Author's notes and disclaimers
Disclaimers:
I do not own the characters and concept of "The Tomorrow People". Those belong to Roger Damon Price, Nickelodeon, Thames Television, and/or Tetra Films. "Power Rangers Turbo" and the character of Rocky do not belong to me either, since they belong to Saban and/or Fox.
Isabella Gladding is mine, however, as are any minor characters that may appear.
You are free to distribute this for noncommercial purposes as long as all parts (including this one) are included.
Author's notes:
"Some Things" is story 2 of the "The More Things Change" trilogy. It could possibly be read without reading the stories "Something More in Common" and "Called Blood", because of the highly episodic nature of the story. However, I would suggest that you read the other two first.
This is the third in a series of new series/Power Rangers crossovers that fall under the serial "Opposites Attract". It occurs during the events of "Power Rangers Turbo", after "Shift into Turbo", but only tangentally as it features a character no longer on that series.
Thanks go to Wendy Kelley and Mandi Ohlin for checking this over for me. Mandi also deserves thanks for letting me borrow the events of her Power Rangers piece, "Irreconcilable Differences", for use in my stories. Beth Epstein also deserves thanks for answering a biology question for me despite her busy schedule at the time. If the biology is wrong, however, it is my fault, not hers.
Telepathic thought is in square brackets [like this].
Posting Schedule: Saturday and Wednsday for two weeks.
You can find back/missed parts at the TPFICT archive. The two preceeding stories can be found at either the TPFICT archive or my own (http://www.calweb.com/~smccrory/fanfic/).
I always welcome feedback. :)
"Hey!" Rocky shouted as Jesse, Jade's dog, caught the frisbee that Jade had tossed in the air. His friend was laughing as she ran up to get the frisbee from her dog. "*I* was supposed to catch that!"
"It's not my fault that he can catch better than you," Jade said, grinning from ear to ear. Rocky laughed, flopping down beside the two. It occurred to him that he might want to move his towel from further up the beach.
"At least I can claim that I'm still sore from the accident," Rocky teased her. "How can he run under all that fur? It must be a hundred today."
"He likes the sun," Jade replied. She added telepathically, [Besides, Mum needed him out of the house, and California is a good change of pace.]
[If you ignore the quarantine regulations,] Rocky responded the same way. He still couldn't believe that he was talking mind-to-mind. However, it was a great thing for privacy, unless another telepath decided to listen in. But other telepaths weren't his concern; the other inhabitants of the beach were.
[Dad's going to have fits if he finds out you brought your dog to America without going through quarantine,] a voice said. Megabyte.
[And how's summer school?] Jade replied sweetly. Rocky had to smile. Megabyte had done some off-the-wall things, and those things had earned him a trip to summer school. A good hacker Megabyte was, but he didn't manage to hack the school computer before his Dad got his grades. Even Lisa, who rarely spoke, had weighed in with a comment.
That was the only time he had met Lisa. If he'd read Adam correctly during the link, his friend had at least a crush on her. A lot of love, and a lot of sorrow too.
Megabyte grumbled, the end of the conversation. Jade smiled, and he shrugged at her.
He was rapidly getting used to his new state. The fact that Jade would soon be going home for dinner didn't bother him anymore. And the telepathy, although strange at first, didn't bother him much anymore.
Rocky had been afraid at first that being a Tomorrow Person would interfere with his ability to teach karate. It hadn't. Of course, he wasn't as enthusiastic about competing that he used to be, but he still didn't have a problem teaching. He suspected that if he ever used his skills with much more than an intent to defend, he'd be in big trouble.
Jade let out a laugh. "Shall we try again?"
"Sure," he said. He needed the relaxation. "I'll toss, you catch."
"Okay," she replied, grabbing the frisbee from Jesse's feet and handing it to him.
They managed to toss it a few more times before Jesse caught it, and bounded away from them, up away from the sea. The two ran after him, laughing.
The smile on Jade's face was replaced by a frown as she caught up with him. Rocky almost tripped over her as she crouched over her dog. Jesse was whimpering, and as far as Rocky could tell, bleeding.
"That looks pretty bad," he said. "We'd better take him to a vet hospital."
"You're right," Jade replied, gathering Jesse up in her arms. "Where's the nearest one?"
"I have no idea," Rocky said. "I don't even know where the nearest vet would be."
"Never mind," Jade said, hugging Jesse close. "I'll take him to someone I know."
