Chapter Sixty-three

Opposites Attract

Conner had been betrayed. Totally, completely, utterly betrayed. And, worse, betrayed by his own kind. By his own color.

Once they'd pulled into the combination truck stop and diner thirty miles east of Stone Canyon, Zack and Sandra had muttered something about snacks and hopped out of the truck. Rocky had looked at Conner and done a tricky little head-jerk that was probably supposed to mean something, but when Conner had failed to decipher it Rocky had ordered him out of the truck. At least Dee had followed him—after politely asking Rachel to "keep it in the front seat"—but Conner still couldn't believe he'd been banished. Rocky hadn't even offered to move out of the way so Conner could use the truck's one working door. He felt like he was twelve years old again and being sent to the kid's table at Thanksgiving dinner by his favorite older cousin Bobby because Bobby wanted to chat up the college girls from Uncle Dave's psychology class who couldn't afford to head home for the holidays so Uncle Dave had taken pity on them and offered them a home-cooked meal.

Conner sighed, figuring he'd go chill with Zack, but he only had a chance to take two steps before he noticed Zack hadn't actually gone for snacks. Zack had gone to make out with Sandra against a gas pump. Quite put out, Conner looked at Dee. "Wanna take a walk?" She nodded.

As they were out in the middle of nowhere, and there wasn't another building visible in either direction, Conner and Dee walked behind the truck stop. Conner suddenly felt… drained, for some odd reason, not so much physically as mentally. Kind of like how he'd felt after taking the SAT for the first time and realizing that there were plenty of things that Conner didn't have a clue about. Dr. O had clapped him on the shoulder and told him that there were two kinds of epiphanies—those that made you feel powerful, determined and alive… and those that made you feel small, awed and grateful that your previous ignorance hadn't done any more damage than it had.

"I've never run from the cops before," Conner said slowly.

"It gets easier after the first couple of times," Dee told him sympathetically, patting his shoulder.

Conner shook his head. "How long have you been, you know, fugitives?"

Dee frowned thoughtfully. "Well, we aren't, really. We've just been implicated in a lot of stuff. We were only charged with one crime. They didn't let us post bail, because we were considered flight risks, but we were only in jail for a couple of weeks before the charges were dropped. We don't tend to leave enough evidence to get ourselves convicted, most of the time. There's just a lot of stuff that people assume we've done but can't prove we've done."

"How… what… why do you live like that?" Conner demanded. After just one sprint through a park, Conner was all nerves, wondering if he'd be caught, if this would come back to haunt him in the future, if he was going to wind up in jail himself. Who could really deal with this sort of thing all the time? More importantly, why would anyone choose to?

Dee was quiet for a long moment. "Conner," she said slowly, "have you ever just wanted to run away? Leave it all behind?"

"Everyone has, I guess."

"Well, that's exactly what we did. One day Rachel showed up on my doorstep and said that she'd quit her excellent job and left her incredible fiancée and had decided that there was absolutely no point in plodding through life, climbing an endless career ladder in a job she didn't care about just to keep food on the table and clothes on her back, and having a husband and a family and a mortgage just because that's what people do. Rachel just dropped her suitcase on my porch and told me that she was leaving for nowhere in particular and wasn't looking back and I was welcome to come with her."

"And you went with her? Just like that?"

"No, I stared at her in horror and told her she was insane. But eventually she convinced me that she was right. I didn't want my life to be school, more school, job, marriage, children, retirement, and death. I wanted more. Now I spend my life doing artwork I love, driving around, hanging out with my two best friends, seeing interesting things and doing interesting things and I'm happy. The only catch is that we still have to eat, and we still have to have clothes. So we steal."

"Aren't you afraid?" Conner asked. "Doesn't it bother you, to think that you could end up in jail for the rest of your life?"

"Sometimes. But we're careful. And it's a lot of fun, it really is. I can't imagine going back to the way things were." She poked him playfully in the shoulder. "Come on. Haven't you ever done something dangerous and crazy, just because it felt right?"

