In an APC, rumbling across the wastes, Dillon was taking one of the rare opportunities when they had a strong signal to send a communication back to Corinth. He couldn't help smiling as he saw Summer on the screen. She hadn't been pregnant for long. She'd only found out herself a couple of days before she told him. He had always found her beautiful, but knowing that she was carrying his child was a totally different experience.
"So we're expecting to arrive later tonight." Dillon concluded his report to her. "We'd have been there sooner, but Scott's driving, and you know he drives slower than me."
"I heard that!" Scott called through from the driver's seat. Summer just laughed.
"Gem contacted us a little while ago." Summer told him. "We're expecting them back in a couple of hours."
"I'm sure Ziggy's looking forward to seeing Alex again." Dillon commented. "How is the little tyke?"
"He's making his presence felt as usual." She told him. "I really miss you."
"I miss you too." He assured her. "How are you feeling?"
"I had my first bout of morning sickness." She told him. "I am not looking forward to another seven and a half months of this."
"You'll be fine." He chuckled, regretting a little the fact he wasn't there to suffer with her. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I really hope so." She told him. "Tenaya's happy to hold my hair, but..."
"OK, that's a mental image I could live without." He told her. "I'll contact you again when I can."
"I love you." She told him, touching the screen. Dillon smiles and did the same, imagining feeling her hand touching his through the screen.
"I love you too." He replied. With that, he killed the link. Flynn tapped him on the shoulder, before handing him a mug of coffee.
"It's hard isn't it?" Flynn asked him. Dillon just nodded in response as he took a sip.
"I really just want to be with her." Dillon told him. "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad."
"It's not an easy thought to get your head around." Flynn agreed as he sat with him. "I have no idea what to expect when I see her again."
"Guys, the city's up ahead!" Scott told them. "Come check it out!"
Back in Corinth, Mike, Vasquez, Dr. K, Tenaya, Alex and Hicks were standing in the main hangar of the Garage. They watched as the Jet roared into view.
Hicks felt his mouth becoming dry as the jet came to a halt and started to descend slowly towards the landing pad. Despite the way things had ended between himself and Gemma, he was pleased to hear that she was coming home. Vasquez saw the way he was wringing his hands nervously and smiled.
"She's fine." She assured him. "You don't need to worry."
As the jet touched down, and the hatch on the back opened, Hicks found his breath taken away as he saw her. Despite what she had been through, she was easily as beautiful as she had been to him when she left. Before anyone could say or do anything, Gemma sprinted from the jet, launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately. Gem and Ziggy got off the jet, laughing at the display. As Ziggy went to his fiancée, taking Alex from her, kissing him gently, Gem watched the display with a bright smile.
"Hicks, we need to talk." Gemma told him as they finally parted. Hicks couldn't contain his joy, grinning from ear to ear. He had intended to tell her how he felt, to plead with her to reconsider and come back to him. It wasn't needed though. He had no idea what, if anything could have made her change her mind, but in truth, he didn't care. "Can we go somewhere a little quieter?"
"Step into my office." He told her, gesturing to the office. Gemma went with him, taking his hand gently. Summer, Tenaya and Vasquez all looked at each other, wry grins crossing their faces.
"It's about time!" They chorused together. Summer checked her watch.
"3 minutes, 22 seconds!" She announced. "Who had five minutes?"
Vasquez held up her hand, at which Summer and Tenaya both handed her a 20. Dr. K just shook her head.
"This is why I don't gamble." She muttered. Gem held a hand to his stomach and smiled.
"Well if you guys don't mind, I think I need to go to the kitchen." He commented. "I seriously need some ice-cream."
In Hicks' office, he closed the door behind him for some privacy. Gemma sat on his desk, looking up at him as he flicked on the lock.
"Hicks, I was wrong to give up on us so easily." She began nervously. "I'm sorry."
"I was going to beg you to reconsider." He admitted as he turned back to her. Despite the injuries of the last few days telling on her, betraying the ordeal of the previous few days, she radiated an angelic beauty to him. "I haven't been able to concentrate. Since you walked out, all I could think about was what could be happening to you."
"A lot of stuff happened out there, stuff that made me really think about what you mean to me." She told him. "There were times I didn't know if I'd come back. When I thought I might not make it, the only thing that got me through it was thinking about you."
She took out his dog tags, holding them in her hand and smiled.
"I promised I'd bring these back." She reminded him. Hicks just put his hand on hers, pushing them back.
"You keep them." He told her, pulling out another set. "I had to have new ones made anyway."
"Thank you." She replied, putting them back on, tucking them inside her t-shirt. "Listen, I know it isn't going to be easy. With you here and me rushing off all over the place, we're going to find it hard to spend time together."
