Chapter Fifty-six

The Rescue

Conner stumbled a bit as the security guard shoved him bodily forward, finally releasing him a good thirty feet on the other side of the admissions booth. Conner was the last to be let go; the others were already staring stonily at the guards, their expressions neither proud nor abashed.

"And don't come back!" the head of security shouted as he and the other guards and employees retreated, shooting black glares at Jason, Trini, Billy, Zack, Rocky, Adam and Conner.

Conner sighed inwardly. Here it comes, he thought resignedly. This is the part where I get yelled at. Though the clown fight hadn't been Conner's fault (at least, not as far as he could tell), Conner knew from experience that doing something as crazy as getting into a brawl with a bunch of carnies was something he was going to be yelled at for. It was practically a law. Even though Dr. O wasn't around, and Dr. O's friends didn't know Conner all that well, surely one of them would start screaming. …Yep. Any minute now.

Then, to Conner's utter shock, Trini—of all people—threw back her head and laughed uproariously.

"That was awesome," she gasped, and suddenly they were all giving high-fives, tapping fists and clapping each other on the back or shoulder.

Billy shook his head. "I don't believe it. We just got banned from the same place twice."

"Yeah—we're special like that," Jason joked. "No one bans us just once!"

"I really hope our identities never get exposed," Adam said with an amused, "what's next?" sigh. "Can you imagine seeing clowns on the news alleging the Power Rangers once attacked them?"

"They'd probably claim we lost, too," Rocky said with a sniff.

"Whatever. We kicked their butts," Zack said, jumping up to bump chests with Rocky.

"Of course we did," Jason agreed.

Billy smiled wryly. "Although I was sure Adam was a goner when that clown pulled out the flaming torches."

"That was just not cool," Adam growled. "No pun intended."

"Okay, okay, survey," Trini called. "Favorite parts?"

"When the little kid started yelling 'Go Tinkle,'" Jason answered promptly. "Or, well, when I realized that 'Go Tinkle' meant 'Go Zack' and not 'Go to bathroom.'"

They laughed and started heading back to where the cars were parked. "I gotta go with the look on Adam's face when the torches were lit," Zack said.

"Definitely the game attendants going after Jason," Rocky said. "They looked like a wannabe street gang. The cheesy carnival uniforms with the nametags… it just didn't blend with the makeshift weapon look."

"Trini?" Jason prompted.

"When Bonkers and Adam started sword-fighting with stuffed animals," she replied without hesitation.

"Billy?"

Billy blushed slightly, as though fully aware that he shouldn't have enjoyed their little duel with chaos. "When I looked up and saw Zack in a dance-off."

"Conner?"

The others turned to him expectantly. Conner stared back, drawing a blank. "Um…" he said finally, "isn't anyone going to yell at me?"

"For what?" several of the others asked.

"For… you know, for that. For somehow getting sucked into a battle with a gang of clowns and carnies." Conner looked around hopefully. Though not often disturbed by abnormalities, the thought of going at it with random civilians in public and then not getting screamed at, or at least lectured… the mere thought of joking and laughing about it afterwards… it just didn't seem to fit. Conner couldn't process.

Rocky slung a sympathetic arm around his shoulders. "Let me explain something to you, man—chaos happens. Happens more and more, ever since we stopped, you know, having monsters to fight. Like our lives are overcompensating."

"There's no excuse for fighting clowns," Billy added. "So we ignore the fact that it shouldn't have happened and look upon it as a funny event worthy of amusement. In a few days, suddenly no one will mention it. Ever again."

"Run with the psychotic, be the psychotic, forget the psychotic," Zack recited. "What, Tommy never told you that rule?"

Conner shook his head. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. No normal person fought random carnival employees for no real reason. No normal person got buried in stuffed animals by a four-foot-tall clown or took the ring toss game's goldfish hostage. No one did that. No one. So they all started discussing it as if it was a TV show they'd just watched. Got it out of their systems. And then pretended it had never occurred.

"I'll forget it when I get all these stuffed animals out of my pants," Conner said.

"How did you get stuffed animals—no, no, don't tell me," Billy corrected himself, struggling to suppress his own curiosity.

"Favorite part?" Trini pressed casually.

Conner thought it over. "When I saw the look on Anna, Kira, Ethan and Trent's faces."

"Oh, yeah—where'd they go?" Rocky asked.