"Let me help," Rocky said, and helped lift the dog. Jade closed her eyes, and Rocky concentrated on ending up in the same place as her, just as Adam had taught him.
He opened his eyes to a startled older woman, who looked like she was trying to prevent her drink from spilling over her.
"Oh, my," the woman said.
* * *
The woman, Ruth as she insisted on them calling her, looked at Jesse's paw and bandaged it. Rocky figured she must have dealt with some extraordinary situations before. She didn't blink when they'd teleported in, she didn't ask awkward questions, she just helped them to her office and examined Jesse.
"I want you to keep a close eye on Jesse for a few days. No running around on beaches, and keep the bandage as clean as possible. See if your Mum will let you keep him inside for a day or two."
"I will," Jade said. She anxiously looked up at Ruth. "What happened to him?"
"It looks like he stepped on a small, sharp piece of metal. It didn't go in very far, but there's always the chance of infection, among other things."
"Thank you, I'll keep an eye on her," Jade said. "I'd better take him home now. Rocky, are you coming with me?"
Rocky mentally reviewed his schedule. "No," he said. "I'd better get back and help my mom with lunch."
"Okay," she said, and disappeared with Jesse in her arms. He was alone with Ruth. He looked at the small woman with greyish-whitish hair, and decided his mom could wait a few minutes while he talked to this woman. The Tomorrow People were like the Rangers: they never revealed what they were, if they could help it. It was against the rules.
"Are you all right?" Ruth asked gently.
"Yeah. I think so. I'm kind of new at this."
"Would you like something to drink?" Ruth offered. Rocky looked at her. She seemed like one of those kindly old aunts that one always wished they had. Rocky felt instantly comfortable, despite the unsettling feeling that he got when he realized that part of his impression of her, well from anyone now, was partially based on picking up their emotions. It was equally unsettling to know that most of the time he probably didn't notice it.
"Water, please. I have to go and have lunch soon, but I need something."
"Right this way, and I'll find you a cup," Ruth said. She led Rocky into the kitchen and sat him down at the table before grabbing a mug and filling it with water. She refilled her own cup and sat down across from him. "Better?"
"Yeah," Rocky said, taking a sip of the water. "You weren't surprised that Jade and I - arrived the way we did. I thought that we were supposed to keep things a secret."
Ruth laughed. "Sometimes I wonder, the way they sometimes explain things! But, at least in my case, they made an exception. Did Jade tell you that I'm Kevin's aunt? You have met Kevin?"
Rocky remembered his brief meeting with Megabyte's friend. "Yeah, I did meet him, but nobody ever mentioned you."
"I think the parents have to know. I was taking care of Kevin at the time, so I was told. His parents know too, but they're not as accepting of his abilities as I am. I keep trying to talk to Margaret about it, but she and Henry would prefer Kevin to be normal, and he tries to be, just for them. It's a shame. I think everyone else does, although Adam's never mentioned anything about it."
"I haven't told mine," Rocky replied. "I always assumed we didn't tell anyone unless it was an emergency or if they'd figured it out for themselves."
Ruth laid a hand on his arm. "It's up to you, Rocky. I know that it was a hard decision for Kevin. It may be for you, I don't know."
"Yeah," Rocky said. "I don't know if I'll do it immediately. I mean, I'm just getting used to it myself. I have friends that know about us, but they don't know that I've become a Tomorrow Person, and I don't feel comfortable with telling them."
"You're not comfortable with it? Then give it time. Nobody's forcing you to a decision yet."
Rocky pondered that for a moment. "Thanks," he said. "I think I needed that."
She patted his hand. "It's all right. You're not the first one to have problems. Just feel free to pop in- give me a warning first, though!"
Rocky laughed. "I will. I better get to lunch though, and I don't think mom will be happy if I just appeared in the dining room."
Ruth laughed. "I'll see you later, then."
* * *
[Rocky!] someone called. Rocky groaned, identified the speaker, and cracked his eyes open to look at the time.
[Jade? What's so important that you woke me up at 5:15 am?] he asked, stretching.
[I don't think Jesse's feeling well. I'm going to take him to Ruth's, and I thought you should come along, since you live in California. I'm sorry that I forgot about the time difference.]
Rocky groaned. It was unlikely that he'd get any more sleep after she'd woken him up. [How bad is he? Will it matter if I throw some clothes on and stretched a little, or should I show up in my pajamas?]
Jade was silent for a moment. [I think it's okay to wait a few minutes. But hurry, Rocky, please?]
