Tommy's eye colors:

Medium blue - disappointment

Green turquoise - astonishment/shock

Hunter green - doubt

Royal blue - nervousness/irritation/insecure/confusion

Tea green - guilt/self-hatred/haunted

Iris blue - intense

Fern green - intense and dangerously protective

Azure - sadness/shame

Midnight blue - disgust

Emerald - love

Steel blue - contempt

Navy blue - assertive/sureness

Sage green - aggression/coldly dangerous, calculating

CHAPTER 55 - REVELATIONS

"All our parents have arrived already," Jason informed the moment Tommy joined them. "Did you still need to call yours?"

Tommy shook his head. "Everyone I want called will be there."

"Are we ready then?" Jason asked the team.

"As we'll ever be," Zack murmured while the others nodded.

Jason led the way inside. Their parents were already talking to Mr. Caplin outside the principal's office, they all noticed the seven children's entrance. As Jason stepped forward to speak, Tommy walked a bit further down the hall and opened the door to their homeroom.

"Mrs. Applebee," Tommy greeted. "Could you please join us? With Bulk and Skull?"

Mrs. Applebee looked up in confusion, and caught a glimpse of the principal with the other children and their parents in the hallway. She nodded. "Boys, if you would join us. Mr. Russell, I leave you in charge."

As they approached the others, Zack frowned. "Bulk and Skull?" he questioned Tommy.

"They're my friends," Tommy stated simply.

"You've got bad taste in friends."

Tommy's medium blue eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I do. I have, after all, used that term for you."

Zack started to respond but Billy cut him off. "Bulk and Skull have grown through association with our Greenman. However, Zack, even if they had not achieved advancement in maturation it would be inadvisable to articulate so callously against those which a friend applies the term of friendship."

Tommy grinned while Zack looked upon Billy in confusion. "Huh?" Zack questioned.

"If you consider Tommy a friend," Trini translated, "don't cut down his friends."

Harry rolled his eyes and added, "More to the point, don't insult someone that you count on to watch your back. You have a bad habit of doing just that when you're scared, Zack."

"I'm not scared!" Zack disputed. "I'm no coward! I beat all my fears along time ago."

"Snakes," Harry breathed.

"The only ones that feel no fear are those with nothing to lose or those that are too stupid to realize they can lose," Tommy stated. He turned to Jason. "We should move this somewhere more private."

"Teacher's lounge is empty this time of day," Mrs. Applebee said. "I suggest we head that way."

Once everyone was in the teacher's lounge and the door was shut, Mr. Caplin said, "I must admit this is the first time I've had students call a conference."

Jason grinned at this. Taking a deep breath, he said, "We need to tell you something. The only reason we haven't told any of you before this is that it's against the rules. Tommy pointed out how foolish the rules are when taken to extreme, then something else came up. Because of those two things, we're here."

Mr. Scot said, "That's a lot of words and no information there, son."

"Against whose rules?" Mrs. Hart asked.

"Zordon's," the original Rangers answered together. Before anyone could point out the obvious, that none of them knew a Zordon, Jason said, "Rangers, it's morphin' time."

Where usually the morphing actions would be performed at a speed no human eye could follow, this time they forced themselves to move slowly.

Tommy called his Power Coin to him first and called out, "Dragonzord!" Even those that already knew who the Rangers were stared in amazement as a blinding flash of green light appeared at his call; when they could see again the Green Ranger stood before them.

"Raptor!" Harry followed.

"Mastodon!" Zack followed.

"Pterodactyl!" Kim cried.

"Triceratops!" Billy said.

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!" Trini shouted.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason finished, and the entire Ranger team stood before the astonished audience. Jason then led them to power down.

"I didn't think it'd be anywhere near that hard to slow down the motions," Trini commented.

"That's -" Mr. Caplin's gaze flashed from one Ranger to the next. "You're the Power Rangers."

"Obviously," Zack said.

Mrs. Hart turned on Tommy. "You - You tried to kill my baby!"

Tommy rolled his eyes while the other six Rangers jumped to his defense. Mrs. Applebee, Bulk, and Skull also joined the fray in Tommy's defense while several of the other parents joined Mrs. Hart. Tommy moved away from the others, sat on the window ledge. Harry didn't stop arguing in Tommy's defense though he moved without conscious thought to place himself between Tommy's seat and the angered parents.

Mr. Caplin walked over to Tommy. "You're taking their reactions well," he commented.

Tommy shrugged. "It's to be expected. They're right -"

Jason turned to Tommy. "They are not!"

"I did come the closest of anyone to killing all of you. That's indis-"

"It was not you. It's Rita's sin, Tommy. Not yours. Never yours."

"How can you defend him after all he's done?" Mr. Scot demanded.