"Then we'll just have to make the times we do have together count." He told her, putting his hand around the back o her neck softly and drawing her towards him, kissing her warmly. It did hurt to watch her leave, and it would hurt when he watched her leave again, but nothing would hurt more than letting her walk out of his life permanently. This was exactly what he wanted.
Meanwhile, out in the desert, the APC skidded to a halt as they arrived on the outskirts of the city. Scott got out, gazing over the city thoughtfully.
"Well it looks like Venjix really went to town here." He commented. "It doesn't look anything like I remember."
"Well we're in the right place." Dillon told him, making his way over to a sign. He swept away some soot with his hand, exposing the legend 'welcome to fabulous Las Vegas'. "This is Vegas alright."
"I did a scan; there were some Venjix signals out here." Flynn informed them. "There are also human life signatures."
"Then we're not too late to help them." Scott responded. "We just need to find them."
Back in Corinth, Mike knocked on the door to Hicks' office gently. It was locked, but since Gemma and Hicks had gone in there for some privacy, he wasn't really too surprised. Eventually, he heard the door being unlocked. Gemma appeared in the doorway.
"Mike, what can I help you with?" Hicks asked him. Gemma scurried away, leaving them to their business.
"I take it things are going well." Mike commented. "You seem happier."
"I am." Hicks replied, looking down the hall to where Gemma was just heading into the main room. "Anyway, I'm sure you didn't come here to discuss my relationship."
"We got a lock on Turtle Cove." He informed Hicks. "The Venjix attacks caused a lot of environmental damage. It's re-awakened some Orgs."
"I suppose we should probably have anticipated something like that." Hicks remarked. "I take it you want to send the Rangers out there."
"Apparently there's already a team out there." He informed him. "But I think it would be best if we sent a couple of Rangers out there to check things out, see if they need a hand."
Back in Vegas, the APC rolled slowly through the streets. As they pushed on, Flynn looked around at the ruined, crumbling remains of the city that had been, at one time, the world's capital of excess.
"I can't believe I missed the chance to come here before the attacks." He commented. "Dad told me he and mum got married out here. They went to Camelot and caught a Wayne Newton concert for their honeymoon."
"Well Camelot's just over there." Dillon told him, pointing towards its distinctive battlements. Flynn smiled.
"Dad always said he loved being out here." He told them. "They decided to get married about three minutes before the ceremony. They went into one of those 24 hour chapels."
"I'm sure their parents were thrilled about that." Scott commented. Flynn just chuckled.
"Actually they were alright with it. They kind of had another reason for wanting to get married." He told them.
"Why?" Dillon asked. Flynn just held his arms open.
"You're looking at him."
"Well I guess that must have pretty much made the decision for them." Scott replied with a small laugh. Just then, he hit the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a halt.
Outside, a few humans ran through the streets, being pursued by Grinders. They watched as they dived behind a short wall for cover.
"They need our help!" Dillon called out, rushing out of the APC, morphing as he went. Scott and Flynn followed.
Dillon activated his invincibility shield as the Grinders saw him rushing towards them, opening fire. He ran through the blasts, closing the gap as he brought out his Rachet Blaster.
As he arrived closely enough, he laid down some suppressing fire, before ducking aside, allowing Scott through. Activating his burst attack, he smashed the foot soldiers to smithereens.
"Are you alright?" Flynn asked the frightened humans as he helped them out of their hiding place.
"Who are you?" They asked. "I didn't know there were more Rangers in the city."
"More Rangers?" Scott asked.
"I guess now we know how they managed to survive Venjix's forces for so long." Dillon replied with a shrug. "These other Rangers must have been looking out for them."
"We should get out of here before Venjix sends anything else." Scott replied. "Why were you even out here?"
"We needed to get some supplies." One of the survivors told him.
"Where do you live?" Flynn asked him. "We'll take you there."
"It's a shelter out at area 51." He replied. "There's a bunker there underground. They keep us safe."
"Just point the way." Scott told them, gesturing them into the vehicle. "We've spent too long here already."
Back in Corinth, Sarah looked round as the communication screen burst into life. Scott appeared on the screen.
"Scott, did you get to Vegas?" She asked him. He nodded.
"We just passed the strip a few minutes ago." He informed her. "We picked up a couple of survivors. They're taking us to a shelter out at area 51."
"That must be where the signal came from." She commented.
"Apparently there are more Rangers out here." Scott continued with his report. "The survivors told us they've been keeping them safe out there since the attacks."
"I suppose that explains how they survived." Sarah replied. "I've got a fix on your location. At your current speed, you should arrive at Area 51 within 20 minutes or so."
