Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers. However the characters that exist as their children are my creation.

Their Children

Chapter Fourteen: A Portal of Sorts?

"Ki yah!" Was the battle cry of the white clad male as he sent a fist into the red clad chest of his opponent, sending the guy flying onto his back. Wasting no time, he leapt forward with a leg arched high into the air. He swung it down fast, and made contact with… floor? 'Wait, that's not right.' Was his last thought before his feet were swept from under him, allowing his back to meet mat.

"You're getting sloppy Tommy. Your reaction time was slow. And you left yourself wide open."

Tommy looked up to see his 'Bro' smiling down at him. Using the speed he was known for, Tommy quickly returned the favor. The red figure landed on his back beside Tommy. "You're getting sloppy Jase. Your reaction time was slow. And you left yourself wide open." Tommy finished, now wearing the smile Jason lost.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone's a critic." Jason said as they raised themselves off of the mat. "One more round?"

"Sounds good." Tommy quickly agreed.

"Hey!" Both Tommy and Jason glanced back to the source of the yell.

Jason looked back at Tommy and sighed, "Here we go…" They both laughed.

"Ha, ha, ha, I don't know what you're laughing' about, but it ends here." The man stopped in front of them, clearly frustrated.

"What's up Rocko?" Tommy asks calmly.

Rocky gives them a hard look. "I'll tell you what's up. You two have been at it for three hours straight. Maybe the rest of us would like a go at the mat." Rocky protested.

"Why not use the mat in the extended room?" Jason asked. Rocky's shoulders sagged a bit at this question. Jason noticed. "What is it?"

Rocky pouted. "Sha' and Kim have been at it longer than you two. I've tried to get them off, honestly I have. I even suggested they take a break because they looked tired. Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say, because they accused me of calling them weak. Which, in their minds, escalated to being interpreted as out of shape and eventually fat. I wanted to explain but… they scare me." Tommy & Jason looked at each other. They laughed. Rocky looked at them and stated in a deadpan voice. "It's not funny. Zack's in there now trying to keep them at bay."

Tommy forces his chuckles down to a minimum. "Okay, okay Rocko. We'll take a break."

"Yeah and…" Jason had a little more difficulty keeping from laughing, "We'll see if we can calm the ladies down."

Rocky immediately looked relieved. "Thank you."

"There he is!" Came Kim's angry cry as she hurried towards Rocky.

"Thought you could get away from us, did you?" Aisha said as she trailed behind her pink dressed friend.

Rocky eyes widened in fear as he turned around to see the girls vastly approaching. "Ladies, please, I… wait a second, what did you do with Zack?" Rocky managed to ask before he ducked behind Jason for protection. "Save me!"

Jason stood protectively in front of Rocky with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Girls, is there something we can help you with?"

"Yeah! You can start by handing over my husband! Now!" Aisha demanded.

Tommy shook his head with a grin on his face. "Come on girls, I'm sure that Rocky is sorry for whatever he unintentionally did." He reasoned.

"Not as sorry as you're gonna' be if you do not remove yourself that spot right this instant Tommy!" Kim yelled at her significant other.

Jason chuckled at Tommy. Aisha glared at him. "Something funny Jason?" She asked softly. That got Jason's attention. Her voice is too calm. Jason sobered up immediately.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just, uh…, something in my throat." Jason answered desperately trying to save himself.

"Really?" Aisha asked with a menacing stare. "Would you like me to help you with that?"

Jason shook his head at the not so veiled threat. He cleared his throat. "Uh no, see all better." He assured the tiny former ranger. He looked over at Tommy for help, but soon remembered that his bro' was otherwise disengaged.

"Come on Kim, calm down. You're overreacting." Tommy said.

Rocky gasped and mumbled to himself. "Not a smart move Tommy."

"Overreacting? Overreacting?! I'll show you overreacting! Once I'm done with Rocky. Now move!" The miniature sized woman shouted.

Tommy raised both his hands to her. "Now Kim-"

"Wait a second," Jason interrupted, "where is Zack?"

The girls suddenly stopped yelling and looked at each other with guilty expressions on their faces. Tommy noticed. "Kim, Aisha? What did you do?"

