Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Location: Ivan’s lab, early January. POV: Ivan/3^rd person

When Ivan returned to his lab on Earth, he was in an even fouler mood than he’d been in when he’d left. The Temple of Power was no longer in the Desert of Despair and Ivan had practically torn the place apart. He finally found signs that Ninjor had moved the place when he found where the Temple used to be; tracing the residue, Ivan realized that the Temple had been on Earth the entire time. However, searching for it was not going to be easy. How the Temple of Power had been moved, Ivan didn’t know. He didn’t even think such a thing was possible, but apparently it was.

One of the things Ivan did notice, however, was the behavior of his two lieutenants. Rito’s loyalty had always been dubious, but Scorpina had been completely loyal, or so Ivan had thought. Now, though, she was warier of him than normal; Ivan hoped that it wasn’t due to some misplaced sentiment. She didn’t care for that idiotic skeleton, did she? After all, they’d traveled together for years after Rita and Zedd had defected to the side of the light and Scorpina had ranted about the injustice of it all to him early on. Ivan knew that there’d been a bit of competition between the two early in their working for him, but something had changed last month when Scorpina had to nurse Rito back to health.

Ivan would have to secure their loyalty in a different way. How, he didn’t know, but Ivan was confident that he’d figure it out. His usual methods would leave both of them brainless zombies of sorts; Ivan didn’t want that, at least not for Scorpina. Rito’s behavior wouldn’t change that much, Ivan thought, but Scorpina? Ivan didn’t want to lose that brilliance that she brought to the table. It was times like this that Ivan really wanted Finster around; he’d finally found that the alchemist was alive, but was long gone from wherever his hiding spot was. If Ivan hadn’t needed to get back to Earth, he would have searched for him. Ivan would have to figure out a different way of securing Scorpina’s loyalty again; he could use Rito. Earn that skeleton’s loyalty and Scorpina would be his loyal lieutenant again.

He ended seriously angry when he found out that that Black Dino Ranger and his ward had been away from Reefside at the same time as his own trip off planet. Scorpina had, however, taken advantage and done a two-prong attack, one on Reefside and one on the two Rangers when they were out for a hike. Scorpina had personally led the attack on Reefside; the Tengu who’d attacked Tommy and his ward had been driven off easily. Rito had been planned to lead the attack on the two Rangers by themselves, but he’d had a relapse in his healing, according to Scorpina. How true that was, Ivan didn’t care, but Scorpina was punished for her failures anyway. Ivan had learned his lesson from punishing Rito; all Scorpina would need was a few hours rest to recover.

Ivan, after catching up on his own rest, started making his own plans to attack. He knew the Yellow Ranger was nearing the end of her time using that coin; it was time for Ivan to lead the attacks to find a good place and time to kidnap the teen. If he timed the attack just right, he’d also get the coin, which would be a bonus. He started monitoring the computers to find out her routine, in the off chance that it had changed in the time that he’d been off-planet.

Location: Reefside, Hayley’s Cyberspace, the day before school resumes. POV: Abigail/1^st person

As much as I’d enjoyed Christmas break, I was glad to be back in Reefside and among my friends. The two weeks away had done a world of good and I found myself under a lot less stress than I’d been before the two-week break. Granted, that meant Dad and I had missed a Scorpina-led attack at the same time we’d been hiking to meet Ninjor, but Conner said that they’d been able to handle it.

I also knew I needed to make a plan to get my current morpher and coin out of Ivan’s reach once I could no longer use it. For that, I needed to talk to Kira; as a Yellow Ranger herself, she would likely be the best person to safely get it away from Ivan. We’d have to go over the finer details with Dad and Hayley; we would have to find a way to link the transport capabilities of Dino Command and the Angel Grove Command Center and use that to have Kira transport from wherever she was with the morpher to wherever Ba was at that time. He was the only civilian ally to the Power Rangers who I had some trust in being able to keep it safe. I realized I’d have to bring Rocky in on this, too. He would be the best judge of Ba’s mental and emotional state, but the morpher and coin couldn’t be kept in Reefside after I could no longer use it, as it was linked to Angel Grove.

If Lt. Stone wasn’t trying to interfere with my pending adoption, I almost would have considered him; Bulk and Skull weren’t good choices either. Ba was the only choice out of the Angel Grove non-Ranger allies, but I wasn’t about to set his healing back. If Ba wasn’t an option, I’d have to find a way to get it to either Aisha or Ninjor. Aisha had been a wielder of the coin; Ninjor, I’d found out, had created them, not Zordon as I’d thought. Both would know of the best non-Ranger to find the next wielder of the coin; Aisha couldn’t choose because of the fact that she’d given me the coin. I’d asked Ninjor about that; because he’d given Aisha Ninjetti skills while she used the coin, he couldn’t choose the next wielder either.

Thankfully, Kira was in CyberSpace when I went looking for her, as were the other Dino Rangers save Dad. Hayley had given each of us keys to the storeroom; Trent and Ethan had them because they’d worked for Hayley at one point and Kira used it to store the microphones and speakers in there when she wasn’t rehearsing or performing. Nobody questioned why Conner and I had them; Conner sometimes helped carry in supplies and Hayley, when asked, claimed she was testing me out as a prospective employee for when I got old enough to work for her using a work permit. That’s why we sometimes used the storeroom for Ranger-related conversations that couldn’t wait until the café was empty or we could gather in Dino Command.

“What’s up, Katrina?” Kira asked; by unspoken agreement, we used my alias in ‘public’ spaces until it was safe to use my real name.

I held up my morpher. “I don’t have much longer to use this; got that confirmed by its creator over Christmas that I have until end of February at best. If you remember, Mr. Creepy Carrot Chin wants to try and corrupt this to use and turn me into one of his minions. I’m not giving up being a Ranger, guys; can’t explain here, but I will next time we can meet at HQ. There’s a chance I’ll be forcibly demorphed in the middle of a fight and not by any of the team. It’s going to need to be taken out of Reefside and hopefully by one of you four. Dad might not be able to, given his own history.”

