Double Act

Chapter 3: Wave Goodbye

A/N: Last time, the rangers got their powers and zords. Kira and Kennedi managed to escape from Mesogog's lair, landing on the hood of Tommy's jeep. The boys were confused to see a ninja there, and only Kira knew who it was. Now that they have their powers and are beginning to get used to life as a power ranger, what will happen? Also, this is going to be mostly Kira-based until I make Kennedi a ranger, which won't happen for a little while.

Disclaimer: I only own things not originally in this show.

It was a little more than a week after getting their powers that Kira found herself heading to the center of town. After they became rangers, the three teens had exchanged phone numbers in case they ever needed something. Kira had gotten a call from Ethan, asking her to meet him at a new café that had recently opened up. The dirty blonde had never heard of this place, so she figured it must've been pretty new.

When she approached the green building and looked up at the name of the place. "Hayley's Cyberspace," she muttered. She saw Conner coming from the opposite direction. "Conner!"

"Ethan call you, too?" the red ranger assumed.

"Yeah," Kira nodded. "Said it was super important. What is this place, anyway?"

"No clue," Conner sighed.

"Let's check it out," the singer shrugged and led the way inside.

Once inside, the two teens saw it bustling with activity. They found a red headed woman, probably the owner, since she was the oldest person here, talking to a couple customers. Computers were in designated areas. There were a few couches by the window, allowing people to sit comfortably. There was a stage set up at the opposite end for things. In the center of the wall across from the entrance was the juice bar. Both rangers had to admit it was pretty cool.

"Wow," Conner breathed. "You think he lives here?"

"I think he wishes he lived here," Kira corrected. Ethan spotted them and came over.

"There they are," he greeted. "My brother and sister in crime…or at least crime fighting. Welcome to my world. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess it's kind of cool," Conner shrugged. "In a techno, retro, dorky sort of way."

"You can do anything here," Ethan explained, leading them through the room. "Game, chat online, listen to music, eat, drink."

Kira looked around. "Who came up with the idea for this?"

"That would be Hayley," Ethan pointed to the red head at the counter. "She's a techno legend. MIT grad, programming genius. Got tired of working for big technology and decided to open up this place."

"Good thing for you," Kira remarked.

"No lie," the blue ranger agreed.

Conner joined them. "Anyway, what's so important?"

"I just figured, hey, if we're going to be saving the world together, I wanted you guys to see what I'm about," Ethan answered.

"Okay, whatever dude," Conner chuckled.

Hayley walked over to greet them. "Hey guys. What can I get you?"

"I'll just have an apple juice," Kira shrugged.

"Oh, that's easy," the woman smiled. She led them over to the counter. "Kira, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Kira frowned.

"I'm all about information," Hayley stated. "It's my business. Now, you sing, don't you?"

Kira nodded. "Me and my sister."

"Great," Hayley grinned. "How about this Friday, you two and your band play here? We'll call it an audition."

"Well, yeah," Kira agreed. "I mean, that would be great." She couldn't contain her excitement.

"All right," Hayley confirmed. "See you then." She left to grab the apple juice as Kira took a seat.

"Okay, I love her," she commented.

"That's Hayley," Ethan snorted. "There's not one kid in here she hasn't helped out somehow."

"Hasn't helped me," Conner muttered.

Hayley reappeared on the other side of him, handing Kira the juice. "Conner McKnight, the soccer player. I'm surprised you're not at the open tryouts for the Reefside Wave."

"Open tryouts?" Conner raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Hayley nodded. "At their practice field, right now."

"You're kidding, right?" Conner couldn't stop the grin coming to his face.

"No."

Ethan smirked. "You were saying?" Conner looked between Ethan and Hayley once more before bolting out the door. "Good luck, bro!" Hayley moved to help another customer.

"I gotta go too," Kira realized. "I need to put a set list together, restring my guitar, and let my sister know." She handed Ethan the apple juice. "Here. Bye!"

