Silver Hills Beach
It was crowded and cramped behind the damn rock and both of the people hiding there were not too thrilled about being there either. "My legs hurt." The redheaded one complained.
"Get over it princess." The girl with raven colored locks snapped back. Normally Bronwyn would have fought back, but Rachael had had a tough day. It was pretty emotionally draining to spend your day in the hospital with a dying parent, and have to deal with doing your job at the same time. They turned their attention back to the rangers on the beach, watching Alex board the time ship and leave, the other rangers standing in a line in front of him. "I say we crash."
"Hey." Bronwyn grabbed Rachael's arm, "Just because he made your brother quit for a while, doesn't mean you have the right to kill him."
"We can go down there morphed." Rachael muttered darkly, her green eyes sparkling. She pressed the button on her morpher and was instantly covered in her dark purple suit. Bronwyn followed her, her navy blue suit with its silver and gold accents and emerged after her.
Alex looked up and saw the two female rangers approaching them and narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what Rachael was really capable of and at this moment that was really scaring him. The girls approached him and stopped level with the rest of the line, arms crossed. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a device that both Lieutenants recognized and tried to dodge away from him. But the light enveloped them anyway, taking their suits in the process.
"Rachael?" Wes's shocked voice cut right into her, but Rachel didn't take her eyes off of Alex. In two steps she was in front of him and slapped him as hard as she could. Alex stumbled and as soon as he was stumbling to the other side after the redhead's slap.
"Ow." He muttered, holding his face. He looked up into Rachael's face and she glared at him.
"He's my father too." Her hurt whisper was supposed cut into Alex, but he didn't make a single motion that he heard her. He boarded the ship amid the silence between the rangers, and took off, leaving the two girls to face the people behind them. Rachael turned and was suddenly grinning, all of the rangers just stared. "Oh… we're in our uniforms." She said laughing lightly.
"Maybe we should dress down a little." Bronwyn suggested, taking hold of the red wig and pulling it off, letting her blonde hair loose around her face.
"Bronwyn!" Jen and Lucas exclaimed at the same time, looking at each other before Lucas turned away, straightening his jacket as he went. Wes looked confused as his eyes went from Jen, to Lucas, to the girl he thought was Whitney, but two of his friends had just called her Bronwyn, and finally to his sister.
"Rachael?" He repeated, this time more exasperatedly. She grinned and stepped forward, taking his shoulders in her hands.
"I didn't go to boarding school in Europe." She grinned. "I went to Time Force training camp in the year 2999, and trained up through 3000. Bronwyn and I were paired up literally the day before they," she pointed to the other four rangers, "vanished into the past. Or Home as I like to call it." She laughed and Bronwyn smiled.
"And I didn't get transferred to another base outside Millennium City." Bronwyn said softly, rearranging her blonde hair with her left hand while the right played with the red wig. "I was paired up with this one." She grinned at her partner who glared back.
"Yeah her name isn't Whitney." Rachael added to Wes. "This is Bronwyn Scotts."
"Scotts?"
"My sister." Jen scowled at the blonde, who grinned.
"Missed you too Jen."
"Can we go somewhere else? It's a little hot out here on the sand." She wrinkled her nose at the black Time Force uniform she and Bronwyn each wore. Instead of white with black accents, theirs were black with gold ones. Rachael put an arm around her brother's waist and pushed him forward, and they started the walk back to the Clock Tower in town. Once there, the two girls stood in awe as they looked at the other ranger's home. "I totally missed this place." Rachael grinned, looking around.
"You know it?"
"Wes and I played up here as kids; I have to say this was the best clubhouse anyone could ever have." She grinned at her brother would was easing up and could smile at her. She unzipped her jacket and ducked around Katie to one of the walls, pulling away a board and laughing at what was revealed. A drawing, one that looked like four stick figures, was on the wall.
"I forgot that was there." Wes vaulted over the table to get to his sister. "We drew that right before Mom died." Rachael smiled and set the free board on the ground before standing up.
"Anyway," she murmured, turning back to the rangers, "Bronwyn and I were told not to tell you about us, but the butthead kind of gave that away." Her face darkened when she mentioned Alex.
"Hey, he's almost my brother-in-law." The blonde said from the other side of the room.
"And he's my brother's descendant." Rachael rolled her eyes, "At least I don't have to deal with him when this is over."
