Chapter 10: Changed Complications
"Kim! Stop that! I did not bring him back to the lab for you to pound on the amber every two minutes and try to crack it with your bare fists," Hayley snapped. "You should be resting anyway. Besides for the injuries you got against the white Ranger, you have new head wounds from fainting."
"It makes me feel better," Kim grumbled, unable to cry anymore. When they were sure it was safe, Kim had forced Hayley to take her with to get Tommy by sitting in the jeep and insisting that sitting in the car was the same as sitting in the lab. Not really wanting to fight with her, they'd headed off toward the abandoned building.
"You're going to stay in the car," Hayley said as they approached it.
"Keep telling yourself that, Hayley. You might actually believe it," Kim snapped, unbuckling and dragging herself out of the car once it was stopped. Hayley threw up her hands and followed, more than annoyed at the lack of care Kim seemed to have. She was starting to think that all Rangers had a death wish. They walked over to the amber prison and Kim stared at it as Hayley ran the instrument up and down.
"He's alive, for now," she told her. Kim nodded, a little too calmly. Hayley was a little surprised at how well Kim was taking it until the other woman lost all composure and leapt at the amber.
"You son of a bitch! You get out of there! Right now! Do you hear me?!" Kim screamed, banging her hands against the amber. It hurt, but she didn't seem to care at this point. Looking back later, she wondered if she ever really felt it then. "How dare you leave me! Get your ass out of there! Get…"
Her anger fled and the tears poured out. She hit it once more for good measure before sinking to the ground next to it. She felt Hayley wrap her arms around her and she just continued to cry. Hayley wasn't doing much better, but seemed to have taken over mentor mode and helped Kim to the vehicle, got Tommy inside, and they'd headed back to the lab before Hayley completely broke down as well.
"It might make you feel better, but you're hands are already cut open from the first fifty times you hit it," Hayley told her, more than a little annoyed. She'd had to say the same thing about fifty times too. "So, stop that."
"You called the kids, right?" Kim asked, changing the subject as she rubbed her hands a bit. Hayley wasn't exaggerating as the blood fell down her arms a bit from the sides of her hands. Hayley nodded.
"They're on their way," she promised, turning back to try to figure more out about their problem.
"What are we going to tell them?" Kim asked. "How do we explain to them that we lost their teacher?"
"We didn't lose him, Kim. We know where he is. And as for the amber… it was an accident. It happens and they will understand that," Hayley told her, though half-way reassuring herself as well. "And you're their teacher too, but if you think that you need help, call Jason."
Kim nodded. It wasn't that she didn't think she could handle the job, it was that she didn't want to do it alone right now nor did she think she'd be efficient enough without help. Therefore, without hesitation, she reached for the phone and dialed. "Hello?"
"Jason? It's Kim. Listen, I have a problem here…" she started and heard him sigh.
"Just talk to him, Kim. That'll solve whatever you guys are fighting over now," he answered, sounding a bit annoyed. Understandable considering the last trip he'd made there. Still, he wasn't expecting her to get that quiet and was surprised that when she did speak, her voice was small and broken.
"I can't," she whispered. "He… I can't. I need help with the teens. Please?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can, Squirt." All annoyance had flown from his voice and he tried to sound as soothing as possible. "You going to be okay 'til I get there?" He asked and Hayley gently took the phone from her when she didn't answer right away.
"She'll be fine, Jason, just… hurry," the technical wizard told him and they hung up. She placed a hand on Kim's shoulder. "You'll be fine."
"Why wouldn't she be?" Both women looked to the door as the three teenagers headed down the steps. Conner had been the one to ask the question and he stood at the bottom with the other two flanking him. All three looked confused, but Kira, being the more perceptive, looked at the two women.
"Are you guys alright? You don't look so good," Kira mentioned and Conner glanced over, following Kira's lead.
"Did you hit your head, Kim?" Asked Conner. Yet, it was Ethan who noticed the amber pile and frowned.
"I don't mean to insult your choice of decorations, Kim but… Doctor O?!" Ethan cut himself off once he saw inside of it. His eyes widened and he turned to look at the two women who just nodded. Kira immediately moved over by Ethan and had a look as well while Conner looked at Hayley and Kim, putting on his leader face.
"What happened?" He asked and Kim's face went from upset to of pure fury.
"The white Ranger," she answered and Conner's eyes narrowed.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered, glancing over amber. "Is he…?"
"He's alive, Conner. Just in hibernation," Hayley answered. "We just can't get him out yet."
"Why not? Let's just blast him out," Conner suggested.
"That might kill him," Ethan said absent-mindedly. "It could shatter him."
"New plan," Conner decided. "Let's not do that."
"I'm sure Tommy would appreciate it if you didn't," Kim whispered, her voice void of humor. Conner looked over at her and then at Hayley who shook her head, not quite knowing how to react to Kim right now.