After leaving the Cyberspace, Kira dug out her phone and called her sister right away. The news of them getting a gig had to be shared right away so they could figure out what they were going to do. Kira knew her sister would be excited about it, but she also figured that her sister might have trouble getting to Reefside for Friday afternoon. "Ken, I got some great news," Kira spoke when her sister picked up.

"Can you make it quick?" Kennedi asked. "We're loaded with customers right now and I'm trying to help Dustin fix as many bikes as possible."

"I got us a gig!" Kira skipped right to the point.

"No way!" Kennedi went wide eyed. "Where? When? How?"

"The new place downtown," Kira filled in. "Hayley's Cyberspace. She heard that we sing, and offered us an audition Friday afternoon."

Kennedi hesitated a minute. "This Friday?"

"Yeah, why?" Kira frowned, not liking where this was headed.

"Well, Hunter's going to be around on Friday, and that's supposed to be my day to spend with him," Kennedi bit his lip. "Because then he's spending Saturday at the academy with Leanne and teaching ninjas, and then Sunday we're getting together as a team…"

"So bring him along on Friday," Kira suggested. "Then after the performance, you two can go out on a date. And who's Leanne?"

"All right," Kennedi sighed. "And Leanne is a fellow thunder ninja. Practically siblings with Hunter and Blake, and me and Tori have been hanging out with her quite a bit. She's a pretty cool person. I'll introduce you next time you're in town. So, what time on Friday?"

Kira smiled as she filled her sister in on the rest of the information.

Seconds after getting off the phone with her sister, Kira heard her communicator go off. After hearing the information she needed to, she quickly made her way toward the woods, where Ethan and Dr. Oliver would be. She ran into Conner on her way, and both morphed quickly, thinking they'd need to be in order to fight this thing off. When they arrived, they saw Tommy was fighting off Elsa and Zeltrax while Ethan was morphed and backed up against a tree, trying to fight off tyranodrones.

As Ethan shielded himself, Conner and Kira jumped in front of him, using their sabers to shove the creatures back. "You guys couldn't have done this another day?" Conner huffed.

"Don't tell me," Ethan argued. "Tell them!"

"Let's make it quick," Conner decided. "Tyrano staff!"

"Ptera grips!"

"Tricera shield!"

Together, the three charged the oncoming tyranodrones. They split them up into three groups, and each ranger used their personal weapon to help fight them off. It proved to be better using the suits for protection and their weapons to help defend themselves. Once the tyranodrones were taken care of, the three teens grouped around Tommy, who was holding the backpack with the dino eggs in it. Zeltrax and Elsa stood across from them.

"You really like these odds?" Ethan called. "'Cause you look busted to me."

"We're not through with you, power rangers!" Elsa snarled.

"Nor you, Dr. Oliver," Zeltrax added. The two vanished into an invisaportal.

"They're a pleasant couple," Kira remarked.

"We better get these back to my place," Tommy sighed.

Kira tried to look inside the bag. "What are they?"

"We're going to ride them," Ethan answered.

"Look," Conner spoke. "I have to go back to tryouts. Can you guys handle this?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Conner," Tommy nodded. "They can fill you in later." With a quick thanks, Conner left. Kira and Ethan followed Tommy.

The following afternoon, Ethan and Kira sat at a table in the Cyberspace. They hadn't heard from Conner since the fight yesterday, but they figured he would show up sooner or later. Kira was working on a set list for the next day, and Ethan was playing a video game on his laptop. "Man, Dr. O is into some weird and funky stuff," the boy commented. "I don't even want to think about what he's hatching down in that cave right now."

"I have a feeling we won't have to wait too long to find out," Kira added. She turned her head and caught sight of a tanned boy wearing a black and white checkered shirt with dark hair. "Whoa. Who is that?"

"I don't know," Ethan turned and saw who she was talking about. He noticed Kira spacing out. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

"He's really…wow…isn't he?" Kira asked, not really paying attention.

Ethan looked a bit amused. "Can I get you a class of water, maybe an oxygen mask?" Kira turned back to the set list.

"Quiet!" she hushed him. "He's coming over here."

The boy approached them. "Hey," he greeted. Ethan turned and looked at him while Kira didn't. "I'm looking for Hayley. I'm supposed to start work today."

