Sunday July 1st, 2018
Mariner Bay, CA
When Tommy woke up in the morning, he was surprised to see Ethan already at the kitchen table. His computer was out again, and he was munching on a piece of toast as he worked.
"What are you doing up this early?" Tommy asked.
Ethan didn't respond. Tommy sighed when he realized Ethan was wearing his headphones. Walking over, he touched his shoulder. Ethan jumped and quickly took off the headphones.
"Oh, good morning, Dr. O," Ethan said sheepishly.
"Why are you up so early?" Tommy repeated.
"My program finished running and sent me an alert like an hour ago," Ethan answered. "I wanted to see if it worked so I could get this video back to Hayley. She said she needed it back ASAP."
Tommy sighed but didn't argue as he went to get something to eat.
"What is the video?" he asked.
"Christine and Will," Ethan answered. "Well, mostly Will. Touching things he shouldn't be. Probably confirming your suspicions on what they intend to do to Jason."
Tommy stopped in the middle of reaching for the blender and turned to look at Ethan.
"What?" he asked.
"After the meeting yesterday, Hayley was stalking them on the cameras while she reviewed footage and found this," Ethan shrugged. "It wasn't the best angle and kind of far away, but it definitely looked like Will stole something from the medicine cart one of the nurses was working off of. Hayley asked me to work on enhancing it since she was trying to catch up on some video review around the base."
"And…?" Tommy said, looking at Ethan expectantly.
"I still can't tell exactly what he stole," Ethan admitted. "It's just too far away. But he definitely took something. I'm sending this to Hayley now so she can take it from here."
Tommy nodded.
"Tell her to talk to Dana," he said, turning back to making a smoothie. "They may be able to figure it out if they take an inventory."
Ethan nodded.
A couple of hours later, Tommy sighed as he glanced at the time. It was almost 8a and JJ was still asleep. Even during the summer he was usually up early because Tommy and Kat were. Everyone else in the suite was up now, too. Though Conner still hadn't come out of his room. Krista had finally given up arguing with him and just took breakfast to him in the room. A knock on the door caught their attention. Trent got the door, opening it to let Blake and Tori in.
"Good morning!" Tori said brightly. "Ready to go, Dr. O? Hunter told us you spent the night here, so we figured we would see if you were ready to head up so we can escort you."
"The psychos still haven't come out, so the halls are clear," Blake added.
Tommy hesitated, glancing toward JJ's door.
"One of us can wait," Tori said quickly. "As long as one of us goes to relieve Hunter and Cam it will be fine."
"Tommy, go," Kat said. "We'll be fine."
"I know…" he sighed. "But I told JJ I'd be here in the morning."
"And with how tired he's been he'll probably sleep another couple of hours," Kat pointed out. "We'll come up to visit once he's awake and moving. Ok? I'll talk to him."
Sighing again, Tommy nodded and stood. Grabbing his backpack, he headed toward the door. Blake grabbed the duffle bag that was already waiting. The two Ninjas walked with him on the way back to the medical floor. They weren't worried about being out of sight with Will and Christine not around.
In the room, Jason was back in his own bed. He was stifling a yawn as they walked in. Hunter and Cam, who had been sitting and talking with Eric, were immediately on their feet.
"What took so long?" Hunter grumbled.
"We're maybe five minutes late," Blake retorted. "Because we walked with Dr. O. Five minutes isn't going to kill you."
"Let's go," Cam interrupted before Hunter could argue. "We both need sleep."
He dragged Hunter out with him as Tori rolled her eyes. Eric was up now, too, with his overnight bag slung over his shoulder.
"And I'm going to go have breakfast with my family," Eric said. "No problems last night, Tommy. I'll swing by later."
"Thanks, Eric," Tommy nodded.
Blake and Tori grabbed chairs to get comfortable out of the way. They had nothing with them except their phones. The Ninjas were taking guard duty seriously. Tommy walked over to his bed and dropped his backpack on the chair. Blake had already dropped his duffle on the bed.
"How are you feeling this morning, Jason?" Tommy asked, turning back around.
"Tired," Jason admitted. "I didn't sleep the greatest…"
Tommy winced a little as he sat down by Jason's bed.
"Yesterday was probably a lot…" he said.
Jason just nodded silently. For a moment neither one spoke.
"Listen, Tommy—" Jason started to say.
Then he stopped, catching a glimpse of Blake and Tori watching them.
"Jason?" Tommy frowned.
"I need to talk with you," Jason said hesitantly.
"Go ahead," Tommy told him.
Jason hesitated, glancing at the Ninjas again.
"Well, I…"
Blake and Tori exchanged a look and stood.
"I'm gonna watch the hallway, Dr. O," Blake said.
"And I'm going to get you both breakfast," Tori said. "Or at least Jason."
They were both gone a moment later. Tommy just shook his head.
"Go ahead, Jason," he said.
He pulled out the ranger phone, checking messages as he waited for Jason to say something.
"Tommy, a lot's happened in the last couple of months," Jason said. "And I know we haven't—well, I know I haven't…There are a lot of things I said—or didn't say and—"
The door opened, interrupting Jason's attempt at an apology. Rocky and Adam walked in with Zach, Kim, and Jake. They were all carrying breakfast with them. Jason groaned, letting his head fall back against his pillow.
"Good morning!" Kim exclaimed. "We brought you breakfast!"
"Great…" Jason muttered. "Thanks."
"Guess I'll text Tori," Tommy chuckled. "We don't need that much breakfast."
"Sorry, man," Rocky said. "There was no stopping Kim. You're lucky she didn't track you down last night after I told everyone what was going on."
Tommy flinched at the thought as Kim gave him a look.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Thomas Oliver," Kim said firmly. "But we can talk later. Jason, how are you feeling?"
Jason just sighed as the conversation turned to him. The group settled down to eat, talking about anything and everything that wasn't Jason's wife trying to kill him and Tommy. Everyone was putting in an effort to keep things more lighthearted. Until Tommy's phone went off to warn them Christine and Will were coming.
"Jase?" Tommy said, looking at him.
Jason shook his head, not making a move to lay down.
"I can't sleep forever," he said. "And all of you are here, so…"
He shrugged. Tommy nodded and Tori and Blake melted into the background. A moment later the door opened, and Christine and Will walked in. They both looked surprised to see Jason awake and sitting up in bed.
"Jason!" Christine exclaimed.
She rushed over to throw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Jason winced and half-hugged her back before pulling away.
"I've been so worried," she gushed. "You've been sleeping so much since they took you out of that awful machine. How are you feeling?"
"As well as expected," Jason answered a little stiffly.
None of his friends had moved except to get more comfortable. Christine started fussing over Jason, shooting glares at the rest of the group. Will was standing nearby, his glare focused on Tommy who was pointedly ignoring him in favor of his phone. He'd pulled out his own and was texting Kat now.
Tommy: The psychos are both here. Keep Marc and JJ away until we can get rid of them. I'll keep you updated.
Kat: ok
"How are you feeling?" Christine asked Jason again. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you remember anything yet? Have the doctors figured out what was wrong before you got shot?"
Jason was just shaking his head in response to her barrage of questions or giving short one-word answers. But Christine continued to press for information.
The next few hours were much the same to the irritation of everyone in the room. With Jason awake, Christine and Will were making no effort to leave. The rangers did their best to carry on as normal, ignoring the siblings. Tommy, seeing Jason continue to get more agitated by their presence, decided to call in help. Everyone else was surprised to see Dana walk in. Ryan was following her, once again wearing his uniform. He stayed by the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he smirked at Will. Will scowled at him but didn't say anything, eyeing the blaster Ryan still had on his belt.
"It's been several hours," Dana said, looking at the siblings. "So, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave for a while."
"Why?" Christine scowled. "My husband is finally awake. I want to spend time with him!"