"Hey, Kim, let's get you something to eat upstairs, huh?" He suggested and she opened her mouth to say something, but Conner cut her off. "He'll be fine. Come on."
He took her upstairs and looked through Tommy's refrigerator, scrounging up some food that was easy to make and healthy to eat. "I told him I'd talk to him when he got back."
Conner looked over at her, almost not sure if she was the one who said it. She sounded broken, unlike his normal fiery teacher. Then again, he had to admit that she was broken both physically and emotionally. "So, that's good. You were going to talk, right?" He asked, unsure of what she meant.
"That's all I said, Conner. No 'I love you'. No 'Be careful.' Nothing. Just that we'd talk." He finished making a salad and tuna sandwich, handing it to her and sitting down.
"I think I know how you feel. I mean, if I hadn't left that stupid egg finder, he wouldn't have gone after it," Conner said, feeling pretty horrible himself. If there was one thing that Reds were good at doing, it was taking blame for everything that happened around them. "But no. I wasn't thinking. Again."
"You were thinking, Conner. You were just thinking about the end of the world instead of a metal device. Trust me, you picked the better thing to think about," she promised. "Jason's coming."
"Yeah, I guessed he would," Conner answered. "We going to need Trini too?"
Kim looked at him in confusion for a moment before understanding what he was asking. "No, I'll be alright. I just need a little time."
Conner nodded. "I guessed that too. So, anything I'm supposed to learn from this?"
"Yep," Kim answered. "When Hayley says 'be careful', you should be careful. Apply that to anyone of us who says it."
"Got it," Conner answered. "If you're feeling better, we should probably get back down there. Ethan and Kira probably could use some help right now since it's still sinking in for the three of us."
They headed back down and Conner wrapped his arms around Kira, holding her while talking quietly with Ethan on the situation. Hayley looked over. "They're growing up."
"Afraid so," Kim answered and she sat down to help Hayley or at least to distract herself for five minutes. Hayley reached over and grabbed the first aid kit, pulling out some bandages to roll around her hands. Kim let her, though it restricted movement and then looked at her. "What are we working on?"
"There isn't anything I can do for him, right now, Kim. And a lot of stuff needs to be fixed up. We'll work on other things and come back to the problem later," she answered and Kim nodded.
"Right."
"I'm not going to hurt him, Hayley. I'm just going to murder him," Kim muttered to her friend as Trent headed for the door. "With my hands. Or a spoon."
"I don't think you can kill people with spoons, Kim," Hayley informed her. "Look, obviously he's having a bad day. Let it go."
"He quit. On us. And in case you have noticed, one banana smoothie with whipped cream, we're a little busy. Who ordered the strawberry?" Kim answered, handing out the drinks as she spoke. "He could have at least waited until after, peach smoothie, we were slower."
Hayley handed three more drinks to various customers. Both women were trying to keep up with the demands, were exhausted and agreed that it really hadn't been the best time for Trent to quit. Still, Kim had been watching him like a hawk since he walked inside the building and she seemed to have pushed all of her annoyance onto the unfortunate young man who dared to quit when the former pink Ranger had other things on her mind. Kira had chased after him, trying to talk to him which didn't surprise Hayley one bit. She'd seemed to have stars in her eyes since she first met him. Ethan looked a little worried over the whole exchange and Conner seemed more disgusted, though at what she wasn't sure.
"Like I said, Kim, let it go. Why is this getting to you?" Hayley asked.
"Some of the things he's been doing: the lateness, the quitting, the sick look. Basically, the odd behavior. It reminds me of something… green," she answered, making sure Hayley caught the last word.
"You mean?" Hayley asked and Kim nodded.
"That's my guess, why?" She asked.
"No reason, really. Kira just went out the door with him!" Hayley snapped and both women looked at each other. Kim raced to the back quickly and got on the communicator.
"Jason, it's Kim. You there?" She asked. She hadn't been able to have too much time to talk to her old friend, but he was definitely another helping hand.
"I'm here, Kim. What is it?" Jason asked.
"There's this kid, Trent. Nice enough of a guy, but he's been acting really funny lately. Strange funny, not haha funny," she told him.
"Has he been acting like Tommy did?" Jason asked.
"Not quite, but it could be different symptoms this time around. Look, I'd worry about it later, but he headed out the door… with Kira," Kim explained.
"Got it. I'll keep an eye on them," he answered.
"Thanks, Jase. I owe you one," she said and headed back to the café. Whether or not she was right, she was glad he was taking it seriously.
Kim, for one, was glad when work was over and slipped back to the lab to be with Jason and Tommy, even if the latter was a giant rock. "Well?" She asked as she entered. Jason glanced up and nodded, though not happily.
"You were right," he said. "He told Kira. She's trying to convince the guys to help him right now."