[Okay. I'll throw on some clothes and get a drink and I'll be right with you.]
Rocky stretched, and wished he had time for some stretching exercises. He didn't quite feel up without something to drink, a good stretch, maybe a kata, and some actual breakfast. Still, he might survive on just some water and getting dressed.
He closed his eyes, and concentrated on Jade. A moment later, he opened his eyes to find himself in a kitchen. Jade was sitting there with Jesse, and the was a woman sitting by the sink who had to be related to Jade. Her mother, he guessed.
"Sorry for waking you up," she said, by way of apology.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm used to this kind of thing."
She gathered Jesse up in her arms, and they teleported again.
* * *
Ruth looked at Jesse's paw as Jade described his symptoms. "Sounds like some sort of poison," she said. "I don't recognize it. It's not the same thing that affected Bonnie. Where were you when Jesse stepped on the piece of metal?"
She was addressing the question to Jade, but Rocky beat Jade to the answer. "We were on a beach in California. I'd invited Jade over for a visit, and she brought Jesse with her. Jesse stepped on something while catching the frisbee, and that's when we brought her to you."
"California?" Ruth said, turning to Jade. "You didn't tell me this before."
"Could it be dangerous?" Jade asked.
Ruth nodded, her face solemn. "Very."
"Why?" Jade asked. Rocky stared at her, wondering if being a Tomorrow Person had lowered her brain cell count. Then he realized that he'd never thought about it either, and mentally smacked himself.
"Because if Jesse turns out to be sick with something catchable, he has a chance of infecting something else. It could be very virulent, and turn into an epidemic. That's why they quarantine animals for several weeks upon arriving in a country," he said.
"He's right," Ruth said. "I don't think that this is more than poisoning, but I should quarantine Jesse just in case. Did he come in contact with anything else?"
"I teleported him straight home. He wasn't in contact with anything."
"Heaven help us if this is a disease and it has a human vector," Ruth said. "I'm just glad I disinfect myself. You two might as well, while you're here."
* * *
"I wish you'd have let Adam come along," Rocky complained. "We could have used a third set of eyes."
Jade moved ahead of him, stepping carefully along the rocks. It was still early in the morning, even though Ruth, after getting them disinfected, had insisted on serving Rocky breakfast. Whatever the salty, lumpy stuff was, he'd delighted Ruth by almost wolfing it down. It had made him feel better, more awake. He'd smiled at the disbelief on Jade's face. There was no disbelief now. Instead, she was concentrating on finding the area that they had been in only a few hours before. "If I'd let Adam come along, he would only have gotten over-protective. I can find this thing on my own."
"Then what am I here for?" Rocky asked, rather wishing he'd slept through the whole thing.
She looked up. "Okay, I can find this thing with your help. You're not likely to order me home if things get dangerous."
Rocky couldn't help but smile. "Are you so sure?"
Jade chose not to reply to this, but instead concentrated her attentions around one rock. "It's got to be here somewhere..."
A flash got their attention. The young woman who materialized from it was nobody Rocky was familiar with, and to tell from the expression on Jade's face, she didn't know this person either. There was only one black Tomorrow Person he was aware of, and Ami didn't look a lot like this. The young woman came towards them. She was smiling, but it was a shy, almost tentative smile. "Hi, you said you needed some help?"
The voice sounded familiar. Rocky hazarded a guess as to who it could be. "You're Lisa," he said.
"Yeah," she said. She gracefully walked towards them. Rocky was reminded of Aisha. "I heard you when you were talking to Adam," she added. "I figured that you could use some help, and since I live only a few miles away, I decided to come."
"I thought you had given up being one of us," Jade said. Rocky caught the doubt radiating from her. Still, he felt like he should trust her.
"Yeah, I did," Lisa said. "But it's been a few years. I was starting to wonder if I was wrong and if I could really deny what I am. Besides, mom's less likely to freak if I'm just looking for pieces of metal rather than what happened last time."
Jade looked at him. He shrugged. He trusted his instinct that she was the real Lisa and that she was telling the truth. "Sure, why not?" he asked.
"Thanks. You must be Jade, and Rocky."
He nodded, and saw that Jade did the same. "Why don't we split up?" he said. "We'll cover ground faster."
The others agreed, and went their separate ways.
They had spent maybe half an hour when someone else came onto the beach. Rocky nearly swore. The beach had never been this busy at seven am. The new arrival ran towards him, but seemed not to notice him. "Lisa?" she called.