"After all he's done?!" Jason angrily repeated, facing his father. "Like what, Dad? Saving the world, saving my life? Standing up to Rita when everyone else is running in fear? Never backing down, running to the rescue even when it seems impossible? After all that, you dare ask how I can stand for him?! Because he stands for me! He's died for me!"

"He almost destroyed the world before he ever thought of saving it!" Mr. Scot returned just as venomous as his son. "Even he admits he almost killed you all! What'll you do when he decides he liked fighting on the other side better?!"

"He won't! You have no idea what you're talking about! None of you can even begin to know what it's like 'cause none of you have lived it!" Jason's voice dropped from shouting to a bare whisper. "Rita abducted him and put a spell on him, forcing him to fight for her. When we broke the spell … he … None of it was him. None of the destruction, none of the death, but he still carries guilt for Rita's actions. He still doesn't believe he deserves our friendship and love. God, Dad, of all the pain and hell that's come from this … He's the greatest victim of this war."

" 'He' is sitting right here," Tommy commented but it went unnoticed.

"I don't want him around," Mr. Scot ordered. "I don't give a damn who he is or who you think you are now that you're this so great 'Power Ranger', I won't have anyone around my family that's ever been a threat to any of us."

The rest of the room fell silent at these words, everyone's attention turned to Jason's response.

"Who I think I am? This isn't about Tommy," Jason said calmly, completely in control of his temper now. "This is about you. You don't like finding out we're the Rangers, that I am the Red Ranger. You don't like the idea that for over a year now, you've been looking to me and my friends for your protection. That you've been like any other citizen, running and hiding when danger came, just watching us doing all the fighting. This isn't about Tommy at all, it's about you and your foolish pride. You're using him, blaming him so you can pretend you're protecting me from something when you haven't been protecting me in along time."

Jason crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall, completely sure where they stood now. "Guess what, Dad, acting the ass and blaming Tommy for being stronger than you can even begin to imagine, for surviving hell and standing against it when those like you that don't have even a small idea of what it actually is are running and cowering, that isn't going to make you more of a man. I used to respect you, Dad, I looked up to you. But all I see now is a coward, afraid to face himself and therefore blaming an innocent for your shortcomings. I see a nobody."

Tommy was staring at Jason, his green turquoise eyes wide in shock. He tried to speak but no sound would pass his lips.

"Jason," Mr. Scot said, sternly.

Jason shook his head. "You know what you're doing Dad? It's the same damned thing the media does in blaming him but worse. You wanted a scapegoat and Tommy seemed easy to you. Because Rita used him, tried to kill us through controlling him, and through him came the closest ever to really defeating us. The media's portrayal of him gave you justification 'cause they were looking for a scapegoat too, and they ignored what we told them. But Tommy is innocent. You are all in the wrong to blame him. And he'd still die for you." Jason glanced at Tommy, smiled at the obvious astonishment on the other boy's face, then turned back to his father and said, "You know what's funny about it all? You and the media, all these idiots that insist on blaming Tommy for everything, you all look at him and see someone easy to blame. You think if he's the threat to us, you can handle it. Rita and Goldar and Scorpina, and this new arrival of Lord Zedd, those creations we face almost daily, even the putties, you can't touch them. They're beyond your comprehension. And you mistakenly see Tommy as touchable. But nothing you could do could touch him physically unless he allowed it. The only reason any of you can hurt him is because he's innocent. And you completely misjudge me. You make it a choice between Tommy and you, I'll choose Tommy. He's the better man."

Billy stepped over to Jason's side, away from his father. "I as well will always stand with Tommy and my Ranger family despite anyone else's opinion."

Kim moved to stand beside Harry and in front of Tommy. "I might still have a lot of growing up to do," she commented mostly to Tommy. "But as least I know I've passed these idiots. Power Rangers forever, right."

"Right," Harry agreed, as Tommy was still in too much shock to try to respond.

Zack and Trini moved away from their families and joined the rest of the Rangers. Zack said, "I don't always like Tommy but I always respect him. I know he's stronger than any of you could ever know."

"We're a team," Trini stated. "We stand together no matter what. Jason's right too. Tommy is the better man."

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CHAPTER 56 - HISTORY

"Always respected," Tommy breathed to himself but in the silence that had fallen over the room after the Rangers stated so clearly where they stood, everyone heard him.

"It's true," Zack said, causing Tommy to look up at him, the doubt visible in his hunter green eyes.

Tommy started to just shrug off this comment but decided to answer. "No it isn't. You … I had to die for you to respect me at all."

"Die? But …" Mrs. Kwan questioned but was ignored by the Rangers.