I didn’t need to elaborate much about Dad’s past; the others knew I was talking about his history as a Ranger. The four teens looked at each other, holding a silent conversation.

“Kira,” Conner, Trent, and Ethan said in unison.

“Why me?”

“You’re a Yellow, Kira. You’re the safest bet; who you’re going to take it to is going to depend on Rocky says when he comes up Saturday.”

“You’re not sending me to your birthfather!” Kira whispered hotly, beating Conner to the punch.

“Out of all the non-Ranger human allies in Angel Grove, he’s our current best option, but that’s why I said we’d have to bring Rocky in on it; Dad and Hayley too. Having a Ranger or anyone else who had been an ally in Angel Grove is a non-option. One such ally is currently working against us, though in a strictly civilian format. He’d never ally himself with a Ranger foe; the other two…can’t protect it the way it needs to. They don’t have the necessary links to an Angel Grove Ranger; my birthfather does. It also can’t stay in Reefside after I’m done using it; the only reason I’m even allowed to use it here is because of my Mom being a wielder and Dad being a teammate and her leader, along with his link to Dino Thunder.” The team had been dubbed such, but by who, none of us could find out, even Dad.

“Dr. O, I can understand, but why Hayley?” Conner asked, still not convinced.

“Because she’s the one who can link Dino Command with Angel Grove Command Center, along with their transportation systems….” I said slowly. I could tell I’d convinced none of the team with this.

“You’re going to have to convince them; if Dr. O says it’s the best plan we’ve got, I’ll give my okay,” Conner finally said. The others quickly agreed. “We need to get back out on the floor; meeting at Dino Command Saturday afternoon, as long as you don’t mind missing your therapy appointment.”

“I don’t; Rocky thinks that I may need to drop down to twice-monthly after how well my vacation went. It’s all going to depend on when Stone makes his move; the field trip is going to be next week, as is the actual adoption hearing. Judge Giles got tired of waiting on Stone and Wilkens; gave them until Friday of next week to convince him. My birthfather’s already sent in his statement to Judge Giles, as has Rocky. Judge Wilkens and Lt. Stone might be able to overrule my objections as well as Dad’s, but not with Rocky and my birthfather’s added to the mix. Add to that, Ms. Andrews has submitted every single one of the progress reports she’s made; Stone’s going to have an uphill climb taking me away from a home where I’m clearly thriving. Add to that, I’m old enough to have a say in who I want my parents to be. Judge Giles listens to that sort of thing, as I found this past summer. Nice dude. If he and Councilwoman Sanchez weren’t both married, I’d almost pair them up.” I’d met the councilwoman when she occasionally stopped by to talk with Hayley; nice lady, but tough as nails and took no shit from anyone.

As we grabbed stuff that we knew Hayley was going to need on the floor soon, I failed to see Ethan’s expression, but I could hear it in his voice.

“That vacation did do you a world of good; we’d been getting worried, Katrina. By the time Reefside High let out for Christmas break, you were getting too stressed for your own good. It’s part of why we didn’t beep either you or Dr. O during Scorpina and Rito’s attacks over the Christmas holiday. When Cassie asked us, suited up, where you two were, we had fun coming up with a response. So much fun.” The sarcasm was dripping off his last sentence.

“Sorry about that; we did see her news report, though. Sam wouldn’t tell us how he’d managed to get Channel 3 out at the reservation. Nice misdirection, saying we were sick. If you’d said we were on vacation, most of Reefside would have figured it out. I think most of the high school students knew Dad and I were visiting Uncle David and Sam.”

With that, we headed out with the supplies Hayley needed and not a moment too soon, as she got swamped. Even though Conner and I weren’t considered ‘official’ employees, we were quickly pressed into service helping out. Given I wasn’t 16 yet, I was paid in store credit officially so that nobody could argue that I was being paid under the table or illegally. Hayley had done similar with other Reefside freshmen, so nobody looked twice or complained. Like Ethan had told me, as well as Conner and Kira, there wasn’t a teenager that came through that Hayley hadn’t helped.

The first week back to school after break was slightly chaotic as we got used to being back in school after a two-week break. It was fun seeing my friends again and unlike the first week of the semester, there were no teachers out for my metaphorical blood. That didn’t mean we didn’t try pranking the sub, who was a 2-week loan from the county forensics lab. She, unlike Sanderson, laughed it off; we all got ‘A’s for effort in excellent research and writing skills. Her attitude towards the prank was the only reason Dad let me off with only a lecture to not do it again without checking with him first. Ethan lost it when he found out; Conner just shook his head. I had one up on Ethan, who never pulled the same prank in the same place twice. I wasn’t going to pull that prank a third time at high school, but I knew it was going to go down among the student annals.

When Rocky arrived Saturday afternoon, most of the team, save Dad, Katherine, and I, were down in Dino Command. This appointment was only meant to be a slight formality before moving on to a bi-monthly schedule, so Rocky wasn’t completely surprised when I asked him if he wouldn’t mind joining us in Dino Command for a team meeting. I’d asked Dad and Katherine earlier in the week if it was okay to do a team planning session today, so Rocky was the only one not completely in the loop. He was our liaison between the Angel Grove teams and Dino Thunder due to his known trips up here.

Of course, when I laid my plan out, Dad was the one to flip, not Rocky as I’d expected. I fought the instinct to step back and run and stared him down.

“No, Abigail. Absolutely not! What you’re suggesting is too risky, Abigail!” Part of what kept me from completely backing down was the fact that I wasn’t facing Dr. Tommy Oliver, Power Ranger, but my dad. I knew where he was coming from; Ba had reacted similarly when he realized Aisha had given me the morpher. I needed him to switch from dad to Power Ranger in this; we all did.

I looked him in the eyes as I continued. “Do you have any other ideas? How many Rangers, publicly known or not, can hide this? He’s the only ally not known to our current opponents, which makes him ideal, but only if he’s mentally and emotional up for it,” I snapped back. “Add to that, Bulk and Skull weren’t nearly as connected to this”-I put the morpher on the table-“as my birthfather is. I ask again, do you have any other suggestions?”