"She's around here somewhere," Ethan looked around. "Haven't I seen you at Reefside?"

"Yeah, I just moved here last week," the boy nodded. "My name's Trent."

"I'm Ethan," the blue ranger shook his hand. "This is Kira."

"Hey," Trent turned to Kira. The girl didn't respond. "Are you okay?"

Ethan decided to joke around. "She doesn't speak. We've been trying for years, but we just can't get through."

"I'm fine," Kira shot Ethan a glare before smiling up at Trent. "It's nice to meet you." She returned to creating the set list.

"Trent," Hayley appeared. "Good timing. Come with me and I'll get you started."

"Cool," Trent grinned. "I'll see you guys later." He and Hayley disappeared, and Ethan turned to Kira.

"Isn't he just so wow?" he mocked, only for Kira to stomp on his foot. "Ow!" Conner made his way over to them, wearing his soccer uniform and not looking happy. "Hey, how'd it go?"

Conner huffed. "How'd it go? It's over. The coach basically said forget it. And who can blame him? I mean, I left in the middle of practice."

"Well, it's not like you didn't have a good excuse," Kira shrugged.

"Right," Conner grumbled. "Well, maybe next time I will bring a note from our teacher." He began moving toward the couches, and the two got up to follow him. "'Sorry, Conner couldn't make it to practice today. He was busy fighting freaky looking dinosaur things in the forest.'"

"I bet he's never heard that excuse before," Ethan shushed him.

"Whatever," Conner sighed. The three sat on the couch. "Look, the point is, what was I supposed to say? Man, this whole saving the world deal is seriously starting to bum me out." He paused for a moment. "I need to talk to Dr. Oliver."

"Uh, I think he may be kind of busy," Kira held him back. "He's got this whole new project."

"Too bad," Conner cut her off. "I was busy yesterday. That didn't stop him from messing up my life." He got up and headed for the door.

Ethan and Kira shared a look before moving to follow.

The three teens made their way to the dino lab through the tunnel entrance. It felt better using this entrance and it made it less awkward than using the one in the house above them. As they approached the skeleton, they could hear roaring and things crashing. To them, it didn't sound good. Conner pulled the jaw and the wall slid upward. Tommy noticed this. "Don't come in!" he yelled. "It's not safe!"

"We kind of got that," Kira winced as they saw things crashing. A blue tail came flying out of nowhere and Tommy fell on the ground in their view. He looked like a mess.

"Is that what was in those eggs?" Ethan asked as the teacher got up.

"Yeah," Tommy coughed. "I'm trying to train them.

"How's it coming?"

"Slowly," Tommy answered. He ducked as the red tail came flying at him and slammed into the wall. "Very slowly."

Conner began speaking. "Look, I can see that you're busy with…well, whatever, but I need to talk." When Tommy's back was to the room, the red tail came flying at him again, whacking him in the back. The teens stepped to the side as Tommy flew out into the tunnels. The door slid down as Tommy landed.

"I guess I could take a break," Tommy groaned. Ethan helped him up. "All right. What's up?"

"You gotta find someone to replace me," Conner stated.

"What are you talking about?" Kira demanded.

"You're talking crazy," Ethan agreed."

"All right," Tommy ordered. "Settle down, you two. What's the problem?"

Conner sighed. "Look, I'm a soccer player. That's all I've ever wanted to do. You know, every moment of my life has led up to playing for a pro team. And I get the greatest chance of my life, and I blow it."

"I understand," Tommy nodded. "And you're right." This shocked the three teens.

"You're agreeing with him?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Conner," Tommy looked to the red ranger. "I know how you feel 'cause I felt that way before. But I want you to think about this before you do anything."

"Look," Kira added. "I've got things I want to do, but I'm here. I'm dealing."

"Good for you," Conner shrugged. "I guess I'm just different." He walked away, leaving the three alone.

"Whoa," Ethan commented. "And I thought the red guy was supposed to be the leader."