"That's not true, Tommy," Zack said. "I know that's how I acted but it's not how it was. I respected you for the strength it took for you to join us after we - after you were freed of Rita's spell. I kinda think you did most of that too. I know Jason destroyed the focus but you - you kinda let him do it. But that's beside the point. I think the biggest problem I ever had with you isn't what I've told you before. It's - it's that you remind me how easy it would be for us to lose, to fail everyone."

Tommy just looked at him for a long moment, a hint on confusion in his royal blue eyes. Finally he sighed and said, "I don't get it." When Zack looked at him incredulous, he told him, "English isn't my native tongue."

"Oh, yeah," Zack breathed. He thought a moment. "I'm not stupid, you know. I know how our battles went against you. I know we didn't win them. You just … you just stopped. Every time. When we found out it was a spell … It was clear the reason we were still alive is that you were fighting the control. I've felt their control before, most of us have, but nothing like what she did to you. It was always small things. The biggest was with Billy and Kim - ask them about the Punk Potion sometime."

"Or don't," Kim said, making a face at the thought.

Zack continued, "We never managed to fight the little controls ourselves, the rest of the team was just good enough to stop us and fix the problem. We weren't good enough against you. But you fought that major control when we couldn't even fight the small ones and … well, every time I looked at you, it reminded me we weren't good enough. That the only reason we were still alive is because you're good. I always thought we'd win this damned war because we're the good guys. The good guys always win in movies and all but - but this is real life. Every time I looked at you, I'd be reminded that we could die and I just wasn't ready for that."

Tommy met his eyes. "Are you ready for that now?"

"I guess you have to admit you can die before you try hard enough to live, huh," Zack commented. "This Lord Zedd … You're the strongest and bravest man I know, Tommy. If you're reacting like I've seen you react to him, I'm gonna take it serious. I'm ready to work at survival."

"Good. 'Cause we have a lot to do this month. Starting with the explanation to these people here, Jas," Tommy added.

"Yeah." Jason hesitated. He looked to Tommy and asked, "Where should I start?"

"Beginning usually works," Tommy told him. "Short version but not too short, I haven't figured out the training schedule yet anyway."

"While your making that schedule, remember we do require sleep, Tom," Harry pointed out.

"Why is Tommy the one making your training schedule, honey?" Mrs. Scot asked. "I thought you led as the Red Ranger always appeared to be the leader."

Jason looked at her for a long moment, thinking on his answer. "I am. Just as leader, I choose to follow the one that knows the most what's going on here and how to handle it. Anyway, our story." Jason took a deep fortifying breath and began. "It started on a normal day. Billy, Kim, Trini, Zack and I were all off doing our usual stuff when a tremor hit. Each of us was alone somewhere but none of us were worried or anything. It was a nothing occurrence most times but that day, instead of it passing and us continuing on, we found ourselves teleported to this obviously alien place. We saw each other and we … well we recognized each other but we didn't really know each other then. A deep voice greeted us and we turned and saw this giant tube filled with a floating head that introduced himself as Zordon of Eltare, a general on his worlds. He said he'd chosen the five of us to be our world's protectors against this witch that escaped her prison of the last ten thousand years." He paused, shook his head at the memory. "That was just insane for so many reasons, not the least of which being we were twelve and thirteen years old at the time. Trini and I were in the martial arts but there were so many even in that school that outranked us. As far as I knew, none of the others ever even attempted something like that. We told him - No, I was the only one that said anything. I told him no way and walked out the door, the others followed me." He chuckled sardonically. "Into the middle of the desert. And Zordon had placed the Power Coins on us without us knowing it."

Jason continued on, uninterrupted, with a short but complete enough history of their time as Rangers. Until finally he reached the current day. He explained Tommy's call in the night, Zedd's challenge, and their planned training schedule.

"I have one question," Mr. Caplin said.

"Just one?" Jason questioned, surprised. "What?"

"Tommy, Harry. Why aren't your parents here?"

"We don't have any," Harry responded before Tommy could. "We live alone."

"Harry!" Tommy exclaimed, shocked.

"I told you I wasn't letting it continue," Harry pointed out.

"I thought you trusted me."

"I do. You just need to trust them. They'll stand by us."

"What the hell do you mean?" Jason demanded. "You live alone? You don't have parents? How is that possible?"

"You live on the streets then?" Kim softly asked. "Like that kid you stopped a battle to save when you were still under Rita's spell? That's what you meant when I asked why."

Tommy shook his head. "We're not on the streets. We have a place, an apartment of our own. It's as safe as anywhere. We don't … I don't know about our White Knight here," he said, a slight sneer to his words, "but I don't need anyone. I'm fine."

"How can we not know this?" Jason questioned again. "How the hell can you rent an apartment at our ages anyway?"

