Chapter 105

A Pressing Engagement

Spencer hurried to the control panel as the intercom beeped for the second time. It was after eight thirty; who would be coming by announced this late in the evening?

Upon reaching the panel, Spencer cued up the monitor that showed the front gate. To his surprise, a black Humvee sat in the driveway. An unfamiliar young man was leaning out of it towards the intercom; Spencer inspected both the man and the sigil on the side of the Humvee's door carefully, but couldn't place either of them.

"Yes?" he called into the intercom.

"Hi. It's Carter. I've got Cole with me."

Spencer frowned, wondering if that was some sort of threat. "You've got coal with you?"

"Yeah. We're here for the party…?"

"What party?" Spencer demanded.

The driver looked thoughtfully down at the intercom. "Isn't this Tanya Sloan's house?"

Spencer managed not to groan, but just barely. "No—the Sloan residence is next door."

"Oh. Sorry about that. Thank you." The black Humvee reversed down the drive.

Just then, Andrew Hartford, Spencer's employer, came into the room. "Who was at the door, Spencer?"

"Someone looking for the Sloan residence, sir," Spencer said wearily. "Shall I get the insurance forms now, or later?"

"Beg pardon?" Andrew asked.

"Apparently Ms. Sloan is throwing a party," Spencer explained.

Andrew groaned. "Not again."

"It's a shame her parents are friends of yours, sir. If any other neighbor was as troublesome as she can become—"

"Now, Spencer. Tanya's a nice girl. She just has a tendency to… well…"

"Bring havoc down upon our heads. Now we know why her parents were so eager to sell you the mansion next door to her." Andrew smiled faintly. "Although I will admit, her recipe for lemonade is extraordinary. I still have had no luck in replicating it."

"Well, keep trying, Spencer. I'm sure you'll manage it someday." Andrew looked thoughtfully down the hall, in the direction of Tanya's house. "Maybe this party won't be so bad."

"We're still repairing the damage from the last one, sir," Spencer pointed out.

Andrew sighed. "Maybe you'd better get the insurance forms now, Spencer. It can't hurt to get started."

"Very good, sir."

Hectic didn't begin to describe the rush for Jason, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, Zack, Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Conner, Kira, Ethan, Trent and Hayley to get ready for the party. Of all of them, only Rocky and Adam were halfway presentable; Tommy was dressed in the clothes he'd been wearing yesterday and Kimberly's outfit was covered in bits of sticky silver, while the others were all in nightclothes. Now that Kimberly had checked out of the Angel Grove Inn, they only had two rooms available, and Kimberly's clothing was all still packed up in her Mustang in the gymnastic center's parking lot, much to her chagrin. On top of everything else, stress and sleep deprivation were beginning to take their toll on everyone.

Kira, having left her belongings in Tommy and Zack's hotel room, returned to the Angel Grove Inn with Tommy, Zack, Trent and Ethan, and proceeded to have a nervous breakdown the minute she got out of the shower. The prospect of meeting not only dozens of Rangers but also the Tanya Sloan had her panicking, and she forced Tommy and Zack to help her choose an outfit. Zack was no help and Tommy, being Kimberly's ex-boyfriend but also Kira's ex-science teacher, wasn't much more useful, so Kira eventually dissolved into hysterics that Tanya was going to hate her and the other Yellow Rangers were going to laugh at her, at which point Tommy sent Zack to get Trent and hastily barricaded himself in the bathroom until Trent had calmed her down.

Things didn't go smoothly at Jason and Trini's house, either. Neither Billy nor Kimberly was very fast in the shower, and Kimberly was forced to raid not only Trini's closet but Hayley's suitcase in order to find an outfit that wouldn't clash with the shoes she'd been kidnapped in. The dog was thoroughly upset at the commotion and hadn't been fed breakfast, save for his extra meal in the middle of the night, and Trini felt it important to comfort him considering that they wouldn't be home all day tomorrow either. Jason wasted quite a long time arguing with Adam about whether it would be faster if Jason and Trini showered together; he lost, with even Trini voting against him, albeit with far less enthusiasm than the others. Conner, who had always felt looking good was important, began worrying about what the other Red Rangers might think and asking endless questions of Rocky and Jason as to whether his outfit was "too Red" or "not Red enough;" he was finally distracted by Tommy the dog, who, once Trini had stopped petting him, sat down in front of Ms. Syrian Hamster and Mr. Mongolian Gerbil's cage, seemingly fascinated by the movement of the hamster wheel.

Tommy, Zack, Ethan, Trent and Kira showed up in the midst of the chaos, just in time to accept swigs from one of Billy's Aquitian water flasks, which he was passing around to give everyone a much-needed energy boost. By the time everyone was dressed, groomed, and otherwise prepared, it was nearing eight o'clock—almost two hours after the party had started—so, after a quick stop for gas, Adam and Tommy took off for Los Angeles in yet another fit of extremely reckless driving, Zack doing a slightly better job of keeping up, thanks to all the recent practice.