After giving him time to cool down, Ethan and Kira made their way to the soccer field, where they knew their teammate would be. They found him finished a conversation with the coach for the Reefside Wave and waited until the older man left to approach. "Hey bro," Ethan greeted, hoping that they wouldn't let on that they heard the conversation.

"Things okay with the coach?" Kira asked as Conner turned to face them.

"Yeah, I think so," he nodded. "Listen, I'm sorry, you guys. You gotta understand."

"Yeah, we do," Kira assured.

"She does more than me," Ethan shrugged. "But if it's what you really want…" Their morphers went off.

Tommy spoke over the communicators. "Guys, we have a situation. There's a monster attack in the city. People are in danger." Ethan and Kira looked at Conner.

"Okay," he gave in. "But this is the last time. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

Before the rangers knew it, the fight was over and they could relax. The team was gathered at the Cyberspace café. Kira was standing by the stage, talking to her sister and Hunter about what had happened earlier. It was already Friday afternoon, and the fight had gone well. The rangers gained the raptor riders, which proved to be useful when they chased down the monster. Conner ended up helping out a little girl who gave him a hug after the fight was over. The red ranger walked into the café, spotting Ethan and heading over.

"Hey," Ethan greeted, a bit surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Why not?" Conner asked. "We're partners in crime fighting, right?"

"Are we?" Ethan frowned.

"Yeah," Conner nodded. "We are."

Ethan chuckled and they moved over to take seats at the counter. "Hey, what happened with the Wave?"

"I had to make a choice," Conner shrugged. "That little girl made me realize there's nothing more important than what we're doing."

"Hey Conner," Hayley appeared, holding two drinks. "Sorry you didn't make the team. These are on the house." She set the drinks down before walking toward the stage.

"How does she do that?" Conner wondered.

"Hayley knows all, man," Ethan shook his head, amused. "And I'm sorry, too."

"Yeah," Conner bit his lip. "Look, you know, I'd still would've chosen you guys, right?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, I know. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know who the guy in the army uniform hanging out with Kira is?" The boys looked over to where Kira, Kennedi, and Hunter were standing. They looked just in time to see Hunter give Kennedi a kiss before disappearing into the crowd that was forming. "Wait, Kira has a boyfriend?"

"No," Conner chuckled. "That must be Kennedi's boyfriend."

"Who's Kennedi?" Ethan frowned.

"Kira's twin," Conner answered. "Completely identical. Only way to tell the difference is their eye color, and that Kennedi wears more orange where Kira wears more yellow. Plus, Kira now has the morpher she wears. Kira's single, as far as I know. Why?"

"She was checking out the new employee here yesterday," Ethan shrugged. "It just surprised me that she would do that then possibly be off kissing another dude. Wait, she has a twin?" At the mention of Kira checking somebody out, Conner tensed up a bit, feeling slightly jealous. Ethan noticed, but didn't comment.

Hayley's voice drew their attention to the stage. "Thanks, guys. Tonight, we've got something really special for you. Two young women with a lot to say. Ladies and gentlemen, The Ford Twins!" the crowd applauded as the girls took the stage. Ethan kept blinking, trying to process the fact that their yellow ranger had a twin. Both girls had the same hair style and outfit, the difference being Kira wearing a yellow shirt and Kennedi wearing an orange one.

Without speaking, the girls began playing their guitars to the opening beat.

"[Kennedi]
And it goes like this
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah

[Kira]
I can't tell you why
but I can't stop
thinking about you baby
oh yeah

[Kennedi]
Don't you think it's time
I walked around
every word you're saying
oh yeah

[Kira]
I'm trying hard
to figure out
tell me what
it's all about

[Both]
'cause I don't wanna
freak you out
freak you out
freak you out

I wanna know
know where you're at
I'm at the front
but you're still
at the back
oh
can you tell me where
tell me where you're at

Freak you out
freak you out
freak you out
freak you out
freak you out
freak you out…"

They continued performing, and Ethan turned to Conner, confused about something he noticed. "Hey, wasn't Dr. O supposed to be here?" he asked the boy beside him.

Conner looked at him, trying to think.

A/N: So Kennedi was briefly in this one. What'll happen next?