"It makes no fucking difference. You want details, ask the White Knight. I have better things to do, like making plans to hopefully keep us all alive passed the first confrontation with Zedd!" Tommy responded. Power flowed around him in a visible green aura. Though he'd never seen anything quite like it before, Jason somehow knew exactly what Tommy was doing.

888

CHAPTER 57 - TRUST

Power flowed around Tommy in a visible green aura. Though he'd never seen anything quite like it before, Jason somehow knew exactly what Tommy was doing.

"Wait! Don't leave, please!" Jason called out, ignoring everyone else as he stepped towards Tommy. The Power settled slightly. It was still visible around Tommy but no longer swirling in preparation to teleport him away. "It's okay bro. Whatever it is, it'll be okay," Jason assured. "Just please stay and tell me what it is. Trust me."

Tommy's gaze locked on the floor. Jason took the final step between them and gently raised Tommy's chin until their eyes met. He wasn't sure what to make of the expression in their tea green depths. Around them, the parents, teacher, principal and friends fell silent as they watched the interactions between the two boys. The silence was insured by the very visible Power surrounding Tommy, inspiring a mixture of awe and fear from the gathering. Neither Tommy nor Jason took any real notice of anyone else's presence, let alone their reactions. "You'll hate me," Tommy breathed.

Jason shook his head no. "Impossible."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. You're my best friend. Nothing can take that away." He paused then asked, "Where do you come from, bro? Why is it you fight like it's always been about survival? What did you save Harry from, what is it that made him 'not like being out'? What does 'nameless' really mean?"

Tommy looked deep within Jason's eyes, measuring him. He sat on the window ledge hugging his knees to himself, looking so young and lost but the look in his iris blue gaze was much too old, the Power flowing around him giving him an otherworldly air. Then he quietly admitted in a flow of words that left Jason and everyone else confused, "We can't be put in the system. I tried to warn Harry but he's so stubborn and he thinks he knows but he doesn't. If we're in the system, he'll find us. And he'd kill Har a lot more painfully than if I'd just left him there. You don't run from him, and if you do, he makes sure no one else does. If he can't find us then we're safe. I'll do whatever it takes for us to be safe."

Tommy paused. When he continued there was a darkness in his fern green eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago. "If he tries to touch us, I'll kill him. I won't let him hurt Harry 'cause of me, I won't let that happen again. I won't go back. I don't care about anyone's rules or what anyone thinks of it. I won't fear him anymore. Whatever it takes, I'll protect us. I make my own way now. The past doesn't matter, we're free."

Well that made almost no sense, Jason thought to himself, trying to decipher Tommy's words. He sat down on the window ledge beside Tommy, his movements slow and cautious, taking care that nothing in his manner would register as a threat to the young warrior. He started to speak, stopped, then shook his head in confusion. "How can you be both?" he breathed, mostly to himself.

"What?" Tommy questioned, confused.

"I said that aloud, huh?" He was still trying to figure out what Tommy had just said but it was too confusing. He finally decided Tommy had said he and Harry had been prisoners somewhere and the legal system could be a threat in possibly sending them back to that. Jason couldn't understand why Tommy thought that, Jason knew his dad would never send any child back into something like that, even if the man wasn't handling the Ranger thing well.

"Jas?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." He shook his head and answered Tommy's question. "How can you be both the greatest, most respected and feared warrior and the innocent and somehow defenseless child? How can anyone be both?"

"I'm not a child," Tommy immediately responded in a soft tone. "I'm not innocent. If I'm defenseless then that doesn't say much for our team or our world's chances of survival. I am a warrior but I'm not the greatest, I'm not the most respected, and I'm definitely not the most feared. Most the 'verse would tell you Zedd's the most feared. I figure you as the greatest and most worthy of respect. I'm not. I'm just a warrior because it's all I really know and I - I just refuse to give in." The last sounded like an oath, a promise to himself just made.

Jason just stared at him for a long moment. What do you say when your personal hero states so clearly how much he thinks of you and in the same breath admits to fearing his enemy? Jason knew Tommy feared Zedd, he'd seen it in Tommy's actions, heard it in his tone, but Tommy hadn't said it until now. Well, he almost admitted the fear now. That was just as frightful, if not more so, than if he said it outright. I hope I never fail him, Jason thought to himself.

Unable to decide on a response to all that, Jason answered the larger issue. "By Power, Honor and Life -"

"Jason!" the other Rangers exclaimed fearfully, knowing the power behind such oaths. But Jason and Tommy were wrapped up in their own world at the moment and took no more notice of this interruption than they had anyone else's presence.

"I swear -"

"Jason, stop," Tommy quietly said. Jason looked at him and Tommy said, "Do you know how dangerous … Words have Power. If you can't keep it, it'll cost exactly what you swear. Don't - don't do that just for me. I'm not worth it."