"Because your son has the right to see his father, too," Dana answered. "And we are aware a restraining order exists, so we want to make sure he is comfortable coming here. Marc has not expressed any desire to be around you. Therefore, I need you to leave to give him a chance to visit. You can come back in a few hours. Sometime after lunch."
Christine and Will both sputtered in protest. But Dana stood firm.
"Either you leave on your own, or you will be removed," Dana warned them.
Ryan straightened up and Will flinched. Which just made Ryan smirk more.
"Fine," Will muttered, catching his sister's arm. "Come on, Christine. We'll come back later. Maybe it'll be less crowded."
Once they were gone, Dana turned to Tommy.
"Thank you, Dana," he smiled.
"Of course," she answered. "Ryan is spending the day helping me, so he'll be around if you need anything."
Tommy nodded and Dana left with Ryan in tow. Shooting a quick text to tell Kat the floor was clear, Tommy turned back to Jason.
"Thanks, Tommy," Jason said gratefully. "I just…"
He trailed off, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about it, Jase," Tommy said. "But be prepared—Marc is coming up. And he knows something happened yesterday."
Jason grimaced but nodded, preparing to answer his son's questions next. Not that he was sure what to say.
It was several hours later when Jason finally hit his limit. The room had been crowded all morning with people coming and going. Marc had joined them not long after Christine and Will had left. Like Jason feared, he had tried to get answers for what had been going on the day before. With some help from Tommy and others Jason had managed to avoid straight answers. None of them wanted the kids aware of what was going on until it was over. Even though the kids weren't going to be allowed anywhere by themselves until then, either.
Jason had continued to try and have a quiet conversation with Tommy, but he was continuously interrupted. Everyone was hovering over both of them, afraid to let them be alone after the threat that was overheard the day before.
"Do you all need to be here?" Jason finally snapped as someone interrupted again.
The conversation quieted as the group turned to look at Jason.
"You alright, Jason?" Rocky asked.
"I'm fine," he answered irritably. "I've just been trying to talk to Tommy all morning and every time I try someone else interrupts."
Tommy looked at him in surprise. Rocky responded by starting to shove people out the door.
"Everyone out!" he announced. "Jason needs some space and all of you need to eat lunch. Or maybe get some actual work done."
There were some protests, but soon it was just Jason, Tommy, Rocky, and Adam left in the room. Rocky had even sent Marc with Kim and Jake to make sure he got food. With most of the room clear, Adam started to stand up to leave, too.
"What's going on, Jase?" Tommy asked.
"I'm sorry!" Jason snapped.
Tommy blinked at him in surprise. Rocky and Adam had stopped to listen, also surprised by Jason's small outburst.
"Well, alright…" he said slowly. "Why?"
"Everything," Jason answered. "Yesterday. My wife. Getting you arrested in college. Never calling you back. I'm sorry. We shouldn't have stopped talking to each other and if I hadn't been such an idiot, I would have realized you never would have done the things she said you did… this whole thing is all my fault and I'm sorry…"
Jason trailed off, shaking his head.
"Do you feel better now?" Tommy asked after giving him a moment.
"Yes," Jason muttered.
"Good," Tommy nodded.
Jason sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Listen, Tommy," he said quietly. "I understand if you don't—"
"Rex, I forgave you forever ago," Tommy interrupted.
"What?"
Tommy chuckled.
"I forgave you years ago," he repeated. "For everything. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for my part, too."
Jason looked at him in surprise.
"Oh," he said. "But then—"
Tommy shook his head.
"I kept my distance because I respected your wishes," Tommy said with a careful shrug.
"Until this week?" Rocky inserted with a grin.
Rocky and Adam were watching from a short ways away.
"His life was in danger, Rocky," Tommy retorted. "I would have done the same for any of you."
Tommy sighed.
"I'm sorry, Jase," he said. "But honestly? I'd suspected something along this line for years—though not anywhere near this extreme. Just that she was manipulating you. But I never had any proof and, well, you never wanted to listen to anything I had to say about Christine. And then we stopped talking…"
Shaking his head, Tommy shifted in his chair.
"Like I said, I forgave you years ago," Tommy continued. "We wouldn't have hung out when you moved back if I hadn't. I would have avoided you completely."
"So why didn't you ever say anything about it?" Jason frowned. "After I came back?"
"What was I supposed to do that wouldn't alienate you again?" Tommy answered quietly. "There was no point in bringing up the past."
Jason didn't answer. He was a little thrown off by how quickly Tommy had forgiven him. Rocky and Adam exchanged a look and came back over to sit down again.
"Glad to hear you two aren't mad at each other anymore," Rocky said.
Tommy rolled his eyes.
"I was never mad at him," he pointed out. "Upset after our fight? Yes. Disappointed he never called? Yes. But actually mad? Never."
Jason frowned now.
"Well, fine then," Rocky grumbled. "Sure seemed like it…"
Tommy rolled his eyes.
"Get over it," he said, shaking his head. "You, too, Rex."
Jason looked at him in surprise.
"I see that look," Tommy said, shaking his head.
Jason ducked his head, a little embarrassed. He'd been sulking a little for the last few minutes and he knew it. He just hadn't been prepared for Tommy to forgive him so quickly. Especially since, now things were all out in the open, Jason had finally accepted that Tommy hadn't done anything wrong all those years ago. And he'd been the bigger man about it.
"I get enough teenage drama at work," Tommy continued. "I don't need it here, too."
"Aww…" Rocky grinned. "You mean the rangers aren't your prominent source of teenage drama? We'll have to try harder."
Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"You aren't teenagers!" he exclaimed. "At least not most of you."
Rocky just started laughing.
"But you are definitely my biggest headache," Tommy muttered, shooting Rocky a look.
That just made him laugh harder. Adam chuckled, too.
"Given how many of us there are, I thought we would be your biggest source of drama," he said.
"Probably not since he set that rule of not helping with relationships," Rocky snickered.
Tommy shook his head and settle more comfortably into his chair.
"Best decision I ever made," he said.
Jason looked at Tommy in surprise.
"You helped them with relationships?" he asked.
"I help the rangers with a lot of things," Tommy shrugged.
"He helped by handing the phone to Kat," Rocky inserted. "Now they just call her directly. Or Tanya."
Tommy scowled at Rocky as Jason started laughing, too. The door opened and all four men looked over in surprise as Kim walked back in with Zach and Jake.
"We brought lunch!" she announced with a smile.
The three of them handed trays to the four men still in the room.
"And they're back…" Tommy sighed, taking his from Jake.
"Why would we leave you alone?" Kim frowned.
"Because you're supposed to be acting normal," Tommy reminded her.
"But this is normal…" she pouted.
"It hasn't been for the last few days," he countered. "Visits? Yes. But you haven't been spending all day with us. You've been doing other things, too."
"That was before we knew someone actually wants you dead!" she protested.
"But you are supposed to be acting like you don't know that, Kim," Tommy sighed, shaking his head. "They're going to notice something is off. So, everyone out. Go eat your lunches in the cafeteria. Come visit for a little while later. Maybe interrupt them for us. But go."
Kim scowled, one hand on her hip.
"And what if something happens while we're gone?" she demanded.
Tommy sighed.
"Kim, we're covered, remember?" he said.
He picked up half of the sandwich on his plate and held it up over his shoulder. Blake appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and snagged it out of his hand.
"Thanks, Dr. O," he grinned. "But Tori did go to get us actual lunch. I'll tell her to replace your sandwich."
Kim jumped in surprise when Blake moved.
"I forgot about them!" she exclaimed. "And how on earth do they manage that? I swear he wasn't there thirty seconds ago."
Zach rolled his eyes, tugging Kim toward the door as Jake followed. Jake was chuckling at his wife's expense.
"Says the woman who is supposed to have ninja skills of her own," Zach muttered. "They're ninjas! How do you think they do it? Now, come on, Kimmy. Let's leave them alone for a while like I said."