Conner looked down at his shirt, which he'd thrown back on in the truck. He stared at the red design for a moment. "Yeah. Just… drastically different from stealing."

She smiled. "I'm sorry that it bothers you. And we totally didn't mean to get you guys in the middle of that thing with the cops—"

"It's okay. And I think that was actually my fault," Conner told her. "I think that lady who sicced her dog on me was the one who called the cops. Oh, by the way—what was in that box, anyway?"

"Don't worry about it," Dee said. "Just something from our last job in Stone Canyon. We hid it out there so we wouldn't get caught with it, and we tried going back for it but could never actually find the stupid park. Eventually we gave up and left, but of course we had to come back to the area for Power Rangers Day anyway—"

"Why?" Conner asked suspiciously.

"I told you. We're Power Ranger nuts."

"There's no other reason?"

"Nope."

Conner didn't know Dee all that well, but he still got the distinct feeling that she was lying. "Why were you in the carnival? You said you 'had' to hop the fence."

"Oh, I didn't mean because of any specific reason. We just didn't have money for tickets."

"You said it was a long story," Conner pointed out.

Dee shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I just didn't want to admit that we were broke."

"You went out and bought fast food after you left the carnival. You had money for that."

Dee threw up her hands. "Look, Conner, I don't know about you, but I kind of was hoping that if this the last time I see you, you wouldn't be accusing me of stealing the Lindbergh baby."

"Whose baby?"

"Charles Lindbergh. It's the most famous kidnapping ever. Happened back in 1932. And it wasn't me," she added pointedly.

"You were alive in '32?" Conner asked blankly.

"No! I was trying to make a point!"

"Sorry," Conner said sheepishly. "I'm not good with history."

Dee sighed. "It's all right. I can see how it would bother you. It bothers a lot of people."

"I… don't mean to… you know, judge you or anything," Conner told her. "I'm just kind of in shock. I mean, you seemed so…"

"Normal?" Dee suggested with an ironic grin.

Conner snorted; "normal" had never occurred to him, from the moment he'd seen her hanging out of the gondola on the Ferris wheel. "No. More like… my kind of people."

"Your kind of people are weird?"

"My kind of people are the height of weird." Conner chuckled. "As a matter of fact, this whole running-from-the-cops thing? Not even the weirdest thing that's happened to me today. In fact, not even this afternoon."

"Really?" Dee asked, looking a little startled.

"You should have seen the clown fight we got into. Oh, and don't even ask about the bellhops we had to jump this morning. And last night, between the Play-Doh and the purse snatching…"

Dee frowned. "I thought you weren't into, you know, breaking the law."

"Huh? Oh, I'm not," Conner said quickly. "I mean, fistfights and attacking bellhops might sound a little… illegal… um… you know what, let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" she asked.

Conner shrugged. "I don't know. Um… where are you guys going to go now?"

"I don't know," Dee said. "Before we leave here, we're probably going to cover up as much of the truck as we can. Make sure it looks halfway normal, change the license plate, that sort of thing. Then we'll probably hit a local campground. We can't go far until after Power Rangers Day."

Conner smiled. "So who's your favorite Power Ranger?"

Dee blinked. "My all-time favorite?" Conner nodded. "Well, probably the original Green Ranger."

Conner let out an offended noise. "Why? He was evil!"

"Only at first," Dee pointed out.

Conner fought the urge to pout. "Well, okay. Who's your favorite Dino Ranger?"

"Eh, probably the Black one."

"Are you kidding me?" Conner demanded. "The Red one was way cooler!"

Dee seemed startled by his vehemence. "Well, obviously the Black one had more power…"

"Oh, please, that Brachio Staff was nothing compared to the Tyranno Staff!" Conner exclaimed. "The Red Ranger was the first one to achieve Super Dino Mode, and the only one who could become the Triassic Ranger!"

Dee stared at him for a moment. "You know your Power Rangers."