Tanya's house was just a little farther from Angel Grove than the gymnastics center, so it was nearly nine o'clock by the time they made it. Adam pulled up to the gate first, punching his code into the keypad and leading the way up the long drive. Most of the other Rangers had already arrived; they could spot the Rescue Rover and another black Humvee belonging to Lightspeed, Cassie's enormous pink Hummer, Carlos's black-and-green van, one of T.J.'s numerous red sports cars, Alyssa's white Taurus, Max's blue Saturn, and a white cargo van that could have been anyone's. Adam dropped those who were riding with him off at the door and drove the Mercedes to the garage while Zack and Tommy parked their respective vehicles with the others.

"Would you look at this place?" Kira hissed as the group piled up on the porch, which was large enough for all of them to stand on it without crowding. Several of them muttered an agreement.

Before any of them could press the doorbell the door was yanked open, revealing T.J. in a lopsided Space Ranger party hat, drink in hand. "Hey, hey, I thought I heard someone out here!"

"Adam's in the garage," Tommy said, clasping hands with T.J. and pulling him in for a quick hug.

"Hey, guys!" T.J. exclaimed, greeting them each in turn as they stepped into the foyer. The Dino Rangers came last, all of them beyond nervous now that they were finally here. Though most of the Power Rangers they knew only vaguely, from what little Tommy had told them, all of them had known T.J.'s name and face since the Space Rangers had been unmasked, and the sight of him was a little daunting.

"You guys must be the DT team!" T.J. said cheerfully, reaching out to shake Conner's hand. "Red one, right?"

"Conner McKnight," he confirmed, tense but excited. "This is Kira Ford, Yellow; Ethan James, Blue; and Trent Fernandez, White."

"I see that," T.J. laughed, his eyes automatically catching on the parts of their outfits that signified their colors. "T.J. Johnson, Red Turbo, Blue Space." He ushered them into the foyer. "Come on in, y'all. I'll introduce you."

The older Rangers were already moving purposefully off down the hall, but Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent hung back with T.J., gazing with interest around the foyer. The foyer was lavish, with expensive marble flooring and intricate crown molding and beautiful tapestries depicting African savannahs, all of which were completely at odds with the decorations. Brightly-colored tinsel had been tossed casually onto the tapestries. Carmen's gay pride flags had been sliced apart, several of them repainted so recently they still smelled of paint, and hung at random. Though the marble flooring of the foyer extended down the hall directly across from the front door, the hallways leading off the left and right were carpeted in thick, deep green carpeting—at least, in the places that hadn't been obscured by overuse of multicolored confetti. Crepe paper in red, yellow, green, blue, black, white and pink was twisted and taped going in all directions, and Power Ranger decorations of all shapes and sizes, a motley assortment of every single team known on Earth, had been strewn all over the place. A six-foot-tall Mezodon Megazord was actually standing nonchalantly against one of the walls.

T.J. led them down the hall to the right, into the kitchen, where Aisha was being hugged enthusiastically and released reluctantly by Tommy, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, Trini, Jason and Rocky in turn. "That's Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Ranger," T.J. told the Dino Rangers, pointing at her, then across the kitchen. "And over there in the corner is Tanya Sloan."

They turned to look, Kira letting out a high-pitched squeak as she did so, and saw that Adam was blocking most of Tanya from view, making out with her like… well, like they hadn't seen each other in weeks. "We'll say hello to them later," T.J. joked to the Dino Rangers, winking at them and ignoring their startled expressions. He motioned for them to follow him and led the way into the dining room.

The dining room, like the foyer, had the look of a posh estate attacked by circus folk. The exquisite crystal chandelier had streamers coming off it in all directions and banners with triangular pennants displaying various Lost Galaxy Rangers lined the dining room. The long table dominating most of the room had been covered by snack food and pizza boxes at one end, beverages at the other, including six punch bowls, each containing a liquid that struggled to match a Ranger color; the center of the table held disposable plates, napkins, cups and silverware, also in a variety of colors. Three girls were chatting at one end of the table, while a guy loaded up a plate of food at the other.

"Hey, hey, meet the new guys!" T.J. called. Everyone turned to look at him. "Guys, this is Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent. This here's Ryan Mitchell, Titanium Ranger—" T.J. nodded at the guy, who smiled briefly at all of them, his gaze lingering with particular interest on Trent— "and Kelsey Winslow, Yellow. They're from Lightspeed."

"Hi!" Kelsey called cheerfully.

"That's Katie Walker, from Time Force, and Alyssa Enrile, Wild Force," T.J. continued, pointing to each of them in turn.

"You're the White girl, right?" Trent asked Alyssa. She nodded. "Dr. O mentioned you."

Alyssa frowned. "Who?"