Jason didn't respond for a long moment. "Don't ever say that about yourself again, Tommy. You're … you are the most important person in my life. You're what I live for and what I'm willing to die for. I would never make an oath I can't or even wouldn't want to keep. This one, I'll keep it spoken or not."

"If you're keeping it anyway, don't speak it. Don't chance it."

"I think you need to hear it. - By Power, Honor and Life, I swear to you, Tommy, my best friend and brother Ranger, I would never willingly or knowingly do anything to put you or those you care about at more risk nor will I ever allow anyone to - to hurt you, as it's in my Power to protect you. If you say the system is a threat then I will take your word for this and we'll make sure no one does or says anything to bring attention to these issues. If anyone tries something you think would be bad for you or Harry, we have the Power to stop it. Between us, we have more than enough Power to stop it so nothing to fear there. But I will not stand silently by if you're doing anything dangerous or harmful to you to keep yourselves independent. - And I want the rest of the story, what it is you're hinting at." He took Tommy's hand in his. "I know who you are, nothing will ever change what you are to me, but I want to know where you came from too. I'll stand with you through anything, Tommy. I want to fight your demons with you, but I have to know what they are to do that."

Tommy smiled shyly at Jason's words but his tea green eyes were haunted. He tightened his grip on Jason's hand before he began speaking softly, so low the forgotten audience had to strain to hear him even in the silence of the room. "Harry and I came here about a year after we ran but we met for the first time about … eight, nine months before that when Seetha purchased him for the club. I'd been there as long as I can remember. He bought me from a children's home, legally adopted me."

That would explain why Tommy saw the system as dangerous. Jason's thumb rubbed over the back of Tommy's hand, offering what comfort his could through the touch Tommy would allow. Jason wanted to wrap his arms around the other boy and hold on tightly but he'd long ago learned Tommy wasn't comfortable with physical contact.

"What sort of club?" Jason asked just as quietly as Tommy had been speaking.

Tommy looked at him in silence for a long moment. Then he nodded to himself, reaching a decision. Whatever happened, even if he lost Jason and all the Rangers, at least he'd know where he stood. No more lies, even of omission, between them. - That such a loss would kill him wasn't an issue, if they didn't know what he was then their connections weren't true anyway. Staring at their joined hands, Tommy began. "An underground 'entertainment' ring," he said, sneering the word entertainment. "Seetha owned a lot of people. The ones that were able, mostly mid-teens or adults, fought in the circuit. I was the youngest ever. Most times Seetha would call a winner before anyone died, he called it 'conserving resources' - trained fighters were expensive for him to obtain. But the audiences loved end games so if he didn't call, you were supposed to finish it. I fought in only three end games."

"You - you killed the other three fighters?" Jason breathed, unsure what to think of all this. His grip tightened on Tommy's hand. "They were trying to kill you? You were just a kid."

Tommy looked at him for a second before dropping his azure gaze once again. "What do you think the odds are of me becoming the fighter I am off one on one competitions?"

Jason didn't think it very likely. "One could hope."

Tommy gave a slight smile. "You could hope, bro. That's one of the things I've always liked about you, and one of the most mystifying. But there, hope is just another word for hurt. It never happened, such … equal battles. If you could call a fight between a maybe six year old and a twenty year old equal. I killed all fifteen of the other fighters. Two in the first match, six in the second, seven in the last. It helped they never fought together even if they all came at me at once." He shrugged. "Seetha liked it, that a little boy could be good enough to beat such a group of veteran fighters over three times his size and muscle in his first fights. Really, I was lucky he didn't stick me with it more often. But it was better, it got me out of the -" Tommy stopped.

"What, Tommy?" Jason asked, his tone low and calming.

Tommy slowly looked up and met his eyes. It took everything within Jason to meet those azure eyes. "Jas. If you had to … do something to survive, and you have a chance to choose between hells, which would you choose to lose? Flesh or blood?"

A loud shattering sound echoed in the room, the sound of several coffee cups falling from suddenly numb hands, but neither boy took notice of it.

888

CHAPTER 58 - REACTIONS

Jason looked at him in confusion, trying to figure out what Tommy could mean by that question. Flesh or blood? One must refer to the fights but what was the other? What could it be that even after speaking of the other, Tommy would be hesitant to say? Jason paled as a possible meaning occurred to him. His grip tightened on Tommy's hand strong enough that if they weren't Rangers both their hands would have broken. "By the Power," he breathed.

"None of this was 'by the Power', Jason." Tommy sighed, his gaze dropping to their joined hands again as he saw the beginnings of understanding in the other boy's eyes.

Jason's other hand gently raised Tommy's chin until their eyes met once again. "Flesh and blood? It's the fights and …" Jason swallowed hard. "I'm just guessing here bro, from things in movies and the like. But is it … Is it why you don't like touch?"