"Yes, I do, and there's no way the Red one wasn't the coolest," Conner told her firmly. "I'm from Reefside, you know."

"That's where the Dino Rangers are from, right?" Dee asked. "Did you ever meet them?"

Conner couldn't recall ever being asked if he'd actually met the Dino Rangers before. He was surprised at how much the question made him want to laugh. "Yeah. Several times. And my identical twin brother Eric lives in Blue Bay Harbor, so he got to meet the Ninja Storm Rangers. So did I, actually. While I was visiting him, I mean, not just randomly. Cuz that would just be weird, if I somehow knew Power Rangers that… did I lose you somewhere?"

Dee shook herself a bit, as if jolting awake from a long nap. "I'm sorry… you said you have an identical twin?"

Conner grinned, remembering how much easier it had been to pick up girls with Eric around. "Yeah. He's two minutes younger."

"Ah." Dee stared blankly into space for a long moment, then asked, "How identical?"

"We have different hair," Conner said with a shrug. "He keeps his shorter. But otherwise, we're completely identical."

"Ah."

Conner waited for her to speak again, and when she didn't he asked, "So, um, do you have any siblings?"

"Huh? Oh. No. I don't actually have any family."

"That must suck," Conner said sympathetically.

"A little. But I've got Rachel and Sandra. They're almost as good. Rachel's like a crazy older sister, and Sandra's like a mom."

"That's kind of how I feel about my friends," Conner said. "Dr. O's like the dad, and Hayley's the mom, and Kira, Ethan and Trent are my brothers and sister."

Dee frowned. "I thought you said Dr. O was your brother."

"I did?" Dee nodded. Conner's eyes widened, remembering their conversation on the chairlift. "Oh, yeah. Um…" Conner sighed. "Well, as long as we're being honest with each other, or at least more honest than we were, Dr. O's actually my science teacher."

"Your…?"

"Yeah. Don't ask why. It's a long story. He's more of a friend than a teacher though. Now he is, anyway."

"Oh-kay. And Rocky and Zack, what do they teach?"

"Oh, no, see, they're actually Dr. O's friends. I just met Zack last Saturday and Rocky earlier today."

"Really? You three act so close."

"Well, they've known each other a long time. And, well, we have… certain things in common. I… can't really talk about it."

Dee squinted at him. "For someone against fraud and theft, you sound pretty cloak-and-dagger."

Conner rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I know. It's just… I'm… complicated."

Dee let out a short laugh. "You know what, Conner? You seem like my kind of people, too."

Conner smiled at her. "Well, maybe this won't be the last time I see you, you know? I mean, if you're ever in Reefside…"

"Yeah," Dee said, though her upbeat tone seemed a little forced. "And hey, maybe I'll see you at Power Rangers Day."

Conner nodded, but he suddenly couldn't shake the feeling that he wouldn't be seeing Dee again. At least, not anytime soon.

Before Conner could decide how he felt about that, he swiftly moved in to kiss Dee. Whether he saw her again or not, he wasn't going to run from the cops, risk Dr. O's wrath, and get banished by a fellow Red without getting something out of the deal.

"Are you serious?" Tommy demanded angrily for the sixty-third time and counting.

"We didn't know they were axe-murderers," Billy said meekly.

"Are you serious?" Sixty-fourth.

"They're not axe-murderers," Trini said patiently. "They've never been convicted of anything. They've only been suspected of robbery, fraud, kidnapping, and arson. The only crimes we can be sure they've committed are fleeing law enforcement and vandalism."

"Are you serious?" Sixty-fifth.

"Looks like you're off the hook for making out with Anna," Trent whispered to Ethan.

"Thank god for Conner," Ethan agreed.

Jason's cell phone went off. "Rocky," he reported. "Hello? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. We'll be there as soon as possible. Uh-huh. Bye." Hanging up, he said, "Thirty miles east of Stone Canyon. Dinah's Diner."

"I know that place," Adam said. "It's a truck stop with a dive diner attached. Rocky likes their burgers; they're like two pounds of meat."