"Tommy," T.J. explained. Alyssa's face lit up. "He's their science teacher. Former, anyway—they're recent graduates. Tommy said they call him 'Dr. Oliver' and 'Dr. O.'" T.J. headed for the keg in the corner, filling up his cup, taking a deep swig, and refilling it again. The Dino Rangers were just starting for the food when T.J. said, "All right, guys, let's hit the living room," and started walking again, the four of them hurrying after him. "We're still missing Ashley, Andros, Zhane and Karone," he added over his shoulder, "and Lost Galaxy's still arguing with the state of Hawaii—"

"Um, what?" Kira asked, frowning, but T.J. continued, not hearing her.

"—and Wes, Eric and Taylor kind of got arrested in Arizona, but they should be here soon."

"Maybe they can team up with Zack and Kira," Conner suggested. Kira socked him in the shoulder and he winced.

T.J. led the way into the living room. Three black leather couches, adorned with green throw pillows, were arranged around a sleek black coffee table. Photos and knickknacks covered the mantle above the fireplace to the right, and next to the fireplace was a set of glass doors leading out onto the patio. Groups of color-coded Rangers were scattered around the room, talking, laughing and drinking, and T.J. headed for the closest.

"Here we have the Pinks," T.J. explained. "This here is Cassie Chan, from my team, Dana Mitchell—Ryan's sister—from Lightspeed, and Jen from Time Force." He gave out the Dino Rangers' names and they went through a round of hellos. "Sorry, guys—no new Pinks."

"That's the third time in a row," Cassie complained, but she was smiling. "Nice to meet you."

Next, T.J. ushered them over to the Red group. "Carter Grayson of Lightspeed, Cole Evans from Wild Force, and Marcus Barstow from Time Force." The three Reds waved, but were currently involved in a chugging contest, so none of them spoke. T.J. named the Dino Rangers and moved on. "And over here we have Blue Time Force Ranger Lucas Kendall, flirting with Hayley Tate."

"Unfortunately," Hayley muttered, but she didn't look as unhappy as she tried to sound, a fact Lucas was obviously picking up on. She smiled at the teenagers. "Try not to get into trouble, guys."

"You're the Blue from the future, right?" Ethan asked Lucas eagerly.

"You're Emperor James," Lucas replied, looking startled. "You look different from your pictures. Especially without the ceremonial garb." Everyone stared at him before turning shocked gazes upon Ethan. Lucas's eyes widened in worry, but then he grinned. "Sorry. Time travel humor." T.J. threw back his head and laughed and the teens chuckled, but Hayley looked suspicious. "You're the Blue Dino Ranger, right?" Ethan nodded. "So you guys must be Conner McKnight, Trent Fernandez and Kira F… Ford?" Lucas's smile widened as his gaze turned to Kira. "Hello, there."

"Hi," Trent fairly growled.

"Ease up, I can take a hint," Lucas told him, but he winked at Kira just the same. She frowned at him and eased closer to Trent, whom Lucas forcibly reminded of Blake.

"Hey, Ethan, you'll probably want to meet Justin here," T.J. called, beckoning them over to where the Blue group was examining Adam and Tanya's stereo equipment. "Justin Stewart, Blue Turbo Ranger. Ethan here's supposed to be a chip off the old motherboard, guys. This is Chad Lee, Lightspeed, and Max Cooper from Wild Force."

"I'm Conner McKnight, Red; this is Kira Ford, Yellow; Trent Fernandez, White; and Ethan James, Blue," Conner said. They all started shaking hands, the Blues looking with particular interest at Ethan.

Justin nudged T.J. "Where've you been?"

"Hanging out with that Manx chick," T.J. replied, smirking.

Justin's eyebrows rose. "You do know she's not human, right?"

"She's not?" T.J. demanded, looking worried. Justin shook his head. "Um… I'll be right back," T.J. said, and hurried off.

"Um…" Kira began, but couldn't form another coherent thought after that.

Justin chuckled. "Manx is the only other non-Ranger here, besides Hayley. She's an alien, looks mostly human though. Time Force recruited her—hey, speaking of, Trip wanted to meet you, Ethan."

"Why is everyone worshipping Ethan?" Conner grumbled.

"Well, he is Emperor James," Kira joked.

"Come on," Justin said, leading Max, Chad, Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent over to the final group hanging out in the living room. "Hey, guys," he called. He turned to the Dino Rangers. "Danny Delgado, Black Wild Force; Joel Rawlings, Green Lightspeed Rescue; Carlos Vallerte, Green Turbo, Black Space; and Trip Regis, Green Time Force—meet the Dino Rangers. Conner McKnight, Kira Ford, Trent Fernandez and Ethan James." Justin pointed to various bits of clothing rather than state their color.

"Oh, wow!" Trip exclaimed, leaping forward and seizing Ethan's hand. "It's an honor. A huge… well, I mean… yeah. We're gonna be really good friends; all the history books say so. Isn't this great?"

Ethan stared at him as Trip pumped his arm enthusiastically. The others smirked, save Joel, who was busy grinning at Kira. "Um…" Ethan began, not sure how to respond.

"Hey, I'm… gonna go find the Yellows," Kira said.

"I'll come with," Trent said, shooting a glance at Joel, then over his shoulder at Lucas.