Tommy looked into his eyes before once more dropping his gaze. "It's not touch, not really. I don't like the feel of flesh on flesh. Or the smell or … how … dirty it makes me."

"You're not dirty," Jason disputed.

"Feel dirty."

"It's not your doing."

Tommy looked up, his midnight blue eyes locked on Jason's with a frightful intensity. "I've had sex with more men than I can count."

Jason felt tears fill his eyes at this confirmation of what he'd feared. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. It's not your doing, bro. Those men are dirty. Not you."

His eyes shaded to green turquoise at Jason's words. "You mystify me, bro."

Jason grinned at that. "That's only fair 'cause you're like a total enigma to me. The more I learn, the more I want to know your everything."

"You're crazy, you know that."

"Requirement in this life."

Tommy grinned slightly. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You don't care that I almost killed you, why should this matter to you, right."

"You didn't almost kill me. It was Rita's spell. You weren't in control, not against her and not against those men. You're innocent." Jason brushed Tommy's hair back from his face and smiled. "Everything you've done by free choice has been good, bro."

"I don't know about that." Tommy shrugged. "Anyway, on with my fucked up life story here. - There, as Seetha's you were … safer if you just didn't care, you know, about anything. Then Harry was there and … I couldn't not care anymore. I pushed the limits of what I could do for him, like rearranging things so he never actually was taken to 'train'. All that did is send some other kid there instead. No one noticed 'cause there's so many there and Har took my advice and stayed invisible. Eventually someone would have caught on but I was hoping to have things set to get out of there before that happened. We didn't get the time. - One day, Harry spilled some food and Seetha … got mad. He was beating Har to death but I … interrupted in an insane, borderline suicidal manner, and claimed I'd spilt it 'cause I was in a hurry and … Well, when I healed, I ran, taking Harry with me, left everyone else." He shrugged. "Got passed the security okay and … I guess I was one of the more educated ones there. On an earlier failed escape attempt Seetha had realized the particulars of how I learn things and decided that since he thought I'd never get away from him, he'd use those skills. That came in handy when we ran. We traveled kinda randomly around until we ended up in the Grove, I entered the tournament for the prize money and I met you. I felt … connected with you immediately, like with Harry except stronger. Rita abducted me and put that spell on me and that was … worse. When you freed me from her, I really thought …" Tommy shook his head. They both knew what he'd thought, what he'd expected.

"Yeah. I think I see why now," Jason breathed.

"But you asked me to join you, offered me a place in the family, the choice, and … You made me a believer in the impossible. I know …" Tommy broke off. I know it's impossible for you to still want me here now. I don't belong here. I don't belong with the Rangers. Yeah, so I protected Harry there but at another's expense. And I saved Harry from there but I left everyone else behind. Jason would have saved them all somehow. I just don't see how.

Silence descended as Tommy finished speaking. After a long moment, Tommy slowly raised his eyes until they met Jason's. Then froze. Jason's eyes were moist with tears and filled with sorrow and … Dare he hope, or was it still as dangerous to him as it was in Seetha's pins? Was that really understanding and acceptance he saw in Jason's eyes?

"Yeah bro. I'm not gonna leave you," Jason murmured, reading the fear in Tommy's eyes, and the shock as Tommy read what was in his eyes. "Especially not over the shit others did to you, that you were never to blame for. Besides, you're not the only one that felt that immediate connection. If the whole 'verse turned against you, I wouldn't. I couldn't. You're my best friend. Nothing can break that."

Tommy met Jason's eyes in silence for a long moment. His eyes shaded from azure to emerald as Tommy smiled and shifted over to close the few inches that had remained between them as he spoke, he laid his head on Jason's shoulder. Jason immediately wrapped his arms around the other boy, holding him protectively. The Power that had visibly surrounded Tommy throughout the day finally settled, fading from sight.

"Looks like Jason's grown a lot since meeting Tommy too," Skull commented. Tommy and Jason's gazes turned to him, surprising Skull since they'd both managed not to hear anything else around them while they spoke through the entirety of the school day. They gave no sign of noticing the bell ringing throughout the day. They'd missed several teachers trying to enter the lounge only to find it locked. They gave no reaction when Mr. Caplin finally decided to make a sign saying a private meeting was taking place and place this on the door so the teachers would stop trying. The parking lot was almost empty now as everyone else already went home for the day. Skull grinned at them and said, "Finally realized you're not alone?"

888

CHAPTER 59 - NOT NAMELESS

Jason blushed slightly but Tommy just looked upon Skull, measuring. "That's your whole reaction there, Skull?" Tommy questioned.