"Why are you here?" Jen's voice interrupted, her eyes fixed on her sister.
"Logan told Alex to send us." Bronwyn answered, totally ignoring her sister's annoyance. "See, Rachael is the first person to be recruited from the past into the Lieutenant program."
"They started that?" Trip asked excitedly. Bronwyn nodded.
"I dunno what the requirements are, but Rachael apparently fit them." She glanced at the girl who was now sitting next to her brother on the picnic table. "So they brought her to our time, before you guys even left, and trained her, making sure she had an alibi in the past for why she was missing."
"Yeah, that boarding school doesn't even exist." Rachael grinned at Wes. "That's why they had that specific rule that parents and family were not supposed to visit." She grinned.
"Yes," Bronwyn answered, still standing still as Rachael relaxed, crossing her legs, totally shrugging off her uniform's jacket, leaving her in only the black pants and a gold metallic shirt that went up to her neck. "Rachael and I were teamed up right before you guys left, and then apparently she became a stripper." Bronwyn grinned at her partner who wrinkled her nose in protest. Laughing, Bronwyn continued, "Not really, but we only trained together for a couple months before getting sent here, helping you guys and you-know-who-out." She smiled brightly at Rachael when she mentioned the other ranger.
"He irks me." Rachael muttered, kicking her legs out.
"Eric?" Wes asked, eyebrows raised.
"Possibly."
"Oh, you yelled at him!" Wes suddenly remembered the one of the first few battles. "He was angry for a while after that."
"Yeah, I'd appreciate him not knowing about me being the one to yell at him for a while." She wrinkled her nose.
"Either way, we were ordered to keep our identities secret for a while, but I guess Alex decided that was over." Bronwyn inserted. She checked her watch and grinned. "But I have to get Rachael home for her date now."
"Kill me now." The black haired girl muttered. "Not even kidding, kill me now." She crossed her arms and glared at the floor.
"Dad still setting you up with guys?" Wes asked his sister sympathetically.
"Yes, he's even pulling Bronwyn into it!"
"What." The blonde stared at the Rachael with fear on her face.
"Oh, did I not tell you you're coming tonight too?" Rachael grinned evilly at her friend. "Come on." She stood up and took Bronwyn's arm, dragging her to the stairs. "Bye guys see you later and don't tell Eric about us." Rachael said brightly, running all the words together.
The girls disappeared down the stairs and Jen sat next to Wes, staring ahead. "They're like twins."
"But she's from my time." Wes breathed. Both him and Jen looked like they'd just survived a tornado.
"They certainly have a lot of energy." Trip mentioned, looking first to Katie and then Lucas, the latter of whom turned away, and left the room, going up into the sleeping area without a word.
"What's with him?" Katie asked, crossing her arms as she watched him go.
"Long sordid story involving him and Bronwyn." Jen answered, her eyes on the stairs he'd just climbed. "Don't ask me, all I know is they didn't work out, but it looks like he wanted it to." She raised her eyebrows with amusement.
"That'll be interesting to see." Katie grinned, and the other rangers could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Now laughing, they all made their way to sleep, Katie and Jen going to the other bunk where they slept.
In town Bronwyn and Rachael weren't so lucky. They were as tired from the day's events, but that didn't get them out of their dinner set up by Mr. Collins.
"Hello Rachael." A very nervous Martin smiled weakly at Rachael, who hadn't been nice to him with what she's wearing. The girl was wearing a black dress that went barely to her knees and a pair of black heels that had straps up her calves. Bronwyn had been nicer to her blind date, wearing a white skirt that went to her knees and a navy blue long sleeved sweater, white sandals on her feet.
"Martin." Rachael nodded, turning away from him to yawn very unladylike. Her father frowned at her but at her smile; he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him and she smiled up at her father. He released her once their short walk to the restaurant was over. Bronwyn walked silently next to her date, a blonde guy in his late twenties with a confident swagger that told everyone there he thought he was taking this redhead home.
"So how do you like Silver Hills?" He asked in an attempt to be suave.
"It's fine, except the dating scene leaves a little to be desired." Bronwyn –or Whitney- replied sharply. Ed blinked in surprise as he didn't quite get the jab, but understood her tone. Rachael bit her lip to keep from laughing and turned to go through the door Martin had opened for her. The quaint woman that her father had brought as his date was sweet looking, around his age with kind lines on her face and she sat down at the table next to Rachael, forcing Martin to sit across the table from her, instead of next to her. The dark haired girl smiled at her move, and turned to start a conversation with her.