"I'm starving," Conner told Ethan. "Later, man."

"Um," Ethan began, a tad desperately. Trip had given up on shaking his hand and was now hugging him.

Conner was almost to the dining room when Jason emerged from the doorway, beer in hand. "Jason!" Cole shouted, leaping up from the couch and rushing him. "Hi! It's me, Cole!"

"Hey, Cole," Jason said, grinning at Cole's enthusiasm. Cole and Jason traded light claps on the shoulder, which had somehow become their thing ever since they'd met; it seemed to make Cole feel special, since he was usually the only one Jason greeted in this manner, and Cole still had a tendency to get nervous and overexcited, making handshaking risky anyway.

Jason knew from experience that Cole would latch on to Jason's side and stay there as long as possible, and while he liked Cole, he didn't hesitate in grabbing Conner's shirt as Conner started to pass them, hauling Conner over to them. "Cole, have you met Conner? He's the new guy."

"Really?" Cole was instantly fascinated. "I'm Cole, Cole Evans. I'm the Red Wild Force Ranger. Did you know there are two domesticated rodents in your pockets?"
Jason gave Conner an exasperated glare. "Conner, you didn't."

"I couldn't leave them at your place," Conner said defensively. "The dog kept staring at them."

"You live with Jason?" Cole asked, awed.

"He's just staying with me for a day or two," Jason said hastily, worried about the prospect of newbie Red Rangers showing up on his doorstep with sleeping bags.

"It's been totally cool," Conner told Cole. "Hey… how'd you know about Syri and Mongo?"

"Mongo was feeling slightly perturbed," Cole explained.

"Huh?"

"I'll let you two get to know each other," Jason said, backing away and going to greet Dana, Cassie and Jen, but before he was halfway there they started giggling in a distinctly unnerving fashion, and he changed direction without hesitation, heading over to Carter. He frowned, not recognizing the guy sitting next to Carter; hadn't Tanya said something about Time Force bringing a new guy? Yep, must be a newbie Red—he was already doing the whole awestruck stare thing.

To Jason's surprise, the new guy leaped up, swayed for a moment, and then snapped to attention, saluting. Jason had to fight not to laugh; Carter, who had done the exact same thing when meeting Jason, looked sheepish. Jason managed to smile without snickering—though just barely—and stuck out his hand. The guy looked at it, terror crossing his features, and made no move to take it. Jason's urge to laugh doubled. Jason forced his features into a serious expression, dropped his hand, and said, "At ease." The guy's left foot moved over until his feet were shoulder-width apart and he clasped his hands behind his back. Carter pinched the bridge of his nose, looking torn between grimacing and laughing. "I'm Jason Scott," Jason said, still trying to sound less amused than he was. Hoping it would get the guy to talk, he added, "And you are?"

"Marcus Barstow, Red C-Squad Time Force Ranger, sir!" he practically shouted, his tone utterly militant, but Jason figured it was still an improvement.

"Cool," Jason said, nodding and trying to find some way to get Marcus calmed down. "C-Squad, huh? What is that, exactly? Special ops?"

"Second team of Time Force, sir! It is our mission to assist B-Squad in keeping the peace, sir!"

"The second team is C-Squad, huh? Shouldn't the third team be C-Squad, and B-Squad the second team?" Jason asked.

"Long story, sir!"

That did it. Jason burst out laughing, unable to take something as common—and in Rangers' cases, overused—as the phrase "long story" barked at him in an official, militant manner. Carter snorted a couple of times and dissolved into chuckles.

"It always is, son, it always is," Jason said kindly, clapping Marcus on the shoulder in an attempt to prove that he wasn't making fun of him. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Marcus wobble a little at the contact. "Come on—sit down and have a beer, man. Tell me all about this C-Squad thing. Plenty of time to worship me later." Jason flopped on the couch, grinning and shaking his head.

Marcus finally came out of his trance—they didn't have protocol for "sit down and have a beer," especially considering that alcohol was hard to come by in the future—and looked down at Carter, horrified. "I'm making an idiot of myself, aren't I?" he whispered, praying Jason didn't overhear.

Carter shrugged. "I've seen worse. Don't worry, man—he gets it. Every Red since T.J.'s done the exact same thing, or similar."

Marcus sat down gingerly, trying to look at Jason but unable to meet Jason's gaze. He seemed hyperaware of the fact that Jason was sitting only a few feet from him. "Sorry. It's just… you're a legend."

"Yeah, so I hear," Jason said with a smirk.

"First Red Ranger, hero of Earth, Destroyer of Onyx, Savior of Triforia, the first person ever to lead a Ranger team, longest-standing in-uniform leader of an active team in history…"

"No, you're thinking of Tommy on that last one. I was only leader for a little over a year," Jason corrected him. He nodded at Carter. "And I think Carter's closing in on him. It's been… what? Four years?"

"Four and a half," Carter agreed. "But at the same time, I might lead an active Ranger team, but we're only a task force now, peace keepers. We're not an active team in the sense of most—there are no evil overlords attacking our section of Earth."