Tommy had the sort of expression that implied sparks might start shooting out of him at any moment (no one was standing very close just in case it actually happened). Without a word, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and jammed them into the Jeep's door lock.

Conner was leaning against the brick wall of the diner, Dee pressed as closely to Conner as she could possibly get, Conner's hands in her back pockets as they made out like there was no tomorrow—which, for them, there probably wasn't.

Sandra smiled softly before clearing her throat. When that failed to get a response, she tried coughing, humming, and finally screaming, which eventually got through; Dee yelped and leaped backwards, and would have tumbled off the curb if Conner's hands hadn't been in a position to keep her from going far.

"There you are," Sandra said brightly. "Come on, Dee. I need your help switching out the truck."

"Doing what?" Conner asked blankly.

"Stuff we do to hide the truck. Remove the canvas bed cover, switch the roof, cover the stickers," Dee explained. "I'm coming, Sandra."

Sandra left. Seven minutes later, she returned, and physically hauled Dee away from Conner; Conner nearly lost a finger and Dee nearly lost a pocket. Keeping a firm grip on Dee's arm, Sandra led her back to the front of the truck stop, Conner following sulkily.

Zack and Rocky were standing a few feet away from the truck, smirking while holding a quiet conversation. Rachel was unscrewing the Connecticut license plate and preparing to replace it with a California one. Conner joined the other two guys, though he didn't jump into the conversation.

"We already put the covers over everything," Sandra informed Dee. The truck now appeared solid orange, if one didn't look too closely.

"Did you switch out the tailgate?" Dee asked.

"Figured we'd wait for you," Sandra replied. "Rachel thinks we should take off the roof, too."

"You guys need any help?" Rocky called.

"We're fine," Rachel said distractedly as she held the California plate up to the truck. "We've done this a lot."

"I'm not worried about your skills, I'm worried about speed," Rocky replied. "We already called Jason."

"It won't take much longer," Sandra told him. "Don't worry; we'll be gone by the time they get here. They're on the other side of Stone Canyon, remember?"

"Yeah, well, let's just say our friends drive like the Turbo Rangers," Rocky said darkly.

It took twelve minutes to get the truck to look completely different, which felt like twelve hours to the three guys. At last, the girls climbed in, and the guys came over to say goodbye.

"This was fun," Rocky said.

"Very," Rachel agreed.

"Look us up if you're ever in the area again," Zack said.

"Will do," Sandra replied.

"Bye, Dee," Conner said.

"Tell your friend Trini I'm sorry about her eye," Dee said earnestly.

"What was that about Trini's eye?" Zack demanded.

"Catch you later, guys!" Rachel said quickly, and stepped on the gas. The truck shot off, made a sharp U-turn, and roared out of the parking lot. Within a few moments, it was gone.

"Well," Rocky said cheerfully, clasping his hands together. "I could use some snacks. Or maybe a burger." He turned and strolled into the truck stop.

Conner sighed and looked at Zack. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"Did it bother you?"

"Did what bother me?"

"That they were criminals."

Zack shrugged. "Not really, no."

"Really?"

"Why? Does it bother you?"

"I don't know. A little."

"Conner," Zack said slowly, "things happen to people that can't always be fixed without breaking the law. Look at us. We've broken at least five laws this week that I can think of off the top of my head."

"Yeah, but we had a good reason."

"Really? Because some people would say that just because our identities were at stake is no excuse to lie to police officers, knock bellhops unconscious, or send a friend to threaten a hospital patient."

"But our identities are important."

"To us, yeah. But we could live without them. T.J., Cassie, Carlos, Ashley, Andros and Zhane do. It wasn't necessity that made us do all that. It was desire. And yeah, we feel bad about lying and knocking people unconscious, but we still do it, because we don't want to give up what we have. And that's the same reason why Sandra, Rachel and Dee steal. I mean, the way I see it, they're three girls with a truck and a tent. They don't got a lot, and they're trying to keep what they got. That doesn't make it right, but it does make it understandable. Who are we to judge them, after the week we've had?"