“She’s right, Dr. O.” We looked at Conner in surprise as he spoke up. “We have no other options; that morpher can’t stay in Reefside once she can’t use it anymore. It can’t be sent to the Ranger teams outside of either Reefside unless it’s back to the city where it was first used. I have been wracking my head all week trying to come up with a better plan and I can’t. Kira is the only other Yellow Ranger active right now; we don’t know who can pick that morpher up after Abigail can’t use it except for someone with a similar color connection. Kira fits both requirements. Most of the known allies in Angel Grove are former Rangers themselves, like Rocky. Lt. Stone is not an option right now; how many friends of yours from your early days would you say would willingly keep it safe when faced with Ivan or Scorpina?”

“Not Bulk or Skull; those two may have been brave against Astronoma, but against Ivan? They’d give it up in a hurry. You’re right, Abigail; Ernie wouldn’t give that up. He also, by virtue of being at the Youth Center so much, knows the best person to pass it on to when the time comes. That’s an advantage that not even Zordon had. I still don’t know how he chose Jason and the others; he may have to let the Grid chose when he gave Alpha 5 the order to teleport the 5 original team members.” Dad looked resigned; it was one thing coming from me, but with Conner backing me up? He had to step back and think like a Ranger instead of a parent.

At the lull in conversation, Rocky spoke up. “You’re right on Ernie being the sticking point, he is getting better, though. I can’t say where he’s going to be in just under 7 weeks; what I can say is this will either set him back again or be another point of determination for him. The fact that you’re going to be willing to trust him with this now says a lot.”

“Only if you think he’s ready for that responsibility, though. I have no desire to set his healing back or alter its trajectory in a negative way. I understand all too well that me sending this to him just may validate his attitude from this past June. I’m going to need to you to sound him out, Rocky; if he reacts or responds negatively, it’s better we know ASAP so we can come up with another plan and quickly. We don’t have that long to figure out a plan. I don’t know about Dad or Conner, but I’d rather have a set plan, with several backups by the time I lose access to the morpher.”

“Abigail…” I could see the worry on his face; Katherine was the same way, hand on her belly.

“I know, Dad. We don’t have any other options. I like this as well as you do; if my luck holds true, I’ll lose access at the worst possible time and the worst possible way.” Silence was my only answer. I looked around at everyone; expressions were either grim determination or fear, the latter on Katherine.

“If he finds out or sees that the coin is out of his grasp, he’ll either kill you or go after Ernie. He’s already shown that he doesn’t care about life, Abigail.”

“If we don’t do this, I’m under his control and my baby brother is all but lost,” I snapped back. “What other options do we have?” I couldn’t keep my voice from wavering as I continued. “I don’t…I can’t…”

“I know,” Dad replied as he held me, both of us crying. While my plan was full of risks, the alternative was anathema to all of us. We were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place and we all knew it. Mesogog may have wanted to return Earth to the age of dinosaurs, but Dr. Mercer admitted that he would never have stooped to the lows that Ivan was. Brainwashing a teen or adult was one thing, but using his powers on an infant child of a friend? Even Mesogog had his limits; he preferred his lieutenants to be those who could be converted or brainwashed as teens or adults. He’d almost succeeded with Trent, who even admitted it.

What I didn’t see was Dad look at Rocky and nod; we had no other option against someone like Ivan. On top of that, this had become personal. Rocky’s assessment was Ivan was too insane to live; he might not deal with criminal profiling, but he’d a friend in the BAU to do an accurate profile. How he got away with it without breaking Zordon’s rule of revealing identities, he wouldn’t say. I suspected TJ or one of the Rangers who had their identities publicly known had asked for the profile to be done.

I knew I couldn’t make that call; the rules we lived by made it difficult for Dad to make that call either. None of us could use our powers to kill Ivan; his plan put Zordon’s rule of ‘no using your powers for personal gain’ very hard to follow. The only problem was most Ranger teams either worked with Dad or knew of him; I had come to find out that he was considered a legend among them.

“I’m going to call TJ; someone has to know how to take Ivan down. I’ve said it before, Tommy, Katherine. You guys are not doing this alone. Abigail, while your plan is sound, I’m going to spread the word. Even if the morpher has to stay in Angel Grove doesn’t mean that the person who is guardian of it has to be from there.”

“Yes, it does, Rocky.” Almost everyone looked at Dad in surprise. “She’s right; it has to be someone from Angel Grove who knew Trini; who knew us at the time we were active. Bulk and Skull are of no help; Lt. Stone is currently no ally of ours. Ernie…he knows about us; he’s kept our secret for this long. It’s also too dangerous to keep the morpher here once it can no longer be used. Ivan can get into any Command Center, so both that and here are out. Ninjor flat out refused to keep it when he heard Ivan’s name. It almost has to be Ernie; if he’s not up for it, we’re stuck. Our only other options are Sam and David Trueheart or Abigail’s brother David; of those three, David Burton is our next best option and that’s iffy. He’s a Legacy just like Abigail is and I don’t know if he’d even be able to be its guardian.”

“That leaves the question of how it’s going to get back to Angel Grove; it almost has to be one of us,” Trent said, waving a hand around. “Abigail and Katherine can’t, for various obvious reasons. Dr. Oliver would be noticed if he left; it has to be Conner, Ethan, Kira, or myself. We’re the only other ones with communicators linked to Reefside.”

“And I can link them to Angel Grove no issue; Abigail’s is already linked to both. The thing is, all of you are going to have to practice teleporting back and forth between the two cities, which will likely be noticed.” We all had no doubts about Hayley’s ability to do so.

“Unless we do it in simulation; this place is warded to a T.” Now that Dad had spoken up for the most part in favor, the rest of the Dino Rangers were coming up with ideas.

“True, Ethan, but even this isn’t immune. Keeping the security system up around the house isn’t easy on Abigail; it will get to her sooner or later irregardless of her control.”

“While that’s being figured out, we also need to decide on who’s going to be messenger,” Kira spoke up from where she’d been playing around with my morpher. Unlike everyone else who’d tried picking it up, she was playing around with it, turning it over in her hand.