After they left, Rocky stood and stretched. Adam followed suit.
"We're gonna go eat with our families," Adam said, sharing a look with Rocky. "You two good for a while?"
"We'll be fine," Tommy assured them.
"Can you figure out what Kim did with Marc?" Jason asked. "Because he didn't come back with her…"
Rocky chuckled and nodded.
"We'll send him back," he said. "I'm sure we can catch one of the Ninjas or Dinos to escort him."
Lunches in hand, Rocky and Adam headed out. They found Tanya and Aisha already settling their kids down to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Marc was with them. As were Kat, JJ, and the Dinos—including Conner. Kim, Jake and Zach were in the cafeteria again, too, and Kim was sulking. Trini, Billy, and Hayley were nowhere to be seen, but Kat had Rae and Izzy with her. Rocky and Adam sat down with their families. The kids were excited to see them.
"Where's my dad?" JJ asked, seeing them sit.
He knew they spent a lot of time in and out of Tommy and Jason's room.
"He's eating upstairs," Rocky answered.
"Oh," JJ muttered. "Ok…"
Kat sighed, looking at him. He had been extremely disappointed when Tommy wasn't there when he finally woke up. Even though he hadn't outright said anything, Kat knew this whole situation was starting to get to him. She just shrugged at the inquisitive looks she got from Rocky, Adam, Tanya, and Aisha and went back to refereeing lunch with her group.
After his kids were done eating, Rocky and Aisha started walking back to the suite with them. Tanya, Adam, and the twins walked with them. As they walked, Rocky put a hand on Karly's shoulder.
"Go on a walk with me?" he asked his oldest.
She looked up at him in surprise. Aisha smiled, ushering the other two ahead. She had an idea of what Rocky wanted to talk to Karly about since they had discussed it the night before.
"Ok, dad," Karly nodded.
Taking her hand, Rocky headed away from the elevator instead of toward it. She immediately started talking about everything she had done that morning, skipping along next to him as she kept hold of his hand. Rocky listened with a smile as she talked, just letting her go with the occasional comment to encourage her. After they walked laps around the rec level for a while, Rocky took her back to the lounge. Grabbing a chair, he let her climb onto his lap.
"I have something I need to talk to you about," he said during a momentary break in her conversation.
He knew she could go for hours if allowed. Karly paused to look up at him.
"What about?" she asked.
"I want to say I'm sorry," he said.
Karly frowned.
"Why are you apologizing, daddy?" she asked.
He sighed.
"Because you came to me scared about something and I didn't take it as seriously as I should have," he said.
She blinked at him and then realized what he was talking about.
"Oh," she said. "Is Uncle Tommy ok?"
"Uncle Tommy is fine," he assured her. "But I was wrong to just dismiss what you said. As your dad, I should have checked what you told me instead of assuming you misunderstood. And I am looking now to make sure everyone is going to be ok. Alright?"
"Ok," she nodded.
He hugged her tightly with a smile. After a minute he let go and they stood to head back to the suite.
"Now," he said as they walked. "I need you to do something for me."
"What?" she asked.
"I need you to keep a very close eye on your brothers," he told her.
"Daddy…" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I already do that. And Damien is a lot of work…"
Rocky chuckled.
"I know," he said.
"It's a good thing I don't have more brothers cause I don't know how much more I can handle," Karly added.
That just made him laugh harder.
"I'll keep that in mind," he laughed, shaking his head. "But keep watching them like you do. And remember—none of you are allowed to wander around without an adult right now. Ok?"
"Ok," she said, happily skipping along with him.
"So what now, Christine?" Will asked, looking across the room at his sister. "I got you what you wanted. What's the plan?"
Christine, lounging in a recliner, shrugged.
"All we have to do is get him alone while he's sleeping," she answered. "We'll have to pick a night and sneak in after he goes to bed."
Will scoffed.
"Easier said than done," he pointed out. "I don't think Tommy ever sleeps. And when he does someone else is there."
"That's why you are supposed to be finding a way to lure him out," Christine retorted. "Because once he is out of the way there won't be anything to stop us."
"Well, we should probably give it a day or two," Will said, shaking his head. "Make sure no one is panicking about the missing meds. They were all over yesterday. No idea what was going on."
"Like I care," Christine scowled. "But we can't wait forever."
"Couple of days isn't gonna hurt," Will snapped. "You aren't the one potentially on camera for theft. I know there is one in that area. I tried to avoid it but no idea if I did. Plus, that one doctor chick said it could take weeks for everything to come back to him. So, relax."
She sighed.
"I guess you're right," she said irritably. "And we can't mess it up this time. And you have no plan for that man yet."
"But I will," Will assured her as he stood up. "Now come on. We've waited long enough. You should be able to get in now."
A couple of hours after lunch, Dana popped into Jason and Tommy's room. Kat was visiting and had brought Marc with her.
"I'm sorry," Dana sighed. "But Marc, you're going to want to head out."
Marc and Jason both frowned at that.
"I've held them off as long as I can," Dana said. "But I'll clear them out again later so you can come back before dinner. Ok?"
Marc nodded and sighed. Jason reached over to ruffle his hair and Marc swatted his hand away.
"Dad!" he protested.
Jason chuckled.
"Go with Kat," he said. "I'll be here later."
"Yeah, ok," Marc agreed.
Kat smiled and started to get up to go. Tommy caught her hand and pulled her over for a kiss.
"You never said where JJ was," he said. "And he hasn't been to see me today…"
Kat sighed.
"He's in a bad mood today," she admitted. "So I didn't press. He's in the suite with Conner and the others."
Tommy frowned.
"Maybe I should go—"
Kat shook her head.
"He's fine," she assured him. "It's just been a little overwhelming. A lot has happened and he hasn't spent this much time away from you since Dra—since you were both kidnapped. Yesterday just aggravated everything. Tanya says she'll sit down with him today and I'll make sure he comes up to see you when Marc comes back."
Tommy nodded hesitantly and let her go. Kat quickly ushered Marc out of the room, wanting to clear out before Christine and Will came back.
"Rae," Billy sighed. "You cannot be running around on your own…"
Billy and Hayley were back in the suite with their girls. Both were taking a break from working with Trini and on their owns things. Everything was pretty much ready to go at this point. All they needed was final, irrefutable proof and SPD would arrest the siblings. So, Billy and Hayley were spending time together with their daughters.
"But I can!" Rae chirped.
She was standing by the door to the suite. Used to having freedom on base, she had been about to leave when Billy caught her.
"Yes, you have the ability," Billy conceded. "But you should not. You may get hurt."
Rae frowned and put her hand on the scanner. The door opened.
"But it doesn't hurt, daddy," she said. "See? You know that."
Billy grimaced, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he tried to rethink his explanation. Hayley decided to intervene.
"You are not allowed to leave the room without adult supervision right now," she said firmly, looking between Rae and Izzy. "You are also not allowed to wander around with adult supervision until further notice. There are things going on that only adults can know and that might be dangerous. So, you are both going to stay here. Do you understand?"
"Yes, mommy," Izzy and Rae chorused.
Billy sighed in relief as Rae let the door shut and came back away from it.
"So, what are you not going to do?" Hayley asked, looking at them expectantly.
"Leave the room without supervision," they repeated.
"Until?"
"Until mommy says so," they answered.
Hayley nodded in satisfaction and Billy gave her a grateful look.
"Thank you," he said.
Rae looked up at Billy, tugging at his hand.
"Daddy, why didn't you just say that?" she asked.
"I am sorry…" he sighed, chuckling a little as he picked her up. "I will try to do better next time."
"It's ok," she smiled, patting his cheek.
"Do you think they've left Jason's room yet?" Kim commented, glancing over at Jake. "I'd like to go actually sit and talk with Jason again without being interrupted."