Skull shrugged. "I figured it out already." Seeing the question in Tommy's eyes, he expanded, "When you came to my place that time, before you scared my old man into letting Dad adopt me. You said you're not nameless. I knew some boys back home that were and one that wasn't. Adam explained it to me."

"What does that mean?" Trini asked. "We keep hearing it but no one's explained."

Harry said, anger burning in his eyes, "The Nameless are the lowest level slaves. The worthless, no one cares what happens to them. They're seen as replaceable toys. When they break, the pervs just get another. No one gives a damn that they lived or when they die. They might even kill the nameless over something like spilling a small amount of barely eatable food."

Zack commented, "So you were nameless then and Tommy wasn't? What happened? Tommy name you?"

Anger flared through Harry and the windows shattered. Tommy moved faster than the eye could follow, pushing Jason back from the window ledge where they'd been sitting as he threw his other hand up towards the shards. The glass froze in midair, held in an aura of green light to match the Power shining in his eyes. He waved his hand and the shards flew back to their places, Power flared, and the windows were restored.

Relaxing, letting the Power go again, Tommy turned to Zack. "You really need to learn to think before speaking, Zack."

"My parents named me," Harry spat angrily, though he was trying to control his emotions after the accidental release of Power. "They died and my aunt and uncle are the real worthless ones. After … when he lost his job, they sold me. End of story." Softer, to himself he said, "My parents loved me. I know they did."

Tommy offered a hand up to Jason who immediately accepted. "Thanks, bro," Jason said. He retook his seat on the window ledge, despite his parents obvious disapproval, then gently pulled Tommy back into his arms. "I thought Harry's control was better than that."

"Mage power isn't really controlled completely ever. Part of it is always connected to emotion," Tommy explained as he relaxed in Jason's embrace, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder once more. "What Zack said … the answer doesn't matter. Just saying it is … especially if the answer's ever been yes, it's just bad to ask someone if they were nameless."

"What about your name?" Kim asked, turning to Tommy and picking her words with a bit more care. "Is Tommy Oliver your real name or did you make it up?"

Tommy shrugged, not moving from his resting place in Jason's arms. "He named me Thomas. It's too weird to answer to something very different. Oliver I just made up. So I guess 'both'."

Billy questioned, "What did you mean by 'the particulars' of how you learn things?"

When Tommy hesitated on answering, Mr. Caplin said, "Unless I missed something in your story, before moving here you had never been in any type of school."

"I'd never seen a school," Tommy admitted softly. "After that first failed escape attempt …" He hesitated, choosing his words. "He caught me the first time but the attempt sorta gave away things I'd been secretly learning so he made the mistake of teaching me the rest of what I needed to escape him."

"Secretly learning?" Mr. Cranston questioned.

"I watched. I observed the world around me and took in the knowledge around me."

Jason asked, "You learned to fight from watching others? You never had training before they stuck you in those fights?"

"Jas." Tommy chuckled lightly. "I never had training. Period. - He just put me in the fights, I learned what I could from those I was fighting, added it to what I'd already observed."

"You got that good on your own," Jason breathed. Then thinking a moment longer, he added, "No wonder you kicked our asses. You watched us, that's why you were just watching to begin with. You learned all our tricks before you ever took us on."

"And I learned Goldar and Scorpina's styles from working with and fighting against them. Same way I learned to pick locks or climb or most anything."

Billy said, "The Leon Trotsky theory of learning."

"Exactly."

"Huh?" Kim said.

"Russian revolutionary from the early 1900's," Trini told her.

Tommy quoted, "Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies."

"So what did he 'mistakenly' teach you?" Trini asked.

"Reading and internet," Tommy answered. "That was his biggest mistake. Once I knew to read, there wasn't much I couldn't learn and the internet makes it so nothing is beyond reach. He foolishly thought I was just using that to access the info he wanted. Math too. He had me keeping his financial records."

"I don't know what he was thinking," Harry commented. "Anyone would know handing your financial records over to someone with every reason to hate you would have to be a bad idea."

"I know what he was thinking." Tommy smirked. "He thought he broke me. I'm good at acting and he saw what he wanted to see, just like everyone."

Mr. Scot commented, "Those words do not make it easy to trust you."

Jason glared at his father but before he could speak, Tommy said, "If you wish to view me as evil then that is what you will see. It won't matter what any of us say about it. I don't care if you hate me, it's nothing new. But we are at war, the seven of us are the defense. Think about that, think of how your thoughtless words will feel to you when you find yourself trapped in the middle of this war, praying for rescue, and knowing you insulted every single one of your possible rescuers." Tommy's steel blue eyes locked with the man's and he said, "It is not in your best interests to burn some bridges."

