It had been months now since Tommy woke up in this strange new world, but sometimes it still felt like just yesterday. The little things could still throw him off balance, little things like remembering that his roommate, Jason Lee Scott, had killed people before.

He and Jason hadn't got off on the best foot back home, and that Jason had been a kinder, gentler Jason than this one was. And he'd made an even worse impression here in this world, beating Jason in a fight on his first day. If he'd been thinking clearly, he would have made sure to put up a good fight and then conveniently lose. Instead he'd pushed his luck and made Jason very suspicious about where he'd come from and why.

He supposed it must count for something that they'd made it this long as roommates without killing each other or even coming to blows. It could have been worse. Somehow.

And now Billy wanted him to do the one thing that was nearly guaranteed to make things worse: try to get to know Jason. Deep down, he knew he would have to do it eventually and wouldn't be able to put it off much longer anyway, but he really wasn't looking forward to Jason's reaction to his efforts to be a better roommate, teammate, and friend.

Friend was probably too strong a word to use at this point.

Glumly, he had to admit they were far from friends. They'd probably only made it this far because Jason scrupulously avoided him and he obligingly stayed out of Jason's way whenever possible. But that wasn't getting them anywhere. And Billy was right, if they were going to put an end to whatever was going on with the wasteland, this had to stop. They would have to work together.

This was still easier said than done, but at least it was a direction to move in.

Luckily Tommy had never been one to run from a challenge. It took him several days of covertly observing, but he eventually came up with a plan – and what seemed like a relatively safe place to ambush Jason. Cornering him somewhere was the easy part. Getting him to talk was the real trick.

Even the Jason he'd known back home had often been terse and quiet, and the Jason in this world was even more so.

So when Tommy dropped into the seat across from Jason in the cafeteria, it didn't really come as a surprise when he remained silent. Tommy balked, every conversation starter he'd rehearsed flying right out of his head. He was silent so long that Jason grew impatient.

"Did you want something?" he asked dryly.

"Isn't it about time we stopped being enemies?" Tommy blurted, wondering where Kimberly, or even Trini, was. This would have been so much easier with someone to play the mediator.

"Are we enemies?"

Ignoring the sudden urge to throw his lunch right in Jason's face, he said, "Well, we're definitely not friends. We're barely even teammates."

Jason responded with a blank look.

"We're on the same side here. We have the same goals. Shouldn't we at least try to get along?"

This earned him an expression that looked almost like a smirk. "Can't you do any better than that?" Seeing Tommy's frown, he explained, "I'm still not sure you weren't sent here to find out everything you can about our operations. Kimberly and Billy might trust you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to."

"Look, I wish I could explain how I got here as much as you do, but I don't remember!" Tommy protested.

"And you don't think that's awfully convenient?"

Tommy sputtered. "It is, but it's also a coincidence."

"You show up now, of all times, and turn out to be the best fighter we've ever had, who, by the way, can't remember who he is or where he came from?" Jason leaned back in his seat. "Come on, I'm not that naïve. The Elders might be, but I'm not."

It sounded like Jason had been spending too much time with Trini, though Tommy kept that thought to himself. Instead, he asked, "What do I have to do to prove I mean no harm?"

Chuckling, Jason stood up and began to clear his dishes. "Nice try, but I'm not going to make it easier for you."

Tommy stayed where he was as Jason left to turn in his dishes at the kitchen door, then headed off to do whatever else he needed to do today. "Well," he muttered when Jason was finally out of sight, "that went horribly."

"What went horribly?" Kimberly asked, sliding into the space Jason had just vacated.

"Never mind."