"20 minutes or so?" He asked her with a little smile. "Usually you're a little more exact than that."
"I'm trying to calm down on the whole child prodigy thing." She told him. "I'm trying to be more normal now that I know who I am."
"Don't." He told her. "That's not who I fell in love with."
"You actually liked it when I corrected you and told you...?"
"I love it when you correct me." He interrupted her with a chuckle. "I love it when you tell us stuff we don't need to know just for the sake of accuracy. I love it when you tell us stuff we don't want to hear. It's all just part of who you are."
Dr. K found herself blushing a little as he said this. She loved him so much, that she was really trying to distance herself from the product of Alphabet Soup.
"So, how long is it until we arrive?" He asked her. She looked at the figures once again.
"18 minutes, 53.6 seconds." She told him. "Approximately."
"That's more like it." He replied with a smile. "I'll contact you again once we arrive and find out more about the situation out here."
"I look forward to it." She assured him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He replied, before killing the link. Flynn looked over to him from the driver's seat and smiled.
"It's a pain I know, but you'll be back before you know it." He said to the Red Ranger in a comforting gesture.
"I know." He replied. "I just miss her, that's all. I mean, it took us almost a week just to get here. Even if it only takes us a couple of days to clear out Venjix's generals, it'll still be another week before we get back."
Just think how great it'll be when you do see her again." Flynn told him. "Sam's already starting to show. By the time I get back, she'll probably be huge."
"You're looking forward to that aren't you?" Scott asked him. Flynn smiled.
"What do you think?" He asked him.
Not long later, the APC rumbled up towards the high fences surrounding the old air base. The sign designating it as Area 51 was slightly charred, but humorously, it had been vandalised with spray paint, showing a little green man with a speech bubble coming from his mouth, welcoming them to earth. Despite the desolate nature of the world, it was just a demonstration of the human spirit. Even at the end of the world, some people still had a sense of humour.
The vehicle stopped outside the gate, at which a few men approached to inspect it. Scott got out, holding his hands up where they could be seen.
"My name's Scott Truman, we mean you no harm." He introduced himself as one of them approached him. "Take us to your leader."
Flynn and Dillon both face palmed as he said this. Scott could only groan and screw his eyes shut as soon as he heard what he had said.
"Take us to your leader?" Dillon teased him. "I know we're in Area 51, but seriously!"
"Look on the bright side." Flynn chipped in. "At least he didn't say 'we come in peace'."
"Would you two give it a rest?" Scott snapped in response.
"My name's Adam Park." One of the men responded, getting a laugh at Scott's expense from the embarrassing slip of the tongue. "I'm the Black Ranger here."
"Always a pleasure to meet a fellow Black Ranger." Dillon replied, shaking his hand. "I'm Dillon, black RPM Ranger."
"I'm Flynn." The Blue Ranger introduced himself.
"Well I never thought I'd see another Scottish Ranger in this city." Adam responded. Flynn laughed as he remembered meeting Colin. He had mentioned that his first Ranger team had been centred in Las Vegas.
"I'm Scott Truman, the Red Ranger." He told Adam. "So are you in charge?"
"No, but I'll take you to the guy who is." Adam replied. Scott gave both Flynn and Dillon a glare as they started laughing again, being reminded o his earlier slip.
Adam took them inside the main building while one of his men took the APC to a hangar. Taking an elevator down several miles underground, they stepped out, finding a large, bustling city.
"When we came here, we found this place." Adam told them as they walked down what amounted to a street, flanked by all manner of shops, bars and apartment buildings. "The Government was rumoured to have built underground cities back in the 1960's to house survivors should nuclear war ever be declared. It seems that this was just one of them."
He finally came to a large, central building, activating a retinal scan to open the doors. The Rangers followed him in, finding a woman sitting by a computer console. She was short, probably about 5' 1", with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. She had a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose. She was wearing denims, and a tight black sweater. On her left wrist, she had a silver cuff bracelet carrying a yellow crystal.
"Kira, we finally got a response to those distress signals." Adam told her. Kira got up from her chair and made her way over, taking off her glasses. "This is Scott, Flynn and Dillon."
"Kira Oliver." She introduced herself. "I'm guessing you're the ones who destroyed Venjix."
"We are." Dillon told her. "We're here to help you get rid of the last of his troops from the city."
Just then, a man came into the room. He had short, spiky hair, a hairstyle much too young for him. He appeared to be fast approaching his fifties, and his hair was slowly losing the battle to grey. He wore glasses and black jeans, with a red t-shirt.
"This is Tommy, the brains of the operation." Adam introduced him. "Tommy, these are the guys who destroyed Venjix."