A/N: sorry for the long wait, the fic decided to take a new turn and I'm trying to adjust to it. I wanna dedicate this chapter to PinkRangerV: Hey thanks for everything, girl. Hope to work with you when you return. And to K Braddock: thanks for making this release possible and always being there helping. On a side note: from now on, K Braddock will be beta'ing this, I wanna apologize in advance for any mishaps we might get. I'm gonna try to keep the essence you've read in the first 5 chapters intact. Finally, the code displayed in the previous chapter still applies.
Meeting and Understanding my Past
Chapter 6: His Comeback
"You know, I was taken aback when I saw you returning to the battlefield." Mystic Mother said smiling.
"Really?" Tommy was confused. He couldn't place the event in his mind. "What event?"
"You don't remember? It was when I kidnapped your friends' parents from the Youth Center."
"Oh, that one." He said finally, the memory almost forgotten, as it was his first encounter with a coma. "Thanks a lot for that by the way."
"Excuse me?"
"What do you mean 'excuse me'? You almost killed me for the second time."
"The plan had gone smoothly until then. They reacted just how I had thought they would."
"I couldn't believe you forced them to use that severely damaged coin. Especially considering you knew the coin was left in that state."
"And that brings me to my next question, where did you get the power from?"
"Zordon re-energized the Dragon Coin with energy directly from the Morphing Grid."
"He did what?!" Mystic Mother was angry at Zordon. He could have killed Tommy, what was he thinking? "You know you could have died?"
The black ranger nodded. "What did you expect? You started the mess."
"I thought they would want to trade you for the coins." She confessed.
"Yeah, like that would have happened," Tommy said sarcastically.
"No, really. I wanted you back in the battlefield! I would have used the same plan Zordon and your friends put in motion but with a difference."
"Let me guess I'd be evil again, right?"
"What makes you think that?"
Tommy Oliver fixed his look into her. "It's common sense, for crying out loud!"
"I'd called forth the Universe Power, redirect it into the coins and through them get your Dragon Powers back."
"I bet the results would be the same. Limited use of the Powers."
"I remember you were in the battlefield sporadically."
"That was the consequence."
"So, you're a Ranger again."
"Yes."
"How do you feel?"
"Good." He began, "I had missed it. It's like riding a bike…you never forget about it."
"I'm sure your return was spectacular, like your last one."
"Last one?"
"When you became the first Turbo Red Ranger."
"Wait a minute, you knew about my changes of power all along?"
"Yes, why wouldn't I?"
"Well…you disappeared before Divatox showed up."
"I had a good reason for it. I was finally on my honeymoon."
"Really?"
"Yes, and out of the blue I got an incoming call from Divatox. She wanted some advice on dealing with you."
"And what did you advise her?" He asked with a grin.
"Do you really want to know?" Tommy Oliver nodded. "To run for her life."
Rita chuckled, the Black Ranger joining in with her.
"Did you see my latest come back?" Tommy said, after the last giggle died.
"No…I was working on something."
"It wasn't something evil, was it?"
"Of course not! It was a personal situation."
"That didn't involve me?"
"That didn't involve you." She responded firmly.
Tommy was puzzled, intrigued. He wanted to learn more about this turn of events. The experienced ranger started to feel a bit more comfortable around the omnipotent, indestructible woman in front of him. He was catching a glimpse into the newly changed mind of Rita Repulsa and it was in that moment when he decided his former enemy deserved a second chance.
Mystic Mother felt the slightly change in Tommy's thoughts of her and smiled. "You're actually happy for I'm not evil anymore?"
"I'm happy because I'm not your target anymore."
"Are you sure?"
Tommy panicked.
"Relax, baby. I was kidding."
"Don't you ever do it again!"
"Why are you so stressed?"
"Because you're in the same room with me and I know what you're capable of."
Rita was about to answer him when the doorbell rang. She opened it and was met with a red-headed woman. Tommy grabbed the newcomer by the arm as she tried to walk past him.
"What are you doing here?" Thomas whispered, trying to keep her from walking past the foyer as he shut the door.
"I thought you could use some help. Anton told me about your latest episode with Mesogog." Haley whispered back.
"I'm okay, thanks for coming by." Tommy said, pushing Haley back towards the door.
"Why do you want me to leave? What are you hiding?"
"Nothing… you're surely needed in the Café."
"No, Trent is there right now."
Mystic Mother couldn't hide her grin; Tommy was determined to make sure she had no contact with the woman whatsoever.
"It's interesting what you're trying to do, Tommy. But you should have known better, my boy."
"Who's there?" Haley inquired, trying to peek over Tommy's shoulders.
"What are you talking about?" Tommy answered, directing the question to both women.
"I'm well aware who you are." Mystic Mother answered Hayley.
"No, you don't. You didn't have the chance to know her name…at least from me."
"Yes, you didn't tell me. Neither did Mesogog but you know I have my tricks to get what I want."
"Who do you think I am?" Haley asked both surprised and intrigued.
"You're Hayley Ziktor, the tech in the Dino Thunder team."
"You're wrong." Tommy cut in. "She's Francesca Johnson, a friend of mine from one of my earliest jobs."
"What?" Hayley mumbled.
"Can't you play along please?" Tommy mumbled back.
"No, just stop lying." Haley ordered him. "Hi, I'm Hayley."She smiled at the older being.
"I'm Mystic Mother."
"What a pleasure it is to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine."