Conner frowned at him. "I thought you were supposed to be the goofy one. The… well, the me."

Zack laughed. "I am. But I'm also good at strategy, Conner. I see things the logical ones miss. Logical people, they spend their days thinking of the most obvious, reasonable explanations. The crazy stuff, they leave to me, just because it doesn't occur to them." Zack sighed. "On some level, yeah, it bothers me. I don't think it's right. But there's more to life than black and white. I mean, you got your red, blue, green, pink and yellow, too."

Conner cracked up. "Oh, man, this is all so insane. Dr. O's gonna do one of those things he's been threatening to do for months."

Zack clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. At least she was hot, right? So what if she was a crazy axe-wielding thief?"

"Hey, Zack!" called Rocky from the door to the diner. "You got any cash on you? Their credit card machines are down and Rachel apparently stole all the cash in my wallet."

Conner and Zack burst out laughing. "Seriously?" Zack asked as he and Conner started towards the door.

"Yeah. I had forty-seven dollars and thirteen cents left when we left the carnival."

Zack and Conner hopped up onto the sidewalk with Rocky and checked their wallets to verify that they still had their cash. Satisfied, Conner was about to make a joke about Rocky's missing money being karma for throwing Conner out of the truck when Zack's Escalade appeared in a nearby parking spot. Jason was behind the wheel, with Trini in the passenger seat. A moment later, Adam's Mercedes parked as well, leaving one spot in between the two cars. Adam and Billy climbed out, and the four of them converged on Rocky, Zack and Conner, effectively surrounding them.

"Uh-oh," Zack muttered.

"All right," Rocky said heavily, looking from Trini to Adam to Billy to Jason and back to Trini. "Let us have it."

"Oh," Trini said, smiling brightly at him, "we decided not to yell at you."

Conner perked up, but Rocky and Zack were immediately suspicious. "Why?" Zack asked.

The answer came in the form of Tommy's Jeep, which screeched to a halt in the spot between the Mercedes and the Escalade. Kimberly, Kira, Ethan and Trent got out, forming a ring in front of the Jeep with just enough space between Kimberly and Ethan for Rocky, Zack and Conner to see Tommy sitting behind the wheel, completely motionless, death in his eyes.

"Run?" Zack said to Rocky. It sounded vaguely like a question, but they both knew it wasn't up for discussion.

"Surrounded," Rocky muttered back. The brick wall of the diner was at their back, Adam and Billy to one side, Jason and Trini to the other. The only gap in the semi-circle was straight at Tommy, and neither guy was stupid enough to take that route.

"They planned it that way," Zack said sulkily. "What do you think? Adam and Billy?"

"We'd never make it before the others jumped us."

"Guys," Conner whispered, "don't worry. I've had Dr. O yell at me millions of times."

Rocky and Zack looked at him, their expressions clearly saying, "This time's different."

Tommy's arm moved towards the door handle. Desperate now, Rocky and Zack began whispering weaknesses in the circle to each other.

"Trini's eye. It's swelling."

"Billy and Jason have been jogging recently. Maybe they're tired."

"Kimberly and Kira have been in a fight."

"Dino Rangers. We can take them."

"Kimberly's between Ethan and Kira. Trent and Kira are too close to Jason."

The Jeep's door opened. Tommy put a foot on the pavement.

"You thinking we jump?"

"Best place is to jump is onto my car, and I'll be damned if the two of us are going to land on my baby. We might dent her."

"There's Adam's—"

"Don't even think about it," Adam said in a tone that was both dangerous and amused.

Tommy was standing now. The Jeep's door slammed closed.

"Over the diner roof. Over the diner roof!"

"And where to after that? We're in the desert and Jason has my keys!"

"We'll figure it out eventually! We'll call a non-Ranger to come save us!"

"We won't get good cell phone signal out here!"

"Calm down," Conner hissed, shocked at their sudden lack of bravery. "It's just Dr. O!"