Kim sighed and sat down. "What do you think, Jason?" She asked.
"What you're thinking. Not just how can we trust the kid, but how can we save him?" He answered. "Face it, Kim. We've been here before a lot of times. We've been through being evil and we've been through trying to save others from being evil. And now that we know he's under a spell, it's our job to try and save him."
"But at what cost, Jason?" She asked, pointing to her ambered boyfriend. "We already lost Tommy, we nearly lost Conner, and it's exactly as it was when Tommy was green. Down a mentor and nearly down our red Ranger. Only this time, there isn't a sword that we can destroy."
Her irritation boiled over and she smacked the wall before Jason could get to her. Like her, he remembered how hard it had been when Tommy was green including when he nearly lost his life to his soon-to-be best friend. Jason wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder. "We're not going to lose anyone else," he promised. "We won't."
"How do you know?" She asked and Jason looked up. Kim turned around to look at Conner, Ethan, and Kira.
"Because they can handle it."
Not one of them looked happy by the end of it. Kira was crying in Kim's arms about how she tried, but he wouldn't listen to her. Ethan was looking between Kira and Conner, who was so beyond angry, that he was sparring with Jason to calm himself down. The poor blue Ranger wasn't sure which he was supposed to go to. Hayley watched over the whole thing, not quite sure what to do like her pupil, but experience guided her more. She looked over at Kim, who was gently rubbing Kira's back. "Did Tommy ever…?"
"He didn't run," she answered shortly. "He needed to get away when he lost his powers, but he didn't run exactly. Then again, the evil completely took him over."
Hayley nodded and Kira looked at Kim hopefully. "But he was completely evil, right? So, we don't know what he would have done if he was only partially evil."
"No, we don't, Kira," Kim agreed, holding her close. "But it's harder to help someone who doesn't want help."
"So, why bother?" Conner asked angrily, breaking away from Jason who needed a break anyway. He folded his arms and headed back over. Ethan glanced at the distance and made sure to keep it even between Kira and Conner. Now wasn't the best time for him to pick a side. "He's tried to kill us and look at Doctor O!"
"But he didn't mean to!" Kira argued. "At least, not our Trent."
Kim looked at Jason who nodded to her. The former pink Ranger took a deep breath and looked Kira in the eyes. "These things tend to get worse before they get better, Kira," she said. "More than likely, he'll get more evil before he gets good."
"It'll take him over," Jason agreed. "And while I think that we should try to save him, I don't think it's a good idea to trust Trent right now. That goes for you too, Kira."
Kim just held the girl as she cried a little harder and was happy to see that Conner was calming down a bit. Ethan was just staring out toward the computer and back at Tommy periodically. "So, what do we do now?" Ethan asked, trying to bring the conversation back to something productive.
"What we've been doing," Jason answered. "The three of you are going to keep going to school, being Rangers, and trying to enjoy yourselves while Hayley, Kim, and I try to figure everything else out. And guys? You can come and talk to us about anything, alright?"
They all agreed and Kim turned to Conner, handing him some money. "Why don't the three of you go to a movie or something? We'll call you if anything changes, but I think that all three of you could use a break. And Conner? Try to keep her away from Trent and vice-versa, okay?"
Conner nodded and gently took Kira, the rest of his anger melting away as he did so. Angry at Trent or not, he was still there leader which meant that he still needed to be there for his team. Ethan happily took the way out, following. They headed up the stairs, not in the mood to fight with their mentors right now about staying, and took off. Kim looked at Jason and Hayley. "We need a plan before we all end up dead."
"That bad, huh?" Jason asked and Kim nodded.
"He's strong, Jason. And there are only three of them right now. You and I could try to fight, like the raptors and I did with the lab, but we need a better plan. One that doesn't involve us getting mutilated," she answered and paused for a moment before continuing. "And we need Tommy back."
"I'll work on that, Kim. You and Jason should probably worry about trying to come up with a plan. A good plan," she answered and Kim nodded.
"On it."
"'Let's go check on the energy thingy' you said, 'It might be important!' you said. You didn't say that it was a good walking distance from the house when I suggested the car, Jason," Kim snapped. Jason laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"It's not that far, Kim. We'll be there soon. Besides, they're not complaining," he told her, pointing at the three kids who were moving quickly and talking with each other quietly.
"Of course they're not, Jason. They have abilities that make them heal quicker. I, on the other hand, am still dealing with some of my injuries!" She said, not happy at all by the conversation.
"Now, come on. Where is the happy, bouncy Kim I know?" He asked, giving her a pouty look and she smiled a bit.
"Sorry, Jase. It's just been a rough little while," she told him and he nodded.
"I understand. There!" He pointed ahead of her at their destination and they caught up with the teenagers. "And there's the reason that we tagged along."
