonged in a Science Fiction movie out of his briefcase.
"Oh we're cops, but not right now. See, you picked the wrong girl to mess with and then you got us up in your business," Rocky replied.
"And when it comes to protecting our Legacy, we'll break the rules to ensure that bottom feeders like you aren't allowed to stain everything we've built," Billy said.
"There are more out there like me, you know. Some that operate in plain sight, some that wear polished business suits and that are regarded as some of the most prominent members of your society. They will find out about this, no matter what you do to me!" Palo spat.
"Shut up asshole," Skull spat.
"They'll find out about those kids' powers too and what's going on here," Palo threatened.
"Do it Bill," Jason said. Billy activated the device and Palo froze, as the memory extraction and rewriting began. Palo's warning still hung in the air though and they wondered if it was possible that it was more than just an empty threat...
By the time the rest of the DEA agents that were dispatched arrived, only Jack and Alana Hanson remained. The others were waiting back at the vans for them near the rest stop and their associates were a little surprised that two agents had managed to take down so many. Still, they had no reason not to believe them, especially when the ring leader himself started spouting curses at them about their betrayal. It seemed that the Hanson's had infiltrated and been so convincing that they managed to catch the entire operation off guard and taken them all down in one fell swoop. Their colleagues figured that it had been the culmination of five years of work, after all. Reporters were on the scene and the news would soon break back in the U.S...
Sometime later...
"And we have breaking world news tonight out of Mexico," the male reporter stated.
"A spokesperson for the DEA has just announced that they have arrested Palo Vasquez, one of the world's most dangerous and notorious drug Lord's. Vasquez has been linked to a series of homicides involving Hispanic young women who have been turning up dead in California for over a year. It is strongly believed that these young women were used as drug mules and then murdered to extract the drugs. He is also wanted for multiple murders and drug trafficking in Mexico as well," Tanya reported. Adam sighed and closed Billy's laptop in the hotel suite they had acquired in Mexico City, thanks to Tommy's connections to Wes Collins. Jack and Alana Hanson were still reeling from the earlier events and all they had learned. They were among the very few outsiders that had been let into their ranger world. They were stunned to speechless to learn that they were among former power rangers and their daughter was one of them. They were even more stunned when they had witnessed Billy use his device to erase Palo's memory, those of his employees, and replace them with a false account of events. They were all safe though, Palo and his goons were going to prison, and they would be home tomorrow.
"So…you are a power ranger?" Jack asked again in disbelief.
"I was three years ago, but I am still a ninja," Tori replied.
"We're sorry we didn't tell you about our real jobs," Alana said. Tori shrugged.
"It's okay I guess. I had my own secrets. I just hope we can trust each other from now on," Tori replied. Jack smiled and squeezed her hand.
"If you can trust us with something like this, then we can trust you with our secrets," Jack promised.
"Good, but can you make one more promise?" Tori asked.
"Name it sweetheart," Alana replied.
"Will you and Dad finally take some time off? I miss you both and I want to spend some time with you. I also want you to get to know Hunter, because he's a very big part of my life now," Tori requested. Jack and Alana smiled.
"It's a deal. Your Mom and I have earned some time off," he replied.
"Where is Hunter anyway?" Alana asked.
"He's talking to his brother Blake. He's going to meet up with us at dinner," Tori replied.
"So let me get this straight…you and Tori were kidnapped by Mexican drug Lords, because Tori's parents are DEA, and everyone went rogue ranger to save you guys. And no one bothered to call me?" Blake said, with obvious irritation over the video phone that Cam had set up in the living area of one of the hotel suites they were staying in. After the fiasco was over, they had made the jaunt back to the rest stop to get their vans. Realizing that it was getting late in the afternoon, Tommy had called Wes in Silver Hills and asked for a favor. Wes was only more than happy to rent out an entire floor of rooms at a nice hotel in Mexico City for them to sleep and regroup.
"Dude, no one knows where you are half the time," Shane reminded him.
"Yeah, I'm not even sure where you are most of the time," Hunter added. Blake sighed.
"We just got to Seattle," Blake told them with an eye roll.
"Seattle? That must have been a soggy track," Dustin mentioned.
"You have no idea. I got mud in places I didn't even know existed today, but seriously, I would have streaked home in an emergency," Blake said.
"Everything's been handled and we're all fine, thanks to Jason, Billy, and the others stepping in," Hunter assured him.
"Yeah, besides streaking from Washington to Mexico City would have worn you out. You wouldn't have been much good to us if you were dead on your feet," Cam added logically.
"I guess you're right," Blake said with a sigh.
"Hey bro, did you mail the thing I asked for?" Hunter asked. Blake smiled.
"Yeah, I overnighted it. It should be at Storm Chargers by the time you get back to Blue Bay," Blake answered.
"Thanks, we'll see you soon if you ever come visit," Hunter replied. Blake rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be home for Thanksgiving," Blake promised.
"Keep up on your training. We don't want you getting soft," Hunter teased.
"Yes Mother," Blake said, as he hung up and Hunter received questioning looks from the other guys.
"What?" he asked.
"What did you ask Blake to mail to you that you had to send it to Storm Chargers?" Cam asked. Hunter sighed.