“Abigail’s right on that count, too, Kira. You’re the only one of Dino Thunder that’s not gotten shocked by that, at least not of the teens,” Katherine observed, speaking up finally. Kira didn’t look all that happy about that, but it was more about dealing with Ernie than it was about anything else. Conner quickly took charge, as he knew neither Dad nor I could do so in that moment. Rocky, a former Red Ranger himself, ended up following Conner’s lead. It took me a while to realize that he’d come into being a Red Ranger in a team already led by Dad; he would easily follow Conner, who served alongside Dad in Dino Thunder.

“Rocky, if Ernie’s up for this, I am going to need you to coordinate with Kira. She is going to need to know exactly what to say to him to not trip every single one of his buttons when it comes to Abigail, Trini, and that morpher. Hayley, get in touch with Billy; I’m not about to ask Abigail to give up the communicator as well as her morpher and we’re going to need to find a way to separate it from the morpher if we need to. Whoever ends up as this morpher’s future wielder is also going to need a communicator. Ethan, you help Hayley; Trent, write down everything you remember about Mesogog’s lab and what was in it. Call your dad and Principal Randall if you have to. I know we’ve searched that lab already, but if I was Ivan, I’d wait until after it was searched once and move in. I want codes, tech, everything no matter how small the detail.” Here, Conner paused. I could tell he was trying to come up with something Dad, Katherine, and I could do.

I wiped my tears away. “I should probably start going through what I got from Ninjor. The time immediately after I’m unable to morph is when I’ll be at my most vulnerable; if I can do it right, he’s going to have seconds at most to do what he wants to do. Seconds I don’t intend to give him at all, even if that means I cut and run the moment the morpher’s out of my hands and Kira’s gone.”

“Sometimes running is the only defense you have.” I looked up at Dad; it was a mantra repeated often enough at the dojo.

“We’ll just have to keep innocents out of this; if he loses sight of me, he may use the crowd as hostages until I surrender…or you do.” I turned to Rocky. “How many Ranger teams can theoretically be in and out of Reefside in the next month and a half? Even if we don’t defeat him before I can’t use Mom’s morpher, we may be able to get him to leave before he can kidnap me. We’re also going to need a team to destroy the lab, if at all possible.”

This was going to be the hardest part about the whole deal; I couldn’t create the new morphers until closer to losing access to my current one. Even if we defeated Ivan then, something told me that Reefside was going to have a new team by my 16^th birthday. Most of Dino Thunder was in college and couldn’t be called upon as often to defend the city as they’d done in high school.

As hard as it was for Dad and I, Katherine had the hardest time of all; she was pregnant and unable to provide much more than backup like Hayley did. Less so, in some cases; as her pregnancy progressed, the likelier it was that she was going to be communication and computer research only. She also had to worry about the possibility of us failing. When dealing with villains like Ivan, failure was always a possibility. Most Ranger teams, at best, lost Zords at least once facing off against their evil opponents; at worst also lost their powers. There was also always the likelihood one of us would not walk away from the fights uninjured; I’d already gotten injuries bad enough to do my best to conceal in gym class. Dad had, in the course of his duties as a member of Dino Thunder, ended up in the hospital in a coma.

I really didn’t need to go over the information I’d gotten from Ninjor at this time; I was using it more as a distraction from my own fears and worries. I hated feeling helpless; I also knew that letting my fear rule was a bad thing. There had been times where it said that if I’d never come to Reefside, Dad and Katherine wouldn’t be targets right now, but I knew that wasn’t true. The second a Ranger becomes a Ranger, they’re a target, as are their families. There had also been times when Rangers had to fight against their own family members, who’d been their primary evil opponent; Trent being the latest of those having to do so. He’d spoken of how difficult it had been for him; I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

Location: Reefside Forensics Lab, the next week. POV: Tommy/3^rd person

Tommy sighed as the school bus pulled up in front of the forensics lab; Kat was set and ready to be one of the parent chaperones today, but Elsa had insisted that the high school’s science teachers act as such today instead. Now, Kat was going over everything for tomorrow’s adoption hearing with their lawyer, Ms. Andrews, and Rocky instead. He knew Jerome had picked up the file before the high school arrived; Tommy had overheard Elsa talk with the head of the lab before school started. By the time they’d left the school, the detective was well on his way to the high school; Tommy suspected that was the only reason he was on the bus.

As difficult as this field trip was, Tommy knew he’d rather be here in case Sanderson made a scene instead of being at the high school dealing with Lt. Jerome Stone. Sanderson was a dyed in the wool jerk while Tommy had once called the detective a friend and Ranger ally. He would also rather be here, backing Abigail up in case Sanderson made another scene; while Abigail was in a much better place mentally and emotionally than she was at the start of the school year, Tommy knew his daughter felt better having him along.

Rocky had gotten back to them with Ernie’s response; the older man was willing to help, but only if it was an absolute necessity; he shared Abigail’s worry that it could impact him negatively. Rocky knew he had to work hard with Ernie to get him to that point; the situation demanded nothing less. Rocky was also working with Kira so she knew what to do; there was one session that Tommy knew of where Kira was talking to Ernie over Rocky’s cell from their Command Center as to have a secure line. That had been more so Ernie wasn’t caught by surprise when she finally showed up in full morph. Ernie had, at his own request, familiarized himself with Kira’s morphed look. He didn’t want to know her civilian identity yet, but everyone in Angel Grove knew Ernie wouldn’t turn down a request for help from a Power Ranger or Tommy.

Despite, or maybe because of Sanderson working that day, they’d only watched his lab through an observation window. Tommy suspected that the head of the lab had done that on purpose and was absolutely fine with it. Of course, the ‘official’ reason was to prevent cross-contamination; Sanderson was one of a handful of forensic scientists running active cases and even a one person entering without the proper safety precautions could compromise a ton of cases. They did do the usual schtick of running a student’s DNA through the mass spectrometer and the national DNA database, but it had been Francine who’d been picked as the ‘suspect’ for it. Tommy knew that if situations had been different, Abigail would have been the first to volunteer, but not with Stone running around and the adoption happening finally.

