The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6 by Heather Ray (free ebook reader TXT) 📖

you're doing?!" she demanded in a whisper, gazing worriedly up the stairs. "My mother and sister are here!"

"And I figured they weren't right here, if you answered my communique so...strongly," he answered.

Alexis sighed indignantly, folding her arms and arching her eyebrow. "Well, say what you have to say, and leave."

"Listen, I just wanted to apologize," he said, bowing his head slightly, "I know I was really out of line, and I had no business talking to you like that. I'm not your father, I'm not the adviser...I'm not even the leader. I...I'm just a guy who's really worried about you."

"Then stop worrying," Alexis said, her gaze still hard, "I can take care of myself."

"You're right, but...I'm still concerned. I mean, I understand how you feel, thinking you're not useful --"

"Rocky, please," she sighed, her voice more tired than angry. "You don't know what I'm going through."

"But I do," he responded, careful not to let his voice rise too much. "Hey, I know what it's like to feel inadequate. I was right with the Terra team as they got their new powers. I even went on the Zeo Quest, and found one of the missing shards! But I was overlooked. I don't know why, or who even made that decision...but I wasn't 'worthy'

of being a Ranger anymore. That crushed me!"

"But it's not just the Power," Alexis insisted, sinking down to sit on the bottom step. "My entire world is falling apart, brick by brick. I'm losing my sister, I'm becoming more and more useless to the team, and now my zord's gone. And then, you casually bring up the worst thing that ever happened to me during my formative years!"

She leaned forward, grasping her forehead with her hands, and propping her elbow on her knee. "You don't understand. You can never understand. You like to think that everything is sunshine and happiness. You think a joke can cheer me up after any catastrophe. Can you even grasp what it's like, to feel a complete void? Or do you just gloss it over with some corny joke, or the naive 'Everything is going to be all right?' And now you want me to just forget what you said, and pretend it never happened?"

"I didn't say that," Rocky answered quietly, "I'm just trying to apologize."

She glared up at him. "And a little apology will completely erase the hurt, right? Rocky, you don't have a very good grip on reality. Maybe that's why Zordon didn't make you a Terran Ranger? Maybe he wanted to make sure the world was in capable hands?"

She saw the change instantly. His eyebrows rose slowly, and his lips tightened. Her own eyes widened in amazement, and she lowered her gaze from his, unable to meet his eyes.

It was as if she were deliberately trying to hurt him. Deep down she knew Rocky had no intention of hurting her, or stirring up painful memories. In fact, her anger was more enflamed by her current situation, further aggravated by memories of her father, rather than Rocky's efforts. He was only the target of her rage because he was immediately available. But, what had she just done? She purposely stabbed at a personal wound, explicitly to hurt the man she still truly trusted, despite their earlier argument. It was by far the cruelest statement she had ever shot at another living being. Was her verbal blow even excusable?

Why was she trying so hard to push him away?

After a long silence, Rocky cleared his throat. "Ouch," he said quietly, a forced grin on his face as he swayed back and forth on his feet. "Uh...touché

. Now we're even."

He took a deep breath, and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I'd better get going. I'll see you."

With that, he hurried towards the door. Alexis lifted her head up urgently, and followed his retreat with her eyes.

"Rocky, wait," she called, rising from her seat. But he continued, as if he hadn't heard her request.

As the door swung lazily behind him, Alexis felt certain he did hear her.

"God," she whispered, holding her forehead as she reached the door. She quietly pushed it closed, and then leaned against it, resting the back of her head against the hard wood as her eyes shuttered closed. "Why did this day even happen?"

Kimberly gazed once again at the Viewing Globe, and once again, there was nothing but static. Will Mitchell had broken communications shortly before the Multiversal portal opened, as if one couldn't maintain a lock on a dimension through both mediums. Therefore, she expected the communication to re-establish itself, informing the Terra team that Tommy and the Starlights arrived in 2025 safely. Although it had only been a few minutes, Kimberly couldn't help but worry. It was certainly an irrational worry, because she herself had traveled through the Multiverse before: once into Langstrum Alps, and again into the Age of Apocalypse. Although the trip wasn't comfortable, it wasn't particularly dangerous. Yet again, Tommy Oliver had a knack for getting into dangerous situations. Still, he also had a knack for getting out of them.