They were in the gym doing a light workout together. Jake was running on the treadmill while Kim was working with a couple of the weight machines.
"No idea," Jake answered. "But we can check after we're done here. And maybe a shower and something to eat?"
Kim laughed but agreed. The laughter quickly quieted, however, when Christine came walking in. Seeing the couple working out, she hurried over to them.
"Hi!" Christine said brightly.
"Oh, hi," Kim said, plastering on a smile.
She was regretting ever having been nice to Christine.
"Jake?" Christine asked, stopping next to one of the other weight machines. "Can you help me adjust this? It's too heavy for me."
Frowning, he glanced over his shoulder and started to shake his head. Kim cleared her throat, however, and he sighed.
"Sure," he said, stopping the treadmill.
Getting the machine set, he headed back to his run. Christine started working out. Sort of. She was mostly just talking now.
"It's so great that Jason is awake," she said. "That means we will be able to leave soon and get out of this awful place. Oh! And wouldn't it be amazing to take a couples' trip?"
"It could be," Kim said with a shrug.
"We could go to Aspen or maybe even somewhere like Paris!" Christine gushed. "And, of course, we could just take a private plane so we don't have to worry about coordinating flights."
Kim and Jake exchanged an annoyed look as Christine kept going.
"Wait for Dustin, JJ," Tommy said. "He'll be back in a minute to walk you to meet mom for dinner."
JJ sighed, stopping by the door. Marc was with him. It was late afternoon and dinnertime. After avoiding Tommy all day, JJ had finally come up with Kat after Christine and Will had been kicked out again to let Marc have another turn before the end of the day. To Tommy's relief, he'd been in a much better mood when he came up than Kat said he had been in earlier.
"Why do I have a babysitter?" JJ grumbled. "I can find the cafeteria by myself, you know. So can Marc."
"You don't," Tommy answered. "They're mine. I'm just sharing."
JJ frowned and wandered back over to Tommy sitting next to Jason's bed. Marc followed. He'd been trying to get answers all day with no success from Jason.
"Why?" he asked.
Tommy sighed. He knew they couldn't keep everything from Marc and JJ forever. And it was better if they heard part of it directly from one of them. Or at least the assurance that they would be told soon.
"Because your mom gave them to me," Tommy said, glancing over at Shane.
Shane snickered at Tommy's response. The Ninja was leaning against the back wall of the room. Dustin had run to get something for the two of them to eat for dinner. Someone else was supposed to be bringing food for Tommy and Jason in a little while. But Dustin and Shane wanted to eat now while they knew Christine and Will would be preoccupied.
"Why?" JJ asked again.
"Because she thinks I'm going to do something stupid…" Tommy admitted.
JJ looked at Tommy suspiciously.
"Dad, what's going on?" he asked. "Everyone was all freaked out yesterday. And Conner is mad at you. He's never mad at you. Pretty much the only person he's ever mad at is Kira. Sometimes Ethan. What happened?"
Tommy sighed.
"I will explain when I can, kiddo," he said. "But I can't yet. Ok?"
"Are you going to get kidnapped again?" JJ asked.
Tommy immediately shook his head.
"No," he said firmly. "That is not a concern."
"Right now…" Shane muttered.
Jason snorted as Tommy shot a glare behind him. JJ scowled at Shane, too.
"Are you going to get hurt?" JJ asked, turning back to Tommy.
Tommy hesitated. Jason and Shane were both watching him now, wanting to know how he planned to answer that. Marc was listening curiously behind JJ.
"There is a chance," Tommy admitted after a moment.
"Dad—"
"But," Tommy interrupted before JJ could start freaking out. "But I am approaching the situation with knowledge—like I would an MMA fight. And once it's over I can tell you a little more. Ok?"
JJ frowned. He didn't like that answer.
"Why can't I know?" Marc asked. "I'm old enough. And I know something is going on. The Ninjas aren't just following you. They're in here with dad, too. That's why there are two, right?"
Jason grimaced. He'd hoped Marc wouldn't make that guess.
"Why are the rangers going through all of this trouble to protect dad if he is just a friend of yours?" he continued.
Marc stopped, realizing what he'd said.
"Not that I'm not glad dad is safe," he said quickly, shooting Jason a sheepish glance.
Jason just chuckled.
"But why are they protecting him for you?" Marc pressed, looking expectantly at Tommy.
Shane walked over, answering while Tommy and Jason both hesitated.
"We take all of our duties very seriously, kid," Shane answered. "Especially when it comes to protecting others. As long as your dad is here we will do everything we can to keep him safe—friend of Dr. O's or not."
The door opened and Shane's head shot up. Dustin and Conner walked in. Dustin was carrying food for himself and Shane.
"Oh, good," Shane said. "Dinner."
He grabbed the food from Dustin.
"Dr. O wants you to take them to Kat," he said, looking at Dustin. "I'll keep yours safe."
"It had better be here when I get back," Dustin retorted.
He didn't argue about taking the boys, though. Turning, he shooed them out of the room before they could argue.
"Let's go," he said. "I want dinner and Shane is holding it hostage. Move it."
Conner had grabbed a chair, sitting down on the other side of Jason as he pointedly ignored Tommy.
"Hey, Jason," he said, getting comfortable.
He winced a little when he bumped his shoulder against the chair.
"Hi?" Jason said, a little confused.
He looked between Tommy and Conner.
"Tommy?" Jason asked.
Tommy just shrugged.
"Oh, I'm not talking to him," Conner said. "Because I'm still mad at him."
He shot a look at Tommy who just sighed.
"And you came to visit me…?" Jason asked, still confused.
"Well, I haven't seen you since you woke up other than yesterday," Conner answered. "So, I thought I'd come by."
"Uh huh…" Jason said doubtfully.
"Conner…" Tommy sighed.
"No. I'm not talking to you," Conner scowled. "Jason, you agreed with me. His plan is stupid and is just going to end in him getting hurt again."
"Well—" Jason started to answer.
"Making himself bait isn't going to fix anything," Conner continued, ignoring Jason while still not looking at Tommy. "He's still recovering and the only ones who can do anything are the Ninjas. Rocky and Adam are still recovering, Tanya and Aisha have the kids, and Trini and Billy are insanely busy. And Kim and Zach are way out of practice and this is not Jake's thing. Trent and Kira are trying to avoid being seen—which they shouldn't have to do here—and Ethan is completely distracted by whatever he's helping Hayley with. Plus, Kat is trying to keep JJ distracted so she can't be here. And you're obviously not much help right now."
Jason frowned.
"I could—"
"So just the Ninjas," Conner continued. "And maybe Eric or Ryan. Or Wes. Who are great, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same. Dr. O should be able to rely on his teammates and he can't so he shouldn't be doing this. They've nearly killed five people and are perfectly ok with it actually happening."
"Conner, no one is going to—" Jason tried to say.
"And on top of all that, I can barely handle getting dressed without help," Conner snapped. "How am I supposed to protect my team like this?"
"And there it is," Tommy said quietly to Jason as Conner continued to rant, not paying attention to either of them now.
"Dr. O died!" Conner exclaimed. "And I wasn't there to help. I couldn't even help when they were kidnapped three months ago. No. I just get to sit on the sideline while someone else protects my team. That's not how this is supposed to work!"
He scowled, sinking back in the chair as he finally trailed off. Tommy sighed as Jason just continued to look at him in surprise.
"Conner—" Tommy tried again.
"I'm going to get your dinner," Conner muttered, standing abruptly.
He stalked out of the room as Tommy, Jason, and Shane watched him go.
"Bring your own, too!" Tommy called after him before the door shut.
"Well, that was a lot," Jason said after a moment. "Is he ok?"
"He's never been ok with seeing people hurt and not helping," Tommy sighed. "Conner doesn't do sidelines."
"Nope," Shane agreed.
The door opened and Dustin came back in.
