Disclaimer; No I do not own Power Rangers.
A/N: I'm playing with how the Rangers use their elements, i.e. how their senses are affected by their element. Also, I acknowledge the bad pun, I needed a moment of amusement.
Angel slipped into his bedroom, her worry evident as she stood watching him walk out of the bedroom. "Angel," Shane said, grabbing a battered t-shirt and pulling it on as he crossed the room, "is everything ok?"
Angel held up her hand before he got too close, the loose sleeve of her purple shirt sliding down her wrist as she reached up to hook her hair behind her ear. "I don't have much time," she said, wrapping her arms around her stomach, absently smoothing the purple fabric of her shirt. "It's about to begin, tomorrow, the next day, I'm not sure."
"What?" Shane said, "What's about to begin?"
"He's about to let them go," Angel said, "you talked to Elek, you know what is coming. The storm is here, Shane." She shifted her stance, fingers plucking at the waistband of her dark gray cargos, "I can't stay. I have to go. Be strong, Shane, and good luck." She all but threw herself out the window; by the time he reached it, she was gone.
"Shane!"
Shane jumped and looked up from the magazine he'd been staring at since he'd first gotten to Storm Chargers, "Tori," he said, "what's up?"
"I've been trying to get your attention for five minutes," Tori said as she sat down beside him, "What's going on?"
Shane glanced around, checking for who was in hearing distance, then leaned closer to Tori, "Angel came by last night," he said, "and left a very cryptic warning."
"What kind of warning?" Tori asked.
"She said that something was about to begin," Shane said, "That 'he', I think she meant Lothor, was about to 'let them go'."
"Let who go?" Tori asked.
"Not sure," Shane said, "but she mentioned us talking to Elek, and that a storm was coming."
Tori tilted her head as she thought, "Well, we know Lothor has those Thunders," she began.
"Tori, Shane!" Dustin called as he walked over, a happy grin on his face, "There you are," he gestured, "come on, I have some people I want you to meet."
"Dustin," Shane said.
Dustin glanced over his shoulder, and then moved closer, "Shane, I have some people that you really need to meet."
Shane stared at him for a long moment before his brain finally caught up, and he blinked, because how often did Dustin try to be subtle, or how often was Dustin successfully subtle? He stood, "Sure," he said, catching Tori's elbow and helping her up.
Dustin grinned, "Great," he turned and hurried back into the main part of the shop, then turned back to them, then away, finally moving to stand between two young men in motocross gear. "Shane, Tori, this is Hunter and Blake Bradley," he said, rocking back on his heels, "Hunter, Blake, my best friends, Shane and Tori."
Shane studied them as he finished his approach, letting a smile come to his face even as he felt his heart sink. Hunter was aptly named, being a tall, blond haired man with a dangerous smile. The hand he extended was rough and strong, but Shane was relieved to find that he didn't feel the need to squeeze as they shook hands. He breathed lightly through his noise and turned away as he sneezed. "Sorry," he said, and sneezed again.
"Bless you," Hunter said, amused.
Shane shook his head, "Sorry," he repeated, "nice to meet you, though."
"You to," Hunter replied with a slightly challenging jut of his jaw.
Tori yelped, and Shane jerked, "I'm so sorry," Tori said, "I must have gotten a static charge from the couch," she smiled up at Blake as she gestured over her shoulder. "I didn't mean to shock you."
Shane gave Blake a quick once over as he completed his turn; younger than Hunter, Asian, with a cocky yet charming smile. As Blake's eyes swept over Tori, Shane felt his gut clench, "That's ok," Blake said, "I guess you could say, meeting you was shocking."
Shane coughed to cover the snarl he really wanted to utter. He stepped forward and offered his own hand, deftly sliding his shoulder in front of Tori, "Nice to meet you to, Blake."
"Right," Blake said.
"So, how do you know Dustin?" Shane asked, stepping back; forcing Tori away from Blake.
"We're motocross riders," Hunter said, "we met down at the track."
Shane nodded, "I see," he said calmly, "here for the meet, then?"
"Actually, we're looking for a new home track," Blake said, "ours was shut down."
"Shame," Shane replied, he sucked some air between his teeth as he glanced at his watch, "welcome to Blue Bay Harbor, then. Tori, Dustin, we're going to be late."
Tori nodded, "Right."
"Let me grab my bag, I'll be right behind you," Dustin said.
Shane followed Tori out of Storm Chargers; Tori eyed him for a moment, "What was that all about?" She asked.
"I don't know," Shane said, glancing over his shoulder, "but maybe that storm warning was about the Thunders."
"You think?" Tori asked as she opened the driver side door.
Shane moved around to open the other door and slid in, "I know this," he told her, leaning close, "Dustin doesn't smell like ozone after he trains at the track."
"And Kelly started using that anti static spray stuff after the balloon thing," Tori replied. "Besides, as cute as Blake was, I don't appreciate being undressed with a look."
The back door opened and Dustin climbed in, "Did you feel it?" He asked as he slid over the seat to land between them.
Tori started the van, "You think they're our Thunders?" Shane asked.
"I do," Dustin said, "it was weird. When I touched Blake's hand, I knew. Whatever Lothor did, I could feel it."
"What do you mean?" Shane asked.
"He's blank," Dustin said after a long moment. "They both are. I can't read them like I normally do."
Shane frowned at Dustin, "What does that mean?"
Dustin sighed, "I can't really explain, Shane. You'll have to ask Sensei, he can explain it better than I can."
Shane glanced over Dustin's head at Tori, who caught his eye for a brief moment before looking out the window. As he leaned back, Shane wished, for a brief moment, that things could be normal again.