She looked over and saw Trent standing there for which she outwardly groaned. "You better grab Ethan, I've got Conner."
"Can you handle Conner right now?" He asked her, but backed down at her look. "If you say so."
Kim grabbed both of Conner's arms while Jason quickly made sure that Ethan did nothing either. Kira held her hand out to stop them from going after the newly evil Ranger which seemed to slow both boys down at least a little. Kim looked at them as she let Conner go. "We have a job to do. We'll just grab the rock and… Oh shit."
Kim looked as the Tyrannodrones came out followed by a rather cowardly monster. She pushed aside any pain and stood ready beside Jason. "Why is it whenever you take me outdoors, we get into this kind of trouble?"
"Hey, we're not evil yet," Jason argued, trying to look at the bright side.
"Key word there," Kim joked. "Left or right?"
"Right," he answered heading in that direction as they got to work. Neither adult were terribly surprised to see Trent joining in on the action. He wasn't in evil mode yet, at least they didn't think he was. Still, a helpful hand was a helpful hand right now. "We're going to end up taking you to the hospital by the time this is over. You do realize that, right?"
"I'm not that… Oww! Pain!" Kim said, falling backward as one of the drones hit her straight in the ribs. That didn't stop her for too long, however, and she knocked the Tyrannodrone's legs out from under it before picking herself back up for more of them. Jason was doing far better, which wasn't much of a surprise to Kim, as he was completely in business mode at this point. She looked at the monster whose attitude had completely changed. He hit Conner backward and Kim picked up a large staff-like stick, hitting the creature in its own back. "Hey Ugly! Over here! Morphing, guys. New plan. Morphing!"
"They're already on it," Jason teased as they were already morphing up. He did offer her a quick smile, though. "Good teaching."
"Thanks," she answered, about to say more when she felt a wave of dizziness knock into her. She glanced over at Jason to see that he was having the same problem and she had the feeling they weren't the only ones as the three Rangers took a step or two back. She looked around to see if Trent was having the same problem, but he wasn't anywhere around, causing both Kim and Jason to groan. Jason kicked the ground and looked at Kim. "Well, this sucks."
"But, you two feel alright, right?" Hayley asked Kim and Jason as the Rangers headed out to various, unusual for them, activities. Kim looked over at her and sighed, leaning against her hand.
"I suppose," she answered, staring off. "It's not like my life can get that much worse anyway, right?"
"So, you guys look like you have everything handled here," Jason said without answering the question to Hayley's surprise. She wasn't sure what surprised her more: that he didn't answer the question or what he had said. "So, Trini should be getting back toward Angel Grove. I think I'll grab her and swing by to Vegas. Nice little elopement, you know?"
"That's sweet," Kim answered and heavily sighed. "No one ever does that for me."
"Uh, no. Freeze. You're not going anywhere," Hayley said to Jason. "We need you. Here. Now. Remember, you're covering for Tommy."
"I'm sick of covering for Tommy," Jason snapped. "It's all I do. He's late, I cover. He's making out with Kim or Kat, I cover. He gets trapped in a big rock, I cover. No more covering! I just want to go, grab my fiancé, and go to Vegas to elope. Is that asking for so much?!"
"So, she said yes? Good for her. No one is ever going to love me like that! My one chance is in a big rock!" Kim whimpered, bursting into tears. Hayley looked about ready to hit her head into a wall and turned to Red, who was fully recovered after his last battle.
"They should've attacked the lab now," she muttered. Red chirped in agreement as Jason was trying to race out the door and Kim was crying at the table. "We're all going to die."
After a couple of hours, Hayley was annoyed. After eight hours, she was tired and annoyed. After a day, she was tired, annoyed, and pissed. Kim and Jason were both no help, though she could use Kim to get things if she needed to. It would just take a long period of time and the object would be soaked in tears. She'd given up on Jason, knowing that she'd have to tie him down to a chair before he's stay there and it just didn't seem worth it at the moment so she'd let him out the door finally.
She'd tried to get the kids to help and had succeeded in making sure that they fought a monster at least once, but they were little to no help beyond that. Hayley held her head and glanced at Kim who was sighing and looked as if she was doing a good impression of Eeyore. They'd decided that they were exhibiting a hidden, repressed part of themselves and that was good to know, but they weren't doing well on figuring out how to fix it.
"Kim? Can you go get me some fruit from the kitchen? I'm a little hungry," she gently asked as Kim sighed again, slowly dragged herself from the table and wandered up the stairs. Hayley turned to the amber beside her. "You owe me so much for this when you're out of there…"
Jason grinned when he saw that Ethan and Conner were together. This would be much easier since the two that he was looking for were together. It wasn't that he didn't like Kira, far from, but he wanted to hang with the boys today and they seemed much more likely to join him in his plans than their teammate. After all, shopping was not in his plans. He just had to do this smoothly so that both wanted to come, albeit for different reasons, and he had a way of planning for it: the same way Zack always managed to get Billy and him to join him. Of course, in those days, they hadn't done anything like what Jason was planning, but the principle was the same.