"So… why does Conner look like he wants to hit something—or someone?" he asked.
"Because he probably does," Shane offered. "He finally exploded about yesterday."
"Oh, ok," Dustin shrugged, going to grab his food. "Good. I was wondering how long it would take."
Jason shook his head and looked back at Tommy.
"He might be worse than you," Jason said.
Tommy snorted.
"Thanks, Rex," he said drily. "But I'm not sure that's a compliment."
"How many times did you nearly sacrifice yourself in high school for the rest of us," Jason retorted. "If Conner is anything like that…"
He shook his head. Tommy sighed.
"Jase, he put himself between you and a gun," he pointed out. "And not just because you are important to me."
Jason grimaced at the reminder.
"Conner doesn't just let people get hurt unless they actually deserve it," Shane added. "And even then…"
"So being hurt isn't actually bothering him…" Jason said slowly.
"Nope," the Ninjas chorused.
"It's that he's hurt and we're in danger," Tommy confirmed. "So, he can't help like he wants. Not that being injured would stop him in an emergency."
"He's like Dr. O," Dustin grinned. "Gonna put others before his own wellbeing. And Conner makes a lot of decisions on instinct—not a thought-out plan."
"So, just like you," Jason snorted.
Tommy shook his head as he shot Jason a look. Jason just grinned. It was quiet for a little while as they waited for Conner to come back with dinner. When he came back a little while later, however, he wasn't alone.
"Well, that spiraled quickly," Tommy commented.
Kira, Ethan, and Trent were with Conner.
"I only have one hand, Dr. O!" Conner scowled. "I couldn't carry food for you, Jason, and me—let alone open a door. So, Ethan was helping. But he couldn't carry both of yours and still bring his food and have a hand to open the doors either."
They were handing out food now.
"So I took Jason's," Kira inserted. "But I still didn't have a free hand to open the doors."
"I opened the doors," Trent finished.
All four grabbed chairs to sit with Jason and Tommy. Conner, while still agitated, was actually talking to Tommy now instead of at Jason.
"I'm sorry, Dr. O," Conner sighed. "I just—"
"I know," Tommy interrupted. "Believe me. I know. And it's fine. Eat your dinner—since you didn't last night?"
Conner ducked his head, giving Tommy a sheepish look.
"I got food late," he muttered. "And I've been eating today…"
Dustin reached around and tried to grab a piece of food off of Kira's plate while he thought she was distracted.
"Touch it and I'll stab you," she said, turning to look at him and holding up her fork.
"It's just a piece—"
She moved the fork and Dustin backed off.
"Geez, no need to get violent," he grumbled.
"You've been part of group dinners," she retorted. "If you're hungry, go get your own."
"He already ate," Shane pointed out.
He was leaning against the wall by the door now, watching rather than participating.
"Trent, can't you do something?" Dustin complained.
"You're trying to steal food from my wife and you want me to do something?" Trent asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dustin paused.
"Ok, so I didn't think that through," he muttered.
Shifting, he tried to snatch something from Ethan next.
"I know all of your passwords," Ethan said quickly. "To everything."
Dustin froze, his hand hovering over the plate.
"You wouldn't," Dustin said.
"Go on," Ethan grinned. "Test me."
Grumbling, Dustin retracted his hand and turned to look at Trent.
"Do you really want to try?" Trent asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope," Dustin said, shaking his head.
"Just go get more food, Dustin," Tommy finally interrupted. "Shane is still here. Plus, no one who intends harm is making it past these four, let alone Shane. Jason and I are fine."
Dustin hesitated and then nodded.
"I'll be back soon," he said.
Jason was shaking his head as the rest of the group went back to bickering. He had noticed that no one had threatened Conner's food.
"Is this a normal occurrence?" Jason asked, leaning over to Tommy.
"Yep," Tommy said. "Happens all the time. Has for years. Be glad there are only two extra instead of all six. That's the definition of chaos."
"You love it, Dr. O," Conner snorted. "Don't pretend you don't."
"Plus, hide 'n seek with the group is epic," Ethan pointed out. "Except for Dr. O always winning…"
Jason looked at Tommy in surprise.
"You play hide and seek with them?" he asked.
"No, I hide—they seek," Tommy corrected. "We've always used it as training. But I never seek."
"Only because you can turn invisible, find a comfortable spot to watch, and then laugh at us," Trent said drily.
"Hold on," Jason said. "Invisible? Since when did you learn to do that?"
Tommy looked over at him in surprise.
"Dino Thunder, Jase," he said.
"Ok…" Jason said slowly. "I know you were part of that team. What's your point?"
Tommy looked at Jason, a little confused.
"Oh, right!" Ethan exclaimed as he realized. "Dr. O, he doesn't know. Trini and Billy never got that far."
"Wait—what?" Tommy frowned.
The other three were shaking their heads now. As was Shane.
"Kim, Zach, and Jake know now though," Kira said helpfully. "Jason was still in cryo."
Tommy sighed. Jason was still lost.
"Know what?" he asked, looking around.
"That all five of us have genetic abilities, Jase," Tommy answered. "That's how I can turn invisible."
Jason stared at him.
"Genetic ability?" he repeated.
"Yeah, they got them from touching their gems," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "Just—poof!—new ability."
"Don't complain," Conner said. "You guys have all sorts of skills we don't."
"Yeah, but we had to learn ours," Shane countered. "And actually put in work. All of you just had yours handed to you."
Tommy raised an eyebrow.
"I had to learn my ninja skills," he said.
"I know how you learned, Dr. O," Shane said, shaking his head. "All you did was go on a journey and meditate with a ninja. Then—poof! Instant ninja skills. We spent years training with Sensei."
"Well, alright," Tommy said, crossing his arms. "So, you're planning on being my new sparring partner when I get the all clear then?"
"Nope," Shane said quickly, shaking his head. "The fighting skills you most definitely worked hard for. So, I think I speak for my team when I say—we'll pass."
Jason was shaking his head.
"I still don't understand what you're talking about," he said.
"Our gems, Rex," Tommy said. "When we bonded with them, they modified our DNA. Each of us gained a special ability from that modification."
"Like…?" Jason asked.
"Well, like I said, I can turn invisible," Tommy said. "And then Conner has superspeed, Ethan has armored skin, Kira has a sonic scream, and Trent is able to phase through most solid objects."
Jason nodded as he tried to process that information.
"We have videos," Ethan said, pulling out his phone. "It's kind of awesome. And we're actually one of two teams with genetic abilities."
"Two?" Jason repeated in surprise.
Tommy nodded.
"Op O—Operation Overdrive," he said. "But they're based in England, so you aren't likely to run into any of them soon. Except maybe Mack if you come to the next official red meeting in October. He usually flies in for the full meetings."
Ethan handed over his phone to Jason so he could look at the videos.
"And you can do all of this without connecting to the Power grid?" Jason asked, looking up a few minutes later.
"Technically," Tommy answered. "But it's easier on our bodies when we have the gems. Uses less of our own energy."
Jason nodded, going to the next video.
"Actually," Ethan said as Jason was watching. "Between elemental skill sets, genetic abilities, and magic users, there are quite a few teams who fight with more than just physical skills now."
At the mention of magic users, Jason froze.
"Magic users?" he repeated, looking at Tommy for confirmation.
"Yes, Jase," he frowned. "Didn't Billy and Trini cover that?"
"I think I would remember that!" Jason exclaimed as Ethan took his phone back.
"Dr. O, they didn't cover us," Trent pointed out. "I doubt they talked about Nick and company. They came after us, remember? Trini and Billy didn't officially make it past the Ninjas…"
Tommy groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Which means they didn't talk about…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
Grabbing his phone, Tommy dialed a number and waited for an answer. Jason was watching him with a little concern now. Dustin walked in and Shane caught him, keeping him by the door so he wouldn't interrupt.