"It was an accident I swear!" Kim blurted under Tommy's firm stare. "Really, it was all Sha's-"

"Kim!" Aisha turned to Kim with her brows furrowed. Aisha looked Tommy in the eyes. "See what happened was…" She sighs, "It was his own damn fault!" She finished with a frown.

Everyone just stared at Aisha. The guys looked at each other. They turned and ran in the direction of Zack.

____

Jason was the first to make it through the opening. There he saw Zack lying on his back, facing the ceiling. "Zack!" Jason ran towards his fallen friend.

Tommy and Rocky followed, with the girls trailing behind. Rocky helped Jason pull Zack to his feet. Tommy stood directly in front of his friend. "Zack? Are you alright?"

Zack groaned as he was pulled to his feet. "Oh man, did you get the number?"

Jason glanced at Rocky and Tommy then back at Zack. "The number?"

Zack shook his head as he balanced himself on his feet. "Yeah, off the plates of the car that hit me." He lost his balance, but luckily Jason was there to catch him.

Tommy frowned, he turned to the girls. "Well, what do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Kim pouted and Aisha crossed her arms. "My right hook is a lot meaner than I thought."

"Aisha!" Tommy shouted in reprimand. He then looked to his wife. "Kimberly?"

Kim sighed, "I'm sorry okay."

Aisha relented and uncrossed her arms. "Yea Zack, we're both sorry. We let things escalate unnecessarily. Please forgive us."

"We were really only after Rocky." Kim said in explanation.

Zack finally steady on his feet looked at the two girls. "It's fine you two. I forgive ya. It's all good." He then grinned slyly. "On one condition."

Kim and Aisha looked apprehensively at one another, then back to Zack. "What?" They asked in unison.

"You have to let my man Rocko off the hook." Zack finished with a smile.

"What!" Kim yelled.

"It's okay Kim. You got it Zack." Aisha stated confidently.

"And that means no picking a fight with him and getting back at him later Sha'." Zack said barely containing his glee.

"Dang it." Aisha muttered under her breath. "Should have known there'd be a catch. Fine! Rocky is free and clear. After all, you did technically take the hit for him."

Jason shook his head while patting Rocky on the back. "Well Rocko, looks like you dodged a bullet."

Tommy started to laugh. "More like two bullets.

Rocky sighed. "Thanks man, I owe you one."

"I'll remember that the next time Cass is on one of her rampages." Zack walked into the other room with a laugh.

"Why do I feel like I just got the short end of the stick?" Rocky asked no one in particular.

"That's because you did." Jason said, not holding back his laughter.

Tommy just shook his head. "Come on guys, let's get back to work. Rocky, go join Zack. You guys get the mat in there." Rocky nodded his head and ran after his friend. Tommy looked to girls. "Okay ladies, we're going to spar two on two. Aisha and me against you and Jase." Tommy finished, looking at his wife. At everyone's nod, they began.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Alright Adam, what is your status?"

"I've connected the sensors to the communicators like you wanted. Now we just need to attach the conduits. Have you decided what we should use?" Adam asked his long time friend.

"Affirmative. Trini is out retrieving the material as we speak." Billy turned back to his computer monitor. "If my calculations are correct, the metal should allow for a small tear in space. This opening will be our gateway." Billy stood up and grabbed a small radio-like box and set it on the counter in front of Adam.

"What's this?" Adam asked, slightly confused.

"If we are making use of all of the communicators to pass through portal, then we are going to need a device to communicate with them. I've developed this communication radio for such a purpose."

"Good thinking Billy. This way we won't have to leave one of the communicators here. How long did it take you to construct this?"

"Not long at all. I've always had the schematics stored in my brain. We've just never had use for it. When we were rangers, we had the communicators which were connected to the Command Center. Therefore, there was no need for the communication radio at that time." Billy explained logically.

"Well we definitely have use for it now. Thanks Billy."

"Hello boys." A new voice greeted. Both Billy and Adam turned to the source of the voice. "Miss me?"

"Always." Billy answered while he gave his wife a kiss. "Did you retrieve a suitable metal?"

Trini grinned as she held up a box, "I don't know. Will copper do?"

Billy smiled at his wife. "Copper will function faultlessly." He grabbed the box and made his way to his work station in the opposite corner of the room."

Adam walked over to Trini. "Copper? Good choice. Was it hard to find?"