Tommy was in shock, he couldn't believe what Haley was doing. His best friend decided to stop trusting in his judgment.
I have to save her.
"You're a very talented tech for all I know."
"Why, thanks."
"You two make a cute couple also."
"Don't go there, Rita. I'm warning you."
"Why, it's true. I like the way you both act towards the rest of the team."
"What do you think it's our role?"
"Parents."
"Really? Wow, I thought we were merely the adults."
"Do you like to think of it more as a big sister/big brother role?"
"Yes, I do. I think that suits us better. Don't you think, Tommy?"
Tommy was speechless.
"What was Tommy like when you were on college?"
"Like you have come to know him. He kept arriving at classes tardy, he was still shy towards women. Didn't want to talk about his past."
"I guess after he passed on his Power, he was a bit more careless."
"Oh, no. He was careful as always, I merely found out the truth because Divatox happened to have destroyed the Command Center."
"That was what?...Six months after you passed on the Power to TJ?"
"Yes, more or less."
"I can't imagine what you thought at that moment, my dear."
"Can we change topics please?" Tommy pleaded. "It doesn't lead to nice memories."
"Aw, yes, sorry about that, Tommy." Hayley said.
"So, you were saying Hayley…" Rita insisted.
"Oh, yeah. We were watching tv and there was a breaking news report saying the Power Rangers have been revealed to be Angel Grove's civilians. Tommy went blank as paper. That was the confirmation I needed to know he was hiding something. After that, I pressed him to reveal everything to me and he did more than I would have ever imagined."
"What do you mean with 'Tommy did more than you ever imagined'?"
"I knew he was from Angel Grove and that city had a group of super heroes but I was taken aback when he told me about being a Ranger himself."
"That's understandable and how long did all of that take you?"
"Three hours after the world changed."
"Really? Why was that?" Further inquired Mystic Mother.
What is it those two don't understand about 'Can we change topics please? It doesn't lead to nice memories.' Tommy thought, already considering different ways to get Hayley out of the house.
"Well, he went into details over everything he lived as a Power Rangers. And after that, I needed some time to process all of that."
"I see. Well, I was hoping you could help me a bit here, Haley" Mystic Mother said.
"With him?" Haley signaled, giving a nod in Tommy's direction. Mystic Mother nodded. "What do you need from me?"
"He won't allow me to meet the team."
"I can't imagine why, you seem like a nice woman."
"Why, thanks. But I can imagine a number of reasons he's saying no."
"Like what?"
"Well, I guess he might be afraid of the kids finding me more interesting and thus choosing me as their new mentor." Mystic Mother joked.
"The kids love Tommy. I can see them going to you for some more knowledge about past rangers but that's it."
"Tommy was fooled once. He wants to prevent the current team of suffering that."
"They already suffered that."Hayley stated
"Oh, right. I forgot about Trent."
"Who told you about Trent? …Never mind, I think I'm best without knowing it." Tommy said, frustrated over the scene unfolding before him. They're talking as they've known each other since forever. This is ridiculous.
"Well, I made some good use of the villains' knowledge."
"You know each member's name?" Tommy asked, confused by the sudden turn of events.
"I know each member's name and their color."
"Wow, that's awesome!" Hayley declared.
"Thanks for the compliment, I'm thrilled. So, can you convince him? I'd love to meet the current team. From what I was told, there are some similarities with past rangers. I'd like to see how far those similarities go."
"I can try."
Tommy was dumbfounded. Did actually Rita enlist Hayley's help? And did Hayley accept?
Unbelievable! She really thinks there's no reason for his behavior. Rita thought gladly.
Tommy pulled her aside, seeing her annoyed with him.
"Tommy, why are you so stubborn?" Hayley asked frustrated.
"Because you don't know who she really is, Hayley. She could harm one of my students."
"How so?"
"Remember Rita Repulsa?"
"Yeah."
He informed the other woman in the room. "She knows her."
"Rita Repulsa is dead."
"She's not. You're actually seeing her."
"Don't make up stories."
"Actually, sweetie, he's not making up any stories. I was Rita Repulsa."
"You what? Tommy put up the force…"
"But I'm not evil anymore." Rita cut in.
"Can you probe it?" Tommy asked instantly.
"Tommy, you talked to Devin. Did you notice any unusual behavior in him?" Rita answered.
Tommy thought about it for a few minutes. I have to admit it seemed there wasn't any signs of evil spells or any visible injuries in his body. "As far as I saw, he was as normal as always."
"Don't you think it'd be too easy to cast a spell on the boy during our meeting?" Rita stated.
"You could have cast it after I talked to him?" Tommy accused.
"I haven't talked to him since then." Rita retorted.
"He regarded you highly." Tommy told them.
"That's because I told him insight information."
"What kind of insight info?" Hayley questioned.
"I told him Mesogog wouldn't attack that day."Rita confessed.
"That doesn't probe anything." Tommy returned to his accusations.
"What about you, Hayley? Do you think any different from before coming here?" Rita Repulsa talked back.
"Well, no. I still believe the rangers are the good guys." Hayley stated.
"See? Plus Tommy, you know pretty well how long it takes for the spell to start working." Rita declared
"I know. But what about that strange language you spoke thirty minutes ago?" Tommy asked.
"What about it?" Rita replied
"I bet you were casting a spell on me." Tommy accused, now visible concerned.
"No, I wasn't. I was having a conversation." Mystic Mother answered sincerely.
"With whom?" Tommy inquired.