Disclaimer: All PR characters, events and locations belong to Saban/BVE; they are used without permission and no money is being paid to either of us.

Note: To get some information on how this story idea came into being, as well as a couple of comments we felt necessary, please look into our joint profile. A knowledge of Cmar's 'Red Fire('Turns In The Road) series and Dagmar's 'More Than Friends And Brothers' might be helpful. This is slash, rated M, about sexual relationships between consenting adult males; consider yourselves warned! Feedback is always appreciated.

Strangers In Red

By Cmar and Dagmar Buse

Ch. 1: A Blast From The Past

-Damn you, Tommy!-

That was the thought uppermost on Jason's mind even as he entered the highway and gunned his motorcycle to full speed. Tommy's phone call, summoning him and a bunch of other Red Rangers to one joint mission had come pretty much out of the blue; to say that he was feeling ambivalent over taking up his old Powers again was putting it mildly.

-Why now? Why me?-

He had no answer for the first question, but if he was being honest, he knew that in Tommy's stead he would've called his oldest, best partner as well. Not to mention that he'd want his best friend there … but.

Yeah, but.

After holding Trey's Gold Power and nearly losing his life over it, Jason had honestly believed he'd put his Rangering days behind him for good … and some part of him had been glad. Giving up his Power Coin once had been hard enough; the second time had been just as hard, but comparatively easy since he'd known from the outset it was only temporary. And for a while afterwards, he'd had Emily, which helped. However, all of that was in the past now.

-That's what I thought, anyway. Shit.-

Only this time around there was no-one to take his place; Tommy had said that Andros could only reactivate the original Red Dino Powers, not the permanently-destroyed Thunder or Ninja Powers. Besides, Rocky's back injury still bothered him at times; with the destruction of Earth at stake, it was too great a risk to have one of her defenders not at full capacity. And truth to tell, some other part of him was glad he'd been given a chance to experience the thrill of morphing, of fighting the good fight beside his best friend and other Rangers one final time.

-Because this is gonna be it. Andros can re-power the defunct morphers just this once. After today, it'll all be up to the current team.-

So here he was, riding his bike towards the NASADA Space Station near Angel Grove, hoping that the CHiPs wouldn't stop him for exceeding the speed limit to a degree that was only marginally safe. Bending low over the handle bar, Jason deliberately cleared his mind and tried to focus on the mission ahead. Sooner than he thought he reached the city limits of his home town and barreled through the thankfully quiet streets.

-There's nothing to worry about. We'll go on this mission, kick some bad guy ass and I'll be back on my way to college. And finals. Ugh. I won't let seeing Tommy – seeing all the things I want most in my life and can't have – affect me. Easy.-

Of course, there was the little matter of maybe not winning, but Jason refused to entertain the possibility. Losing to their old enemies was not an option; that was not a Red Ranger's way. Time was running short, though; he needed to hurry if he didn't want to miss the boat. -Spaceship. Whatever.- A last burst of speed brought him through NASADA's gates and towards the building Tommy had specified in his call. The tarmac field in front was empty, but the hangar doors were open.

-Where the hell is everyone? They can't have left already, can they?-

Jason needn't have worried; as he coasted to a stop and got off his bike, he could see seven men running out of the hangar to meet him. All of them were wearing at least one article of red clothing, and he had to grin – grabbing a red t-shirt he hadn't worn in six years from the back of his closet had been as instinctive as breathing. Seemed like he wasn't the only one hanging on to his former signature color.

Still smiling, Jason took off his helmet and turned, facing the line of Rangers.

---

"Jason."

Tommy's voice drifted towards him, the warmth, affection and relief that he'd made it after all – and on time, too – evident in the mellow tenor. But Jason couldn't face his best friend directly just yet; not beyond a brief acknowledgement. Too much longing and secret hopes needed to be hidden before he looked into those chocolate eyes. Instead, he let his gaze sweep along the row of men. The hard, angular face of the man standing at the end of the line, posture military-correct, came as something of a shock to Jason and almost threw him more off-balance than his imminent reunion with Tommy. -He's a Ranger, too? Oh hell!- So, to cover his surprise, he took refuge in some self-deprecating humor.

"You guys weren't gonna do this without me, were you?"

He got no answer, just silent stares from all seven, so Jason decided to walk down the row of Rangers, starting with the first man on his left. -Guess that's the newbie.-

Cole's puppy-like eagerness as he greeted Jason confirmed it, and Jason clapped him on the shoulder, slightly embarrassed by the almost-hero worship in the boy's expression. Next in line were TJ, Andros, Carter Grayson ... time to show that he knew who he'd be fighting with, Jason decided.

"I recognize some of you guys," he said lightly, briefly meeting the appraising blue eyes of Wes Collins as he walked past each of the others. But Jason couldn't help but pause almost imperceptibly before the next man dressed in a black uniform that fit him like he was born in it.