Of course, the day couldn’t run smoothly; Tommy realized something was wrong when they got back to Reefside High School at the end of the school day. Lt. Stone’s police car was still parked in the parking lot and Tommy mentally groaned. He quickly caught up to Abigail and got her attention, pulling her slightly away from her friends.

“What’s up, Dad?” She asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Lt. Stone’s here, Katrina, unless I miss my guess. There’s an Angel Grove police vehicle parked in the school parking lot.”

“And we’re the only people with a connection to Angel Grove associated with Reefside High School. Great.”

Tommy mentally swore; Abigail really didn’t need the inevitable confrontation, nor did he. He did notice, however, that most of the students had vanished; presumably heading out with the exceptions of those involved in school-sponsored extra-curricular activities. They, however, would be confined primarily to the theater, gym or sports fields, and the computer lab. Elsa would be one of only several faculty witnesses free and she was firmly on their side.

To make things look as normal as possible, they headed inside so that she could get what books she needed from her locker; despite the all-day field trip, she still had a packet of homework she needed to do for Monday. The only reason she had been given that packet this morning was the fact that she was going to be gone all day Friday for the adoption hearing and follow up party that Hayley was planning on throwing. Tommy had to get what notes his sub had left and leave some for the next day’s coursework; even if Jerome hadn’t been there, he would have had to do the same thing.

He didn’t get far in doing so; he started running when he heard Abigail yell. Elsa had apparently heard that same yell, as she was also sprinting to his daughter’s locker. What he found when he got there had him pissed. Lt. Stone had Abigail by the left arm; she was trying to yank herself free by the looks of it. Her books were scattered on the ground; she’d evidently been grabbed when she was trying to pack her backpack up, as it was also on the floor.

“Let go of me!”

“Jerome!” “Lt. Stone!” He and Elsa snapped almost in unison. The detective looked up at them long enough for Abigail to yank herself free and run to Tommy. Giving her a brief hug, he put himself between her and the detective.

“You really don’t want to do this, Jerome. My daughter’s not going anywhere with you.”

“She’s not your daughter, Tommy. Don’t kid yourself; Katrina Jones doesn’t exist. You and I both know Abigail Burton is the teenager using you as a human shield right now. She’s the runaway I’ve been looking for since last June; she needs to be returned to Ernie’s custody.”

“He’s given up custody of her, Jerome; did months ago. You’ve talked to Rocky, so have I. Ernie knows he’s in no position to care for her and with good reason. You have a major blind spot where Ernie’s concerned; the only false detail you were given back in June was the name she used. There is proven evidence as to what happened that night, evidence that not even Ernie refutes. If her birthfather had been anyone not Ernie, you know as well as I do he’d be in a jail cell. Hell, if the abuse had been worse than it was, he would be, upstanding citizen of Angel Grove or not.”

“How long have you known that she’s Ernie and Trini’s daughter?” was the challenge he got back.

“Long enough to know that she couldn’t go back to him. It was hammered into my head long before I found out that if I allow her to go back to Angel Grove and Ernie’s care, she’d never be found again. By that time, I’d already made up my mind in that regard. Even if Ernie’s behavior never changed, I had already decided to be the best parent I could for her, to be the parent she needs.”

“You don’t have any other choice, Tommy. The orders I have are clear; she’s going back with me to Angel Grove today and that’s final. Do you really want to be arrested for attempted kidnapping?”

“And the instructions I got from both Judge Wilkens and Judge Giles are clear, Lieutenant: the only person I am to allow to take her out of this school is Dr. Oliver,” Elsa spoke up. “I suggest you call them both before continuing with this farce.” Tommy waited with baited breath as Jerome did just that. He wasn’t on the phone 2 minutes when he hung up, swearing.

“This isn’t over, Tommy. I’ll see the two of you at the courthouse tomorrow.” With that, he stormed out of the school.

“Thanks, Elsa. I should get her home.” He held Abigail as she dealt with the aftereffects of her panic.

“Anytime, Dr. Oliver. If he shows up again…”

“I know.”

What wasn’t said that if Lt. Stone came back, it would be with reinforcements and he wouldn’t be put off with threats. Tommy watched as his boss left, presumably heading back to her office. For a long time, neither he nor Abigail moved as she slowly calmed down. Once she was calm enough, he helped her pick up her books and backpack. He made a quick call to Anton; the formerly evil scientist insisted that they come straight to his house, telling Tommy that he was also going to call Rocky and Kat. That being said, Tommy next called Ms. Andrews, letting her know what had just happened and where they were headed. She was going to meet them there; she knew why Dr. Mercer had offered the use of his house. Nobody was fool enough to think that Lt. Stone wouldn’t show up at the Oliver house without police backup and an associated warrant.

Tommy knew Kat would be bringing the sketchbook and audio recording; he wouldn’t put it past his former friend to destroy either to help his case. He’d turned down offers from the Turbo/Space and Lightspeed teams to guard his house; it would look suspicious if someone publicly connected to a Power Ranger team started guarding the home of a paleontologist turned high school science teacher and his family. He’d managed to keep his identity as a Power Ranger hidden from all but a select few civilians and he intended to keep doing that. Some, like Ernie and Ms. Andrews, had figured it out. Hayley, he’d told during their years at MIT. Zeltrax had seen him use the Black Dino Morpher; it had been how Mesogog had known that he was a Power Ranger. He’d informed Anton of his history as a Power Ranger not long after Mesogog had been defeated for good.

He was doubly glad that they’d secured the lab better. The model of a T-Rex that stood on a side table still opened the Triceramax Command Center, but only if the person had a connected communicator. Hayley and Kat both wore ones disguised as watches; the design had been based off of Billy’s original communicators. Tommy held no illusions that Jerome would use the fact that there was a Top-Secret lab hidden in his basement against him. All of his past as a Power Ranger was in that lab; even the video compilation of Power Ranger history as it pertained to Earth had been updated to include Abigail and her family history. The only thing in the main part of the house that had the chance to link the three of them to any Power Ranger team was the painting and even that could be brushed off as Tommy or Abigail being fans. Abigail had managed to hide any sketchbook that even remotely linked the three of them to being Power Rangers in a secure place in Triceramax Command.