"Hello, boys," Jason stated as he stood between them, his face far from its normal seriousness or even from its normal smile. He was smiling, but it was more of a roguish smile instead, an indicator that he wasn't in his typical state of mind.
"Hey Jason," Ethan said, doing another sit-up and not planning on stopping at the moment. Conner glanced up from his book.
"Salutations, Jason," he added. "Is there something you needed?"
Jason nodded casually. "Yes, there is. See, I was thinking about getting married to Trini in Vegas. It's quick, easy, fun. No planning, but I need a bachelor's party."
"And… you want us?" Ethan asked, finally stopping to look at their temporary mentor. "Why?"
"You need a break. Besides, if I ask my own friends to go, they'll start bothering me on things like waiting, responsibility, planning… I know you two won't. You're much too cool for that," Jason said slyly. While true he didn't believe they would, he didn't mention that he thought it was for their own good to get away for a while. He'd spent his teenage years fighting monsters too and he hadn't taken a break like this. If they didn't, they might end up on a different planet, end up with a broken heart, or become Mr. Serious for a long period of time. He didn't want that to happen to them. Responsibility tended to ruin all Rangers in Jason's opinion.
"So, Vegas?" Ethan asked and, after a minute, he nodded. "Sounds like fun."
"You are forgetting that we are minors, Ethan. While Jason may be able to gamble and participate in other unsavory activities, we cannot," Conner reminded him, starting to look back at his book. Jason had been waiting for this and gently pushed down on the book so that Conner would look at him. He felt Ethan join his side and inwardly grinned. He'd have more help with this than he realized.
"Come on, Conner. You think I didn't think about that? Trini's computer in Angel Grove can make you both fake IDs that would fool anyone. Alien technology," he said calmly. He left out the fact that the technology was supposed to be used to cover up their identities if needed. "And that means that you can calculate the odds, figure out other tricks of the tables, and help Ethan and I."
Conner looked like he was thinking about it and looked a little worried after a minute. "Won't Hayley and Kim be mad?"
"Only if they catch us. Besides, I'm your mentor right now too. So, they can't really yell at you for a training exercise, can they?" Jason asked and headed in for the closer. "Think about the math, the various things that you'll see on the way there, and you can even look at the architecture once we're there. Come on, Conner. Be a red."
Ethan looked eagerly at his friend and Conner's worries seemed to temporarily vanish. While he still wasn't sure about this, they wanted him to come along and most people wouldn't want a geek to join them. "Okay," he agreed and rushed out with the others, taking his book with him.
Jason grinned. His plans had worked perfectly and Operation: Need to Relax was about to begin, followed by the most exciting time of his charges' young lives if he had anything to say about it. Not to mention a quick marriage to the girl of his dreams and maybe he could convince her to do skydiving during the honeymoon. He had a life to catch up on instead of trying to find a stupid power source, after all.
Hayley hadn't expected them to be happy to come or even without complaint, but she was surprised when only one of the three rangers showed up. Hayley glanced over at Kira and sighed. "Where's Conner and Ethan?"
"I don't know. I was busy shopping," she answered, looking annoyed. "Which I would still be doing, but you called. So, what is it?"
"I think I know how to fix Tommy. That rock that made all of you act weird, I think it might be able to help him so I need for you to go get some of it…" Hayley began and groaned as she heard the sirens go off. "Or for you to fight a giant monster. I'll find the others. Take Yellow."
"Fine," Kira said, looking a little bored, but she powered up and got on Yellow's back, heading for the door. Hayley looked around on the screens and groaned, turning to Kim.
"Do you know where they are?" She snapped and Kim shrugged.
"Jason mentioned eloping and a bachelor party," she said with a deep sigh. "Probably in Vegas. He didn't even invite me."
"Oh, get over… Vegas?!" Hayley immediately looked at the screen to find Tommy's jeep, seeing it heading out of town. "Kim, get up. Grab one of the cycles. We need to go. Now! Raptors, you follow behind so when we catch up to them, they can Power Up and go."
"Why don't you use the communicators?" Kim asked, dragging herself up again and looking less than enthused. Hayley had just asked her to get up and get fruit. Kim had to do everything.
"I tried," Hayley answered, clenching her teeth. "They're not listening. So, come on."
Kim sighed, but hopped on the cycle following the red one that Hayley had grabbed out the door. It was not a good day.
"So, we're heading to Angel Grove first?" Ethan asked, having grabbed the front seat and relaxing at the trees went by. "Why?"
"To pick up the lovely bride to be," Jason answered. "We go, I ask, she accepts, we grab the IDs, and enjoy Vegas."