"Trini?" Tommy said. "I need you to come to the med bay right now."
"Tommy, I can't," she sighed. "I have a UN meeting first thing in the morning and I need to finish getting ready."
"Trini this is—wait. What?" he frowned. "Why?"
"Because it's my job?" she said irritably.
"But you should have been no contact since Saturday latest," Tommy said. "Not to mention the situation from yesterday?"
"Yes, but Carter forgot," Trini muttered. "And by the time he remembered it would have required too much explanation. So now I'm stuck pretending everything is fine and trying to keep up while dealing with all of this until we're ready to reveal what's really going on with the siblings."
Tommy grimaced.
"Just—forget the meeting and come up here," he said. "It's important. And bring Billy and the other three with you. Now."
"Tommy—" she tried to protest.
He just hung up. He knew she'd come up—if only to yell at him now. Then he turned to the younger rangers.
"You all need to go," he said. "Shane and Dustin—you, too. You can wait in the hallway."
"Why?" Conner asked, frowning. "It's nothing we can't hear."
"Maybe because I'm about to talk to my absent team members about a certain space witch?" Tommy said, looking at them expectantly.
All six exchanged looks. The four Dinos were on their feet and grabbing food trays while Shane opened the door and Dustin headed right out.
"Bye, Dr. O!" Conner said, the rest of the group filing out quickly in front of him. "We'll come back later. Like tomorrow."
Tommy shook his head as they left. Jason was watching in concern now.
"Tommy, what's going on?" he asked. "Why are you talking about—"
He shook his head.
"Nope," he said. "I will explain—but I'm only having this conversation once. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to have this conversation with the other two for me. I know Billy and Trini don't if they have an option."
Jason scowled, but Tommy refused to say anything else. Trini finally showed a few minutes later.
"Alright, Tommy," Trini said. "What's going on? I really need to finish getting ready for my meeting in the morn—"
"Nope," Tommy interrupted. "Because I'm officially putting you on lockdown as soon as Billy gets here—since I'm assuming he has the tablet still. We're going dark on communications with the UN to deal with a potential threat investigation and will be taking you under protection until further notice. That should be enough information to keep them off your back until we can share details."
Trini sighed in relief, dropping into a chair next to Tommy.
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
"Trini, what's going on?" Jason asked, trying to get her to answer.
"We'll talk as soon as Billy gets here with Kim and Zach," she answered. "Since I'm pretty sure Tommy isn't saying anything until they're here. Whatever it is he needs."
Jason scowled at her now. He didn't have to wait long, however, because Billy arrived with the rest in tow just a few minutes later.
"Is something wrong, Tommy?" Billy asked in concern.
"Not exactly," Tommy answered. "But I need the tablet back."
He held out his hand expectantly. Billy sighed but handed it over. Tommy immediately went to work.
"Sit and get comfortable," he said without looking up. "We'll be here for a little while."
"Why?" Zach asked, sitting. "What's going on?"
"Trini and Billy missed covering something rather important when they were bringing you up to date," Tommy answered, his focus still on the tablet. "The least of which is just finishing covering the teams in general."
Trini sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But we were a little busy with Rocky and Adam disappearing and then more people getting hurt two days later. We will make time to get it finished before we all leave."
Tommy paused and glanced up.
"Trini," he said evenly. "Two words. Mystic. Force."
Billy and Trini both froze as the other four looked at Tommy in confusion. They recognized the name from the team line up, but that was it.
"Oh dear," Billy said.
"Yeah," Tommy said, going back to the tablet. "And magic users just came up in conversation with the Dinos, Dustin, and Shane. I'm kind of surprised nothing slipped earlier. It's not like those teams don't talk to each other—all the time."
Kim and Zach were exchanging looks, their eyes wide. Jason just shook his head.
"Magic?" Zach sputtered. "Who's using magic and why do we need to know about it?"
Trini just groaned.
"I am so sorry, Tommy," she sighed. "We should have covered this already…"
He shook his head, finishing up with the tablet and setting it aside.
"It's fine," he said. "I can handle it. I just wish I had known before Ethan dropped that bomb on Jason."
He paused, frowning.
"Actually…" Tommy said slowly. "Hold on."
He stood and walked around Jason's bed. Hitting a few buttons, Tommy turned off the monitors.
"What are you doing?" Jason asked.
"We don't need Dana interrupting," Tommy said, heading back to his chair. "So, I'm making sure nothing is going to go off."
"Well, now I'm scared," Zach muttered.
Tommy just gave him a look.
"And that doesn't make it better," he said. "Come on, man. What is going on? Why are we talking about magic? Magic is not our friend. You of all people should know that."
Kim and Jason were both nodding in agreement with Zach. Jake was just confused. Tommy took a moment to get comfortable, not saying anything.
"Tommy?" Kim pressed.
"Alright," he sighed. "So, when Trini and Billy were introducing you to the teams, they stopped with…?"
"Ninja Storm," Billy said sheepishly. "They had a small introduction to Dino Thunder. However, it was incomplete as we were interrupted by the news that Rocky and Adam were missing."
Tommy nodded.
"Well, if they have questions about Dino Thunder we're all right here," Tommy said. "It's the next introduction that concerns me."
"Us, as well," Billy admitted. "When we were interrupted, we were already planning a short intermission to ensure everyone was relaxed and ready to move on."
"Billy, now you're making me nervous," Kim said. "What is going on? Why do we need to be relaxed? Because I am definitely not right now with all this dancing around."
Tommy took a deep breath, ignoring the twinge in his ribs. Picking up the tablet, he opened it again and pulled up the team profile and handed the tablet to Jason. Kim, Zach, and Jake moved closer so they could peer at the tablet with him.
"The team that followed Dino Thunder goes by Mystic Force," Tommy said, settling back. "Five rangers with three auxiliary rangers and a myriad of other… assistance. Their red is Nick—also known as Bowen. Though the only ones who use that name are his parents. Xander is green, Chip is yellow, Maddie is blue, and Vida is pink. Udonna—Nick's mother—is white. Daggeron—the Solaris Knight—and Leanbow—the Wolf Warrior—finish their team of rangers. Leanbow is Nick's father."
"So, this Nick is a second-generation ranger?" Jason said, looking up in surprise.
"Unintentionally, yes," Tommy said. "Neither Nick nor Udonna were aware of their relationship for quite a while. This team exists essentially in two dimensions simultaneously. Many years ago, there was a war in the dimension adjacent to ours and Udonna lost both Leanbow and Bowen. Leanbow to their enemy and Bowen to Earth where he was supposed to be safe. He found his way back on his own."
The other three nodded as he paused, making sure they were keeping up. So far, they were fine, but he knew when he told them the last part they wouldn't be as ok.
"Now, Mystic Force is unique among the other teams because of one thing specifically," Tommy continued. "They actively practice magic in battle and their everyday lives."
"Seriously?" Zach exclaimed. "Why?"
"Because the dimension they are attached to is part of a magical realm," Tommy answered calmly.
Kim was holding Jake's hand now and squeezing it rather tightly.
"What kind of magic are we talking here?" she demanded.
Tommy shook his head.
"Spells, potions—anything and everything," he answered. "Their morphers are actually wands. But all of it is good magic now that their enemy is gone. They only had a few bumps in the road with possession and dark magic themselves."
"Ok," Zach said slowly. "So, that's great and all. But I kind of feel like I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Cause I feel like you're handling this rather calmly—and you're the one who spent what seemed like forever actually under the control of magic."
"Oh, he didn't handle it calmly when we found out originally," Trini said, shaking her head. "At all. This is years of learning to deal with it."
"Trini is correct," Billy said, shrugging as Tommy shot a look at them. "You cannot disagree with that, Tommy."
"Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled.
"So, then that's it?" Jason asked. "That's all you needed to tell us?"
Tommy shook his head.
