A\N: So, boys, and girls, today we learn two important lessons. First, if your textbooks arrive two weeks late, just give up before you spend a whole week cramming only to get a 27% on a test. Second, do not post without taking a minute to ask 'hmm, wait, am I posting the right chapter?', because your answer may in fact be 'yes, yes I am', but you will not know this, you will remove said chapter, and will look like an idiot. So yeah. However, the next chapter will be ready next Thursday, without any more chaos. Enjoy. :)

Location: Jurassic Park Island, California Waters
Date: July 12, 2000

Haley woke up in Tommy's bed. Her head was groggy. It was dark out, too. Why was she...

Tommy helped her sit up.

Haley blinked. Was that even really Tommy? It looked the same, even the bruise fading on his jaw and the mark on his shoulder...but oh, god, his eyes were so cold.

"Get dressed. Hurry."

Haley obeyed.

Her ribs hurt as she pulled on her clothes. Everything hurt. Part of her was still there, with Anton standing over her and screaming, feeling every single blow strike...

Tommy pulled the shirt over her head, bringing her back. Right. Not the time. Right. She had to focus.

"What's going on?" Haley whispered.

Tommy pressed a suitcase into her hand. "There's enough money here for a few weeks, but you need to go to a hospital as soon as you get to the mainland. I'm not sure you don't have a broken rib."

"What?"

Tommy took Haley's hand, guiding her out into the empty living quarters of the scientists. It was deserted; Anton's collection of students and friends had ebbed away, leaving only Tommy and Haley.

What Anton had hired to replace friends weren't worth thinking of as human.

When Haley saw the boat she understood. "Won't..." She started.

Tommy snorted. "No. He won't follow you."

Haley stopped. "No." Tommy glanced at her, confused, and Haley felt her strength (strength, where had that been a few hours ago, where had it been all these months) returning. "No, Tommy, you are not going to stay here and send me off without-"

"Haley." There was something in Tommy Haley had never seen before. She shivered and fell silent. "If we both leave, he will follow us." Tommy whispered. "But not if I stay."

Silence.

"The experiments." Haley guessed. "The ones..." She trailed off, gesturing at her wrist.

Tommy winced. Anton had 'accidentally' spilled acid on Tommy's wrist, pressing a gemstone to it to see what happened. Later, during an argument, he had 'accidentally' cut the same place, pressing the same stone to it.

Tommy told Haley it was an experiment, he knew what it was, and it would always fail. He never told her anything more than that.

Tommy dug something out of Haley's pocket. A stone, the same one Anton kept 'testing' on Tommy. "Take this. Keep it safe." He locked eyes with Haley as the stone pressed into her palm. "No matter what happens, never use it."

It was an emerald. Haley tucked it into her bra. No one would look for a jewel there. "Come with me."

Tommy smiled. Sadly.

Then, Haley didn't know how, she found herself on the boat and screaming out Tommy's name while it left and he waved from the shoreline.

From the shore, Tommy watched Haley float away. Then he heard footsteps behind him and turned. It was funny, there wasn't any emotion seeing his mentor's face, not even fear. Tommy felt as if he were high on a cold mountaintop, watching Anton advance with a face like stone.

The first blow still hurt, though.

*PR*PR*PR*

Location: 1992 Valencia Drive
Date: September 7, 1992

It hadn't been the best night.

Tommy knew the kids were already over (they'd apparently decided that they were only going to leave when Tommy actually kicked them out), but he took a while in the shower, looking himself over, running his fingertips over what he couldn't see, trying to make sure there were no bruises, no scars.

At least he only remembered one nightmare. He could guess at what the others had been. They were better left wherever his brain kept unremembered nightmares.

Tommy came out and went to the kitchen, starting pancakes before he remembered what he was doing. He stared at the batter, Haley's laughter and Anton's dry humor ringing in his ears.

He shook his head and started making pancakes.

Tommy went down to the lair with his stack, muttering something about work, and buried himself in paperwork. Damnit. He hated that dream, hated remembering...

The alarms started beeping.

Tommy groaned. Another day, another monster.

FML.

*PR*PR*PR*

Location: Mesegog's Island, Unknown Waters
Date: September 7, 2003

If there was one thing Elsa hated, it was stupid people.

She really wished her master didn't count as one of them.

"Welll?" Mesegog hissed, having just demanded to know why she sent 'weak' monsters after the Power Rangers and if she was secretly in league with them. "Doyou...hhhave an excussse?"

"My lord," Elsa said as politely as she could manage, "I'm not sending down monsters to defeat them, I'm sending down monsters to get readings on their Power levels."

Mesegog blinked.

Elsa smiled charmingly, pressing her advantage by walking over to the computer and calling up the relevant screens. "You see, Master, in each monster is a scanning device. By using this, combined with what I can learn from the Galactic Ranger Corps' public database, I can cross-reference exactly what type of weakness they have, so we can design a monster based on that."

Mesegog blinked.

Elsa prayed. There was more than a hint of sarcasm in her prayer, but the Goddess was probably laughing. Or not listening. Pick one.

"Your plan isss...unnesssecarrry." Mesegog hissed finally. "Wecan...defeaaatthem eassssily. Next time I order an attaack...donot hessitate."

Elsa tried Plan B. She walked over to Mesegog, reaching out to caress his shoulders and smiling winningly. "My lord, I understand your impatience, I really do, but we're not fighting some rookie here. Tommy Oliver is the leader of-"

Elsa saw stars. Her head had hit the wall. So had most of her body.

She got up slowly, bowing. "Yes, my lord."

She walked away.

*PR*PR*PR*

Location: Unknown
Date: September 7, 2003

His mother wasn't sleeping well.

She had a concussion. He'd learned how to treat those, sometimes on himself, but it was terrifying to have his mother and teacher as a patient.

What if he got it wrong?

After a few hours of fruitless waiting, he gave up and started drawing. He'd covered his bedroom completely with drawings, but this one had occurred to him a while ago.

In this drawing, there was a huge, lonely battlefield. No one was in sight. The city around the combatants were desolate ruins. He drew the Power Rangers kneeling in a semicircle around Mesegog's dead body, then his mother, standing over Mesegog with a knife dripping blood. Nuclear warheads flew over them in the sky.

That was when his mother woke up.

Elsa blinked and answered questions and seemed all right. He was relieved. She looked at his drawing, and he felt a bit embarrassed. It was a childish game.

His mother smiled.

"Where are you?" She asked.

She wasn't awake for much longer than that, she still needed rest, but when she fell asleep again, he frowned at the drawing.

Then, carefully, he put himself behind his mother, supporting her. Her loyal son.

He always would be.

*PR*PR*PR*

Location: 1992 Valencia Drive
Date: September 7, 2003

"Hey Dr. Ooooo!" Conner sing-songed. "You've got a girlfriend!"

"What?" Kira jerked upright. They'd all half-fallen asleep in front of the TV, since it had started to rain. "Ooooh..." Kira's grin was pure evil.

Tommy groaned and swiped at the phone. "Conner, gimme." Conner snickered and handed the phone over. "Hey, whosis?" Tommy muttered.

"Tommy?" Haley asked.

Tommy sat bolt upright.

"We have a problem."