Eric. A figure from his past he'd nearly forgotten – if it weren't for some very personal history they shared.

"Some of you … more than others," he murmured, daring to meet the guarded black gaze. Memory supplied a flash of images and sensations.

A dimly-lit bar in an out-of-the-way street in San Diego's harbor district. The taste of wine, the bass beat of loud music … a conversation laden with innuendo.

Glances were exchanged, a challenge-cum-invitation silently issued and accepted by both.

Going to the dark beach, sand crunching under their feet and the splash of waves against the boardwalk's struts.

Hard lips claiming his own, demanding hands roaming over his body and a rush of sensation so intense it nearly took his breath away.

The adrenaline-saturated rush of nearly getting caught in a compromising situation. Starting over in his dorm room and more mind-blowing heat … only to have it end abruptly in disappointment, anger and derisive frustration.

Mentally, Jason shook himself. Eric might have unexpectedly reappeared in his life, but now was neither the time nor place to dwell on that. They had a job to do. Besides, he couldn't be totally sure if he had detected a flash of recognition in Eric's eyes, or if it had been just his imagination. Summoning a smile from somewhere, he finally turned towards Tommy.

-Oh man – when did he cut his hair? He looks weird without the ponytail …-

But the brown eyes looked just as warmly at him as ever as Tommy, after the briefest hesitation, held out his hand.

"I was starting to wonder whether you'd show up at all," he said quietly.

-So was I,- Jason thought. He wanted nothing more than to draw Tommy into a bear hug, but didn't trust himself to let it not change from a best friend's brotherly embrace into much more. So he made do with clasping his Bro's arm and sought for humor again.

"You didn't think I was gonna let you do this without the original Red Ranger, didya?"

Tommy just snorted, then became all business. "Whatever. I'm just glad you're here; we can use every hand we can get. Let's go, guys!" With that, the mission leader corralled his forces and together the eight men boarded the Astro Megaship.

---

-Mission accomplished.- With a sigh, Jason mounted his motorcycle again at last. It was going to be a long ride back to San Diego and university, especially as he no longer had an excuse to ignore the speed limit. And the last thing he wanted after a both emotionally and physically draining day was to get held up and get ticketed for speeding.

Afterwards it had been fun, if bittersweet, to shoot the breeze with his comrades-in-arms – at least those who decided to hang around a little. Aurico had gone back to Aquitar directly from the moon; understandably so, as Earth's atmosphere wasn't really suited to him. Tommy had left right after their return without giving a reason, which had resulted in some good-natured one-upmanship from everybody until their adrenaline levels had reached more normal proportions and they'd said their good-byes.

As he settled in on the long haul on the highway, the night wind caressing his neck between his helmet and the collar of his leather jacket, Jason reflected on the more personal aspects of today's adventure. Overall, he was glad he'd gotten to see Tommy again; now that his racing days were behind him and he'd started attending the University of Wyoming at Laramie to study paleontology, of all things, they hardly got to spend time together anymore. To Jason's mind, that was both good and bad.

-Good, because I don't have to hide my feelings from him. I love him, and I want him; but even if I might have to keep that to myself for the rest of my life, maybe I should at least tell him I'm bisexual.- It wasn't that Jason was ashamed of his sexuality; no, he just never had found the right way or time to tell Tommy. -Okay, I'll do it. During fall break, when we'll both be home. Either he can accept me the way I am, or he's not the friend I thought he is.-

Which brought Jason's thoughts neatly to the 'bad' part.

-The bad part is … what if Tommy can't deal with it? What if by telling him I lose my best friend – my Bro?- The idea was nigh-on unbearable, but Jason decided to cross that bridge if and when he came to it. -If nothing else, I can live with having to take care of my physical needs at least by sometimes having casual sex with acquaintances and such, and maybe, just maybe I'll meet someone else to fall in love with along the way.-

A hard, angular face with black, slightly slanted eyes, a square jaw and topped by straight dark hair swam briefly before his inner eye, but Jason chased it away again after the merest hesitation. Eric had been an exciting partner, the sex – what little of it there'd been – had been nothing short of sensational, but even their brief encounter had shown clearly that they weren't suited for anything long-term. Their personalities were too different, their lives would never mesh, so it was fruitless to even speculate about it.

-Strangely enough, I don't regret having seen him again, to know that he's doing well. Good luck Eric, and also good riddance; no thanks for the memory!-

Determinedly turning his mind away from the past, off his problems and his love life, Jason tried to focus instead on his upcoming finals as he drove off into the night.

---

"So we won't have the equipment ready for about two weeks. I'd like you and Eric to go through the tests then." Dr. Zaskin's voice held that same tone of suppressed excitement that Wes had been hearing in it for months now, ever since he and Anton Mercer had first thought up this plan.

"No problem for me, and I'm sure Eric will do whatever you need," Wes said into his office phone.