"Tommy dragged them off right before Trini dropped Bonkers," Jason said. "I thought he was just going to lecture them about something or whatever. He must've been removing them from the fight."

"Odd," Adam said, surprised. "You'd think he'd have grabbed Conner, too."

"Huh? Why?" Conner asked. He'd assumed his friends just hadn't been able to elbow their way through the crowd in time to help; it hadn't occurred to him that they'd wanted to miss the action.

"He gets you out of the way, he doesn't have to explain anything to your parents," Adam clarified.

"Oh, please," Trini said with a snort. "Notice who else isn't with us?"

Adam and Rocky both scanned the group. "Heyyyy… Kim isn't here," Rocky said slowly.

"Bingo," Trini told him. "I'll bet you anything Tommy instigated the whole thing." She gave Jason a grudgingly grateful look. "Pretty smooth, hon."

"I didn't do anything," Jason said firmly, but he grinned wickedly.

"Wait, wait, wait." Adam stared from Jason to Trini in incredulous exasperation. "Are you telling me Jason got Tommy to start a fight between us and a dozen clowns just to get Kimberly alone?"

Rocky whistled. "Damn, Jase, you're brilliant. That was kick-ass."

Jason fought with himself for a moment, trying to decide if he should accept the praise or deny it yet again. "Thanks," he said finally. He checked his watch. "Well, I say we give him two or three hours before we call him and ask him when he plans on coming out. You guys wanna go catch a movie or something?"

Conner felt a very unsettling feeling sweep through him. He knew that, if Dr. O was in Jason's place, Dr. O would not be suggesting they go see a movie. Dr. O would be suggesting all the horrible things that would happen if Conner ever managed to get into a public clown fight again three days before Power Rangers Day, just a few hours after dropping a couple of bellhops to smuggle Billy past a reporter, especially after that Play-Doh incident the night before.

The odd thing was… Dr. O was the leader of Conner's group. However, Dr. O had also been the leader of this group, of these people, and he couldn't imagine their Dr. O doing anything at this point other than saying "My favorite part was when Jason soaked a clown with the water guns from that game" or "What kind of movie?" Conner realized, for the very first time, that Dr. O wasn't just an ex-Power Ranger twice over. He had once been a completely different person, and somewhere along the way, somehow, he'd really and truly changed. By the time Tommy had become Dr. O, he'd become more responsible, less easily amused, and far more wary of impending doom.

He's only like eight years older than me, Conner thought, faint stirrings of horror creeping in now. Was Conner going to be a completely different person in eight years? When Dr. O had said "You remind me so much of myself at your age," back when Conner was trying to get on Krista's good side, Dr. O had sounded like he was seventy or something. It really made Conner's stomach churn to think that one day—one day relatively soon—maybe he wouldn't think being in a clown fight was the most awesome thing ever. Maybe he'd be too responsible, too… too tired of chaos. Maybe he would just stop being Conner, no more soccer or long hours spent watching cartoons or goofing off with his brother or hanging in Cyberspace with the gang or partying on the weekends—

"Conner?"

Pretty girl, dead ahead. What had he been saying?

"Dee!" Conner called happily. "You're back from lunch!"

Dee nodded. She was carrying three large fountain drinks and looked a bit frayed, as though she'd had a rough couple of hours, but she perked right up at the sight of Conner. Zack and Rocky hurried to stand near him, though neither Rachel nor Sandra was nearby. "We've been back awhile, actually. I wanted to call you guys, but our truck broke down again and we've been dealing with that instead."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Conner said sympathetically, privately thinking, Whoo! Captive audience, AND a chance to be Mr. Hero. "D'you need any help?"

Dee looked hesitant. "It's… kind of a weird truck. It's been… modified."

Billy perked up and stepped forward, unwittingly cutting off Conner's megawatt smile from Dee's line of sight. "Really? I love customizing cars. I'm great at it. So's Trini. Although Jason and Tommy are more into trucks."

"We could take a look, if you'd like," Jason said. "It's not like we've got anything better to do."

Dee nodded at the admissions booth. "What about the carnival?"

"We… um… kind of got banned," Conner said sheepishly, shoving Billy out of the way as inconspicuously as possible. Billy stumbled for a few yards before regaining his balance.

"Awesome," Dee said, grinning at Conner. "Did you guys hop the fence, too?"

