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"So, we're part of the team now," Hunter said. They were sitting together as Hunter checked over his bike. "Bro, I hope you're happy."
"Very," Blake said, looking in the other direction.
Hunter grunted. "I figured you would be." He looked over at his brother. "I guess Shane does his thing and we do ours."
"Bro, you've already let him do morphing calls with all of us together," Blake pointed out, squirming uncomfortably.
"At that moment, I didn't *care* who was calling the morph," Hunter said, energetically tightening a bolt. "I was just so glad that we both came out of it alive." He frowned, though whether it was at his repairs or the memories, Blake couldn't tell.
Blake nodded, hunting through the toolbox as if to help him. Really, it was an excuse to move closer and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "That was pretty freaky. I almost lost you there."
"Yeah," Hunter said, squeezing Blake's shoulder affectionately. "Glad you were there to pull me out of it."
"So am I," Blake agreed. He fished around in the toolbox and handed Hunter a ratchet. But his mind seemed elsewhere.
"You okay, li'l bro?" Hunter asked. He put a hand on his brother's shoulder.
Blake stared at the floor, and sighed. He bit his lip. "Still a little shaken up," Blake said, managing to look up at Hunter after saying that. "Think Dustin will be up for riding after work tomorrow?"
"Hope so," Hunter said quietly. "I can do with just some plain riding. To not think of... other things." Like somehow agreeing to be on the team when his instinct screamed against it. Yeah, they'd made it through... but the Winds didn't really need to worry about the two of them being turned into bad guys again and again. He should have taken Blake and left town. Permanently. That was before yesterday, though.
Somehow, Hunter suspected that Choobo would've found them wherever they went.
"Bro, you're brooding again," Blake said, looking at his brother quietly.
"I'm not," Hunter said. It sounded too pat, too quick, too fake, even to him.
Blake didn't say anything, just leaned in and gave Hunter a quick hug.
"I'm not brooding," Hunter insisted as Blake pulled away. "It's just like... what does this all mean?" Hunter looked at the floor. Then turned back towards the bike.
"That we're meant to help save the world," Blake said. "Sensei said this was our destiny, after all. He says Sensei Omino knew it was our destiny."
Hunter rolled his eyes. "I could do with a little less destiny and a little more 'how to save the world'."
"We've got help, dude," Blake said. "We're not on our own anymore." He paused for a minute. "Well, not on saving the world, anyway. Cam asked me why we weren't in school."
"'Cause we live fifty miles plus away and have spent most of the time since our school got captured running about being brainwashed?"
"If I told him that, we'd get all sorts of awkward questions about where we were staying," Blake said. "I told him we were working on getting our records transferred, but that excuse isn't gonna last for long."
"No, he's not, and I have the impression if Cam doesn't ask, Sensei will, and then he'll go tell Cam to do something about it," Hunter said gloomily. He sighed in exasperation. "Can't a guy just pretend to be eighteen?"
"We don't have enough money for fake IDs," Blake pointed out reasonably. "And besides, I have a feeling one of those wouldn't get past Cam or Sensei."
"At least past Cam," Hunter corrected, his tone just as dour as that of his previous statement. "He seems to be up on the computer stuff. I wish our Sensei had been bigger on computers." He remembered the guest room they'd stayed in that one night at Ops, at the elderly Apple Duo currently serving as decor.
"So what are we gonna do?" Blake asked, leaving the decision, as always, to his older brother.
Hunter shrugged, his voice tired, as if he'd gotten five years older in five minutes. "I guess we're stuck here. Do you think Cam will mind if we move in? I know Sensei Omino may or may not like it, but at least that will stop Cam from being nosy because he'll already know everything...."
Blake bit his lip. "What do you think Sensei Omino will do to us if we do move in?"
"Good point," Hunter said, shuddering. "We'll take some time to think about it. That records problem should be good for couple weeks. Maybe we can point out that we need duplicate social security cards 'cause the originals are in the Thunder Academy in Lothor's ship."
"Cam and Sensei probably know how," Blake said, "But you're right. We do need some time to think about it. I wish we could talk to our Sensei, or our parents, or even Leanne...." He sighed. What he wanted right now, probably, was their older sister. She'd know what to do.
"I think I've tracked down someone who might be able to get us her address," Hunter said, motioning with a wrench. "She might be able to help us out. Maybe."
"Maybe," Blake echoed. "Why us? Why do we get to be the superheroes?
Hunter chuckled. "You know, that's my line," he said simply.
Blake sighed, burying his face in his hands. "It's the hunger talking. If I ate as much as I wanted I'd blow up like a balloon."