"No it isn't, Conner!" Zack yelled. "It's TOMMY!"

And then, before either Zack or Rocky could make a bid for freedom, Tommy was in the circle, which automatically tightened the moment he was inside the ring.

"You know," Tommy began in a quiet, calm, almost-cheerful voice.

"Uh-oh," Conner muttered. Almost-cheerful Dr. O wasn't good. Mildly-annoyed Dr. O was the one that lectured. Falsely-bright Dr. O was the one that screamed and threatened.

"Ever since this whole vacation started, everyone's been ragging on me about being strict with the Dino Rangers. 'Tommy, they're almost legal adults.' 'They'll be fine, Dr. Responsible.' 'Stop being so overprotective.' 'Don't you remember being a teenager, Tommy?' 'We're just eating Play-Doh, man, what's your problem?'"

"He's holding a real grudge about the Play-Doh," Conner whispered to Zack, only to find that Zack and Rocky were staring at Tommy, watching him warily, standing straight up with their feet placed as if they were prepared to dodge, jump, or fight at the slightest signal that they were about to get hit.

"And I get that you guys don't understand what my problem is. So I'll tell you what my problem is."

Tommy paused and began inhaling deeply. Conner braced himself. Here came the screaming.

"My problem is they're my responsibility!" Tommy roared, so loudly that everyone within two miles nearly wet themselves. "I'm their science teacher! People ask enough questions about me and them as it is! Why I'm always hanging out in the café, why I have students at my house on the weekend, why I'm always going to Kira's gigs and Conner's games! Now their parents have entrusted them to my care, and I'm supposed to return them to Reefside by Monday, and look at them!"

"I'm fine, Dr. O," Conner said meekly.

"Fine, Conner? Fine? No, you're not fine," Tommy spat. "Trent is the only one who is relatively unscathed, and wouldn't you know it, he's the only one whose parents would halfway understand a damned thing! Ethan's been making out with some random girl I traumatized on a Ferris wheel ten years ago, Kimberly kicked Kira's ass and then took her to do some nude sunbathing—"

"Nude?" Conner, Zack and Rocky repeated.

"In underwear," Kira said firmly, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Do we really want to be interrupting me right now?" Tommy screamed. Everybody shook their heads wildly. "And you know that the sad part is?" Tommy continued furiously. "I can't even yell at them about that, because you two got Conner kidnapped by axe-murderers!"

"Check the parking lot for eavesdroppers," Jason whispered to Trini. "Come up with a good cover story." Trini jerked her head at Adam, and the two broke away from the semi-circle, though no one but Jason noticed.

"Axe-murderers, for crying out loud! AXE-MURDERERS! People who murder with axes!"

Emboldened by the realization that Dr. O couldn't kill him without his folks getting pissed, Conner stepped forward. "Actually, Dr. O, they were really just thieves," Conner said in a small voice.

"Do I look like I care, Conner? Huh? I leave you alone for three hours and you're going for second base with an axe-wielding maniac! I leave you alone for ten minutes to pick up Anna and you're locked in a fight to the death with a bunch of clowns! I leave you alone for a half hour to go eat breakfast and you're beating up bellhops to smuggle Billy out of a hotel! I leave you alone for three seconds and you're eating Play-Doh! I leave you alone for an hour and you're almost banned from Wal-Mart! I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you're setting off the self-destruct sequence! I leave you alone for one night and you're ordering pornography and fifty dollars worth of room service and are stupid enough to charge it to Trent's father's credit card!"

"Dad knows about that?" Trent yelped, exchanging panicked looks with Ethan.

"You can guess how interesting that phone call was!" Tommy shouted.

Conner whimpered. It had suddenly became apparent that parents or no parents, Dr. O was really gonna kill him this time. He began scanning the parking lot for avenues of escape, but all he saw was Trini and Adam standing ten feet away and trying to convince a bunch of truckers that Tommy and the others were rehearsing for a new off-Broadway play called "Oops, My Bad."