"You hopped the fence?" Trini said, frowning.

Dee nodded. "We kind of had to. Long story."

Trini squirmed a bit, but didn't say anything. Trini wasn't a fan of things like ditching admission prices, but as she'd just incited a clown riot, she didn't feel she could talk without being a total hypocrite.

"Our truck's over here, if you wanna take a look," Dee said, pointing across the parking lot. "I just went back into the carnival to get some drinks for us." Dee flashed the readmission hand stamp on the back of her hand.

"We might as well," Jason said. "I—hang on." His phone had started ringing, and he fished it out of his pocket. "It's Tommy." Pressing the phone to his ear, he said, "Hello?"

"A clown fight? What the hell, Jase?"

Jason rolled his eyes, figuring this was the obligatory "I didn't have a hidden agenda, honest, I just happened to be scarce during the moment of chaos and am now alone with Kim through unforeseen circumstances" call. "They snuck up on us," Jason said in a defensive tone. He might as well play along with Tommy's game.

"Oh, they snuck up on you, that's a completely different story," Tommy said with a sniff. "Have you been arrested yet?"

"Nah. They just dumped us off in the parking lot like last time." The sound of a palm smacking against a forehead could be heard through the line. "You guys coming out?" Jason asked.

"I would, but there's been a problem."

Of course there has, Jason thought with a smirk. "What kind of problem?"

"I told Kira, Ethan, Trent and Anna to stay put while I went to get Kim so we could leave together, but by the time I came back to get them, they'd disappeared. Mysteriously," Tommy couldn't help adding with just a touch of "It's hard to keep a straight face right now" in his voice.

Not a bad cover, Jason thought, impressed. "Well, I'm sure they'll turn up. Or they'll call you when they're ready to go. Listen—we just ran into that Dee girl Zack met on the Ferris wheel. She's having car trouble; we're gonna go help. Might go do something afterwards. Wanna just call us when you find them and are ready to leave?"

Tommy was silent a long moment. "Fine," he ground out, obviously—or, rather, supposedly—unhappy. "Kim and I are gonna split up to cover more ground. As soon as I get them to the Jeep, I'll call you. Don't go do anything where you might have to turn your phone off, like a movie."

"All right."

"And take care of Conner."

"We're not exactly gonna sell him to the gypsies, Tommy."

"If you do, I want my cut," Tommy replied without missing a beat.

Jason snorted. "Anything else?"

"Nah. Sorry I'm stuck in here, Jase. They're gonna be in for it when I find them."

"Hey, we're the ones who got banned. Kira, Ethan and Trent deserve a little calm time. I'll see you in a few hours. Oh, and Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

Jason couldn't resist. "Have fun with Kim."

"Shut up," Tommy retorted, and hung up the phone.

Jason hung up as well. "So?" Trini prompted.

"Fed me a line about how he 'lost' everyone else but Kim and has to look for them before he can meet us," Jason replied. "He claims he and Kim split up to search."

"That's a pretty decent cover," Adam said, impressed.

Jason nodded. "So. Let's go help Dee with her truck, go grab a bite or something, and conveniently not answer our phones when he calls back."

"Sounds like a plan," Rocky said cheerfully, and motioned for Dee to lead on.

Tommy sniffed as he hung up the phone. Kimberly stared at him in shock. The expressions on his face had perfectly matched what he was saying during the whole call, and now here he was, looking calmly at her.

They'd decided to feed Jason a line of crap about why the two of them were alone; they didn't want their friends crowding over their shoulders for gossip or instigating evil plans, so they'd decided to say they'd split up. Though they'd all done their fair sharing of lying before, she couldn't believe how much Tommy had improved in the falsehoods department since she'd last hung out with him.

"What? Not convincing enough?" he asked, noticing her expression.

"Even I almost believed you, and it was my plan."

"Our plan," he corrected.

"Our plan," she agreed, though she privately credited herself with most of the details. "Seriously, though, have you been taking some acting classes or something?"

He smiled faintly. "I've just had a lot of practice."

"We've all had practice, Tommy," Kimberly pointed out.

He shook his head. "I had to work a little harder. Pretty much the moment I started going to college, Hayley became my best friend. Her IQ is almost as high as Billy's, but she's got Trini's shrewdness and attention to detail. Moving in with her… I was surprised my secret lasted as long as it did."

