Chapter 2: So You're Going to Be a Mentor…
"And so I brought them back with me," Tommy finished, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder as he tried to make sure that everything he'd brought back was in a safe place. "I figure I'll set everything up here in Reefside."
"With Hayley's help, I hope," the voice on the other line chided. He winced a bit. She didn't sound happy.
"Yes, Kim. With Hayley's help. Don't you trust me?" He asked, trying to make his voice sound as innocent as possible.
"You just blew up an island, Thomas Oliver. Is now really the time to ask me that?" He sighed at her response, as well justified as it was.
"Did I mention I brought back what was important? Look, can you meet me here?" He asked, trying to get her back on subject. "I'm going to call Hayley here in a minute, but…"
"I'm already in town, Tommy. When you mentioned that you were going to go that damned island, did you really expect me to stay away? Especially when I heard on the news that the same island exploded?" She snapped. "I'm at the hotel, but I've been heading over to your house since I saw your number come up. I'll be there soon."
"Kim…" he started, but the phone line had already clicked. Fair enough that she was angry. After all, they were supposed to be partners. Considering that there were three rangers that had agreed to try to create morphers, the other three had decided to partner up according to who worked best with the other. Kim and he had worked together the longest, other than with Billy, and the two were able to coordinate with each other both in physical and mental degrees. Trini and Jason were likewise able to work together which was just was well as Billy and Zack were far better matched than anyone realized with Billy's intelligence mixed with Zack's resourcefulness and resources in general. Billy's problem of communication had been fixed by Zack's growing company and they were able to keep better contact with each other than with anyone else was with the former blue ranger.
The last time he'd talked to the young business man, Zack had told him that Billy was a little past the research part of it and had moved into the gathering of materials. It would more than likely be several more years before he got anything into effect and Tommy was actually ahead of him in terms of progress now. He still couldn't believe that his energetic friend had managed to become such a successful business man, but his resourcefulness and quick-thinking were valuable assets that had allowed him to be great at his job and give them funding when they needed it. Not that Tommy had, considering he'd had Mercer, but Zack's growing fortune had allowed Jason and Kimberly the opportunity to open the dojo/gym mix and had funded much of Trini's research. The ecological scientist had managed few break-throughs, yet she was constantly searching for something that would work. He had chosen to look into the past for help, she into the present ecosystem, and Billy had looked on other worlds. That way, they made sure they were looking into three separate areas.
He shook himself out of his thoughts. Enough of that for now, he needed to call Hayley. He shifted the phone to his other ear to give the first a break and waited for his friend to answer the phone. He wasn't surprised by her response either. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"
"Hi Hayley…" he stated, but she wasn't finished yet. He inwardly groaned as she continued her reprimand. He'd thought that when Kim and Hayley had met and gotten along that he wasn't going to have to worry about fighting or yelling, but he'd forgotten that two women who liked each other tended to band together against an outward target, i.e. him. "I take it you heard from Kim…"
"She just picked me up! She said you were going to call!" He held the phone away from his ear for a moment before listening again. "You had us worried sick!"
"I got that Hayley, but I save the gems and…" He started.
"It wouldn't have mattered if you were dead. The world is… look. We'll finish this when I get there, okay?" She growled. He could practically hear Kim nodded her head in agreement and knew that he was in for it when they got here. He quickly agreed and they hung up, leaving Tommy feeling more than nervous. Still, with the two of them there, they'd be able to get started on figuring out what to do now. After all, unlike Zordon, they didn't have the ability to make random things appear when needed. They needed to build them. Then again, Alpha had built a lot, so maybe he was off base. When you're sitting around for 10,000 years, it was much easier to plan things and build things. He only had a certain amount of years on earth and it was only a matter of time before evil came back, so they needed to work as quickly as possible.
He heard the door open and slam. "In the basement!" He called, muddling around the nearly empty room. He wasn't really sure what he was doing, having set the gems aside for now, but he had a feeling that it might go better for him if he looked busy. Both women entered, one right after the other, into the room and faced him. Kim's arms were folded while Hayley's were on her hips but both shared the pursed lips and the glare of a ranger woman, even if Hayley had never been a ranger. Tommy quickly decided that it had to do with knowing the secret or from hanging out with a ranger. "I hate it when you two gang up."
Hayley threw up her hands and Kimberly just continued to look at him. "You're not a ranger anymore," she reminded him. She looked older now, though still just as beautiful in his eyes. They hadn't dated again, though they had put the ugliness of the past behind them and built up a strong friendship again. "You could have been killed. You should have been killed. Do you understand the word 'killed'?"
"But…" he said. "I got the gems."
"You're going to keep bringing those things up until I decide to agree with you, aren't you?" She asked. At his sheepish look, she rolled her eyes. "Damn it, Tommy!"
Hayley, on the other hand, was looking at the crystals. She reached to pick one up, but Tommy raced past Kimberly, cutting her off before she could continue, and grabbed Hayley's hand. "No! If you touch it, it might bond!" He said quickly. "We're not supposed to be rangers."