"What if she says no?" Ethan asked and Jason brushed him off.
"She already agreed to marry me, Ethan, and why wouldn't she agree to marry in Vegas? Who wouldn't want to get a quick elopement?" Jason asked, swerving around a truck and into the other lane. He tore back into his own lane soon after, yelling in glee. Ethan wasn't much better, cheering him on. Poor Conner was just hanging on and not saying a word. They'd almost hit a car doing that.
"If you say so," Ethan said with a shrug over Jason's answer. "God, this guy is slow. Can't you go around him too?"
"Give me a sec. Is there room on the right?" Jason asked and Ethan looked.
"Yep," he answered.
"Isn't that illegal?" Conner spoke up and Jason shrugged.
"Yeah, but it's for a good cause," he said and explained at Conner's confused look. "Love, Conner. Alls fair in love and war."
Conner gave a half nod while Ethan cheered Jason on. Jason didn't seem to need it and he brushed past the car without paying too close of attention. "What if we get pulled over?" He asked, worried.
"Then you and Ethan suit up and tell them that you commandeered the car for some sort of emergency. You needed to be able to jump out at a moment's notice," Jason answered and even Ethan looked a little nervous on that. Both boys were trying to think, since they knew that there was something wrong about doing that. They just couldn't remember what.
Conner didn't say anything, but looked behind them. "What if Kim and Hayley pull us over?"
Jason made a noise. "And what makes you think that they'd do that?"
"They're right behind us on the cycles," he answered. Jason looked in the mirror and then at the jeep's speedometer before he swore. He floored it, trying to dodge them, but they pulled in front, herding them to the side of the road and beyond so that no one could see what was going on. Jason hit his hands against the steering wheel. His plan was completely destroyed. Making sure that they were pulled over enough, both Hayley and Kim took off their helmets, replicas of the Rangers' actual helmet and looked at the others.
"That was a bit reckless," Jason mentioned. "How are going to explain why you pulled us over?"
"One of the kids will suit up and explain tomorrow that the jeep had something dangerous in it," Hayley answered. "They were making sure you weren't going to die. I borrowed Kim's cloak and she's been wearing blue for the past day and a half, so they won't know who we were. That's not a problem. What is a problem is the three of you. What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking that I wanted to marry Trini and that the boys needed a break," he answered, his voice in an uncharacteristic cocky tone. "I would have taken Kira too, but she was busy shopping."
"Jason…" Hayley nearly growled. She turned to Conner and Ethan. "Kira needs help, change, take the raptors which will be here any minute and go!"
They looked about ready to argue, but neither really wanted to be murdered by a irate café owner so they chose to do what she said instead. They raced off and Hayley turned on the other two. "Now, I can't get that rock myself because it will mess with me, possibly, and then we're all screwed. So, you two are taking the cycles, you are getting the rock, and so help me if I find out that you're not doing that, and I will find out. You'll wish Mesagog had gotten a hold of you. Now get!"
Kim loudly sighed, but got on the cycle while Jason looked at Hayley, folding her arms. "Suppose I don't want to do this. Suppose I want to go to Vegas, New Orleans, or ski in the Alps. Suppose I've decided not to do your little plan."
His expression wasn't evil, though it was challenging, and worse it was almost a sneer. Hayley sighed knowing that his anti-responsibility had hit its highest level, though she was prepared. She leaned in closely so that only he could hear her. "Then there won't be anything for Trini to get excited over anymore, will there?" She asked. Her tone was completely serious. "I'm a genius, Jason. You wouldn't know until it was too late."
"Come on, Kim!" Jason said quickly. "We need to get that rock. It's important and we need it."
"I guess," she said, still looking upset, though ready to go. "Jason, do you think I'm pretty?"
Jason's eyes widened. He threw on the helmet and charged up the bike, getting as far away from her as possible. Kim copied, but Hayley could hear new sobs coming in. The genius woman climbed into the jeep, hightailing it home. She needed to get there before the other two got distracted again and who knew where they would go then.
"Get ready, Jason," Kim told him, having gotten control of her emotions for the moment. Well, she'd stopped crying at the very least. Jason, who normally would have been telling her the same thing, was busy complaining about how he had to do this. Still, he acknowledged her when she said it.
"Yeah, yeah. Shoot rock, break rock, take rock back, grab Trini, go to Vegas," he muttered, shooting when she called for him to. The rock broke and the two headed over to it. "I just don't see why we had to do this."
"No one else is able to. I'm always picked last," Kim answered sadly. Jason made a face.
"Where's Tommy when I need him," he groaned and Kim began to cry. "I know, I know, amber. God, Kim! Stop crying!"
"I can't help it!" She sobbed. "Everything goes wrong!"