"Yeah. Still, depending on how you look at it, he's past Tommy now, even if you count Dino Thunder," Jason pointed out.

Marcus knitted his brow, looking a tad confused. "Oh. Right."

Jason frowned, suddenly uneasy. "Wait. Destroyer of Onyx? What does that mean, exactly?"

Marcus's eyes widened and he cast a nervous glance in Jen's direction. "Um… I have a mission," he announced, and jumped up, hurrying across the room, over to where Lucas was still chatting with Hayley.

"What was that all about?" Jason complained.

Carter shrugged. "Give him a break. He was just telling me they don't have alcohol in the future—at least, not legally, except in rare instances—so the beer's probably taking its toll on him. I'm sure he was just confused."

"He'd better be," Jason said darkly, casting a suspicious look at Marcus before turning to Carter. "To legal inebriation," he toasted.

"Amen," Carter agreed, tapping bottles with Jason. He waved to Rocky, Billy, Zack and Kimberly, who exited the kitchen together. Kimberly returned his wave but headed over to the Pinks, who greeted her enthusiastically, while Rocky, Zack and Billy came towards them.

"Hey, Carter," Zack said, snagging a beer off the table.

"Hi, guys. How's it going?"

"The other Yellows discovered Trini was here," Rocky said with a sigh. "We bailed when they converged on her."

"Yellows have taken over the kitchen," Zack reported.

"They're monopolizing Aisha and Tanya," Rocky complained.

"Ah, calm down. They'll slack off eventually," Jason told him. "Hey—wanna hear something weird? That guy from Time Force, the new kid who came back with them, called me the Destroyer of Onyx."

"Isn't that a gemstone?" Rocky asked.

"It's a black stone, yeah," Zack confirmed. "Why would you destroy a black gemstone, man?"

"It's also a planet," Billy said, frowning. "A very unseemly planet, too. It's a known refuge for fugitive aliens and a variety of unsavory activities take place there."

Jason's eyebrows rose. "Really."

"That's where Karone recovered the Pink Quasar Saber, isn't it?" Carter asked.

Billy nodded. "I had heard something to that effect, yes."

Jason looked back over at Marcus, who was now chatting with Hayley, Lucas glaring at him and trying to get a word in edgewise. "Maybe I should have a talk with that kid."

"Oh, come on, man. It's a party! Worry about the future tomorrow," Zack told him. "I'm gonna go get worshipped; you guys coming?"

"I already filled my quota for the day," Jason replied, shaking his head.

"Come on, Billy, man," Zack said, grabbing Billy's arm and tugging him towards the group of Greens, Blacks and Blues. "Hey Rocky, you coming?"

"In a minute," Rocky said. He was used to his own share of worship from the Blues—after all, Rocky was the second Blue, and with Billy on Aquitar the subsequent Blues had only ever met him for a moment or two when he'd returned to Earth for Jason and Trini's wedding. Rocky had his own claim to fames among Blues and Reds alike, particularly given the fact that Justin often talked him up to other Blues if Justin happened to meet them first. At the moment, however, he figured he'd let the other Blues worship Billy and find himself something to eat. "I'll be right back," he told Jason and Carter. "You guys want anything?"

They both declined, and Rocky headed for the dining room. Just inside the dining room, he found Kira and Trent hovering at the door to the kitchen. "What are you guys doing?" he asked.

Kira only grimaced, so Trent replied with, "We're trying to work up the courage to say hi to Tanya," and Kira shot him a grateful look for us of the word "we," knowing the fear was mostly on her part, not his.

Rocky laughed. "Hey, don't let the fame thing freak you out. Tanya's really cool. Just say hi to her. She's just as anxious to meet you guys as you are to meet her."

"I don't see how," Kira muttered.

Rocky shook his head. "Look. Everyone's nervous here, okay? Billy's got a fan club over there and all the newer kids are trying to impress the older kids and the older kids just want to say hi to the ones they don't know. You're all part of the same team here. Don't worry about it."

With that, he turned and went to grab a plate, heading directly for the pizza. Kira sighed and turned to Trent, who gave her a sympathetic, encouraging look. Kira finally threw back her shoulders and marched into the kitchen, Trent at her heels.

Kira's steps became more and more uncertain as she approached the group of Yellows, however. Not only was she approaching Tanya Sloan, famous singer, she was also approaching a legacy, the first three people to wear her color, in addition to the longest-standing active Yellow Ranger and another from almost one thousand years in the future. Even though she had been hanging out with Trini all week, she was suddenly much more in awe of her, the first Yellow ever, one of the first Rangers ever…

"Breathe," Trent whispered in her ear.

Breathing. Right.

Kira stopped a few feet away and was still working up an audible "excuse me" when Aisha spotted her. "Hey, it's the new Yellow!" she called happily, and, in perfect unison, Trini, Aisha, Tanya, Katie and Kelsey's gazes zeroed in on Kira.

"Um… hi," Kira said lamely.