Tommy held his gaze a moment longer, then took in everyone in the room. "The real point in all this today is that you will not be seeing us much if any of this next month. We will not be attending school or spending much of any time apart. A challenge has been issued, one we have no choice in accepting, and in order to face this challenge the team will be training intensively."

Mr. Caplin agreed to this easily, taking no notice of the warriors' parents complaints. "I have a two room apartment in my backyard," he informed the Oliver boys as he dug a key out of his pocket and offered it to Tommy. "It's yours as long as you want it."

Tommy didn't touch the offered key. "What's the price?"

"Continue school and Rangering and set my mind at ease that you aren't doing things harmful to yourselves. Nothing more."

"Rangering comes first."

Mr. Caplin smiled. "This months absence will be excused. Any absence over Ranger related activities is excused. I trust in all of our honor to believe you will not abuse this."

Tommy smiled as he accepted the key.

888

CHAPTER 60 - PREPERATIONS

Tommy led the Rangers down the street, seemingly ignoring the large number of teenagers watching them from the porches and alleys as they passed nor did he care when those teens followed them at a short distance as he led the team to a worn looking building. Tommy walked in without hesitation, the other Rangers stopped just inside the door to let their vision adjust to the darker atmosphere. Tommy's mind was still mostly on the unveiling before the others' parents, their principal and teacher, and his friends. He was still unsure of what to think of them knowing that much about him, less sure of Mr. Caplin's providing a place to life, but he did know that no one would speak of those things to anyone else. Being mage born had its advantages, and it was a simple enough spell to confirm their silence.

"First lesson," Tommy said even as he continued towards the boys lounging around the hangout. "Never stop just inside a door like that. Makes you an easy target."

The Rangers didn't say anything to this but they rushed to catch up with him.

Tommy stopped in front of the gang leader, his navy blue gaze meeting the other boy's. "Connor," he said, nodding his head slightly in greeting.

"Dragon," Connor greeted in almost the same tone. Kim and Trini looked at each other and giggled at this.

Tommy ignored the girls. "It's Tommy."

Connor tilted his head in acknowledgement. Tommy continued, "The Rangers. Red is Jason. Zack is Black, Billy's Blue, Trini's Yellow. Pink's Kim and White is Harry."

Jason reacted, "Wait a minute. Who is this guy?"

Tommy just looked at him for a long moment, measuring. Then he said, "Harry?"

"A set boss - street gang leader," Harry answered. "I haven't heard much about the local sets. I blame Rangering for that. But you said his name's Connor?" When Tommy nodded slightly, he said, "I'm guessing Connor Street? He's been drawing more attention recently, over a 'miracle healing'. But he's been noticed recently anyway, the organizations don't like the way he does business which is a point in his favor to my way of thinking. And for you to be having anything to do with him, they can't be involved in the meat trade at all." Harry shrugged. "I thought the only set boss you were in good terms with was Ash. So why here instead of him?"

"Ash is across the country, he finds enough trouble on his own anyway, and he's too much like me. The stuff's all too natural to really know how to teach it." Tommy smirked. "Besides, Ash doesn't owe me anything."

Jason frowned slightly. He didn't know any Ash but he suspected it might be who Tommy went to when he disappeared on them. He decided to ask later. Right now, the gang leader in front of them was of more interest. "This guy knows you're the Green Ranger? Before we decided to tell anyone?"

"Yes bro," Tommy answered, smirking. "Strange thing, you heal someone with magic, they tend to take notice of it."

"I heard a ton about that," Harry stated. "The guys at the store were talking about some perv trying to kill a boss in a hit and run and they ended up stuck in their car that suddenly had no wheels and bullets wouldn't break the glass. I assumed it was you."

"What?" the other Rangers reacted. Trini shook her head and said, "Kinda blatant use of magic there, Greenman?"

Tommy shrugged slightly. "I got mad."

Zack responded, "Remind me never to make you mad."

Harry scoffed. "Zackman, you do that all the time."

Tommy's eyes shaded to sage green and his voice had a dangerous lilt as he said, "No. None of you have ever made me truly angry. You wouldn't want to see that."

The other Rangers froze as this once again reminded them of how dangerous their friend could be. Tommy turned his attention back to Connor and said, "I need to train these guys quickly and I remember seeing some of your guys fight before, they weren't bad. Could you help me get these guys in shape for an End Game?"

Several of the boys around the hangout reacted to this term but no one spoke up. Connor said, "I told you anything you need is yours."

Tommy smiled, the tension that filled him from the moment he first heard Lord Zedd was interested in him finally loosening. Their position was still dire, the odds so far against them he didn't want to even think about it, but the Rangers were willing to learn and others were willing to help teach them. It was no longer all resting on his shoulders alone. The path before him no longer seemed quite so dark.

The End

To Be Continued in the sequel - Walking The Warrior's Path

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.