"Not exactly," he muttered.
He paused again, taking a moment. Billy and Trini just waited patiently as the rest of the group looked at Tommy expectantly.
"I am going to preface this by saying there is absolutely nothing for any of you to worry about," Tommy said slowly. "We have thoroughly checked everything with every method possible."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zach asked. "I think you're making this worse with the waiting. Would you please just spit out whatever it is?"
Tommy sighed.
"It's the source of their magic," he finally admitted.
"Source?" Jason frowned. "It's magic. What does a source have to do with anything?"
"This started nearly twenty years ago," Tommy said slowly. "After we lost Zordon…"
Everyone except Jake flinched at that reminder.
"Who is Zordon?" Jake asked, looking around.
"He's the one who made us rangers," Kim said, smiling faintly. "He was our mentor and teacher. And then we lost him…"
"And none of us were there at the end…" Zach muttered. "He needed us, and we were gone…"
Jason grimaced. He remembered that phone call. Tommy had called him—for the first time in years—only to tell him Zordon was gone. The explanation had been short and terse and then Tommy had excused himself and hung up.
"I'm sorry, Jase," Tommy said, seeing his look. "I know I essentially hung up on you after I shocked you with that. I just—It was hard enough saying it out loud. Let alone risking any other conversation with you…I was kind of a mess…"
Trini nodded in agreement. She had offered to make the call but Tommy had insisted he handle it. Jason just waved him off.
"It's fine," he said quickly. "Honestly, I can't say I'd have been able to make the call if it had been the other way around…"
Tommy smiled faintly, nodding.
"But what does that have to do with Mystic Force and the source of their magic?" Jason pressed.
"When Zordon—" Tommy continued, stumbling a little over the words. "When Andros destroyed his energy tube…Zordon's death sent out a purifying energy wave."
No one spoke as Tommy paused again, his eyes closed. This was one subject he always found difficult to talk about, even if it was necessary on occasion. And all of them could understand that.
"It turned evil entities to dust—or purified them," he continued after a moment, opening his eyes again. "Turning them human. Including Zedd, Divatox… Rita."
Jason, Zach, and Kim flinched at the mention of their past enemies.
"So, they're human now?" Zach asked in surprise.
Tommy, Billy, and Trini nodded.
"And, with one exception, they have gone on to live normal lives," Tommy confirmed. "We keep a distant eye on them to make sure there is no relapse, but otherwise don't interfere in their new lives."
"You said with one exception," Jason frowned. "Tommy… what exception?"
"Rita," Tommy said. "She—well, she practices magic again. And is the source of Mystic Force's magic."
There was a brief moment of silence as Jason, Zach, and Kim stared at him in shock, processing what he had just said. Then the explosion happened as all three of them started demanding answers. Jake just listened in confusion, not truly understanding their concern.
"Magic?" Kim exclaimed. "From her? And you're ok with it? Tommy!"
"I should have stayed in LA," Zach muttered, shaking his head. "Ignorance is bliss after all…"
"She tried to kill us!" Jason exploded. "And you're just calmly telling us she's using magic on other rangers?"
Tommy shook his head.
"Not on them," he said firmly. "They have never been under one of her spells. The Dark Master? Yes. Nick was possessed by dark magic for a while. But he was released and that is no longer an issue. But—as much as I still can't believe I can say this—Rita would never hurt them. They are…they draw their magic from her. They are her rangers…"
"You were her ranger once, too," Jason countered, crossing his arms. "That didn't make it ok. Are you seriously trying to tell us she's been around all these years and never tried anything?"
Shaking his head, Tommy rubbed a hand over his face.
"Never," he said.
"Tommy is telling the truth," Billy said. "Rita—known to Mystic Force as Mystic Mother—is pure good now. Her magic is wholly untainted by darkness or evil. She has also never once attempted to approach any of us."
Jason, Kim, and Zach were still eying Tommy a little nervously. They all remembered that time very clearly.
"Guys, I'm fine," Tommy sighed. "Just ask Hayley and she can confirm. I can't tell you how many tests she ran on me after we found out. And continued to run for years just to be safe."
"Still runs," Billy clarified.
Tommy looked at him in surprise and then shook his head.
"I guess that shouldn't surprise me," he muttered. "I don't want to know."
"If it makes you feel better, she does the same with me," Billy added. "As well as Kat. Actually… most likely everyone."
"But you're ok with this?" Kim pressed. "Tommy, how can you be ok with this after everything she did to you?"
"Oh, I'm not ok with it," Tommy said. "I'll never be ok with it. That's why there are rules."
"Rules?" Zach repeated.
Trini nodded.
"Mystic Force has a special set of rules," she admitted. "As does Tommy."
Tommy rolled his eyes.
"Because all of you are paranoid," he said.
"What rules does Tommy have?" Zach asked, snickering a little.
"I'm not allowed in—or anywhere near—Briarwood," Tommy sighed. "Not that I want to go back. The one time I was there—to introduce myself to the team—I quickly retreated when I found out Rita's involvement. If they need to talk, they call or come see me."
"And they won't use any magic around you if you meet them," Trini assured them. "That's one of the things we asked of them once the initial shock wore off. And they're very understanding. Once they knew about the history between us and Rita, they made sure to work with us on us being comfortable around them. So, when they are on base or around other rangers, they keep the wands away unless they are in danger."
"Not that you should have to worry about that," Tommy pointed out. "There's no reason for them to be around. But you should all know just in case. Especially you, Jase."
Jason frowned.
"Why me?" he asked.
"Well, if you plan to stick around…" Tommy said slowly.
"Which I do," Jason said, though he was still a little hesitant.
"Then you're going to meet Nick no later than October," Tommy said. "He comes to all of the meetings in person. He doesn't usually bring everyone else—and I'll ask him not to this first time—but you should be aware they're around."
"They are good kids," Billy assured them.
Trini rolled her eyes.
"They aren't kids anymore," she pointed out. "Nick and Maddie have been married for how long now?"
"None of them are kids anymore, Trini," Tommy snorted. "Doesn't mean we don't call them that. If only because they act like children."
"Because you're one to talk," she retorted.
Tommy just grinned in response, relaxing a little now that they'd gotten past the difficult part of the conversation. Shifting, he found a new comfortable position.
"Alright," he said, opening the tablet back up. "While I have you here, we might as well keep going. Operation Overdrive. The other team with genetic abilities."
A few hours later, it was just Jason and Tommy again. With Cam and Hunter on duty in the background. Tommy was back in his bed reading a book. Jason, on the other hand, was staring at the ceiling. He had fussed with his phone for a while, but there wasn't much he could do with it. So, he sighed, shifting in bed again. Tommy glanced up from his book.
"Jason, are you bored?" he asked in amusement. "You've been sighing."
"Sorry…" Jason apologized. "But yes…"
Tommy chuckled.
"There's a book on the table over there if you want to read," he said, pointing.
Jason glanced over and picked it up, frowning.
"Tommy, this is about dinosaurs," he said.
"Yep."
"I have no interest in dinosaurs."
Tommy shrugged.
"Then I can't help," he said. "Should have had someone bring you something else earlier."
Jason sighed again and started flipping through the book. It was quiet for a few minutes as Jason started reading and Tommy went back to his own book.
"Nope, can't do it," Jason announced a few minutes later. "It's talking about carbon and sediments and—Tommy, is this talking about dirt?"
"Yes, Rex," Tommy chuckled. "It is. That is what a large portion of my job consists of. Dirt."
"Great…" Jason grumbled, dropping the book back on the table. "Don't you read anything actually entertaining or do anything besides one of your many jobs?"
"Yes, I do," Tommy said, raising an eyebrow. "But I didn't exactly plan for this, Jase. It's not like I had time to pack before I came here."
Jason flinched.
"Ok, touché," he muttered.
Tommy just shrugged.