"How'd she find out?" Kimberly asked.

Tommy chuckled. "Remember how Trini told you that she, Zack, Jason and I got drunk together that one time?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Hayley came home to find Jason dancing on the table—"

"Bet that was a sight to see."

"—only he was in morph."

Kimberly's jaw dropped. "He was morphed?"
Tommy nodded. "With his helmet off, no less. We weren't expecting Hayley home at all that night, but she'd had a fight with her boyfriend and didn't stay the night like she'd planned. Trini made Jason morph—figured the power boost might sober him up faster. Instead, Hayley walks in to see the original Red Ranger doing the Macarena on our kitchen table. Started ranting about how she knew it all along but didn't have the proof until now."

"To which you replied…?" Kimberly prompted.

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. "I was… kinda sobbing about how I missed Saba at that point."

"Saba?" Kimberly blinked. As she hadn't been around for the loss of the original powers, it hadn't occurred to her that Tommy's talking saber was as gone as they were.

"Yeah. You know. Saba." Tommy cleared his throat. "My—"

"I know who Saba is. I remember. I'm sorry… I just… didn't realize he was gone too," Kimberly said lamely.

Tommy cleared his throat again. "Yeah. Thanks. Um… can we leave the touching awkward remorseful moments alone today, please?"

"Sure thing," Kimberly said quickly, kicking herself for dredging up something so obviously painful. Tommy, of all people, probably didn't want to talk about something associated with power losses. Not only had he had more of them than any other Ranger, but his most recent one was only a few weeks ago.

"So where to?" Tommy asked, waving an arm at the numerous attractions.

"Opposite direction of the clowns," Kimberly said fervently.

They started walking. Silence settled over them, but to their surprise, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It felt… right, wandering through a carnival together. Kimberly was startled at how okay it felt to spend time with Tommy and not see him as her boyfriend—something she hadn't done in well over ten years.

"So," Kimberly said, fishing for something to say. While the silence wasn't awkward, Kimberly wasn't ready to examine the thought of "so this is what it's like to spend time with Tommy when I'm not about to suck face with him." Conversation seemed like a much better plan. "You wanted to talk. What do you want to talk about?" Of course, she didn't see why she was the one who had to come up with the subject matter.

Tommy shrugged. "I don't know. I just… wanted to hang. To… to be with you again."

Kimberly felt as if she'd just been slugged, as if the God of Love had just popped up, grabbed her heart, shoved it in her face, pointed to a section and said, "See? This part right here that's bleeding? That's where all that stuff about Tommy you thought you buried is hiding, waiting to attack." It was an unbelievably sweet thing for Tommy to say.

Kimberly smiled at him, forcing herself not to shut off her emotions, to leave the barriers down for the moment. "So. Let me get this straight. You raced stock cars for a while, left the Rangers, went off to college, met Hayley, found the Dino Gems, started working with Mercer, he went evil villain, and you had to use the Dino Gems on him and your boss. And somewhere along the way, you set your hair on fire. Anything else interesting happen in the last eight years?"

"Not really. So tell me about you. What have you been doing?"

Kimberly shrugged. "Did the Pan Globals twice, hit the Olympics in 2000, won a silver medal and a gold, and wandered right out of the sport. Moved to L.A., opened my school. Then Jason showed up on my doorstep and told me about Power Rangers Day."

"Wish he'd shown up on my doorstep," Tommy said. "I got a phone call. It was a disaster."

"Should I ask?"

"Nope. So… tell me more."

"Such as…?"

"I don't know. Writing songs for Tanya, how's that going?"

"She told you about that, eh?"

"No, actually, I get her CDs."

"Ah. Yeah, I'm writing. She keeps telling me I should go pro. And occasionally she starts ranting about how we should all go pro—you know, me, Aisha, Tanya, Cassie. Form a group."

"What would you call it? Pink and Yellow?"

Kimberly laughed. "Maybe."

"So why not do that? Why not take the shot?"

Kimberly shrugged, looking troubled. "I don't know. I just… I know this sounds really crazy, but I don't want another dream."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… that's everyone's dream, you know? Be a famous singer. But I did one dream already. I got to be a pro gymnast. Famous. Medalist. I kick ass." She shook her head. "I don't know… I just… I conquered my world. I don't want to conquer others."