"Finding it wasn't the hard part. It was getting the amount we needed, without looking suspicious. I just hope it's enough. I couldn't get any more than that." Trini stated, looking over at her husband. "Has he taken a break yet?"

Adam shook his head. "No. And I don't expect he plans to. We have a deadline to make." Adam sighed angrily while turning to walk up the stairs into the kitchen.

Trini turned her attention to her friend and followed, closing the basement door behind her. "What's wrong Adam?"

"Everything." He shook his head and looked at her. "How could we let this happen Trini? How could 'we' allow this Xian character to terrorize our home in such a way?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Adam, it's no one's fault."

Adam shrugged it off. "Yeah, except it is. It's ours. We were the first Trini. We watched our entire predecessors die, and did nothing."

"What could we have done Adam? We searched for power and found nothing. We were powerless. What could we have done? We're only human." Trini reasoned.

"See that's where you're wrong Trini. We are power rangers. Once a ranger, always a ranger. There is no retirement plan for us. And now… because of our inability to fight… because we failed… our children… our kids… my Livvy…" Adam eyes began to water.

Trini raised a hand to his shoulder, and this time he didn't pull away. "I know Adam, it's not fair."

"My little girl has to fight in my place. I'm suppose to protect her, not the other way around." Adam turned around to face Trini. "Oh God Trini, what's to stop them from dying like all the others." It was that statement that broke the dam of tears in Adam. Trini wrapped her arms around him and let him cry on her shoulder, desperately trying to hold back her own tears.

'I don't know Adam. I just don't know.' She thought only to herself. Afraid that if she had voiced it aloud, it would be the death sentence of all of their children.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kat slipped an extra pillow behind her friend's back. "Thanks, that feels better." Tanya said with a sigh.

"It was no problem." Kat replied as she sat down beside Tanya.

Tanya looked over to her once best friend. "You know Kat. I've really missed you these past years."

"I've missed you to Tan."

"I just feel… I don't know… like we've grown apart. And I know it's my fault. When Adam and I moved to New Jersey, I should have kept in contact with you better and…" Tanya couldn't hold back the tears.

Kat embraced her friend. "Oh Tan, please don't cry. It's fine, really it is. Friendship is a two way street. I didn't keep up my end, so how can I be upset that you didn't keep up yours. We both had a lot of things going on, what with new jobs, starting our families. It's expected that we should grow apart."

Tanya began to wipe away her tears. "You're right Kat. I guess the hormones are just going crazy today with everything that has been happening. But really, I've missed our friendship. You were my best friend, and we've been apart for so many years."

Kat gave Tanya one last squeeze before releasing her. "You're right. We should have held on harder. But what's past is past. We should move on, but this time, we'll stay together. All of us. We have this bond. And we are at our strongest when together."

Tanya smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "So… you're not mad at me?"

Kat grinned. "As if that were possible."

Tanya let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. So… can you get me a bowl of ice cream?"

Kat raised an eyebrow. "You are so lucky I love you." She stood up and made her way over to the kitchen.

"Ooh and grab me some pickles, if Tommy and Kim have any." Tanya said before her friend was gone.

Kat just shook her head and headed towards the kitchen.

--

Cassie walked into the living room. "I just put the kids down for a nap. That didn't really go down so well considering that they are not babies anymore. But in the end, I won."

Tanya nodded her head. "That was a good idea. I'm sure they are exhausted from all that worrying. We'll need to think of something to tell them when they awaken. It's not fair to leave them in the dark without some explanation."

Cassie sat down in the chair opposite Tanya. "Yeah, you're right. They are smart kids. They know something is wrong. And I do believe that they are getting stressed out from worry. But what can we tell them? Certainly not the truth."

"No, not the truth. At least not the whole truth. Ranger code and all. We'll need to come up with something." Tanya leaned her head back against the sofa. "God! All of this worrying cannot be good for the baby."

"Well here's a little something that will be good for the baby." Kat stated upon her return. She placed a bowl of ice cream and a plate of pickles in front of Tanya. "Here's what the baby ordered."

Tanya beamed at her friend. "Kat you're a life saver." Then she frowned. "Kat silly, the pickles are supposed to go in the ice cream. Don't worry, I'll fix it." Tanya then mixed her pickles in her ice cream. "Mmm, that's better." Then she took her first bite, completely ignorant of the frozen faces of disgust and shock from her two companions.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO