See chapter 1 for Story notes. Thanks for the reviews! Please consider leaving feedback. It really helps and is much appreciated. Here is individual responses to reviews:
Ghostwriter: Yep, Tori's parents are safe and I agree, I like the addition of Skull and him being a badass. Glad you're enjoying!
MMPRFansince93: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the fight scene!
Harry2: Yep, they didn't really have any other options. Yep, Once a Ranger. Glad you're enjoying it!
Thunderstruck
Chapter 14: Safe and Sound
"And we have breaking world news tonight out of Mexico," the male reporter stated.
"A spokesperson for the DEA has just announced that they have arrested Palo Vasquez, one of the world's most dangerous and notorious drug Lord's. Vasquez has been linked to a series of homicides involving Hispanic young women who have been turning up dead in California for over a year. It is strongly believed that these young women were used as drug mules and then murdered to extract the drugs. He is also wanted for multiple murders and drug trafficking in Mexico as well," Tanya reported. Adam sighed and closed Billy's laptop in the hotel suite they had acquired in Mexico City, thanks to Tommy's connections to Wes Collins.
Jack and Alana were still reeling from the earlier events and all they had learned. They were among the very few outsiders that had been let into their ranger world. They were stunned to speechless to learn that they were among former power rangers and their daughter was one of them. They were even more stunned when they had witnessed Billy use his device to erase Palo's memory, those of his employees, and replace them with a false account of events. They were all safe though, Palo and his goons were going to prison, and they would be home tomorrow.
"So…you are a power ranger?" Jack asked again in disbelief.
"I was three years ago, but I am still a ninja," Tori replied.
"We're sorry we didn't tell you about our real jobs," Alana said. Tori shrugged.
"It's okay I guess. I had my own secrets. I just hope we can trust each other from now on," Tori replied. Jack smiled and squeezed her hand.
"If you can trust us with something like this, then we can trust you with our secrets," Jack promised.
"Good, but can you make one more promise?" Tori asked.
"Name it sweetheart," Alana replied.
"Will you and Dad finally take some time off? I miss you both and I want to spend some time with you. I also want you to get to know Hunter, because he's a very big part of my life now," Tori requested. Jack and Alana smiled.
"It's a deal. Your Mom and I have earned some time off," he replied.
"Where is Hunter anyway?" Alana asked.
"He's talking to his brother Blake. He's going to meet up with us at dinner," Tori replied.
"So let me get this straight…you and Tori were kidnapped by Mexican drug Lords, because Tori's parents work for the DEA, and everyone went Power Rangers Rogue to save you guys. And no one bothered to call me?" Blake said, with obvious irritation over the video phone that Cam had set up in the living area of one of the hotel suites they were staying in. After the fiasco was over, they had made the jaunt back to the rest stop to get their vans. Realizing that it was getting late in the afternoon, Tommy had called Wes in Silver Hills and asked for a favor. Wes was only more than happy to rent out an entire floor of rooms at a nice hotel in Mexico City for them to sleep and regroup.
"Dude, no one knows where you are half the time," Shane reminded him.
"Yeah, I'm not even sure where you are most of the time," Hunter added. Blake sighed.
"We just got to Seattle," Blake told them with an eye roll.
"Seattle? That must have been a soggy track," Dustin mentioned.
"You have no idea. I got mud in places I didn't even know existed today, but seriously, I would have streaked home in an emergency," Blake said.
"Everything's been handled and we're all fine, thanks to Jason, Billy, and the others stepping in," Hunter assured him.
"Yeah, besides, streaking from Washington to Mexico City would have worn you out. You wouldn't have been much good to us if you were dead on your feet," Cam added logically.
"I guess you're right," Blake said with a sigh.
"Hey bro, did you mail the thing I asked for?" Hunter asked. Blake smiled.
"Yeah, I overnighted it. It should be at Storm Chargers by the time you get back to Blue Bay," Blake answered.
"Thanks, we'll see you soon if you ever come visit," Hunter replied. Blake rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be home for Thanksgiving," Blake promised.
"Keep up on your training. We don't want you getting soft," Hunter teased.
"Yes Mother," Blake said, as he hung up and Hunter received questioning looks from the other guys.
"What?" he asked.
"What did you ask Blake to mail to you that you had to send it to Storm Chargers?" Cam asked. Hunter sighed.
"Well…when our parents died, we were left with all their possessions, which included our mother's engagement ring. At the time, we could have used the money and sold it, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do so. They had a great marriage…a love that I'd never thought I'd find in a million years. Blake and I decided that whichever one of us found the woman we wanted to marry first would give her mom's ring. I gave it to Blake years ago, because I was sure he would get married way before me," Hunter explained. Shane smirked.
"Yeah, we used to think so too," he teased and the blonde rolled his eyes.
"Anyway…I've been thinking a lot lately and this whole experience makes me positive that I don't want to wait any longer. Her father has never been around long enough for me to ask for his permission, but now I finally have the opportunity. I'm going to ask her to marry me, so Blake is sending me the ring," Hunter announced.
"Copycat," Cam teased with a smile.
"Hey dude, you totally forgot about Shane and me though," Dustin reminded.
"Yeah, dirt boy's right. We're like her brothers," Shane added. Hunter sighed. He should have known they would make it a point to give him a hard time.
"And if you morons were being serious and didn't give him your blessing, Tori would clobber you both," Cam interjected. Shane and Dustin glanced at each other and thought about Tori's reaction to them being "cavemen" as she so affectionately called it.
"You know you have our blessing dude, you're like our bro too," Dustin said.
"Yeah, you have my blessing too and for more than just the reason that Tori would beat me up if I didn't give you my blessing," Shane replied, as they shared a manly handshake.
"She does hit hard," Hunter agreed.
"You should have seen the looks on some of those thugs' faces when she waylaid them," he mentioned and they shared a laugh.
"I think most of them peed their pants when they saw us use our powers. Good thing Dr. C had that little flashy thing that scrambled their memories," Shane said.
"Yeah, I've got to get one of those," Cam said.
"Ah…nerd envy," Hunter teased.
"Yeah, yeah, all that nerd stuff is usually what saves our asses, so poke fun all you want," Cam replied with an air of superiority, as Tori came in dressed in the sexiest dress that Hunter had ever seen. His mouth went completely dry, as he stared at the woman he loved. Truthfully, he found her to be stunning no matter what she wore, be it her surf wear, ninja gear, or even her pajamas. But it wasn't often he got to see her in a party dress…especially one in crimson.
"Earth to Hunter…" Cam joked, as he waved his hand in front of the taller man's face. Hunter shoved his hand out of the way, as she sauntered toward him with a smile.
"Wow Tor…you look great," Shane said first.
"Yeah, totally like a girl-girl," Dustin added, receiving an elbow in the gut from Shane.
"Dude, shut up, she went psycho on us last time we called her that," the red ninja hissed.
"Nah dude, that was the fake Tori," Dustin replied. Cam shook his head.
"You guys are idiots," he stated.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Cam?" another voice said, as four more people entered.
"Wes!" Shane called, as they shook hands.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dustin asked.
"This is one of Rich boy's daddy's hotels so we decided to hop on the private jet and come party ranger style with you guys," Eric replied.
"And Jen and Taylor brought us some clothes besides what we have to wear, since we can't really go to dinner in our ninja gear," Tori added.
"Jen?" Cam asked. He had briefly met Taylor, but was now a little leery that there was possibly a woman among them that was being exposed to ranger secrets, not to mention ninja secrets.
"Relax ninja boy, Jen knows everything," Wes assured.
"Jen Scotts, Time Force Pink," she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, but I'm a Samurai," Cam replied in annoyance.
"Whoa…you're from the future!" Dustin exclaimed. She nodded, not being able to hide her mirth at the Earth ninja's enthusiasm.
"Yes, I was…but I'm here to stay this time," she replied, as she shared a meaningful look with Wes and threaded her fingers with his.
She had only been back a few weeks and while she would miss the other rangers in the future, she had concluded without a doubt that there simply wasn't anything for her in 3006. She had tried to move on with her life, but she had left her heart in the past with Wes. So after much urging from her friends and even Alex himself, she had decided to forge her own destiny and return where she felt she truly belonged.
"Yeah, Wes has been wearing that stupid grin non-stop since she got back," Eric said with mock annoyance, earning him an elbow from his blonde girlfriend.
"They thought this would be the perfect opportunity for a mini reunion. Not everyone is here, but they got Skyla, Marah, Kapri, and Leann. Kat and Tanya also left their kids with their parents for tonight too," Tori explained.
"Awesome…let's get this party on!" Dustin said.
"The girls and the rest of the guys are already dressed, so get to your rooms and change," Tori told them, as they headed to their rooms.
"You look amazing," Hunter finally said and she smiled.
"Thanks…now go get dressed so we can eat. I'm starving," she said. He nodded and almost tripped while trying to leave and look at her at the same time. Tori shook her head.
"You were right about the dress," Tori said. Taylor nodded. She had chosen to wear her own color that evening.
"I don't know what it is, but when we wear their colors, they act stupid," Taylor replied. She knew this from experience and Eric glared at her.
"Maybe they do, but not me," he protested. Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right," Taylor replied. Tori smiled and her eyes went to her boyfriend's retreating form. These days, just a lazy smile from him or a look still gave her butterflies in her stomach. They had declared their love almost a year ago and she fell in love with him more every day. Tori Hanson was deeply in love with Hunter Bradley and she knew he was the one.
"I feel fine. This isn't really necessary," Hunter complained, as Trini used her light tool to check his eyes.
"You took a serious hit to the head and Tori says you were experiencing symptoms of a concussion. I need to make sure you're okay," Trini said, as Tori stood beside him. They were all dressed and ready for a fun evening of dinner and dancing, a much needed release after the harrowing day they had experienced.
"The symptoms passed though," Hunter assured her. Trini nodded.
"Amazing ranger recuperative abilities, no doubt. If not for that, you'd probably be laid up in bed. But it seems that you're concussion free and fine," Trini said.
"All right, let's go! I'm starving!" Dustin called.
"I think we all are. Thanks again for all this Wes. I think it's exactly what we all need right now," Kat said. Wes nodded, as they started filing out of the suite.
"Don't mention it. Now let's party," he said. Hunter stood up and slid his arms around Tori's waist. She noticed his dazed look and she smirked.
"Is this dress really affecting you that much?" she asked. He nodded.
"You look incredible...though you always do. You look gorgeous when you come out of the ocean. You look amazing after a workout. You even look beautiful when you wake up in the morning. I didn't know people could wake up looking as good as you do. I know I don't," he said. She slid her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.
"Your hair is a mess in the morning...but then it's always a mess," she teased. He rolled his eyes.
"Thanks," he said, as she ran her fingers through his shaggy mane.
"It's a compliment, thunder boy. I like it messy," she said sultrily. Her lips beckoned him and they met in a passionate coupling. She gasped, as he gripped her hips and trailed kisses down her neck.
"Um...babe, I think we need to save this for later," she warned. He smirked wolfishly.
"Or we could be late," he tempted, his stormy blue gaze searing through her. Their lips met again and she struggled to keep her own control. One thing she had discovered in their year together is that he was an amazing, passionate lover.
"I thought you liked this dress? All you're doing right now is trying to get me out of it," she teased, her eyes filled with laughter. He smirked.
"We both know that my favorite thing for you to be wearing is nothing," he retorted with a sexy edge in his voice that made her shiver in desire.
"Down thunder boy...there will be time for that later tonight," she replied, as she took his hand and led him out.
"And that's the whole story," Tori finished, as she and Hunter sat with her parents. They had told them everything, the Academies, their tenure as rangers, Lothor's return a year later, and their battle with Goldar in the dark dimension.
"And I thought your mother and I led exciting lives," Jack responded, as he took a drink of his beer.
"Believe me, we're more than happy for it to calm down a bit," Hunter replied.
"I'll bet, teaching the future defenders of the planet probably is anything but boring," Alana mused. Tori smiled.
"Never boring and never without drama it seems," she mentioned.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"She's talking about the rivalry that existed between our Academies before Lothor came onto the scene. We as rangers put that rivalry aside and joined forces to destroy our common enemy. In the process we became friends and we defeated Lothor, which freed everyone. After going through that, there was no rivalry left between us," Hunter explained.
"But the same can't be said for everyone else. They don't like the allied relationship that has come about between our schools so you can imagine how they feel about the joining of the schools," Tori added.
"Joining?" Jack asked. Hunter nodded.
"Cam, who you know now is Sensei Watanabe's son and Leann, who is Sensei Omino's daughter, are getting married in a couple months. We're in the process of building onto the Wind Academy, because the schools are going to soon be one entity. Some ninjas have already left in protest and others are plenty against it," Hunter explained.
"But it really is in the best interest of everyone and I know most will eventually see that," Tori reasoned.
"Not that I really care what any of the Alumni think. They're not going to tell me who I can or can't love," he added and she smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Jack sighed.
"I guess it just goes to show you that the governments of the world like people to think they know everything that goes down on this planet, but we don't have an inkling about your schools," Jack stated.
"And it has to stay that way, dad," Tori said.
"Don't worry honey, your secret is safe with us," he replied.
"Thanks dad," she said, as she stood up.
"Where are you going?" Hunter asked.
"We are going to dance," she replied, as she tugged him along with her. Jack sighed.
"What?" Alana asked, eyeing her husband's pensive look.
"Nothing...our baby girl is all grown up," he said. Alana nodded.
"She is. Don't tell me you're going to give Hunter a hard time," she replied. Jack chuckled.
"Don't worry, he's a good man, obviously. He was willing to die for our little girl, so I can't ask for more. Plus, Tori can take care of herself and I actually like him. I never thought I'd ever like anyone she introduced to us," Jack admitted. Alana chuckled.
"I like him too and he's so handsome. She got my good taste in men," she replied, smiling warmly at her husband. He smiled back.
"I just wish I felt like this was over," Jack mentioned.
"It's never over in our business. For every one drug lord we take down, it seems like fifteen more pop up in their place," Alana replied.
"We don't mean to eavesdrop, but Billy and I find ourselves saying that very thing everyday," Jason mentioned, as he and Billy approached with Trini and Katherine.
"Jack and Alana, this is my wife Trini," Jason introduced, as they shook hands.
"It's nice to meet you," Alana said, as she shook Katherine's hand too.
"This is my wife Katherine," Billy introduced.
"Please join us, because it's not everyday that we get to say that we had drinks with the Power Rangers," Jack said quietly. They shared a laugh.
"That's kind of actually the reason we came over to talk to you. Word of your impressive take down has already made its way to the top of the food chain at the Bureau," Jason said.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"Well, it seems that Palo Vasquez is only the tip of the iceberg. The FBI thinks that Palo was really small potatoes compared to the real beast behind not only drugs, but human trafficking rings, illegal arms dealing, and more we don't even know about," Billy replied.
"What does that have to do with us?" Alana asked.
"It seems our offices have decided they want to form a joint task force between the FBI and DEA. Billy and I were chosen, because we are familiar with the hotbeds, which seem to oddly enough be towns that also have had ranger teams at one time or another," Jason explained.
"You think there is a connection?" Jack asked.
"We wish there wasn't, but Goldar was effectively running a muck in human form for years. We think he involved others out there in case his ultimate plan didn't succeed," Billy answered.
"So you want a team that is clued in on everything so you won't risk your identities?" Jack asked. Jason nodded.
"Our supervisor is also allowing us to choose two more to join the task force, so we of course chose Detectives Desantos and Skullovitch. In addition, we'll often collaborate with the Silver Guardians as well, though we're going to limit their involvement to Wes, Jen, and Eric," Jason said.
"You and Alana would work out of Blue Bay Harbor, Rocky and Skull would keep their post in Angel Grove, and Jason and I would take Reefside. Coincidentally, they are the three closest towns," Billy added. Jack and Alana shared a glance.
"Well, we're definitely in. But doesn't that mean you'll both need to relocate your families back to California?" Jack asked. The two couples smiled.
"Yeah, but we're okay with that. Our jobs are the only reason we ever stayed on the east coast and we're more than ready to come home," Jason replied.
"Yeah, my dad is going to be over the moon," Billy mentioned fondly.
"A toast then to a new team," Jack said, as he raised his glass. The others joined him and drank.