"Or make Sensei put you on an exercise program," Hunter said, grinning at the image of Blake turning into a balloon. "Think we can charm Cam into making lunch? After all, our kitchen is now in outer space, and I think he's got a heart beneath that exterior...."
Blake sighed again, clearly not sharing his brother's humor. "You know, you're a glutton for punishment."
"Yeah," Hunter nodded, sobering. "We need to figure out some cooking utensils for the kitchenette at the room."
"Dollar store?" Blake said, fidgeting. "They won't have pots, but they'll probably have something microwavable. I don't really want to go, but...." They didn't have a choice.
"Hey, that's exactly what we need." Hunter finished his repair and leaned back, pulling Blake over, next to him. "I am so tired, bro. Tired and hungry."
"Yeah, me too," Blake said, yawning, as if he could go to sleep right there and then. "Let's see if we can find something to nuke some dinner in."
"Hot dogs and ramen, yum," Hunter added, making a face.
Blake shrugged, looking a little more awake. "It's food. Not great food, but food. At least we're feeding us, right? You remember that dog food that they fed us back on the ship?"
Hunter shuddered, remembering the Kelzaks' idea of how to feed the two Rangers. "Point taken."
"We'll figure out what to do," Blake said soothingly, leaning against Hunter and sending him directly to the floor. "I'm sure there's a place we can really live that involves not being in the same school as the other three, not that I'd mind that...."
"Too bad being back at our old school would arouse too many suspicions," Hunter said with a sigh.
"Not to mention the exposure risk from streaking here and back every day," Blake said, giving his brother a small nod.
"What we get for taking jobs in Blue Bay Harbor so we're traceable," Hunter said, shaking his head. "Really stupid."
"Bro, you know how Sensei O. would react if we moved into Ops," Blake said, making a vague motion in the direction of said headquarters. "So, we'll just have to work on the records. Tori and the others go to Blue Bay Harbor High- maybe we can go to Luther Burbank High instead? We're in the right area here."
"Still a problem of a lack of Sensei O's signature," Hunter said, randomly poking Blake in the nose. "Not to mention transferring records, no record of our moving... social services..."
"You want to move to Ops and let Cam forge records?" Blake said, raising his eyebrows. "Bro, it may not be a good choice, but it is one."
Hunter shook his head, as if denying that. "No, I just don't want to move into foster care."
"A good reason to figure out a way to get into school," Blake said, pulling some paperwork out of who-knew where and handing it to his brother.
"How?" Hunter asked, shuffling the paperwork as if unsure what to do with it.
"Hey, you've forged a signature before," Blake said. "You can do it."
Hunter rolled his eyes, handing the papers back to Blake. "Lothor signs better than I do, but I can hardly ask him to do it, now can I?"
Blake chuckled, secreting the papers again and rolling his eyes at his older brother. "No. Hey! What if we asked Dustin or Tori?"
"That would get back to Cam or Sensei," Hunter pointed out. "And both can lecture like never before. And getting bopped on the head by a flying guinea pig is not my idea of fun."
Blake chuckled and opened the door to the Dollar Store, and the two of them walked in. "Good point."
"Now what?" Blake asked, looking at the layout. It didn't look any better than the first time they'd gone in.
"Do we want to get candy?" Hunter asked, looked at the aisle immediately before them.
Blake wrinkled his nose in obvious disgust. "Do we want to know how long it's been here?"
"No," Hunter admitted, frowning at his brother's practicality. "You try to find the microwave plates, I'll try to find us something high-energy before Cam decides to force-feed us something."
"I don't think we want to know how long that's been here either," Blake said motioning at the food department. "I move we stop at Safeway and then see if we can talk Shane into taking us to CostCo. I know his family has a card."
"That works," Hunter said, inspired by his little brother's words. "Come on, let's go. I can't stand being around this place." He tugged his brother out of the little store. "And let's figure out how to establish our identities. Especially if we don't want to come to Cam's attention."
"Too late," Blake said, as a green, four-door Echo stopped in front of them.
The window rolled down, revealing Cam Watanabe, wearing a pair of prescription mirror shades. "Blake. Hunter. What brings you two here?" He frowned as if they shouldn't have been caught dead in that store.
"Um, buying some extra plates?" Hunter said, hoping he wasn't blushing.
Cam raised an eyebrow above the rims of his glasses in disbelief. "Did you leave them in the store?"
"Didn't find anything decent," Hunter said, fighting the urge to shift from foot to foot. "I mean, those aren't great plates in there. We're trying Safeway. Or IKEA. Or something."
"IKEA?" Cam asked, his voice shocked. "Kind of pricey. What about Target? Or I've got a Sam's card, and I'm heading there anyway..."