"Over here," Lisa replied. The new arrival grinned. Rocky, curious as to the new person's identity, ran to intercept. He could see Jade doing the same.
The new arrival stopped when she ran into Lisa. Rocky stopped before running into her, and Jade almost did. The new arrival moved as to steady herself. "Whoa! Major awkwardness. Sorry, Lisa."
"That's okay," Lisa said. "These are the friends I went to help. This is Jade, and Rocky. Jade, Rocky, this is Isabella. A friend of mine."
"Call me Iz," Isabella said, looking acutely embarrassed. "I hate Isabella. Hey, Lise, how'd you get here so fast? Did they finally fix your car?"
"Caught a ride," Lisa replied. "Glad you could come help."
"Hey, if someone's polluting the beach, I want to know about it. What are we looking for?"
"It's a piece of metal of some kind," Jade said. "My dog stepped on it, and got sick. It's someplace up near the lot."
"Maybe it's from that film production up here a few days back," Isabella said thoughtfully.
"Film production?" Lisa asked. She was frowning. Isabella smiled.
"Yeah. Bob, you know, part of Tech Support? He came out here during out lunch a couple of days back. He said that there were these guys in fish-like armor, and these other people in bright spandexy material. Anyway, he didn't see very much of it, but they seemed to be rehearsing some scene or other. They weren't there when he came back."
Rocky frowned. Isabella's description sounded like both the Pirhanatrons and the Rangers had paid a visit to the beach, no doubt after the object that had made Jesse sick. The fact that nobody had found the metal brought him a small bit of comfort.
"We could use your help," Jade said, looking pleadingly at Isabella.
"Hey, just direct me, and I'll help look," Isabella replied.
"We haven't looked over there yet," Lisa offered.
"Great. I'll call if I see anything," Isabella said, and then wandered off. Lisa looked like she was about to. Rocky opened his mouth to speak and then realized that Isabella was still in hearing range.
[Lisa, does she know about us?]
[No,] the girl replied. [And I'd like to keep it that way.]
* * *
An hour later, the four got back together again. "Any luck?" Rocky asked. The other three looked at each other.
"No," Jade said. "I think I know where Jesse was, but there's nothing there. Just sand and stone, no metal."
"No luck here, either," Lisa said. "I found a bottle, but it's intact."
"Hope you tossed it in the trash," Isabella said. "On my end, no luck on the metal either. But something occurred to me."
"What?" Jade asked anxiously.
"What if I tell you over lunch?" Isabella replied. "I'm getting hungry. I feel like I could eat a horse, and Lise here could tell you how rare I feel like that."
Lisa smiled. "Yeah, Iz isn't a heavy eater."
"Does anybody have a car, or do I get to drive everybody?" Isabella asked.
"You figure it out," Lisa said, laughing.
* * *
"Thanks for covering the pizza, Rocky," Isabella said. "I should have visited an ATM, but I didn't think of it. It's not like I spend a lot of money on food anyway."
"You're welcome," Rocky said. Actually, it hadn't been a burden. They'd all agreed to cheese, and he'd been doing most of the eating. Isabella had only had one slice.
"You better eat more, before your mom thinks you're trying to starve yourself again," Lisa said. Rocky could tell that she was only teasing her friend. She looked at the others. "Iz's mom thought she had anorexia nervosa."
Isabella frowned. "I could have. I read about it, but I'm nothing like the people who get it. I'm not worried about my weight or being thin. It's just that I don't have a big appetite, and never had. It saves quite a bit on the food budget."
"What you eat is up to you. On my end, everyone thinks I have tapeworm."
The smile returned to Isabella's face. "Yeah, and you don't look like you put away as much as you do, so I guess we match up."
"Iz," Jade said, "you said something occurred to you. What is it?"
Isabella put down her pizza. "Well, I was thinking, I remember something about this really antisocial guy that was kind of a legend when I was growing up. Nobody was really sure whether he was real or a ghost, I remember. He seemed to spend a lot of time on the beaches down here. My friends and I tried to catch a glimpse, but never did. When I moved back here, I tried again. It's not impossible that he's still here; that's one of the cleanest beaches in the county, and someone's got to be picking it up, besides the volunteers. It could be him."
"So, if he's real, he's probably cleaned up the mess. A hermit into the Environment," Rocky said.
"Why haven't I heard of him?" Lisa asked. "I've been here for three years."
