Chapter Text
It took three weeks, two days, and six hours for Tommy to call Zedd and Rita. This wasn't due to malice on either side, of course. Zedd had set the goal as a month and Tommy had been busy anyway. True, he likely would have pushed it out further had it come to his mind to do so, but in this case, it was simply that the adjustment period took up most of his time. It had taken a full week just to get Hayley up to speed on how to be human let alone the fact that Justin was now a consideration. Tommy wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to raise a kid, but he'd been willing to do it for Thrax and he was going to do it for Justin. Unlike with Thrax, however, Justin's legal guardian hadn't handed over guardianship to Tommy which meant that he was technically harboring a runaway. This was something he might have cared about at some point in his life but at the moment, he didn't care at all. He had told Justin that he always had a place with him and he meant it. Fortunately, they had the summer to figure things out before they had to worry about things like school. Another fortunate bit was that Justin had never actually dealt with Rita or Zedd let alone Scorpina and therefore had a perfectly reasonable relationship with her. Hayley was Hayley in his eyes and he didn't screw up her name nearly as much as Tommy did.
The exhaustion of the entire battle had hit them hard. Zack had finally headed back home two weeks after Rita and Zedd had gone, though he was calling Tommy daily and visiting frequently. Tommy couldn't blame him for feeling a little weirded out by the whole thing. Zack had let them stay with him while Hayley and Tommy had found a new apartment, but with the apocalypse over, they were ready to find ways to adjust. For Zack, that meant having his own place while still being heavily involved with keeping an eye on Justin. All three of the adults had agreed that normalcy for the teen was important as was a lack of infighting when possible.
Hayley was working on trying to adjust to being human. For as much as he knew she'd consented, she took to complaining that Zordon had given her a body she couldn't understand and that it was just like him to do something to get out of helping her through it.
"He died, Hayley," Tommy reminded her.
"It's always something," she argued. "Last time he got stabbed. I think he's just dramatic."
"Hayley!" Tommy said.
"It's a Red Ranger trait," she continued.
"I was a Red Ranger at one point," he reminded her.
"The only thing more dramatic than a Red Ranger is a Sixth," she continued as if he hadn't said anything. Justin looked over.
"That explains Tommy," he said unhelpfully. Tommy glared at him. "Wasn't Zedd a Sixth? He didn't seem too bad."
"You've been around him for around a day. Trust me. He's dramatic," she assured him. "Everything has to be a production."
"I'm going to kick you out of the house," Tommy warned.
"You can't. I'm on the lease," she said with a smirk. Justin snickered softly from where he was sitting. They really were both against him.
***
It took about a week after that, still before he had called Rita and Zedd, Tommy started to notice the signs in Justin. He missed when Justin missed one meal, but caught on when he did it again. He saw the exhaustion that was in the boy's eyes or how he just seemed lethargic. Before he could say anything, however, it was like a complete reversal and Justin was fine again. Tommy wondered about it but didn't say anything the first time. The second time, however, he was starting to worry. Hayley, being far more perceptive than he was, even pulled him aside.
"What's wrong with him?" She hissed. "I don't know a lot about your species..."
"Our species," he reminded her. "You're one of us now."
"But I do know that he's not acting right," she said as if he hadn't interrupted her. He had the feeling that was going to be a habit she wasn't going to consider breaking. "He's going back and forth. You stayed upset, but he hasn't."
"I was coming off of the Power," Tommy said. "Justin's been off for over a year. If he had a problem, it would have been terrible by this point. The only reason mine wasn't was because Zedd was feeding me power."
Hayley paused. "Does Justin still have a morpher?"
Tommy was quiet. "He wouldn't."
"It would be easier to hide," she said. "He never shared his. You said that Adam and Carlos..."
"Yeah," he said, swallowing as he didn't want her to finish that statement. "Everyone else has shared a morpher. Except Billy."
"And not Justin," she continued. Tommy began to pace.
"So how bad is this?" He asked. "Zedd couldn't do it. I refused to even try because I didn't want to upset Zordon. If he's morphing to get a kick..."
"It's not as bad as it sounds," Hayley assured him. "If the Power is letting him do it, then he's not in trouble."
"I need to call Zedd and Rita," Tommy said quietly. "They might know how to handle this."
Hayley nodded. "For now, let Justin keep doing this. Don’t say anything. We need a plan in place first."
Tommy just nodded. As much as he hated this, he understood her concern. He headed into the bedroom and made the call. Rita was the one who answered, Thrax trying to crawl out of his mother's arms. She looked at him in a bit of surprise. "We didn't think you'd call this quickly."
"Sorry, Rita," he said tiredly. She waved it off.
"What's wrong, Tommy?" She asked gently.
"It's Justin," he said. "Is Zedd there?"
Rita nodded. "Zedd!"
"What?" He yelled back. "I'm busy!"
"Get unbusy! Tommy needs to talk to you!" She answered. She smiled back at Tommy. "He's coming."