"Are you sure you haven't switched with Dustin or something, Dude?" Hunter asked doubtfully. "This sounds way too helpful for you...."
"Anyway, I'll take you over to Sam's Club," Cam said, ignoring the last. "I need some more Guinea Pig Chow." He looked thoughtful, as if guinea pig chow was some kind of major decision he had to make.
"Guinea pig chow?" Blake asked, opening the door to the back seat and slipping in.
"What else would Dad eat?" Cam asked. "Hunter, would you mind sitting up front so I don't feel like a chauffeur?"
"Uh, sure," Hunter said, closing the door behind Blake and opening the car door. "Right." As long as Cam didn't ask too many questions, the two of them would be okay. After all, they hadn't really bought anything that would make Cam suspicious. He just hoped Cam wouldn't press over school records or where the two were staying. As long as Cam didn't know where they were staying, they would be okay. He slipped into the front seat.
Cam studied him for a moment, seemingly looking straight into Hunter's soul. "Are you all right?"
"Bro didn't sleep well, that's all," Blake said smoothly.
Cam frowned in concern. "Any particular reason?"
"Nosey, aren't you?" Hunter returned. "I think I have a right to keep my sleeping habits private, all right?"
"Team medic, remember?" Cam frowned. "I have every right when it comes to the well-being of this team."
"You ever been so tired you couldn't sleep?" Hunter asked, giving up. If Cam got suspicious, they were in trouble.
"Sure, sometimes," Cam said. He looked at Hunter thoughtfully. "You tried taking a Benadryl before you go to sleep?"
"Don't have that," Hunter said, shaking his head. "Most of our posessions are in a bubble on Lothor's ship, remember? And I don't like taking meds just to get to sleep."
"We'll pick some up for you," Cam said soothingly, pulling out of the parking lot and into traffic.
Blake and Hunter exchanged worried glances. Sam's had big quanities. Yes, they were a good deal, but you paid more at the outset.
And given the high price of even cheap motel rent in California, the pay at Storm Chargers wasn't that good.
"Uh, Cam, no big deal," Hunter said, trying to get Cam off the subject. "I'm sure it's all the excitement, you know."
"Yeah, but once you get into a weird sleep pattern, it's hard to get out of it, trust me," Cam said, driving seemingly smoothly, but Hunter saw his hands tense against the wheel. "And that's the last thing you need right now."
"I've gotta try," Hunter said stubbornly, crossing his arms. "Why take meds when I can try meditation?"
"Have you tried that before?" Cam asked, seemingly intrigued.
"Sensei Omino had a technique for that," Blake said, picking up the thread of conversation and verbally trying to distract Cam from Hunter. "It was just that Big Bro was so tired he forgot."
Cam bit his lip, as if trying to gauge the effectiveness of Hunter's proposed treatment. "OK. But if it doesn't work tonight, I want you to pick up some Benadryl OK?"
"Ok," Hunter said brightly-- and honestly. He knew he could pick it up more Benadryl than he would ever need at Target for less overall cost at Sam's, since it would be a smaller box. Much less if he was willing to brave Target's generic.
"Thanks for taking us," Blake said from the back seat. Hunter could hear his brother's stomach growl, and winced. "I feel like I could eat the entire Club."
"No problem," Cam said, making no indication that he'd heard it too. "You should probably pick up some high energy bars-- breakfast bars, granola bars. It's a good way to make sure you're getting enough carbs for those Ranger metabolisms of yours."
"Ranger metabolisms?" Hunter asked in complete surprise, before he could stop himself.
Cam nearly paled. He nearly squeaked, "No one told you?"
"Hello, Cam, we've been either up on a ship or on our own the past few weeks," Blake reminded him.
"On your own? Where are you staying?" Cam asked, his tone sharp. He'd caught the growl of Blake's stomach, all right.
"We found a place," Hunter said quickly. "Don't worry about us. Just tell us anything else we should be worried about. How many carbs do we need?" He hoped distracting Cam would work, save him from any more questions.
Cam frowned, clearly unconvinced, but rather than give off any outward appearance of incredulity, he started rattling off numbers.
* * *
"Let me give you a ride home," Cam said smoothly, as they drove out of Sam's parking lot.
"Could you drop us at Target?" Hunter said, trying to think of a way of not showing Cam where they lived. "We still need plates, and we can take a bus there. It's a nice day outside."
"What was wrong with those sets at Sam's?" Cam asked. "They were a good price."
"Dude, there were ten of them! We don't need that many," Hunter exclaimed, elbowing the door. "Target sells them individually."
"We'd end up spending less overall. It's not like we're gonna have huge dinner parties. There are only two of us," Blake pointed out. "Three, if we start inviting Tori...."