"Yeah, well, deal! I'm sick of listening to you! You just go on and on!" He snapped, walking away toward the rock and the world slowly changed. He looked over to see Kim on the ground, sobbing in a ball. "Oh Kim! I'm sorry! Hey, we'll get him back."
He headed back to her and held her, trying to calm her down before he realized that the effects of the rock had fixed him. He gently picked her up and headed toward it, letting the effects fall over her. To his surprise, she didn't completely stop but only calmed down. She looked up at him, eyes red from crying, and he waited for her to talk. "Do you know what the last thing I said to him was?"
"What?" He asked gently, still holding her.
"'We'll talk when you get back.' How horrible is that, Jason? No I love you or be careful or don't get yourself killed, just only that sentence!" Kim cried as she had to Conner before. "We didn't have time to talk it out with everything happening so fast and I was so mad at him…"
"It happens in relationships, Kim. Face it, you'd be insisting you were right still if it hadn't happened. Besides, Hayley's going to get him out with the rock and then you can continue to tell him how he was wrong and you were right," Jason reminded her.
"What if it doesn't work?" She asked and he gave her a half-smile.
"We're Rangers, Kim. Luck is our middle name," he told her. "Come on, Squirt. Let's get back."
She just nodded, pulling herself together for the ride home though she let Jason carry the rock. Suddenly she winced and Jason nearly crashed when she slowed down from trying to see what was wrong. "Oh… Hayley is going to kill us."
"No she won't. We'll apologize, but I'm sure she realizes…" Jason started and then thought back to her threat. "No, I was wrong. Hayley's going to kill us."
"So, you really think this is going to work?" Kim asked as Hayley finished preparations.
"Kim, if you ask me that one more time, I will kill you," the exasperated café owner snapped. Kim was let off the hook because Hayley needed someone to work with her at the café and Jason was let off because Tommy seemed to be a magnet for trouble so if she killed him, she'd be down a substitute mentor. Besides, they had been under the influence of a rock, so she couldn't kill them for that.
"Sorry, Hayley. I really do think you can do, but I'm just a little worried, you know?" She asked and Hayley nodded.
"I understand," she said. "But don't ask again, okay?"
Kim bit her lip and nodded. She waited as patiently as possible as Hayley took time and care to make sure that she did it correctly. While Conner and Ethan especially weren't looking forward to telling Tommy exactly what had happened in his absence, they missed their mentor and wanted him back. Jason put a hand on Kim's shoulder to support her if necessary. If this didn't work, he wasn't sure how she'd react.
The rock went in the machine and she pressed the correct configuration and even she held her breath for the moment it took to work. The amber began to dissolve as the rock did its work before exploding the machine. Hayley couldn't help but think that no one else had best get trapped in amber for a bit since they were down a machine and a rock.
"Trent," was the first word out of his mouth when the amber was completely gone. He looked a little confused. "How did I get here… Kim?!"
The small woman had broke away from Jason and hurled herself at her lover. The kids were cheering that he was better and Jason and Hayley both were grinning, but none of them were as hands on at the moment as Kim. They all wanted to greet him, but they stayed away for the moment as Tommy held Kim, looking a bit confused. The tiny woman was clinging to him. "Thank god you're okay!"
"Of course I'm fine and… Kim!" He called out as her embrace turned violent. She beat against his chest and glared at him a bit to his surprise.
"You son of a bitch! You had me worried sick!" She yelled as he tried to hold her off. He glanced up through his helmet at Jason, who fortunately got the point and gently pulled the former pink Ranger off of him. "Jason, let me go! I'm not going to kill him! I'm just going to maim him a little for scaring me!"
"Down, Kim," Jason told her. "Power down, will you, Tommy so that you can calm her down?"
The black Ranger nodded and tried, but nothing happened. He tried again, but still nothing happened. All of them looked shocked, confused, and with other mixed emotions and even Kim's anger had dissipated for the moment. Tommy looked up. "Guys, we have a problem."
Jason, in his normal leadership mode, took control of the situation and immediately demonstrated what should be done next. Handing Kim to Hayley, he walked over, took Tommy's arm, and pulled him into a hug. "To hell with that. You're alive. That's what I damned well care about."
The three teens followed in suit as Jason pulled away. Conner on the right, Ethan on the left, and Kira in front. They all hugged him for a moment before pulling away. Conner looked straight at him, completely serious. "We wrote you a letter, Dude, a damn letter! It said no dying! I was specific!"
"I'm not dead, Conner," his teacher informed him and Conner glared at him.
"No, but you could have been!" He argued. "Hayley told you to be careful! At least, I think she did because Kim told me I was supposed to learn to listen to her! Why didn't you listen?"