The other entrance was only known to Hayley, Anton, Elsa, Abigail and Dino Thunder, but they’d still secured it the same way. He was taking no more chances with the safety of his home or that of the Dino Rangers, not after Zeltrax had gotten in and trashed the place, kidnapping the formerly evil Elsa Randall. Once he got to the Mercer mansion, both Tommy and Abigail began to relax from the stress of the day. They knew that they’d not be able to relax at their own home, not until the threat of Lt. Stone was neutralized.

Another thing Tommy was grateful for was the fact that Anton, Elsa, and Trent had given Tommy space with his own family, even though they were currently guests in the Mercer home. Anton knew probably best out of their Reefside friends, with the exception of Hayley, just how much Tommy worried about those he cared about. He might put on a brave face, but Rocky and Jason hadn’t been the only people that Tommy had turned to after Abigail had come into his life. Anton knew the best out of all of Tommy’s friends who had children just what it was like to become a foster parent and later adopting said foster child. Anton was the only other person who knew what it was like to also parent a Power Ranger while being Powered himself. It had been on Anton’s advice that Tommy had hired Giovanni Russo; the man was one slick lawyer. Rumor had it the man had mob connections; Tommy knew better than to ask.

He wasn’t surprised that Kat had packed bags for them; she’d had the same fears he had that Lt. Stone would show up at their home. Anton had insisted on them staying the night; Tommy hadn’t even protested. They needed to be well-rested for the adoption hearing in the morning; with Lt. Stone’s visit to the school, they wouldn’t get that at their own home. It would take a while for them to feel safe once again in their own home. Tommy knew he and Kat would be fine eventually, but he was angry that Lt. Stone had ripped that sanctuary away from Abigail. In one afternoon, the detective had ripped 6 months of work away from their family. It would take months before she’d feel safe again, but likely would never truly feel safe in any home, not for a long time.

As soon as Abigail felt ready to split away from the group, Trent had been right there to stay by her side. None of the adults had argued when the two teenagers headed up to Trent’s own art studio; Anton had spared no expense helping his son set one up in the mansion. The only differences between the two teens’ personal studios was space in the house and personal preference. Tommy knew that by the time Abigail got done with high school, he’d probably have to either add on to the house or build her a separate building on the property so she could have a big enough space if she wanted it.

Nobody had to ask how Abigail was holding up as it had been obvious to the group. Anton might not have interacted with her as much as Trent had, but he had heard enough from Tommy and Trent both to know exactly how she was feeling.

“She trusts you, Tommy.”

“I’m glad she does. 6 months ago, she would have insisted on staying in the room. She trusts Trent too; he knows her well enough by now that he can tell her what truths she needs to hear. I’ve never told anyone this but Rocky, but you should be proud of him, Anton. Trent was the first person she turned to for advice on how to reveal her true identity to me. If he’d not been able to advise her, I don’t think she’d have told me willingly.” What Tommy wasn’t saying was that Abigail had even admitted as much to him after he’d had to demorph her over the summer. Anton didn’t need to know that particular detail.

“It would have blown up in your face.” Just like Trent’s own MOAS went unsaid by either man. “I am proud of him, Tommy, and of you. I’m grateful that you were able to be there for Trent when I…wasn’t able to be. It’s why I knew you’d be great with Abigail; I’d seen the type of father you’d be.”

“Thank you, Anton.”

With that, they rejoined Kat, Elsa, Rocky, and Ms. Andrews, along with Russo. The only person missing was FBI profiler Derek Morgan; the agent was dealing with a serial killer in Los Angeles, but promised to be at the hearing in the morning. If he wasn’t, his boss, Agent Aaron Hotchner was. Hotch, as Agent Morgan called the man, had been told enough of Abigail’s case that he agreed to help. They’d given Morgan permission all those months ago to read his team into her case as long as the agents promised to basically pretend the information didn’t exist until they needed it to exist. Even their very skilled computer technician had made that promise. Tommy gathered that she’d do anything for Agent Morgan, but could also likely get into the files and back out without leaving much of a trace if she wanted to, or was ordered to do such. It had been Penelope Garcia that had helped Billy create the fairly good firewalls around the files regarding the connection between Abigail Burton and her alias of Katrina Jones. Tommy half wished he’d been in on that conversation; Billy had told him that he was still in contact with Garcia.

When Kat went up to get Abigail for dinner, she came back down seconds later. Tommy looked at his wife, puzzled. He got his answer before he had a chance to ask the question.

“She’s fast asleep, Tommy. She needs the rest right now; you know she’s not slept that well all week.” He did know; she’d had nightmares most of the week leading up to today’s field trip. The fact that she’d fallen asleep easily at a house she’d never stayed overnight at before to said a lot about just how much she trusted the people inside the house and their ability to protect her if things went south in any way, shape, or form.

“I’ll take up some food to the two of them later, Tommy. You and I both know Trent won’t leave her side right now.” Tommy looked over at Anton, knowing his friend was right. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to check on her later, but he trusted Trent to protect her and not just when they were facing Ivan or his lieutenants, goons, and monsters. Abigail obviously trusted Trent the same way; she’d have never fallen asleep at the Mercer mansion, with just him in the room, if she didn’t.

She woke up later on and stayed awake long enough to not just eat, but for Tommy to fill her in on the plan for the next morning. He knew that knowing the game plan would likely help her sleep soundly that night, better than any sleeping medication would do and a lot less harmful for her in the long run. He hoped that it would also help lesson the chance of nightmares. She needed to have a good night’s rest if she was to be able to do well at the adoption hearing in the morning.

Unfortunately, and as much as they wanted to be there, Tommy’s former teammates weren’t going to be allowed in the courtroom in the morning. Rocky was the only exception and that was because he’d been Abigail’s therapist from the start, along with Ernie’s. Rocky had actually spent part of the day with both judges involved, with Ernie on the phone answering questions about the case. Ernie was also doing everything required by the court in adoption cases so that the case could go forward.