"Well," Isabella blushed. "He used to be a kind of bogeyman to scare kids. You're not a kid, so why should you hear about him?"
"Yeah, that could be a problem," Lisa replied. "I wonder where he lives?"
"Who knows. Probably in one of those cabins nearby. You get a lot of eccentrics down there."
"Could you show us where?" Jade asked. "I really want to find more of that metal."
"Sure," Isabella replied. "I'll have to show you on a map, though. I have to get to work soon. I only took part of the day off."
"Let me get one," Lisa said. She exited the restaurant, and Rocky knew that Lisa had popped home to get a map. Isabella leaned over.
"So, Rocky, is that a nickname, or did your parents have a thing for Stallone movies?"
Rocky grinned. "Nickname. Trust me, the name my parents gave me is worse than you can imagine."
Isabella grinned back. "No it isn't. Tell me."
"No thanks. When I mean really embarrassing, I mean really embarrassing."
He was spared any further diving into his name by Lisa's return to the table. She sat down and opened a map. "There was a place nearby selling maps," she said to Isabella.
"I was about to say how fast you were today," Isabella said. "Instead, I think I'll just mark the places for you to look."
"Believe me, I appreciate that," Lisa said.
"You'd better," Isabella replied, drawing out a pen.
* * *
[God, there're a lot of houses out in this area.]
[Iz said that there were a lot of people who liked the scenery here. Perfect place to hide. I don't know it very well, but Mom and I aren't rich, so we live closer to town.]
Rocky paused. This was his third building of the day. The other two had proven empty. One was somebody's very obviously abandoned cabin, the second somebody's dreamhouse, very well cared for but the owners seemed to be out at the moment.
This current one wasn't even the one he was planning to go to next. The next one was a dream home. Still, he had an urge to follow the trail off the road, and he'd learned very quickly that he had to trust his instincts as a Tomorrow Person as much as he had when he was a Ranger. [So what *does* Iz do for a living?]
[She's a software engineer. A programmer. Right now she's working on programming a better compression scheme for her company's main product. They've been working on it for a while, and Iz has been rather busy. She worked late last night, so she was able to come in a little late this morning. Why?]
[I was just thinking how great she was. I wanted to know a bit more about her.]
Lisa laughed telepathically. Or at least that was what Rocky thought it was. [Rocky, I might mention if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, her mom is rather picky....]
[Sheesh, is it *that* obvious? Yeah, I'd like to date her- I like her, she looks great, and everything, but I don't want to ask her out. My last couple turned out really bad. Especially my last one.]
[What happened?]
Rocky blinked. He couldn't believe how fast Lisa was becoming familiar to him. [You know I was a Ranger, right? Well, I was on this date with the most fantastic girl in high school, and my communicator went off in the middle of it. When I came back, my date was steamed.]
[There are some advantages of not going to save the world,] Lisa replied, sounding almost wistful.
[You guys, how about finding that piece of metal?] Jade said, breaking into their conversation.
[We'll find it, Jade,] Lisa said reassuringly. [We don't have that much of the place to cover with three of us doing it.]
[Yeah. I'm going to see if there's anyone at this cabin up ahead. It's a little off the trail, so I don't know if anyone's there, but I feel like I should.]
[Does it look inhabited?] Jade asked.
[Can't tell. It's one of those really handbuilt ones like the one up in Montana that was on the news a lot.]
[Be careful,] Lisa said.
[Yeah, I will,] Rocky replied. He looked at the cabin, trying to figure out why in the world his instincts were screaming at him to look there. It wasn't as if somebody was about to shoot at him.
He walked slowly towards the cabin. As Adam had taught him, he was quickly evaluating the best place to go to hide and teleport. Also, it would probably be best to be non-threatening. Not like he wasn't anyway.
Rocky was halfway towards the cabin when a man stepped out. He kind of reminded Rocky of that man with the grizzly bear on the TV show that he used to like to watch but could never remember the name of. Okay, so the guy was a little less neat. He didn't look friendly either, but that could be explained by the fact that Rocky had gotten off the trail and was now on the guy's property.
"Hello?" he asked.
The man stopped a few feet away. "I hope you are aware that you're on my property."
Rocky relaxed a bit and tried to make his intrusion seem a bit less threatening. "I'm sorry sir, but I've been looking around this area trying to find someone."
"You're not lost," the man stated.
"No, sir," Rocky replied. "My friends and I have been looking for somebody who might have picked up a piece of metal along the beach not far from here."