"Hi, there," Tanya said, coming over to her and throwing an arm around Kira's shoulders. Trent hovered near Kira's elbow; unlike Tanya, he didn't miss the fact that Kira's knees were buckling. "Tommy's told us so much about you."

Kira frowned; this didn't fit with what she knew of Dr. O. He'd always been rather tight-lipped about his Ranger friends. "He has?"

"He sure has," Aisha agreed. "Pterodactyl, right? Like Kim?"

"I hear she can fly like Taylor, though," Katie said.

"She could," Trini confirmed. "No powers anymore."

"Ain't that a shame," Tanya said. "Taylor doesn't have hers either, poor dear. The rest of us do, though, more or less."

"She sings, Tanya," Trini spoke up. "I've heard her and Kimberly sing quite a few times; she's really good."

"Is that right?" Tanya asked curiously. Kira gave her a feeble nod. "I'll have to hear you jam sometime."

"Is it true that Tommy's your science teacher?" Kelsey asked. Kira nodded again, and Kelsey giggled. "I can't imagine fighting evil with my science teacher. Of course, mine wasn't as cute as yours."

"Ours, either," Aisha said. "Good old Ms. Appleby—whatever happened to her?"

"I don't know," Tanya said. "I tried looking her up, but I couldn't find her."

"She's married now," Trini said. "That's why you couldn't find her—she's Mrs. Stone."

"Lieutenant Stone?" Tanya demanded, shocked. "Wow."

"Oh, yeah," Aisha said vaguely. "I remember them looking friendly at a dance once. The Junior Police Ball. That was the time Bulk fell in love with me."

"Um, what?" Kira asked, frowning.

"It's a long story, girl," Aisha said. "But let's hear yours, first."

"Yeah, tell us all about you," Tanya agreed, giving Kira's shoulders a little shake. Trent stepped a little closer, seeing Kira's nervousness redouble, and Tanya noticed him for the first time. She looked him up and down, noted his proximity to Kira, and grinned. "And who's this cutie pie?" Tanya asked.

Trent blanched as all eyes turned to him. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to answer her, as the question didn't seem directed to him—heaven help him if it was. And… cutie pie?

Trent looked at Kira, and despite her fear at Tanya and the others' proximity, Kira seemed to be trying to stifle a laugh. Trini stepped in to save him. "Trent Fernandez," Trini said. "He's Kira's boyfriend."

"He's adorable," Aisha announced. "What's your color?"

"White," Trent mumbled, feeling oddly on display.

"You're dating a White?" Tanya asked, seeming surprised. "Me, I like the Green ones, myself." She winked at Adam, the only non-Yellow still in the kitchen. He smiled at her, then returned to giving Trent a sympathetic look. "At least, he was Green when I got my hands on him."

"Were you evil?" Kelsey asked with open curiosity.

"For a while, yeah," Trent admitted.

"Ryan was evil," Kelsey said. "I bet you're a loner, aren't you?"

"Um…"

"He looks like the strong, silent type," Katie said.

"Heh." Trent cleared his throat, wondering how Kira would feel if he ran away.

"I'll say. Look at those biceps," Aisha said with approval.

"Are you into sports at all?" Kelsey asked eagerly.

"Uh… some."

"Trent's an artist," Kira offered.

"Ooh, I'll bet he's sensitive, then," Tanya teased, winking at Adam. He snorted and wandered out of the kitchen. "Is he sensitive, Kira?"

"He… can be," Kira said carefully, uncertain of the proper response.

"Aw, how sweet," Katie said.

"How about jealous. Is he jealous?" Tanya asked. Kira shrugged as best she could without dislodging Tanya's arm. "See, me and Trini disagree about that. She kinda likes it when Jason gets jealous. Me, I love that Adam trusts me."

"It isn't me Jason doesn't trust," Trini said. "It's everyone else."

The girls laughed. Trent wondered how socially acceptable a hasty retreat would be. He started to edge backwards, only to realize that Kelsey had gotten behind him and was gesturing about something to Katie. Trent didn't want to think about what.

"Nah, I bet he doesn't get jealous," Aisha said. "He's probably real understanding. Being artistic and all."

"What's he got to worry about, with that face?" Tanya agreed. Trent was sure his mortification was now quite plainly expressed by his facial features, but if they noticed, they didn't seem to care.

"How long you two been together?" Aisha asked Kira.

"Um… it's been at least six months now," Kira said uncertainly.

"You don't know for sure?" Aisha demanded.

"Well… the evil thing… kind of came in the middle of our dating," Kira explained.

"Like with Kim and Tommy," Tanya said, nodding. "Hey—what's up with them, anyway?"

"Hey, Trent?" came Adam's voice from the dining room. "Can you come here a sec?"

"Don't be a stranger, now," Tanya called, but hers was the only goodbye Trent heard as he darted around Kelsey and dashed from the kitchen into the dining room, where Tommy and Rocky were loading up plates.

"Yeah?" Trent asked, trying not to sound as relieved as he felt.