His current team was going to be there, but only because they were acting as character witnesses. Giles wanted people not just close in age to Abigail to talk, but also ones who’d known him as an adult. Trent, especially, had been requested to be there. The steps wouldn’t have normally been necessary, but with Lt. Stone trying to force the family apart, the judge wanted someone who’d been in a semi-similar situation to Abigail to speak. It was also why Anton was going to be there; they’d spent much of their free time since school had gotten back in session going over the stories so that there was little mention of Anton’s evil alter ego Mesogog and Trent being an Evil Ranger in the stories.

Why this had been done separately instead of day of was by Ernie’s own request. He knew Lt. Stone was trying to return Abigail to his custody and Ernie had made it clear that he wanted what was best for Abigail; if that meant he gave up his parental rights and allowed Tommy to adopt her, then that’s what he’d do. All he asked is that Abigail be the one to choose if she wanted to have a future relationship with him. Ernie had been clear on that, as everyone knew that trying to force their relationship to heal faster than either were able to handle would end in disaster on both sides. His willingness to do so endeared him to both judges; this was despite the recorded evidence showing why the man would have normally been arrested, charged, and likely found guilty of abuse.

Both judges had been almost ready to even forbid contact, but Rocky had explained to them that to do that would damage Abigail’s own healing. She needed to hear from Ernie himself, even if it was in letter form, exactly what had been going through her birth father’s mind at certain times. Rocky also had his hands full helping Ernie get out of the dark place he’d been in since the accident that had killed Trini. What Rocky hadn’t explained was that regular contact between the two aided both in their own healing, unusual in abuse cases.

Despite Abigail and Kat falling asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows, Tommy look a lot longer to fall asleep. He’d ended up using a meditation technique and fell asleep listening to his wife breathing. Even then, his sleep was anything but restful; he’d woken up more than once, either because of sleeping in an unfamiliar room or due to the stress of the whole thing. He knew that Abigail wouldn’t be the only one sleeping easier once the whole event was over.

Morning had come way too early for them, but Tommy had plenty of experience operating on a rough night’s sleep while looking well rested. Nothing screamed ‘I have a secret identity’ like appearing exhausted after fighting an evil villain after school and still having to do homework. Abigail, on the other hand, grumbled about the whole thing; Trent hadn’t been much better when they came down to eat. Tommy, Kat, and Anton all had grinned in their coffee or juice at the teens’ grumbling about chipper adults over breakfast. Elsa had just smirked; despite no longer being evil, she still acted that way on occasion. It helped keep the high school students wary of her.

“I thought you would have figured this out last year, Trent,” Tommy responded lightly. Trent just glared at him as they ate. If they’d not been at Anton’s house, Tommy knew he’d have gotten a napkin or something to the face.

Out of the group, only Elsa wasn’t going to be joining them at the courthouse. As much as she wanted to be there, she was dealing with the school board, still fighting to get her pick of science teacher in. The board had to also deal with the complaints from parents and had finally run out of excuses. It finally looked like they’d give in today; the results would depend on the adoption hearing and how well Lt. Stone would be neutralized.

Aside from Anton, Rocky, Kat, Ms. Andrews, the lawyer and the Dino Rangers, Tommy and Abigail would be effectively alone in the courtroom. Lt. Stone had also confirmed that he would be there; the only person they didn’t know if he’d be able to make it was FBI agent and profiler Derek Morgan or his boss Agent Hotchner.

Thankfully, both FBI agents were there when they arrived, which was a surprise. They’d only expected one of the two agents. After introductions were made, Agent Hotchner had explained he’d insisted on coming along; most of their team was nearby just in case of things going south.

“I appreciate it; I have friends ready to do the same. Lt. Stone is the only one who believes she should be returned to her birthfather’s custody.”

“Dr. DeSantos explained exactly why that would be a bad thing for all involved. He said something about audio evidence?” The older profiler asked.

“Inside. The less talked about outside, where anyone can hear, the better.”

“There’s a meeting room inside we can use; Lt. Stone’s being sequestered elsewhere in the building. I take it you want him to be the only one surprised by the recording.” Agent Morgan’s question was more like a statement.

“If at all possible.” Tommy glanced at Abigail as they headed inside the courthouse. “I’d rather she not listen to it; it was hard on her being in the room when I heard it.” The two FBI had a silent conversation in only several seconds.

“That’s no problem, Dr. Oliver.” With that, Abigail headed off with Kat, the Dino Rangers and her classmates who’d gotten permission to be at the hearing, even if they couldn’t be in the actual courtroom itself. Agent Morgan went with them, so he could talk to her without Tommy being around. Of the two agents, Agent Morgan had an easier time getting minors to talk, even with parents or guardians in the same room.

By the time the recording was finished, Tommy was glad Abigail wasn’t in the room. The profiler exploded the moment that the tape recorder was turned off and rewound.

“Why is he not in a jail cell?!” Thankfully, Tommy didn’t have to answer due to Rocky speaking up.

“Because she asked me to talk to him first. If you’d read the case file, you’d know Ernie’s been in a dark place since his wife died. In his defense, he didn’t reach his breaking point until she received a part of her inheritance that he tried keeping from her.”

“The same inheritance she’s been making good use of? I don’t blame him for wanting to keep her from the associated danger, but that doesn’t excuse the abuse.” Tommy and Rocky just looked at each other; they knew that the information on how and why a Power Ranger was chosen had been included in the briefing the FBI agent in front of them had read.

“No, it doesn’t; if you remember…”

“I remember; she would have become a Power Ranger regardless of the situation.” Agent Hotchner had regained his composure.

“And she would have been in the same danger; villains like Ivan don’t care about using our families to strike against us. Even Rita had captured our parents, early on,” Tommy added. The memory still scared him; he’d been literally powerless to help them until Zordon had called him back in to help.

“I was the one who did the profile on your current opponent by TJ’s request; my team would be the one taking him down if it weren’t for his powers.” The conversation was cut short by Agent Morgan knocking at the door; it was time to enter the courtroom. Tommy and the others were rejoined by Kat and Abigail; she didn’t speak, but simply hugged them as tightly as she could.