She sighed heavily. "To be honest, I feel kind of… lost. There's not a whole lot left, you know? You set out to do something, and you do it. And then you're just… just you again. Accomplishing my dream… it was great, for about three weeks. And then I was just sort of like… 'huh.' Like I'd just gone to the grocery store or something. Everyone always talks about hitting bottom, Tommy. Me… I hit the freaking roof."

"I can understand that," Tommy said slowly. "You keep reaching for the stars, you make it to them, and suddenly they're not all that shiny."

"Exactly." Kimberly beamed at him, glad to have found someone who finally understood; most of her friends just sort of gave her blank stares. "I mean, maybe one day, I'll find something I want to go after, and I'll do it. But for now… I just want to have fun. Relax. See if I can figure a few things out, about me, about life, about all sorts of things. I'm tired of working for something and missing the party, you know?"

"Six years of college, more than six years as a Ranger," Tommy pointed out. "I hear you."

She giggled. "In a way, it's kind of like being a Ranger. Every time we went on a mission, we were scared, nervous, determined—but deep down, we always thought we'd come out on top. Always figured that no one was going to take over the world. Like we were just tools to stop the evil, and the end result was already decided. It's going out there and trying that's important, you know? The outcome, that's fate. But getting there, that's your part. Your contribution to the world. Not some medal or trophy at the end."

Tommy nodded. "You know, I have a big shelf full of trophies and awards. But I have even more trophies stuffed into boxes in my attic. Only the really special ones get the shelf. The rest, they're important, yeah. I worked for them. But it's still just another piece of metal saying, 'Yep, you're cool.' Maybe it's not so much that you don't want to accomplish something as it is you're too secure in who you are, you know? You don't need an Olympic medal to prove you're a gymnast. You don't need a recording contract to know you're a good singer, or a hit song to know you're a good writer."

Kimberly blinked. "I'd never thought of it that way." Her eyes widened as she realized that she and Tommy were actually having a friendly conversation. No talk of dating, no circumstances or set ups like being locked in the trunk or whatever. They were hanging out because they wanted to, and they were talking about everything and nothing, just like the old days. It was exactly the sort of thing she would have assumed they'd never get to do again.

"Ooh! Win me that!" Kimberly said suddenly, pointing randomly at a game. It happened to be sporting Scooby Doo toys.

"Sure," Tommy said with a shrug, and headed for the game, pulling out his wallet.

Kimberly smiled. She didn't feel awkward, or pressured, or nervous. She just felt like a part of Tommy's life, and it felt really, really good.

"Who's there?" Don shouted as the sound of the door creaking open reached his ears. His heart was pounding in his chest as if trying to escape before it could get murdered like the rest of him. What the hell had he been thinking? Breaking into a Power Ranger's house?

Slow, deliberate footsteps sounded, coming towards him. He tried to figure out something by the footprints—male or female, heavy or thin, anything—but he was too busy cursing his stupidity. He was all too aware of the fact that the best thing that could come out of his current situation would be losing his job.

The footsteps stopped behind him. Don thought about swinging around to see who was approaching, but figured he didn't want to confirm the person's identity, anyway. He was probably about to be murdered, so he didn't think it would matter if he saw Tommy Oliver moving in for the kill.

He was currently hanging almost-upside-down in—of all things—a net. It had dropped on him right inside Tommy's foyer and scooped him up, so that he was lying on his back with his legs in the air. The net was made of some extremely heavy rope, and he'd managed to saw through a strand of it with his pocketknife only to discover that the fibers had been woven around some sort of wire cable that refused to be sliced. His gun was, unfortunately, out of reach, but logic told him that attempting to shoot himself out of a booby trap was probably a seriously dumb move. Don waited with ragged breath for the killing blow… and a hand suddenly seized hold of the net and swung him around, so that he came face-to-face with… Hayley.

"Hello again, Officer Brewster," Hayley said in a dangerously silky voice. Her eyes were wide, not necessarily with anger or surprise, but with something else, something commonly seen in the bad guys in horror films. He imagined he could see the flames of an evidence-destroying bonfire reflected in her eyes.

"Hi," Don said dryly, struggling not to appear utterly terrified.

Hayley smiled. "You know, Officer Brewster… you've made a very unwise decision."