"I didn't actually need anything," Adam confessed. "You just looked like you could use a rescue."

The rush of gratitude Trent felt towards Adam doubled. "Thank you."

Rocky snickered. "Same thing happened to Eric."

Adam smiled and clapped Trent on the shoulder, then gestured to Tommy. "Come on, man. Let's go say hi."

"Right," Tommy muttered, snatching a beer off the table. Trent's eyebrows rose at the action. He knew Tommy drank—after all, raiding Tommy's fridge was a pastime for all the Dino Rangers—but knowing it and seeing it were two different things.

Trent's gaze strayed longingly to the alcohol bottles covering a good third of the dining room table. It was rare that he found himself craving a drink these days, but it had been a long week, and hectic times always made him feel a little nostalgic for the days when crazy and wild were adjectives applied to parties, not mad escapades involving deathtrap closets, illegal monkeys, and superhero identity crises.

It hadn't even been two years since Anton Mercer had found him, called by the arresting officer who'd pulled Trent out of a stolen car his buddy Ervin had crashed. It had been a little over a year between the cave-in that had killed his parents and the day Anton Mercer was asked to help a punk foster kid whose parents had died on his dig site. Trent hadn't expected Anton to help him at all, much less take him in and adopt him. It was strange to look back on their conversations now, knowing that Anton had been Mesogog back then, to remember the lecture on responsibility and morality and realize the double meaning in his words.

Trent hadn't been the most law-abiding of citizens back then, not before his parents had died and certainly not after, but moving in with Anton had been like winning the lottery and Trent hadn't looked back. He'd stopped the drinking, the smoking, the partying, the petty criminal activity. He'd lost touch with all of his old friends, disappointingly fast; he hadn't heard from any of them since Ervin had called to ask for bail money over a year ago. Still, Trent couldn't help miss it sometimes, the carefree attitude, the uncomplicated drama. He had been popular, he had had fun, and he didn't regret it even if it hadn't been the most savory of lifestyles. After all, it had been useful, made him appreciate life more… and it had certainly come in handy more than once. Hell, Tommy notwithstanding, Trent had been the only one of the Dino Rangers who'd known how to fight before receiving a Dino Gem, to say nothing of the drastic measures Trent had been reduced to after joining the Rangers and finding himself essentially Mesogog's roommate.

The policy of no regrets, however, tended to come with a price. Trent tended to miss things from those days, especially when Conner, Kira and Ethan began talking about something that had happened long before Trent had fully joined them, especially when he was struggling to come up with a way to cover something suspicious caused by a Ranger secret… and especially when he'd had a bad week and could really use a drink.

It was stupid to drink here, though. Too many people here knew his father. Dr. O wouldn't approve. Hayley was his employer. Hadn't Kira ranted once about one of her band mates and the stupidity of alcohol? It was a bad idea. Yes.

"Hi."

Trent jumped and spun around, trying not to look guilty. Alyssa had come in from the hall. She smiled at him, but it looked kind of forced. "Trent, right?"

"Yeah… Alyssa?"

"Mm-hmm. You're on Tommy's new team, huh."

Trent nodded, vaguely recalling having seen her talking to Tommy when he and Kira had been trying to figure out how best to approach the Yellows. "Yeah. You know him long?"

"No," she said, and there was something a tad… evasive about her tone. "I mean, not well." Trent's eyebrows knitted as he stared at her, trying to puzzle out the strangely panicky expression she was now attempting to hide. Seeing this, Alyssa looked away from him and began absently fidgeting with a bottle of gin on the table. "I knew him. I mean, I know him. I mean, we're friends. We haven't hung out in a while. What with him having a job and me having a job and him having a Ranger team and me having… you know… stuff. So he's with Kimberly now?"

"Uh… jury's out," Trent said, struggling to keep up with her rambling. "Outlook hopeful, though."

"Ah. I didn't know he was getting back with her. I like Kimberly," she added earnestly, as if she was trying to convince Trent of something.

Trent nodded, absorbing this and still failing to come up with some sort of sensible meaning to it. "I do too. I mean, she's cool."

Alyssa smiled faintly and began pouring the gin into a shot glass. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Uh, yeah. Kira. She's the Yellow on my team."

"Blond girl—" Alyssa held up a hand just below her eye level— "yay tall?"

"That's the one. How about you? Seeing anyone?"

"No," Alyssa said, and again her tone sounded off somehow, though Trent couldn't think why she'd be lying. "I mean… you know. I'm a busy girl." She held her shot glass out to him. "Vodka shot?"

Trent was just about to remind her that he wasn't old enough when his hand acted of his own accord and took the glass from her. He gulped it in one quick swallow, hurrying to put the glass down before he could get caught by Dr. O or anyone else. He grimaced. "That's gin. Not vodka."

"Oh. Right." Alyssa put the bottle down and looked around until a spotting a mostly-empty bottle of vodka and picking it up, double-checking the label. She refilled Trent's shot glass without asking and poured one for herself. "It's not like I care, you know."