"Bro, so not ready for that yet," Hunter interrupted, frustration creeping into his voice.
"Good point," Blake said quietly, staring out the window absently.
Cam frowned. It was unusual for the brothers to show anything other than solidarity. "You sure you don't want me to wait for you?" Cam said. "Dad gives me a rough time if I'm not out of the cave long enough to suit him anyway."
"Nah, the walk will do us good," Hunter said, trying to sound like Cam's offer bored him. Which it didn't - who would choose walking over a ride? But he couldn't show that. "Why don't you go catch Shane skateboarding if you have some free time?"
Cam blanched. "I get enough of that in Ninja Ops, thank you," he said, covering up the reaction with a sarcastic tone.
Hunter shrugged, as if he didn't care what Cam did, which was mostly true. "Suit yourself." He watched as they pulled into Target and Cam pulled into a space. "Thanks, bro," he said. "Catch you later."
"Thanks so much, Cam, we appreciate it," Blake said, grabbing the box of granola bars in the bag that Cam had brought for the occasion. "This really will help."
"One of you had better wait outside with that, you don't have the receipt," Cam reminded him. The Thunders had given Cam cash as technically non-members weren't allowed to buy anything. And Cam had stuffed it who-knew-where.
"Right," Hunter said as Blake bounced out of the car and shut the door.
"I'll stay outside, you go in," Blake said to Hunter. He then turned to the open driver's side window. "Thanks, Cam. See you." The two walked off towards the store entrance.
"You watch and make sure he goes, I'll get the plates," Hunter said as casually as he could when they were out of Cam's earshot.
"Right," Blake said, hoping that Cam wouldn't notice the two of them conspiring.
Blake sat himself on a bench outside the Target while Hunter walked in. He made his way towards the groceries section, picking up a set of fifty paper plates on sale, and then made his way towards the cookware. He knew that Cam would probably try to figure out where they lived, so he took some time looking at video games, toys, and DVDs.
He settled on a medium sized microwave dish and some disposable leftover containers that were also microwavable (after taking a few minutes to calculate which brand was cheapest). He sighed, went to get some dish soap and then headed for the check out lanes. He paid (and was relieved that the next day he and Blake would get paid), and went out to meet his brother.
"Has he...." Hunter asked, nudging his head in the direction of where Cam had parked. He didn't see Cam's car, not that he hadn't counted Echoes in about five different colors. But not dark green.
"Left right after you went in, bro," Blake said as he stood up, stretching a bit and then grabbing the large box of granola bars. "It's a long walk home, you ready?"
Hunter sighed heavily. He didn't really want to walk, but what choice did they have? "Right. Glad it's summer so it's not raining."
"Want to break into this thing?" Blake asked, indicating the one of the two jumbo packs of granola bars in the bag.
"Desperately, bro," Hunter said. He looked longingly at the bag and willed himself to not eat, despite what Cam had said.
"Glad Cam told us about the carbohydrates," Blake said, the bag hitting against his leg as they walked. "I wondered why I felt so tired."
"Yeah, but we still can't eat until we get home. See Cam's car anywhere?" Hunter said, craning his head.
"No," Blake responded, doubt creeping into his voice. "He really left. It was like he gave up or something."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, li'l bro," Hunter said, clapping Blake on the shoulder.
"Right, let's get going," Blake said, setting a loping, sustainable pace.
Hunter grimaced, and set off with his brother, careful not to quicken his pace and tire out his little brother by taking longer strides.
* * *
"I can't believe we're having granola bars for dinner," Blake said, looking at the bare cupboard.
"You want to tell Cam this is the only thing we have to eat?" Hunter asked, motioning at the granola bars.
"No way, bro," Blake said, holding up his hands. "At least we can pick up some more basics after we get paid tomorrow."
"Yeah, ramen, hotdogs... I think we can probably manage pasta in the microwave dish too," Hunter said, biting into one of the bars. "All that's pretty cheap."
"Frozen vegetables?" Blake asked, making a face.
"You want scurvy or rickets or something?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Right, veggies," Blake said, in a tone saying he wasn't happy about it.
"I suppose we can do veggie hot dogs," Hunter said, trying to sound accomidating. "But they aren't cheap."
Blake's nose wrinkled deeply. Clearly he liked that idea even less.
"Right," Hunter said, shaking his head. "We can sneak some food out of Ops the day after tomorrow. Cam won't notice."
"Cam won't notice. Right." Blake shook his head. "You crazy, bro?" he asked. "Never mind. Just don't get any frozen spinach."