The man nodded. "I've cleaned up the beach a few times. Why is this piece of metal so important? Nobody stepped on it, I hope. I just did some cleaning yesterday, but it was mostly glass bottles."
"Yes, sir," Rocky replied. "My friend's dog stepped on it, but when we went to see if we could find it, it was gone. We're pretty sure it was a piece of metal, and we're also pretty sure that something made the dog sick."
"I'm sorry to hear about your friend's dog," the man said. "As I said, I didn't find any pieces of metal, but I'd be glad to give you what I did pick up yesterday. Maybe it'll help. I hope it does."
"Thanks. I'm sorry to have intruded on your property. It's just that she's real worried."
The man held up his hand. "I understand. I've had dogs in my life. This doesn't mean that you should trespass on peoples' land, but I can understand your cause. Just hold on a second, and I'll get my collection."
Rocky watched as the man walked into the cabin. He couldn't keep his eyes off of the place. Something was screaming for him to go inside, but he didn't want to incite the man's anger. He'd been taking it so calmly.
The man reemerged from the cabin with a trash bag. "Here's the collection. Hope it helps. If I run into anything metal, I'll turn it over to the authorities. I hope to run into you in town sometime so that you can tell me the outcome, but please don't come onto my property again. I'm not always in such a good mood."
"I understand sir. Thank you," Rocky said, and then turned up towards the path. He needed to think.
* * *
Lisa, Jade, and Rocky sat underneath a tree just off the trail. Rocky had explained the encounter with the man to the two girls. "It's weird. I get the world's friendliest hermit, and I'd like to believe him, but I just keep getting the feeling that I should check out the cabin."
"Why don't you go in?" Jade asked. "That is what teleporting is for, after all."
"I dunno. It's just like somehow I should be searching the cabin, but some part of me is screaming trespass."
"I could go," Jade offered. She looked so willing. He honestly didn't want to go in, but he knew that there would be hell to pay if they let Jade go into something dangerous on her own.
"No, I found it, I should go," he said. In order to avoid Jade getting any more bright ideas, he concentrated on the cabin and being inside.
Suddenly, he was.
* * *
Rocky searched through the cabin, which was bigger than he thought it would be. His hands had just touched something metallic in a cloth bag when he felt another piece of cold metal touch his shoulder.
"I help you, I provide you with my stuff, and you break into my cabin," the man said coldly.
Rocky paused. Something told him he was holding the right thing in his hands, and that he should get out of there, but he didn't want to teleport in front of the man. He turned around. "Please, this may save my friend's dog. You've got to give it to me."
"It's mine. Ya hear? It's mine. I think you're making things up," the man said.
"No, I'm not," Rocky said. He grabbed the package, ran towards the front door, and hoped he could duck behind someplace to teleport.
An intense pain went through his left arm. He ducked around a corner, took a breath, and managed to teleport.
* * *
"Rocky? Are you okay?" Jade asked.
"I don't know. I don't think so. Let me check," Rocky said and then looked at his arm. The red tshirt he wore was stained an even darker red at the sleeve. He'd obviously been shot. "I think we'd better get out of here."
"Good idea," Lisa said. The two girls steadied him and he felt them teleport him out.
* * *
Rocky held onto his arm, hoping that the pressure point he was pressing would help stop the bleeding. Lisa had gone to find Adam, since he wasn't answering calls. He seemed to be asleep. Rocky hoped she'd find Adam soon, because he didn't want to explain a gunshot wound to the Angel Grove police. He would have to do that if he showed up at Angel Grove memorial with the bullet wound.
Adam teleported in. Rocky wondered where Lisa had found him. Whatever he'd been up to, his shirt was rather rumpled. He dropped down beside Rocky.
"I don't know if I can heal this," he said.
Rocky almost shrugged, but didn't, mindful of his wound. "Try. If worst comes to worst, I'll go to the hospital and make up a story. It's not like I haven't had lots of practice."
"I'll try then," Adam said. "Hold still."
Rocky did as he was asked. He was actually curious to see what being healed felt like, whether it felt different from the healing that had been done to him over the last few years at the Command Center and Power Chamber. He felt a warmth on his arm where he'd been shot, and turned to see Adam's hand glowing white. After a minute or so's waiting, Adam's hand stopped glowing. Rocky's arm showed no sign of having been torn through by a bullet. As he moved it, he realized that it was sore. Sore he could deal with. He'd also have to get rid of the shirt and wash his arm, but that wasn't too bad either.