Despite his fear, indignation swelled within him. He was tired, he was scared, he was annoyed, the entire town of Reefside had been one weird moment after another… and he was trying to do the world a service. He was trying to reveal one of the world's greatest mysteries! And he was a police officer. A good one. He was bright, he was in excellent shape, he was usually pretty nice to offenders who showed remorse, and he was good at his job. And here he was, hanging in a net and being threatened by some scary random chick who owned a café!

"It's not very wise to threaten police officers, either," Don snapped at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Nor is it very wise, Officer Brewster, to commit breaking-and-entering well outside of your jurisdiction. Especially in a Power Ranger's house."

The words "Power Ranger" instantly turned his anger to shock and glee. She was admitting it! She was admitting that Tommy Oliver was a Ranger!

"So it's true!" Don exclaimed. "I was right!"

Hayley shrugged. "Somewhat. Tommy is a Ranger—the Black Dino Ranger."

Don's eyes widened. "He was two Rangers?"

"Did I say he was two Rangers?" Hayley demanded irritably. Don shook his head, too awed to speak. "No. He's the Black Dino Ranger." She stepped closer, peering through the net directly into his eyes. "The Green Ranger was a friend of his back in high school. When the Green Ranger found out about Tommy's paleontology degree, he asked Tommy to take the Dino Gems, which transformed Tommy and three people of Tommy's choosing into the Dino Rangers. One lost Gem, the White Dino Gem, made it into the hands of a hapless kid, who became the evil White Ranger before joining us."

Don swallowed. Something was off. Something major. Why was she telling him this? Especially when it was so obvious that he intended to expose them? Was she planning on killing him? Were the Rangers on their way to help?

"But the Dino Rangers, they're gone now," Hayley continued calmly. "Their corner of the planet is saved. So they're enjoying a little time off. They're going back to the lives they used to lead in peace." Her gaze hardened. "They don't need people like you coming around trying to destroy them. After everything they've done, saving the lives of people like you, they're not going to stand by while you ruin their lives."

"You can't honestly expect me to think that the Rangers would harm me," Don said uncertainly.

Hayley chuckled in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. "Good lord, you're really not that bright, are you? You honestly think you're the first person to ever figure out the identity of a Ranger? There are dozens of people who know who we are. Who other teams are. The difference is, my dear boy, that very few people express a desire to reveal us. There are six people in Reefside alone who've figured out who the Rangers are, for crying out loud, and those are only the ones we're aware of. We suspect there are more."

"And… and no one's said anything?" Don whispered in horror. The idea of people in his own city knowing a secret that huge and never informing anyone… people he knew, his friends, his family, his pals on the force, making fun of his not-so-secret affinity for Rangers while knowing all along who the Rangers really were…

"Of course not. They respect us, and what we do. See, Rangers sacrifice a lot to keep you safe. Relationships with loved ones are strained by the lies. Employers frown upon lateness and absenteeism caused by monster attacks. There's very little free time when you're saving the world every day. So people tend to understand that we're giving up a lot. That our identities are the only truly sacred things we have—the only things that allow us a slice of normality."

Don felt pangs of guilt and shame. He knew, logically, that the Rangers were doing the world a real service—but at the same time, he felt the world had the right to know. The citizens caught up in the crossfire—imprisoned, bewitched, kidnapped, injured, and so on, not to mention all the property damage—had a right to know their heroes' names as well as their attackers'. Becoming a cop had made him realize just how important it was for people to have someone to thank. He felt bad about his mission, yes… but he didn't feel he was wrong.

Then what she'd said processed in his overworked brain, and Don felt as if he'd been slugged in the chest all of a sudden.

"Us," he breathed. "You keep alternating between 'them' and 'us.'"

Hayley looked startled for a moment, then smiled. "Come now, did you really miss it?"

"Miss what?" he asked, staring at her warily.

"Me," Hayley said simply. "Tommy Oliver's best friend. Tommy Oliver's confidant for years. Owner of the business in Reefside subjected to more monster attacks than any other in the city."

"Oh, my god," Don whispered. "You're…"

"I'm the Yellow Dino Ranger," she finished, nodding in confirmation. "How else could I know what I do about the Power Rangers? How else could I know you'd broken into Tommy's house? Who do you think activated this cute little booby trap?"