"Hey, it's a veggie," Hunter pointed out. "Unless you *really* want to tell Cam where we are. I'm sure he'd be glad to feed us then."
"Don't remind me. I looked out our window and swear I saw Cam's car," Blake complained, leaning back on the bed. "But then I blinked, and it was gone."
"Am I making you paranoid, li'l bro?" Hunter razzed, crosssing his arms.
"Ditching cars and buying frozen spinach?" Blake said, shaking his head. "Yeah."
Hunter chuckled. "Ok, I'll get peas. Better?" he asked indulgently.
"Much," Blake responded. "You get spinach and I'll...."
"I know, I know," Hunter said, ruffling his younger brother's hair.
* * *
"You look a lot better," Cam said, looking up from his computer, as they arrived early for practice. Hunter sometimes envied Cam for being able to dress like he did at Ops. Of course, Cam wasn't a Ranger, so he didn't have to wear a class uniform.
"The meditation worked," Hunter said, brightly. "As did the granola bars. Thanks, bro."
Cam schooled his face, refusing to react to the word "bro". "No problem."
"Now if he didn't sleep through his alarm," Blake said, clapping Hunter on the shoulder affectionately. "He sleeps like the dead."
"So do you, bro," Hunter pointed out, leaning on Cam's console. "Why do you think Sensei Omino bought an extra-loud alarm for our room?"
"Because he was tired of coming in to wake us up?" Blake asked rhetorically.
"Dude, I'd say there's a story behind this," Dustin said, coming in behind them.
Hunter just shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really. Ready for practice?"
"Sure, dude," Dustin said. He waggled his finger at Hunter, "Don't think you're not getting out of telling us stories, though."
"Dude, there's no story," Blake adamantly insisted.
"Yeah," Dustin said, not precisely sounding like he believed them. He glanced over at Cam and the computer. "So, Cam, what'cha doing while we practice?"
"Manipulation of cartographic features on a GPS map," Cam said cryptically, tapping in something and frowning at the display
"Wha?" Hunter asked. He only hoped it was something Zord-related.
"Never mind," Cam said, patience clearly running thin. "You three go in, I'll send the other two in when they get here."
"Right," Blake said, clearly disappointed at not getting to wait in the command center area of Ninja Ops for Tori.
The three of them headed outside to where they were supposed to meet Sensei for practice.
* * *
Cam stopped the two of them from exiting through the holographic entrance after the team had finished practice. He looked annoyed in the sunlight. "I want to speak to you for a moment."
Blake and Hunter exchanged glances, but nodded in assent. What else could they do? They followed Cam inside, looking at each other as he sat down on his chair and settled in.
Cam took his glasses off and started cleaning them. He absently hit a control on the keyboard, and a map sprang to life on the monitor.
"What's that, bro?" Blake asked, pretending he didn't recognize the street names.
"It looks like a video game," Hunter said, approaching the computer. "Can I play?" He looked around. "Where's the controls?"
"It's a map," Cam said patiently, as if wise to his deception. "I want to point some things out to you."
The Thunders obediently drew closer, no matter how much they wanted to shrink away. Blake and Hunter exchanged glances.
"These are the tracks," Cam said, pointing at a line on the map that was actually a street. "This is the right side. And this is the wrong side." He turned to look them in the eyes. "Now, which side were you two sleeping on last night?"
"Dude," Hunter said, trying to adopt an innocent tone, "I don't recognize any of those street names. Do you, bro?"
"Uh-uh," Blake affirmed, sounding much more innocent than his brother.
Cam frowned, turned, and typed in a few commands. Crimson and navy dots appeared on the block of their apartment building. He turned back to face them, "Isn't that where you're staying?"
"Don't know what you're talking about, dude," Hunter said, pretending to study the map. "Bro?"
Blake looked at the map carefully, but Hunter could see his fingers trembling. "Nope, not a clue."
"You know, you two are very bad liars," Cam said. He looked pointedly at Blake's fingers.
Hunter gently placed a hand over Blake's. "Dude, would we live on the bad side of the tracks?" Hunter said. "I think your computer has a problem. Or something. Sure you don't need to back it up and do a fresh install? I did that once."
"Come on, bro," Blake said, turning away to help hide the fingers. "He's turning red under the collar. You threatened his computer."
"You're right," Hunter said, studying Cam. "Maybe we should get out of here." The two of them turned and tried to walk as if they weren't trying to hurry out of Ops.
Cam sighed in frustration, but let them go. He knew it was no good trying to help the Thunders before they were ready. He might want to let Shane in on what he'd found out.
Then again, given the friction between the two young men, perhaps it was better to keep things to himself for the time being.
Until he figured out an inroad to the Thunders' trust.
The End