Kim looked away from the globe, and scanned the CAC. David, whose resemblance to Tommy still startled her, was busy talking to Billy. No doubt David had a lot of questions about the Terran Rangers, Starlight Rangers, and the rest of the situation. Not far away, Kat and Jason were standing together, involved in a relaxed conversation. Kim smiled when she noticed that they were holding hands. She was glad to see Katherine fall in love, and she was also glad to see Jason finally find a fulfilling relationship. Aisha, Zack, Adam, and Tanya were discussing something, and Zack was going into detail about the new game at the arcade. Kim shook her head at her own disbelief at her concern. She was obviously the only one worried about their leader, therefore affirming that there was nothing to worry about.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in the center of the Central Access Complex, and all the teens took notice. The bright light faded, and was replaced by a circular black portal. Seconds later, the Red Terran Ranger flew out of the portal like a cannonball, and landed at Kimberly's feet. Kimberly began giggling immediately as Tommy staggered to his feet.

"Is Multiversal travel always this painful?" he wondered, pulling off his helmet and shaking his head to steady himself.

"It's not the travel that's painful," Kim answered, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's the landing."

Tommy chuckled, and gratefully returned the hug. Then, he turned, and greeted the rest of the Rangers, Billy, and his brother.

"Hey, where are Rocky and Alexis?" he inquired, noticing their presence was lacking.

"They had something to discuss," Kim informed him, eyeing him meaningfully. Tommy nodded with understanding.

"I trust everything went smoothly?" Billy asked.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, the arrowhead saved their lives. But, since the Zeo shards already caused so much damage to their bodies, I doubt they'll remain Terran Rangers. I think the torch has been passed to the next generation." He then pulled out an item hidden in his glove. "Oh, and Tony and Will wanted us to have this. It's the schematics for the Starlight powers."

Billy stared at the mini-disc, his eyes wide with excitement. "Prodigious! These powers were developed over years. Now, we just might have an edge over whatever power created that monster."

"Now that's good news!" Aisha commented, watching as Billy quickly moved towards the mainframe. She then turned back to Tommy. "So, what was the future like?"

"Well, that's a weighted question," he said with a smirk, "I was only there for about fifteen minutes! But, from the looks of it, I can tell you one thing: the future looks bright." He frowned slightly, and then added, "So long as we avoid that power-poisoning part."

"The Terran Rangers of 2025 will finally get a break from super-heroing," Adam commented, stretching his back. "Speaking of which, I think we've been working far too hard. Who's up for smoothies?"

"Good idea," Jason said, "Let's get going." He then turned to Billy, who was sliding the disc into the drive. "Billy, are you coming?"

"Actually, I'd like to get a jump start on this Starlight project," Billy said, stifling a yawn. "Who knows how much time we have before the next attack? Considering how difficult that monster was to beat..."

"Billy," Kim sighed, walking towards him and grabbing his arm firmly. "It can wait. You're human too. You need food and rest!"

"Yes," Katherine added. "Don't you think you've worked enough for one day?"

Billy sighed, casting an almost longing glance at the wealth of information he wanted to explore. But another forceful yank from Kimberly convinced him to rise to his feet.

"Let's compromise," he proposed with a weary smile, "I'll meet you guys in...fifteen minutes at Ernie's?"

Kimberly scrunched her nose, but finally nodded. "Okay, it's a deal," she conceded, releasing his arm.

"Well, I'd better go home," David said. "My father's probably worried about me. I've been gone all day!"

Tommy's smile instantly eroded. "Couldn't you just grab a quick snack with us? We've got some catching up to do, and I know you've got tons of questions."

"Well..." David began.

"You might as well come along," Jason said, "I think we all are a bit curious about you."

"It just wouldn't be right without you," Aisha chimed, grabbing David's arm, "You helped out big time today, in getting Micah on his feet and saving the future Terran Rangers. I think David should be an Honorary Power Ranger!"

A chorus of smiles and agreements flooded the room.

A smile crept onto David's face. "I'm in."

In a symphony of bright light, Tommy powered down, and everyone teleported out of the Central Access Complex.

Everyone except Billy, that is.

His gaze fell upon the mini-disc once again, and he eagerly approached the main computer. He slid the disc into the device, and waited while the computer processed the information.

While he waited, his mind drifted slightly. With all the concern about saving Micah and David, and then defeating that nightmarish creature, he barely had time to process the historic, mind-numbing event that had occurred.

He had met his daughter, and she was certainly someone to be proud of. She was absolutely beautiful, inheriting her mother's grace and gentleness, as well as the numbing intelligence of both parents. She also inherited special superhuman abilities. For someone so young, she handled the pressures of being a mutant extremely well.

He hoped with all his heart that some day, in the not-terribly-distant future, he would have a daughter like Rebecca.

And he also hoped...beyond all