"Well…when our parents died, we were left with all their possessions, which included our mother's engagement ring. At the time, we could have used the money and sold it, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do so. They had a great marriage…a love that I'd never thought I'd find in a millions years. Blake and I decided that whichever one of us found the woman we wanted to marry first would give her mom's ring. I gave it to Blake years ago, because I was sure he would get married way before me," Hunter explained. Shane smirked.
"Yeah, we used to think so too," he teased and the blonde rolled his eyes.
"Anyway…I've been thinking a lot lately and this whole experience makes me positive that I don't want to wait any longer. Her father has never been around long enough for me to ask for his permission, but now I finally have the opportunity. I'm going to ask her to marry me, so Blake is sending me the ring," Hunter announced.
"Copycat," Cam teased with a smile.
"Hey dude, you totally forgot about Shane and me though," Dustin reminded.
"Yeah, dirt boy's right. We're like her brothers," Shane added. Hunter sighed. He should have known they would make it a point to give him a hard time.
"And if you morons were being serious and didn't give him your blessing, Tori would clobber you both," Cam interjected. Shane and Dustin glanced at each other and thought about Tori's reaction to them being "cavemen" as she so affectionately called it.
"You know you have our blessing dude, you're like our bro too," Dustin said.
"Yeah, you have my blessing too and for more than just the reason that Tori would beat me up if I didn't give you my blessing," Shane replied, as they shared a manly handshake.
"She does hit hard," Hunter agreed.
"You should have seen the looks on some of those thugs' faces when she waylaid them," he mentioned and they shared a laugh.
"I think most of them peed their pants when they saw us use our powers. Good thing Dr. C had that little flashy thing that scrambled their memories," Shane said.
"Yeah, I've got to get one of those," Cam said.
"Ah…nerd envy," Hunter teased.
"Yeah, yeah, all that nerd stuff is usually what saves our asses, so poke fun all you want," Cam replied with an air of superiority, as Tori came in dressed in the sexiest dress that Hunter had ever seen. His mouth went completely dry, as he stared at the woman he loved. Truthfully, he found her to be stunning in no matter what she wore, be it her surf wear, ninja gear, or even her pajamas. But it wasn't often he got to see her in a party dress…especially one in crimson.
"Earth to Hunter…" Cam joked, as he waved his hand in front of the taller man's face. Hunter shoved his hand out of the way, as she sauntered toward him with a smile.
"Wow Tor…you look great," Shane said first.
"Yeah, totally like a girl-girl," Dustin added, receiving an elbow in the gut from Shane.
"Dude, shut up, she went psycho on us last time we called her that," the red ninja hissed.
"Nah dude, that was the fake Tori," Dustin replied. Cam shook his head.
"You guys are idiots," he stated.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Cam?" another voice said, as four more people entered.
"Wes!" Shane called, as they shook hands.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dustin asked.
"This is one of Rich boy's daddy's hotels so we decided to hop on the private jet and come party ranger style with you guys," Eric replied.
"And Jen and Taylor brought us some clothes besides what we have to wear, since we can't really go to dinner in our ninja gear," Tori added.
"Jen?" Cam asked. He had briefly met Taylor, but was now a little leery that there was possibly a woman among them that was being exposed to ranger secrets, not to mention ninja secrets.
"Relax ninja boy, Jen knows everything," Wes assured.
"Jen Scotts, Time Force Pink," she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, but I'm a Samurai," Cam replied in annoyance.
"Whoa…you're from the future!" Dustin exclaimed. She nodded, not being able to hide her mirth at the Earth ninja's enthusiasm.
"Yes, I was…but I'm here to stay this time," she replied, as she shared a meaningful look with Wes and threaded her fingers with his.
She had only been back a few weeks and while she would miss the other rangers in the future, she had concluded without a doubt that there simply wasn't anything for her in 3006. She had tried to move on with her life, but she had left her heart in the past with Wes. So after much urging from her friends and even Alex himself, she had decided to forge her own destiny and return where she felt she truly belonged.
"Yeah, Wes has been wearing that stupid grin non-stop since she got back," Eric said with mock annoyance, earning him an elbow from his blonde girlfriend.
"They thought this would be the perfect opportunity for a mini reunion. Not everyone is here, but they got Skyla, Marah, Kapri, and Leann. Kat and Tanya also left their kids with their parents for tonight too," Tori explained.
"Awesome…let's get this party on!" Dustin said.
"The girls and the rest of the guys are already dressed, so get to your rooms and change," Tori told them, as they headed to their rooms.
"You look amazing," Hunter finally said and she smiled.
"Thanks…now go get dressed so we can eat. I'm starving," she said. He nodded and almost tripped while trying to leave and look at her at the same time. Tori shook her head.
"You were right about the dress," Tori said. Taylor nodded. She had chosen to wear her own color that evening.
"I don't know what it is, but when we wear their colors, they act stupid," Taylor replied. She knew this from experience and Eric glared at her.
"Maybe they do, but not me," he protested. Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right," Taylor replied.
There's one more part in this story to tie things up and then I'll be moving into the 3rd story in this series. I don't know exactly how many stories will be in this series, but since I started this one, I have developed several more ideas. I originally planned on this being a trilogy, but it has grown beyond that. So not much more left in this story, but much more is left in this series. Hope you enjoy it!