"That should do it," Adam said, then yawned. "I need to go back to sleep. Wake me up if anything happens."
The three of them watched as Adam walked towards the depths of the Ship. "Are you okay?" Lisa asked as he flexed his arm.
"I don't think Adam fixed it all the way, but I think I'll make it," Rocky said. "At least until we can get this thing cleared up. Can you hand me that bag?"
"Watch out, it may be sharp," Jade said, leaning over his shoulder.
Rocky unwrapped the metal from the cloth. He drew in a breath as he surveyed the item. It was kind of round with projections, kind of like the spaceship in the movie "Starman", except that the main portion of the ship was about as big as his head. The exterior portion flared out, except one portion that looked rather bent and rather sharp. Rocky would bet anything that this was the thing that Jesse had stepped on.
"What is that?" Lisa asked. "It looks like a movie prop."
"I dunno, but I'd bet something stepped on it," Rocky said. "It looks like this stuff here might be blood. Maybe even Jesse's."
"Something's happening," Jade said, pointing to a portion of the object. She was right. A section of the rounded portion was rippling, fading away as if it no longer needed to be there.
"Starman, anyone?" Rocky asked no one in particular.
"The portal acts like that," Lisa said. "Maybe it's some sort of probe ship?"
"Something's emerging," Jade said in a breathless whisper. Rocky looked over at the opening. Jade was right. There was something emerging, and Rocky's first thought was that it was a very furry seahorse. With arms.
[Hello?] an unfamiliar voice said within their heads. Rocky looked over at Lisa and Jade. The voice had a slightly unreal quality to it. To him, it sounded like one of the Aquitans speaking. He'd have to compare notes later.
"Is that you speaking?" Jade asked the thing in the spaceship.
[You're the one in the spaceship, right?] Lisa asked.
Laughter bubbled up from the voice. [I am. As are you, if I understand correctly.]
"Well, we *are* in an alien craft, guys," Rocky said, trying not to laugh. The two girls looked puzzled.
[I am thankful to meet you. I need your help.]
[What help do you need?] Adam answered, startling them all. [We will provide all the help that we can.]
[My ship was damaged by the descent onto this planet,] the being replied. [I was hoping that I could find help quickly, but my transmit range is so small. One person found me, but I could not speak to him, only communicate my distress.]
"The hermit," Rocky said out loud. [The man, he didn't want to give you up.]
[I know that now. I had hoped that my cries would cause him to seek help, but they only made him more secretive. I tried to make him give my ship to you the first time you came, but he didn't want to give it up.]
[But we didn't hear you when we were on the beach,] Jade said, sounding concerned.
[I was... Unconscious then,] the alien replied. [I wish I had discovered you sooner.]
[We kind of wish that, too. Let us discuss how to get you back,] Adam said.
[I think I have time for that,] the alien replied calmly.
[Right. I need the sun. Let's give our visitor a rest and get up on the beach.]
[All right,] Jade replied.
[Sounds good to me,] Lisa said.
[I'm ready,] Rocky said. He concentrated on the beach above. When he got there, he was virtually blinded for a few moments. He always forgot how dark the inside of the spaceship was when he was there.
"Do you think we can trust him, er, it?" Jade asked once they were above. "I mean, the only aliens we've run into wanted to possess people. It's not like they were very trustworthy."
"Yeah, but you're forgetting something, Jade. Unless you think the pod-things you guys told me about were into big spaceships with funky architecture and decoration, there's at least three species out there," Lisa argued. "The pod-things, the beings who built the spaceship, and the species of the being in the ruined ship are all different species."
"Yes, but what if it's in league with those pod-things? After all, it did hurt Jesse. He's still sick you know."
"I don't think that anything would be in league with those things," Adam said thoughtfully. Those were parasites. They don't exactly have friends."
Rocky looked at Jade, trying to comfort her. "Couldn't that have been an accident? I mean, I've never met anything that was perfect. Not humans, not aliens. I know this is a case of 'once bitten, twice shy', but aren't you carrying it a bit far?"
"He's right, Jade," Adam said, hugging the younger Tomorrow Person. "Sometimes things like that happen. We haven't met a lot of aliens yet. Do you want to condemn them for the actions of one group? It would be like condemning us for what one group did."