"Conner…"
"No! No Conner, shut up. No Conner, you're don't know what you're talking about. No Conner, listen to me. You listen to me, Doctor O, we need you! You need you as our mentor, our teammate, our teacher! Dammit, we almost lost you because you weren't careful! You weren't, were you? I bet you didn't even dodge!" The young man snapped. Both Ethan and Kira had pulled away as well and were just staring at their teammate, edging away from him subconsciously. "We're teammates! We protect you, you protect us. We can't protect you from you, Doctor O!"
Tommy stood there for a minute, not quite sure what to do or say. Conner, too, seemed finished and waiting for an answer. Jason looked at Hayley who nodded and handed Kim back, embracing Tommy. "Welcome back. And, uh, good luck."
Tommy looked a little surprised by her words until Jason let Kim go and herded everyone else other than Conner and her up the stairs. Tommy stared at the two angry people before him. He had the feeling that he had a lot to answer for and Kim nodded to Conner. A silent way of deciding that he should go first. Conner looked at him and the anger died down to a hurt expression. "Why?"
That simple word could have so many meanings for the past few days and quite frankly, Tommy couldn't guess which one he was trying for. "Why what, Conner?"
"Why do you keep telling me I'm the leader, I need to think like one, I'll do just fine, if you don't let me do it?" Conner asked. "I know it's exciting that you're a Ranger again, but why did you tell me that I was in charge if you won't let me do it?"
Tommy opened his mouth and then closed it, not that the other two could see. He thought about the rant that Conner had gone off on in front of the others and realized that both Ethan and Kira looked uncomfortable, similar to how the Rangers in his day had looked when Tommy first took leadership when Jason and he were still adjusting. Even they saw the leadership role as split. "I'm sorry, Conner. It's just… hard."
"It's been hard for me too, Doctor O. You're my mentor and my teacher, but when I get out there, I'm supposed to be in charge. I should have gone after the egg finder. Everything that happened eventually ends up being my fault because I'm in charge," Conner informed him. The exchange would have been humorous had it not been so serious as Doctor Thomas Oliver, the "greatest" Ranger of all time was getting scolded by his teenage student. "I know we're both learning, but what about this whole mess with Trent? Are you going to go against everything I say because it was similar to your situation?"
"I'll try not to Conner," Tommy offered and Conner sighed.
"Yeah, whatever. Later, Doctor O," Conner said and headed upstairs after the others.
"I didn't mean to hurt him," Tommy said, not liking how the exchange had gone at all.
"It happens," Kim answered softly. Both of them were quiet for a moment after that and Tommy looked at her.
"We're going to have that talk now, aren't we?" He asked.
"Yes." It was all she said.
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," he told her and she put her hands on her hips.
"Tommy, you're a team player when the team follows you," she told him. "The only time you weren't completely in charge was under Jason and even then, you became his second. I have news for you: You can't do that anymore. You can't ignore what I think or feel because you don't agree with it. You can't second guess Conner because he's not doing what you would do. You can't make all of the decisions because you want to. We're a team and on the field, Conner is in charge. He will make mistakes. He will do the wrong thing sometimes and you will let him because it's his choice. Zordon constantly let us do it and sometimes things worked out better. We advise them, teach them, train them, and help them live. Tommy, I'm not using the royal we here either. I mean we: you and I."
"Well, what about you? You've been jumping into trouble lately, Kim, and it scares me. I might not be listening to you, but at least I have something to protect myself with when I don't listen. You don't listen and you nearly die," he brought up and Kim nodded.
"True, but quite frankly it's going to happen. Hayley is safe because we keep her safe and hidden without anyone really knowing that she's involved. I'm not hidden and they know about me, Tommy, so of course I'm a target. Just be glad Red and the other raptors are around to help save my neck. Let me fly. I can help you," she pushed. "But… if you can work on listening and letting Conner lead, I can work on listening and trying to stay out of direct fights. No promises for some though."
"Best I'm going to get, isn't it?" Tommy asked and at his girlfriend's smile, he nodded. "Deal."
"Good. Now, because I promised Conner I would, there's something you need to know about from when you were out and you're not going to like it," Kim began.
"Please tell me that this story has a happy ending," he whimpered.
"It does. It also has Jason, Vegas, fake IDs, and your jeep," she informed him.
"Remind me again who I'm going to have to kill…?"
Author's Note: This was an interesting chapter to write because I felt it needed the emotional aspect of before, yet I really did like the change it up in "Leader of the Whack" so I wanted to add that in as well.
Kim's talk was long in coming and even though he was quieter about it, so was Conner's. He realized exactly how hurt he could have gotten by not standing up for what he thought was the right course of action when he was in the jeep with Jason and Ethan. He realized that Tommy wasn't always right when Ethan and Kira got hurt and in terms of all the characters, I think that he is the only one in my fanfiction and in the series itself who realized exactly what a danger Trent was.
Thank you again for all of the wonderful reviews and I'm hoping to get the next chapter out pretty soon.