What happened ended being a rather interesting Masterclass in derailing Lt. Stone. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Tommy would have almost laughed. He was sure he’d seen both FBI agents smirk at least once when the other was dealing with the detective. Finally, Jerome burst out his final argument.

“You weren’t there, either of you, when I had to make that call to Ernie that his wife had been killed in a car crash. You weren’t the ones who had to take his children to him; you didn’t see the relief that his children were okay.” Lt. Stone didn’t get to finish his argument when Agent Morgan cut him off, staring right into the detective’s eyes as he answered.

“You’re right, we weren’t. I have, however, seen what it’s like to tell a close friend that his wife’s dead, but his son is alright. I’ve been by his side, making sure he got the help he needed from the start. Dr. DeSantos told me that you didn’t even do that with Mr. Burton until after Abigail ran away. Frankly, I don’t blame her for doing so; she’s the one who even got Dr. DeSantos to help her birthfather, not you. Out of all of his friends who also knew her birthmother, you are the *only* one who wasn’t around enough to help. No weekly visits to see them until after she ran away, nothing. On the flip side of that Dr. Oliver made sure that she got therapy from the start; gave her the space and help she needed to trust him with everything. You know what I do for a living?”

“You’re a profiler; so is your boss.” It was hard to miss the fact that Lt. Stone felt that answering an obvious question a waste of his time.

“That’s right. You know what I see when I look at them? A loving family. If it weren’t for Abigail’s resemblance to her birthmother and the DNA test you so thoughtfully did, I almost would have thought that they were related by blood and that Dr. Oliver and his wife had raised her from the start. They are that close, Lt. Stone, that close and they’ve only been in each other’s daily lives for 6 months. 6. Months, lieutenant. I have never seen a family bond that quickly in their circumstances, never. That says a lot about Dr. Oliver and Mrs. Hillard-Oliver, along with Dr. DeSantos and how well they care for her.” Agent Morgan rested his case at that, when it became apparent that the detective had nothing to argue against two expert profilers.

“I’ve heard enough. Judge Wilkens, how about you?” Judge Giles looked over at the other judge handling the case.

“So have I, Judge Giles. Between the written statements and everything else I’ve heard, along with the fact that Mr. Burton has signed away his parental rights to young Abigail-a fact, Lt. Stone, that you seem determined to ignore-I have no issue signing off on Dr. Oliver and his wife adopting her. This is especially given that it is something she wants as well, another fact that you seem to disregard.”

Tommy knew at that moment Lt. Stone couldn’t do anything to separate their family anymore; it was obvious that the detective knew that he’d lost. He raised no more objections, sinking into his chair as he ignored the remainder of the proceedings around him as the judges did their job. Within a half hour, Tommy and Kat were declared Abigail’s parents legally. That didn’t mean that Tommy didn’t appreciate Agents Hotchner and Morgan getting Lt. Stone out of the courtroom and away from the group, he did. He knew that the two agents would be having a discussion with the police officer; Tommy didn’t think Stone would be able to find a job after this. That is, if he didn’t get outright arrested for trying to blow Abigail’s cover; Lt. Stone had broken a number of laws, including Angel Grove’s own regarding the Power Rangers, in trying to find Abigail.

From what Agent Hotchner told him later that afternoon was that Sanderson couldn’t be arrested or fired for his role in this. They all knew that the former teacher turned forensic scientist had to have known whose DNA he was running, but Lt. Stone had covered his tracks well; the case file associated with the DNA was of a kidnapped girl who Lt. Stone had seemingly been trying to reunite with her family. The FBI had to actually make sure that the case wasn’t real; that had been part of why Agent Hotchner and his team had been in town, as Agent Morgan had been attached to Abigail’s case almost from the start.

Before Tommy, Kat, and Abigail could leave for their party, they had to finalize the necessary paperwork to get Abigail’s birth certificate amended. Thankfully, that could be done in the same building, but in a different office. Abigail had decided she wanted to be called Abigail Burton-Oliver and neither Tommy nor Kat were going to argue; they knew how important it was for her to have some connection to her birth family in her name. Tommy also knew that once he got the amended birth certificate, he was going to have to take that along with the rest of the paperwork over to the Social Security office to amend their records. It was worth the extra steps; Tommy didn’t regret any of this.

It was going to take at least a month for the birth certificate to be amended; Tommy had already bought a fire-and-waterproof lockbox for the papers. He would rather keep them in the house; the lawyer had actually recommended it. Even with the birth certificate being one of the last things they needed as far as paperwork went, they were finally, legally, a family and Tommy couldn’t be happier. He’d seen how Abigail had finally relaxed when the judges had declared he and Kat to be her new parents; none expected Kat to take Trini’s place, but they also knew that Abigail got along with Kat, which had been the important thing for all of them.

After everything was done isofar as the paperwork went, they headed over to Hayley’s, as they still had a few hours before either of them had to be at the dojo. Abigail might have been given the day off of school, but she still wanted to got to her martial arts lesson that afternoon. Tommy knew that it was her partially making sure she kept some of her daily routine the same; after the stress of the last 6 months, keeping as much the same for her was important. It was one of many things that helped her feel safe and secure in Reefside, Ivan aside.

Tommy watched as his daughter let herself be pulled into her group of friends as an impromptu party broke out; the actual party was going to be tonight as there had been those who’d been unable to join them at the courthouse. They’d all been under so much stress that they wanted to celebrate a major good thing in all of their lives.

“She’s doing better, Tommy.” Hayley handed him a coffee as she joined him and Kat at the counter.

“Yes, she is, now that she’s got a major source of her fears cut off at the source.”

“Not just that, but that’s a major part of it. She’s got the family she’s wanted and needed now; give yourself some credit. I saw where this was headed when you first brought her here back in June, Tommy.”

“If I didn’t know better, Hayley, I’d assume you were psychic.” Hayley just snorted. “You know me way too well, though.” Tommy pretended that he was ignoring the sniggering coming from his wife and one of his closest friends, but he was grinning all the same. With those he cared about by his side, Tommy knew that they could weather the tough times ahead with Ivan, now that this was out of the way.