"No thank you." Hayley put both hands up and made sure not to touch it as she examined it. Kim, on the other hand, moved from reprimanding to business quickly after that.
"So, we have the gems. Now what?" She asked. Tommy sighed and sat down.
"Now, I need Hayley to help be build a Com… base of operations," he said, changing his wording quickly. "And I need you to help me think of things we could use."
"So, we're in brain storm mode, huh?" She asked. He nodded and the two sat down to think. Hayley joined them and began to sketch out ideas on what they came up with.
"Well, morphers," Tommy said. Kim just looked at him. "I know, duh."
Hayley grinned and pulled out a different sheet of paper. "Already taken care of the design. How do they look?"
Both of the former rangers looked over the designs and nodded approvingly. Kimberly smiled at her. "They look great. May I make a suggestion though? Can you build a communicator into the morpher because I remember being sixteen and responsibility was not always there."
"Afraid they'll lose one or the other?" Tommy asked in amusement. Kim's eyes narrowed a bit.
"You did. I did. We all did at some point. If it wasn't our communicators, it was our morphers. Face it, teenagers aren't the most observant people on the planet."
Hayley nodded. "I'll agree with that. I had moments of my own where I lost things and that didn't even include saving the world. I'll see what I can do, Kim."
"Thanks, Hayley," Kim answered. Tommy got back to thinking.
"Well, unless Hayley's a miracle worker, I think the teleporter is still a little out of our league, but we need a way to get around," he said. "Some of my experiments should work but, I, uh, sort of lost them when the island exploded."
"You lost them?!" Both women cried out. The former multicolored ranger looked embarrassed by this and both women rolled their eyes. Hayley reached over and began to write something down.
"Leave it to me," she said and looked at Kim. "I know you tell me he was worse than this, but are you sure you weren't exaggerating?"
"Sadly no. We tried to help him, but after he got worse, we stopped. He's actually better now." she answered. Tommy tried to ignore the conversation and concentrate, deciding not to bring up that he was trying to get off an exploding island with the gems. They sat there for hours on end, thinking about various things and trying to come up with every little thing that Zordon had had, or at least an alternative to it. After, they leaned back in the chairs to relax, well, other than Hayley who leaned back, but continued to jot down ideas.
"We're going to have to tell the others," Kim mentioned. Hayley nodded, but Tommy paused. It was hard enough to admit to these two women that he'd lost a lot of what he'd been working on. Kimberly gave him a look. "We promised each other we'd let the others know and I know that Trini isn't anywhere near ready and Billy is still behind us."
"Yeah. So, are they going to come here to help or are we doing this on our own?" He asked. Kim paused at the question. It was a good one as they'd all agreed to be mentors, but with the other teams still creating, taking them away from their work might not be the best in case something went wrong with the gems, the morphers, or the gems didn't work well with morphers. After all, they'd gone through several morphers and zords in their tenure as Power Rangers. A back up plan would be nice to have.
"Our own, I think," she answered. "I'll visit every weekend. Don't worry about the cost. If you let me stay here, Zack will supply the money. That said, Hayley, when you come up with a better vehicle…"
"You'll be the first person I call. I promise," Hayley answered, waving her free hand as she continued writing.
"Good. And Tommy? Don't be too proud to ask Zack for help. With Anton gone, Zack's the best payroll you can get," she said and leaned into him, whispering. "And maybe get something for Hayley, huh?"
"An early Christmas present?" Tommy asked and Kimberly nodded. They both knew what she'd been trying for and they remembered how much they'd enjoyed the Juice Bar. A modern version would be a great addition to the city, especially for the youth.
"Exactly. Make sure you put my name on the card." With that, the former pink ranger hugged them both, making sure not to wrinkle any of Hayley's pages, and headed for the door. "Call me if you need anything, but right this second, I think I'll be in the way."
Tommy chuckled and got to work helping Hayley prepare. He knew that Kimberly would take care of calling the others as she wanted to help with something and that left less that he had to do. He smiled to himself at that and wondered what the future held.
Author's Note: After this chapter, an AU version of Dino Thunder begins. Mainly because the other rangers will be involved. Things may change due to that fact, but the timeline will stay on course until the end of the actual series where this story will continue. This will be a long story, though I'm not quite sure how long yet.
Haley's café was of interest to me as I loved the concept of it being like the Juice Bar. However, it seems to have been around for a few years and watching some of my peers, it's difficult to get a loan with no collateral and with school loans hanging over your head. So, the idea of the present came to mind where they helped her get it up and running. It's only fair with everything she does and goes through.
Last, but certainly not least, thank you for the reviews. It really made my day. I wish I could give you guys a timetable on how soon everything will be up, but I figure unless something bad happens, I should be able to get up a chapter a week minimum. Depending on the week, such as this one, more is a possibility.