"And no one else who came later thought to bring me anything," he said.
"I guess that's fair," Jason said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm working with what I have. But, if you want, I think JJ has some comic books. Though you'll have to wait until morning."
Jason shook his head.
"I'm good," he said. "But how does your kid even have things? He didn't have time to pack either."
"Nope," Tommy said. "He didn't. Or Kat. But I've been stashing stuff here for JJ for years. Things he ends up with doubles of or things he doesn't use much. And won't notice are gone. Even a couple of older game systems he isn't using anymore. Plus, clothes. Kat buys things when they're cheap. Just basics he could survive in."
He paused.
"You really should start doing the same for Marc. Rocky and Adam do for their kids. So do Billy and Hayley. Though they bring their kids here all the time, so it's not quite the same. But that's why they all have clothes and at least some things to entertain them. None of us ever want to be locked in here with bored kids."
"Nope," Jason agreed.
"And—in a true emergency?—none of us would be taking time to pack those things," Tommy pointed out. "We might get the basics. But the idea would be to get here and get here quickly. So, we all have stuff here. And when the kids outgrow stuff, we donate it. You just really haven't had the chance. Though I'm pretty sure Kat had some clothes stashed for Marc and you anyways."
Jason looked at him in surprise. He figured someone had supplied the small stash of clothes he'd found in the room that first day, but he hadn't expected it to be from Kat and Tommy.
"Is that why we had things in our room when we got here?" he asked.
Tommy nodded.
"Yeah," he smiled. "Not sure how close she got on sizes, but she does talk to your mom. Between her, Aisha, and Tanya they had stuff for Kim and Zach, too."
"Kim has definitely ordered stuff in the last few days," Jason snorted.
Tommy chuckled.
"She has," he agreed. "But I never claimed there was a lot here. The point was to have something."
Jason nodded. Then he paused, frowning at Tommy.
"Hold on," he said. "If you've been stashing stuff for all of us and your kid—how come you don't have anything fun to read yourself?"
"Well, I figured if we were here for a ranger emergency, I'd be a little busy with other things," Tommy retorted. "So, I wasn't worried about keeping myself occupied. And I was right. Been a little focused on keeping all of us alive. Which has been great—"
Tommy's phone went off and both he and Jason groaned. Hunter poked his head in the room.
"Bogies incoming," he said, slipping inside.
Cam followed. Both quickly concealed themselves by Tommy's bed. Jason groaned again, falling back on his bed.
"Go to sleep, Rex," Tommy said. "It's late enough."
"No, they'll just wake me up," Jason sighed. "I may as well be awake and just pretend to be tired…"
Tommy shrugged and went back to reading his book. The door opened a moment later and Christine and Will walked in.
"Jason!" Christine exclaimed.
She rushed over to give him a hug and tried to kiss him. Reacting instead of thinking, Jason turned his head, and she kissed him on the cheek. Christine pulled back, frowning.
"What's wrong?" she demanded.
"Sorry…" he said. "I'm just—I'm not feeling well, that's all. I don't want you to get sick if it's something."
"Oh," she said. "Well, I am so glad I get to actually talk to you!"
She plopped herself down in the chair next to Jason. Will was scowling at Tommy.
"Why doesn't the roommate go on a walk to give you two some time alone?" Will suggested.
"Nope," Tommy said absently, not looking over. "A little attached. Not going anywhere."
He held up his arm. An IV tube was taped to the back of his hand.
"So just pull it out," Will scoffed.
"Oh, sure," Tommy said. "Let me just yank it out and set off every alarm on the machine. Then we can add every medical personnel on the floor to the party."
"Fine," Will snapped. "But at least give us a little privacy."
Stalking over, Will yanked on the privacy curtain to try and open it and block off Tommy. When he shifted it, however, he saw Hunter standing there. Jumping, he backed off, abandoned the curtain, and quickly moved to the other side of Jason's bed.
"What was that?" Christine asked, looking at her brother.
"Nothing…" Will muttered.
Hunter, leaning against the back of Tommy's bed now, snickered. Christine whipped her head around.
"What was that?" she demanded, glaring at Tommy around the edge of the curtain.
He quickly faked a cough. She couldn't see Hunter from where she was sitting.
"Nothing," Tommy said. "Just me."
Cam, leaning against the wall behind Tommy's bed, shook his head. He knew very well Hunter let Will see him. He wanted to freak him out.
"Christine, did you come up to say goodnight?" Jason asked, pulling her attention back to him.
"Oh! No," she said. "I wanted to talk to you about my day."
She beamed at him.
"Oh…" he said. "Well, I'm a bit tired—"
"You are never going to believe this," Christine said, interrupting. "So, after another horrible night's sleep, I woke up this morning and no one had restocked the bottled water in the fridge in that horrible little room they've stuffed us in. You would think a place that's supposedly so advanced could at least manage the courtesy of making sure we were supplied with drinkable water. But no."
She sighed and Jason hid a grimace as she kept going.
"And then I go down to that cafeteria for breakfast and there is absolutely no fresh fruit or yogurt in sight. It's like they want me to starve! All they have is like French toast or pancakes or eggs and bacon."
She scoffed. And then kept going. On and on about nonsense and trivial complaints to the point Cam and Hunter were exchanging looks as they considered ways to get the siblings out without being noticed. After more than thirty minutes—and still not having made it past lunch—Jason finally interrupted.
"Christine," he said, catching her hand to make sure she was paying attention. "As much as I would love to hear about the rest of your day, I really do need some sleep…"
Christine frowned.
"Jason, are you sure?" she pleaded. "I mean, I haven't even—"
"I'm sure," he said firmly. "And Tommy needs to sleep, too. We're both recovering and need rest. And they'll be turning lights off on us soon."
"He's not wrong," Tommy inserting. "As—riveting—as your stories are, we do need to sleep. It's late."
Christine scowled at him but continued to plead with Jason to let her stay longer. She was still insisting when Angela walked in a few minutes later.
"It's past lights out," she announced. "You two know the rules. Oh."
She paused, pretending to have just seen the siblings.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you still had visitors," she said. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to remind you visiting hours are done for the night. They'll have to come back tomorrow."
"I want to spend the night with my husband!" Christine demanded.
Angela shook her head.
"Unless he's under the age of eighteen, that's against the rules."
"I have a question," Tommy said, raising his hand and grinning.
Angela sighed, crossing her arms.
"Yes…?"
"Are we talking physically or mentally?" he asked. "Because an argument could be made—"
"Hush," Angela said. "Go to sleep."
Tommy snickered and Angela turned back to the siblings.
"Now, I will give you five minutes to say goodnight and then it's lights out for my patients."
She stepped out of the room again. Christine continued to argue with Jason the entire five minutes, trying to pressure him into agreeing with her and asking Angela to break the rules. Angela, however, didn't even give them a chance to argue when she came back. She just chased them out. It may have also helped that Hunter popped out to where Will could see him again.
Once they were off the floor, Eric walked into Tommy and Jason's room. Taking that as a sign that the siblings were gone for the night, Tommy got up and stretched.
"Come on, Jase," he said. "Time to get up."
He headed over to help get everything shuffled. Jason frowned, eying Tommy as he climbed out of his own bed.
"I thought you had an IV?" he said.
Tommy snorted, shaking his head.
"Nope," he said. "I did that to make them think I couldn't leave. Pretty sure none of that is even on at this point. And you definitely would have noticed Angela or Dana hooking me up to an IV earlier."
"Right," Jason said sheepishly.
Grabbing the rest of his things, Jason said goodnight and headed next door with Angela while Eric got comfortable in the now empty bed. Tommy finished getting himself ready and got back in his own bed.
"I hope they don't push it this late every night," Eric sighed.
"Pretty sure they're testing the waters," Tommy commented. "I'm just hoping they make a decision quickly. Because the faster they move, the faster we can all go home."