Rocky nodded, then moved closer to Jade and put a hand on her shoulder. The tactile contact increased his perceptions, somewhat disorienting him, but he could tell that Jade just needed to hear a little bit more before she gave in. "Jade, as a Power Ranger I've met a lot of aliens. I've even been to alien planets. Sure, there will be beings that want to destroy and cause evil. That's why the Power Rangers were brought into being. But I've met a lot of good ones, too. And they're the ones that make it worth fighting for. A reminder that there's hope, and that the universe is not out to get us."
Jade sniffled. "I guess you're right."
* * *
The foursome teleported back down. [Sorry we took so long,] Adam said. We needed to deal with something first.
The alien burbled telepathically. [Understandable. I have been studying the panels of your Ship. I can put in a temporary link to its communications panels from mine, but it wanted your permission first. You are its Crew, after all. Your welfare is more important than anything I need to do.]
[We give our permission,] Adam said, speaking for all of them, then directing a look at the column at the centre of the room. The column moaned.
[Thank you,] the alien replied, making its way towards the control panel surrounding the column.
[What about Jesse?] Jade asked, as if addressing the alien.
[I'm sure our friend can do something about him,] Adam said soothingly.
The alien turned from where it stood at the console. [Jesse?]
[My dog,] Jade said. [He stepped on you ship and he's hurt!]
[Show me what happened,] the alien said, sounding concerned. Jade complied, barraging the occupants of the room with the events of the last day. The alien sounded apologetic when it spoke again. [I am sorry. It appears like your pet had a reaction to my ship's bio-defence coating. Please bring him to me and I will try to help him.]
Jade nodded and teleported out. Adam asked the being, [But what about your communications link?]
[It should not take long to set up. My appearance here is an accident, and I cannot let this Jesse die just because I was careless. I cannot kill deliberately, and I do not like killing by accident.]
Jade reappeared, with Jesse in her arms. The dog barked, as if glad to see the occupants of the Ship. She put him down near the alien and its ship. The alien leaped into the ship after waddling from the control panel. The alien lifted something out. [I do not know if this will help,] the alien said. [It contains things that will destroy the coating and is relatively species-independent.]
[We can only hope,] Adam said while scratching Jesse's head.
* * *
Several hours later, the alien came out of its spaceship, radiating joy, or something close to it.
[Found something?] Rocky asked it. [Got in contact with your people?]
He was the only one there at that moment. Adam was asleep in a room of their own Ship, and Jade had gone home to return Jesse to Ruth's. The vet had reported through Jade that Jesse was, indeed, getting better and was expected to recover fully.
[Yes! I have made contact with my people, and they will be reaching here in a few of your days. I must, however, keep connected through your Ship until they arrive.]
[I don't think that that will be a problem,] Rocky said. [It's what we're here for. I just hope your friends will get here soon. It must be lonely.]
The alien laughed telepathically. [The company isn't that bad, as your people would say. I am glad to have met you, even with the problems I have caused.]
[Hey, these things happen. I've met a lot of beings over the years. Humans and aliens. Have you ever met the Bookala?]
The alien stopped whatever it was doing. [I have. But it surprises me that you have.]
[When I saw your ship, it reminded me of when I met one a few years back. It's why I knew I could trust you. You seemed a lot like the one I met.]
[Ah,] the alien said. [I will have quite a tale to tell when I get home.]
[We both will,] Rocky said.
* * *
"I guess it got home safely," Lisa said.
"It said it did," Rocky replied as they walked along the mall. They were being careful when talking, but fortunately their discussion sounded like something from "E.T.". "I'm sorry I couldn't be on the beach when it left, but it wasn't safe."
"You miss it," Lisa stated.
Rocky stared at her, and then smiled. "You're starting to sound like Adam."
"I am? Oh well."
"But I do, kind of. We had so much to talk about! I realized as I talked to it that I'd had more experience dealing with these things as a Ranger than any one of us has as a TP. Which is kind of funny. The future of the human race, and we still haven't dealt with much outside our own world."
"I think that we will, given time," Lisa said. "Anything can happen. For heaven's sake, I'm hanging around you guys again, and I never thought that would happen."
"Lisa! Rocky!"
"Hi, Iz!" Lisa greeted her friend.
"Hi back," Isabella replied. "How's Jade's dog?"
"He'll be fine," Rocky said. "They found out what was wrong with him, and the stuff he stepped on won't be causing any more problems."
"That's great! You want to tell me about it sometime soon? I mean, I don't have much time now, I've had my lunch break, but I want to hear about it."
Rocky smiled. "How about Saturday afternoon?"
Isabella smiled back. "It's a date."
-End.