"Okay," Tommy answered, still feeling awkward about the entire thing. If he hadn't promised to watch over Justin, he probably wouldn't have asked for help at all. Hayley would have done it and then he would have gotten a lecture on how to reach out if he needed it.
"Tommy?" Zedd asked. "Rita bellowed that you needed to speak with me?"
"I don't bellow!" Rita argued. Tommy decided not to wade into that one.
"Yeah, uh, I'm sorry to bother you guys, but I have a situation with Justin and we're worried," he said, looking at Hayley to back him up. She just gave a nod. "He'd been acting like he's going through Power Withdrawl..."
"That's normal," Zedd assured him.
"And then he stops and goes back to normal," Tommy said. Zedd just blinked. "And since he still has a morpher..."
He looked completely serious over that. "That's concerning."
"How concerning?" Tommy asked, feeling completely out of his league.
"He won't be able to do that forever," Zedd said. "And it will make it worse, I believe. He needs to come down from it."
"If something comes up, can he morph?" Tommy asked. He was asking for himself too, if he wanted to be honest.
"Yes," Zedd said. "Using it once in a while is different from constant use."
Tommy relaxed a bit from that. "Zedd, I think I need help."
Zedd's face softened. "I'll be there soon."
"Thank you," Tommy said and hung up, putting his head in his hands. "Justin is not going to handle this well."
"He might," Hayley said. "He'll be on the good side of addiction."
"There is no good side, Hayley," he informed her. She shrugged. "I'm calling Zack."
"Why?" Hayley asked. "Not that I don't enjoy having him around but he hates me."
"He doesn't hate you. It's just awkward," Tommy assured her. "Justin is easier because he never knew your past."
"And bringing in Zedd?" She asked.
"Even more awkward," Tommy said. "We're doing it anyway because this involves Justin."
Hayley's expression was not one that was thrilled, but she did nod once. Tommy made the call, leaving a message for Zack with as much double language as he could. At the very least, Zack would get that Justin was in trouble which was really what mattered in this case.
He arrived first. "What's wrong with Justin?"
"Hello to you too," Tommy said quietly, but let him in. "And keep your voice down. I don't want Justin to know yet."
"Why not? Doesn't he already know?" Zack asked. He headed further inside and sat down. Hayley headed through the doorway.
"I convinced Justin to get some work done in his room so both of you keep quiet," she scolded. "Hi Zack."
"Hi Scorpin... Hayley," he said. She brushed it off.
"Did he tell you what's going on?" She asked.
"I was about to," Tommy grumbled.
"Did you tell him Zedd is coming?" She asked. Zack's eyes widened.
"Little warning next time!" He said.
"I was going to tell you it all at once!" Tommy protested. "It's all connected. Justin is addicted to the Power."
"He hasn't been a Ranger in over a year," Zack reminded him. "Withdrawls can last a while, but he seems pretty calm most of the time."
"You haven't been living here," Hayley said dryly.
"He was and then he started to act grumpier. I wasn't too worried until he was back to normal again. Zack, he's been using his morpher," he said.
"To get a fix?" Zack asked. Tommy shrugged.
"The Power is probably giving him a little bit of a break because he's only a kid," Tommy admitted. "We celebrated his fourteenth birthday a month ago, but he's still really young."
"So we're going to give him the drug talk?" He asked. Tommy shook his head.
"No," he assured his friend. "Zedd is.."
"How is that better?" Zack asked.
"Because he knows more about this than we do," Tommy answered. "The only other person we knew who knew this much was Zordon. I mean, Andros and Zhane probably know a lot but..."
"But we're still not really ready to talk to Andros and Zhane is with him," Zack finished. Tommy nodded. "What's it say that we're more willing to talk to people we used to fight than a fellow Power Ranger?"
"That we don't want to make him feel worse and I've spent more time with Rita and Zedd? Hell, you've spent more time with them, man," he reminded his friend. Zack looked ready to protest and then nodded.
"Yeah," he agreed. "Alright. Whatever helps Justin get through this."
"We have exactly one pint-sized Ranger and I will kill you both if you screw this up because you have issues," Hayley informed them. Tommy shrugged her off but Zack blinked.
"When did you get defensive of Justin?" He asked.
"He's a sweet kid who doesn't treat me differently and has had a hard life," she answered. "Plus he can keep up with all of the information Zordon and his blue Ranger put in my head."
"Wait, what?" Zack asked.
"Zordon was a Red Ranger, Zack. I don't know how he pieced everything together, but I'm guessing his Blue Ranger left some blueprints," Hayley answered. "And the two of them passed on information to me which fortunately Justin also understands so I have someone to talk to. Which is one of the many reasons why Justin is my favorite."
"Don't be rude, Hayley," Tommy said. Hayley ignored him. "The point is, we need to focus on getting him help, which is where Zedd comes in, and then we won’t screw up a kid who is just trying to impress us."
"I can live with that," Zack agreed. "When is Zedd supposed to get here?"
"Day or so," Tommy answered. "Apparently it takes time to fly across the galaxy."