"I just wanted a few hours alone!" Tommy wailed. "I just wanted to hang out with Anna and seduce Kimberly on a park bench in a picturesque carnival—"

"Hey!" Kimberly exclaimed indignantly.

"—and apparently that was just too much to ask! Not one of them managed to survive four measly hours without catastrophe! By the end of this trip, Conner will have joined a gang, Ethan will have impregnated half of Angel Grove, Kira will start a goat-sacrificing cult and Trent will have become a monk!"

Tommy stood there, shoulders heaving with rage, face an ugly shade of purplish red, eyes wide and crazed. They all stared at him as the mood slowly began to deteriorate into something that could only be described as "Where are the hidden cameras?"

No one was quite sure where the first snort came from. Or the first snicker. All anyone knew was that in the end, Tommy was the first to burst out laughing hysterically.

"Why?" Tommy moaned in between fits of laughter as the other cracked up, leaning on each other and giving themselves over to the amusement. "Who did I kill in a past life to deserve this?"

"They really weren't axe-murderers," Zack gasped out. "Sandra told me they haven't had to kill anyone so far."

"I can't believe my dad knows about that," Trent said.

"Nude sunbathing," Ethan chortled, pointing at Kira. "You of all people!"

"Made out with random girl," Kira replied, pointing right back at him. "You of all people!"

"Monk!" Conner cackled, pointing at Trent.

"I set you up," Tommy choked out, pointing at Trini, who had returned with Adam to join the laughter. "I saw the clowns coming!"

"I knew who those girls were," Trini giggled, pointing at Rocky and Zack. "I'd heard of them before. I was trying to let you make your own mistakes."

"I'm the leader of the world's most recent superhero team," Conner gasped. "And I just made out with an axe murderer!"

They went on like that for ages, pointing wildly at each other, spilling out crazy secrets that just a few moments ago they'd assumed they'd never be telling each other, rehashing the horrors of the past week. And then, to top it all off, the most ludicrous thing that had happened all day began.

Applause.

A large gaggle of truck drivers, waitresses, travelers, and hitchhikers had gathered nearby in the parking lot, drawn outside by the screaming. Now, they were clapping and cheering loudly, applauding the newest off-Broadway play.

Startled by this new addition to their world, the Rangers stared blankly at their audience. Then they did the only thing they could.

One by one, starting with Conner and ending with Tommy, the Rangers took their bows.

Once all twelve of them had taken their props, the Rangers stood by smiling and waving as the onlookers trickled back outside, calling out words of encouragement and the occasional "You suck!" At last, they were alone on the sidewalk again. They stood in silence, staring off into the pretty desert surroundings as the sun sank lower and lower. At last, Tommy took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and smiled.

"Let's say we just scratch this whole day off the list, shall we?" Tommy asked brightly. Everyone started replying at once.

"Agreed."

"Are you kidding?"

"Okay."

"This day rocked!"

"Fine by me."

"No way!"

"Thank god."

"I still wanna hear about the nude part."

"Never happened."

"For crying out loud, underwear! Practically a bikini!"

"Already forgotten."

"Good," Tommy said serenely. "Now, who's up for a burger? My treat. Or rather, Anton's treat. I hear this place is pretty good."

"Best dive this side of the Rockies," Rocky said cheerfully. "But their credit card machine is down."

"I've got cash," Tommy told him. "Had to get another cash advance back at the carnival for the games. So dinner's definitely on me."

"At this rate, here's hoping I still have a trust fund," Trent said dryly.

"Hey, guys?" Jason said slowly. "I know we agreed to forget this day ever happened, but there's something I gotta say first."

"What's that?" Tommy asked suspiciously.

Jason held up his wrist to display his watch. "It's only eight forty-five. We've still got a ways to go."

End Notes: I don't think we were planning to go in this direction with Conner, but for some strange reason the plot of the overall six-fic saga has taken over and run off down a completely different path, and forced us into certain things that weren't originally in the script. Ah, well. Hopefully it was funny enough.