The indignation swelled again at the mention of his mistake. "This is… is false imprisonment," Don growled, though he wasn't quite sure if capturing a cop in a net counted as such. "I could—"

"You could what? Explain to your friends in law enforcement that you broke into someone's house because they were under suspicion for being a Power Ranger? Let me tell you something, Officer Brewster, I'm not an idiot. I'm a certified genius, in fact. I.Q. of 180, which means I'm probably the smartest person you'll ever meet. Fresh out of college I went straight to work in Washington on projects people like you don't even know exist, and guess what? I got bored. Bored with top-secret classified government projects! So don't treat me like I'm clueless. See, first of all, you introduced yourself as Officer Brewster, so I know you're not a detective. You're an officer, which means you're probably not someone Angel Grove would send all the way to Reefside to investigate a Power Ranger. Second, you're out here alone. Just you and two guys who haven't been detectives for a very long time. They own a hotel, for crying out loud. No partner, and you're not even in uniform—and as far as I can tell, you're a uniform cop. Third, you're out of your jurisdiction and violating Tommy's fourth amendment rights by busting in here. Fourth, Tommy's committed no crime, and you did not announce yourself as an officer before letting yourself into his home—I oughtta know, because I wired the security on this place. So I happened to know you didn't even knock."

Hayley leaned in close, and Don swallowed and instinctively tried to lean away. "Don't misunderstand me, Officer Brewster," Hayley said softly. "I don't want to hurt you. Neither does my team. But if you keep sniffing around the Power Rangers, you're going to have an accident."

With that, Hayley grabbed hold of the net and tugged. Despite the fact that Don had been struggling to no avail before her arrival, the net easily tore free and he dropped to the ground with a painful thud.

Shaking, Don stood up and slowly untangled himself. Hayley was staring at him with an expression of deadly seriousness. There were no doubts in his mind that she meant what she said.

"Get out," Hayley hissed. "If any of us ever hear you even mention Reefside or Power Rangers again, you won't have a chance to reveal our identities before you start screaming."

Don nodded, trembling slightly, the reality of his situation hitting home. Don was two hundred and twenty-five pounds of solid muscle and no amount of struggling had loosened the net whatsoever. Hayley had torn the net free as casually as ripping off a Band-Aid. She was a Ranger. She could kill him without breaking a sweat. And she would.

Don headed for the door, struggling not to show weakness. "We'll be watching you," Hayley whispered, and Don abandoned his brave front and bolted out the door, running down Valencia drive as fast as his cramped legs could carry him.

Hayley walked out onto the porch and watched him go, a self-satisfied but weary smirk on her face.

"Whoa," Devin breathed, popping up out of the bushes, where he and Cassidy had been watching through the gap in the curtains. "How'd you yank that net down?"

"You'd need the strength of a Ranger to do that," Cassidy added accusingly as she pulled some leaves and twigs from her hair and clothing.

Hayley snorted and pulled a small device from her pocket. It was no bigger than a remote control, but with a lot more buttons and a joystick. "Portable control for every security feature in the house, lab and café," Hayley explained. "I always keep one in my car."

"Awesome," Devin said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of such a cool toy.

Hayley smiled tiredly at him and rolled her head about on her neck. She supposed she should go get back to the café, but the sight of giant rope-and-cable net now covering most of Tommy's foyer gave her a sudden craving to raid his fridge, put her feet up, and watch sitcom reruns on his big-screen TV for a few hours. "I forgot how exhausting saving Tommy's butt can be," she said with a sigh. "And he's only been gone less than a week."

End Notes: Sorry this chapter was more of a bridge… but it's kind of hard to top a clown fight so soon, you know. Give us time, though—we've got some stuff even better than clowns down the road.

I'd just like to point a little something out about Trini's characterization when it comes to clowns. In the first-season episode "No Clowning Around," Pineapple lures Sylvia away, then gets in Trini's face when she tries to drag Sylvia away. And Trini drops into a stance and says "Back off, clown!" And Sylvia jumps in between Trini and the clown in a panic, begging her not to hurt the clown—as if she fully expected Trini to kick the seemingly-innocent clown's butt. As if Trini made clown-attacking a habit.

Am I reaching a bit? Maybe. But still, Sylvia expected a clown fight. Regardless of clowns, I think the moment shows Trini's character fairly well—the show was really subtle about showing her violent side, but it was always there and easily drawn out. A little push, and Trini's ready to kick your butt.

"The Rescue" is a subtitle from the "Green with Evil" arc. Refers mostly to the Hayley bit.