Rachael continued to monopolize her father's date and ignore Martin, who finally gave up and started talking to Ed about business, her father eventually joining in. Rachael grinned when she noticed Bronwyn slide on her black framed glasses. She was the only one there who knew the glasses weren't normal, they had been brought from the year 3000, and once on her face, with a tap on the side of the rims, images could pass by on the lenses, but look clear to the rest of the world. Rachael assumed Bronwyn was finishing the movie they'd started to watch a few days ago, and was proved right as the redhead slipped a small chip into her ear for volume. Excusing herself, Rachael got up from the table and slipped over to the bathroom. After she exited the ladies room and passed the entrance, and promptly slammed into another body.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, hurridly arranging her dress to cover what it should.
"No, it's my fault." A deep voice apologized. "Rachael?" She looked up and flushed red at the sight of him.
"Eric." Never more embarrassed in her life, Rachael ducked her head again, and took his outstretched hand, allowing him to help her up. It was either that or the threat of him seeing something he shouldn't under her dress. At that moment she felt the pain in her ankle, and she leaned on Eric's arm. "Sorry, but ow." She lifted her ankle up, pulling off her heel and rolled her eyes at the swelling appendage.
"Here, sit down." He led her gently to a nearby bench that people generally used for waiting to be seated. Rachael's heart did a funny flip she didn't understand while he lifted her ankle up. "Are you alone?" He looked into her face with a concerned look on his face, one so sincere; Rachael was thrown by the switch in character.
"No," She muttered, "Another stupid date with Dad's business friend, but him and Whitney are here too." She threw Eric a pleading look. "Help me out of here?" She grinned when he rolled his eyes, trying to hide his own smile.
"Alright, but take your shoe off." He acquiesced, turning immediately back into his gruff self. Rachael immediately unstrapped both shoes and threw them over her shoulder. Eric helped her to her feet and leant her a shoulder to lean on while she limped over to her table.
"Rachael!" Alan Collins jumped up the second he saw his daughter limping toward them. Rachael grinned at her father to sooth his parental worries.
"Chill Dad, I just twisted it, but it's starting to swell, I have to get ice on it."
"We can order some for you to ice it during dinner." Martin said with an attempt at being romantic, but more of a territorial move as he saw his date leaning on another man.
"I'd rather go home." Rachael frowned at him easily, making him stumble for words.
"She needs to get it home and on ice." Eric said to Martin, his voice threatening. "I'll take her if you want to continue your evening." He looked to Alan who was halfway between standing and sitting.
"No, I'll take her home. Gentlemen I apologize." He said to Martin and Ed before taking Rachael from Eric's grasp. She threw a grateful look at him as her father and Whitney led her out of the restaurant.
At the mansion Bronwyn set Rachael down on her bed and opened the communication device they kept there. Rachael lay back and grimaced, her ankle was really killing her. Bronwyn silently went through procedure and then closed and packed the device away just as quickly as she had gotten it out.
"Here." She said, kneeling next to Rachael. The black haired girl held out her hand and looked as Bronwyn put a small spherical object in her hand.
"What is that?" Rachael wrinkled her brow at her best friend.
"Magical healing thing that will make your ankle magically better." Bronwyn laughed. "Unfortunately I can't do anything about your confusion about a certain guy who rescued you tonight."
"No comment." Rachael muttered darkly, throwing the ball back at the blonde girl.
Eric's House
Eric fell into his chair in front of the television, plate of food in his hand, stabbing the meal he'd ordered from one of the nicer restaurants in town. That place had the best Italian food around, and looked very high class. Usually he enjoyed the food with a game on TV, but today he couldn't. A hockey game played on the screen but he barely thought about it, or the food he was swallowing. The black haired girl that had fallen into his arms captured his thoughts and made it practically impossible for him to think straight.
"Damn her." He cursed, setting his plate down on the table next to him and getting up, storming to the doorway of his house and stared out at the dark street. His eyebrows knit when he thought he saw a figure in the road. Eric opened the door and went out of it to investigate, looking around to see anyone on his street. Deciding it was his imagination, he returned to the house, to hopefully watch the game and ignore the lingering thoughts.