"About what?" Trent asked, tossing the next shot to the back of his throat and returning the glass quickly to the table. Alyssa refilled it.

"About… you know…" Alyssa grimaced slightly; Trent could have sworn she was blushing. "Tommy."

Trent paused, the shot halfway to his mouth. "Ah," he said, catching on. Alyssa looked dreadfully embarrassed. "Was this a past thing, or…?"

"It wasn't a thing. It wasn't. It was nothing." She gulped her drink, trying to meet Trent's gaze and winding up staring at his chin.

"Ah." Trent took the next shot, feeling his desire for a stiff drink double rather than lessen as the alcohol went down his throat. He wanted to tell Alyssa that she was talking about his science teacher and as such the subject was one Trent found disturbing… but she seemed so jittery, and she could probably use someone to talk to, and she was White. Plus she was holding the alcohol. "Well… the jury is still out, you know…"

She shook her head. "She can have him. I'm not bitter," she explained, and this time she sounded sincere. She smiled at him, then frowned at the shot glass in her hand. "Oh, forget it." She put the glass down and picked up the bottle, grabbed another, unopened bottle of the same type and headed for the hallway. "I'm gonna go explore this place. You coming?"

Trent blinked, startled at the abrupt subject change. He could go for seeing the rest of the house. Plus she was holding the alcohol. And if he kept hanging out in here, he'd have to stop drinking; sooner or later he'd be caught.

"I'm coming," Trent told her, pausing to gulp Alyssa's abandoned shot before following her off down the hall.

"How's the party coming?" Andrew called to Spencer, who had stationed himself by the patio doors to keep an eye on things next door.

"The party is going quite well, sir," Spencer reported. "So far. However, I am concerned about that."

Andrew looked where Spencer was pointing—up at the sky, where an oddly-shaped flying object, far lower than any plane and lit from behind, was approaching. He squinted at it for a moment as it drew closer. "Oh, that's nothing to be concerned about," Andrew said, recognizing it at last. "That's just the Megaship." There weren't a whole lot of laws, yet, about where it was okay to land a spaceship on Earth, but Andrew and Spencer had seen it land on Tanya's lawn quite a few times.

"I'm aware of that, sir, but it's moving awfully fast."

Andrew took another look. It was moving fast—too fast. It wasn't moving in a straight line, either; it was wobbling, and it seemed to be… "Is that smoke coming off it there?"

Spencer frowned disapprovingly at it. It didn't show any signs of slowing as it neared Tanya's lawn. Then, to their complete surprise, it passed Tanya's property entirely and disappeared from sight, flying off over the Hartford mansion.

Andrew and Spencer looked at each other, suddenly uneasy. "That… that was the Megaship, wasn't it?" Andrew asked.

Spencer's frown deepened. "Perhaps we'd better seek shelter, sir," he suggested, just as a tremor shook the house, causing Spencer to stumble into Andrew as several expensive-sounding crashes came from various parts of the house. Andrew righted Spencer and the two turned towards Tanya's again, watching in horrified fascination. The Megaship had returned and crashed into Tanya's manicured lawn, skidding across the grass, bursting through the hedge and clawing its way across the cobblestones of Tanya's driveway before taking out the hedge on the other side. It gouged its way through a good deal more of the lawn before finally coming to a stop, listing drunkenly to one side.

Andrew and Spencer stared at it, shocked and concerned and wary that it just might decide to start crashing into even more things despite the fact that it now looked like it probably wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Tanya's alarm started shrieking, though there was no telling if it was due to the impact, a damaged wire, or the fact that three people—two men and a woman—had just jumped out of a black SUV and scaled the gate. The front door of Tanya's house flew open and partygoers poured out of it, rushing towards the Megaship.

Andrew sighed and glanced across the kitchen, where an antique and extremely rare cuckoo clock was now nothing more than shards of wood, having been knocked from its perch by the impact. Spencer gave him a sympathetic look. "Shall I start in here, sir, or would you like me to take stock of the rest of the house before I begin the insurance forms?"

Andrew shook his head. "No. I'll go. You keep watch. Just in case."

"As I've said before, sir, we ought to set up some sort of bomb shelter in the basement. A place we could go to wait out these parties, where we would not be disturbed. A few beds, a working laboratory—" he nodded at the demolished clock— "a place to safely store your most treasured possessions…"

Andrew smiled. "Come now, Spencer—I'm not renovating the basement just for Tanya's chaos. This sort of thing doesn't happen that often. If I'm going to create some sort of elaborate base down there, I'm going to need a good reason for it."

End Notes: Sorry this took so long, but this was one of those chapters that couldn't find a good stopping point.

Yes, Andrew Hartford and Spencer live next door. What? People move. We have a plan.

Freyja SilverWillow's story, "Forever Fades Away," is an Alex-centric fic that coincides with OLaB canon, as does her story "Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark." Reviews will be squeed over.

Seasons After is like the coolest band on Earth.

The next Power Morphicon is announced for August 2010. Hope we'll see you there.