"Good. I made tentative arrangements for Thomas Oliver to come in, too."

"You talked to him?" Wes could hear that excitement now in his own voice, and this time not suppressed. "He's really coming here, to Bio-Lab?"

"Yes, he seemed quite interested in the project. He's busy during the week so we made it for two weeks from Saturday. He said he'd ask Jason Scott to come along, too, but I have to call back to confirm both of them."

"Jason too, huh?" Even better. Wes thought for a moment. "How about if I call Tommy instead, and let you know?"

"That's right, you've met him. Sure, he'd probably like to hear from you."

"I hope so. Give me his number and I'll try him right now."

In the insular world of science, perhaps it was inevitable that Dr. Zaskin, who had once studied Eric's Quantum morpher, and Dr. Mercer, who had once battled Tommy and his Dino Thunder teammates, would contact each other and decide they wanted to work on a project together. Perhaps Mercer wanted to atone for the crimes he had committed under the control of Mesogog, and was using his expertise in biology to do it. And Zaskin was always ready to take on a new challenge. In any event, they were starting a study of the long-term effects of morphing on human physiology. It was something the many current and former Rangers had a stake in, especially as the earlier ones grew older and some were planning to have children. It certainly was a concern for Tommy, who had been a Ranger for years with different powers, quit, then done it again. And it was equally important to Wes and Eric, who were among the few Rangers to have kept their morphers and still be using their powers, hopefully for many more years to come.

A minute later, Wes was dialing again. Bracing the phone between his ear and his shoulder for a moment, he rubbed his hands against his uniform pants legs, smiling at himself as he did it, realizing he hadn't even been aware of being nervous until he felt how moist his palms were.

No real reason for it, after all. Not like Tommy Oliver was God. In fact he wasn't even the first Red Ranger, or even one of the very first Rangers at all. No, Wes reflected with another little smile and a shake of his head, that was Jason. Still, at least they had spent a little time with Jason, but Tommy...

And then he heard it, the click that meant the other end had been picked up, followed by a male voice that sounded cool and professionally polite with just a hint of an undertone of impatience at the interruption.

"Hello, Dr. Oliver speaking."

"Dr. Oliver?" Wes said. "I mean... Tommy?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Hi. It's Wesley Collins. We met back in 2002, with the other - er, guys?"

Tommy's voice was considerably warmer as it answered. "Sure, Wes! Hello! How are you?"

"Great. I'm great. Glad I caught you in your office."

"Me too. I was going to call you or Eric, as a matter of fact. You know I'm going to be in Silver Hills in a few weeks?"

"Yeah, Dr. Zaskin told me he made the arrangements with your friend, Dr. Mercer, and I called to confirm."

"Right, I'll be there. I guess they want you two to help out, too."

There was a slight chuckle in Tommy's voice. Wes grinned. 'Help out' was a good way to put it. Neither of them wanted to talk about the exact nature of the help Drs. Zaskin and Mercer wanted over an unsecured phone line, since Tommy's identity as a former Ranger was still a secret, but they both knew.

"Yeah," Wes said. "We're involved. Dr. Zaskin is going to run us through his tests a few days before you'll be - uh..."

"Playing guinea pig?" There was a definite chuckle in Tommy's tone now.

"Well, yeah." Wes laughed, and then decided it was time to get to the second reason he had called. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had gotten in touch with Jason Scott and asked him to come too."

There was a slight hesitation from Tommy's end of the call. "Not yet. I'm expecting to see him this weekend, and I thought I'd ask then."

"I hope he can make it. He's - ah - worn more than one color, too, and I heard he had some - er - health effects. Dr. Zaskin thought it was a great idea when you suggested bringing him along."

"Yes, I know."

"Good thing you guys are still in touch."

Tommy seemed to find that amusing for some reason. "Yes, we're - in touch. I'll let you know in a few days whether he's coming."

Wes smiled again. "And if he can make it, maybe the four of us can get together after. Have lunch or dinner or something."

"Sounds good to me. Listen, I gotta go. But I'll see you in a few weeks."

Wes said goodbye and hung up, still grinning as he set the phone down and looked up, mildly surprised to see a black-haired man in a Silver Guardians uniform leaning against his office door frame. "Hey," he said. "Didn't hear you come in."

"So was that the great Tommy Oliver?" Eric asked.

"Sure was."

"Is he coming?"

"Sure is."

"And ... Zaskin said that guy Jason might come too. Did you ask him about that?" There was something in Eric's voice, something that made Wes take a closer look at his partner and lover. But Eric seemed perfectly relaxed, his face blank and bland, one eyebrow lifting as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah, I did. He's getting together with Jason this weekend, and he'll ask him then. I hope they can both make it."

"Yeah. Hope so."

Again Wes looked up, puzzled at the flat tone. "Why, is something wrong with that?"

"No, nothing wrong. I'm just not crazy about having Dr. Zaskin poking at me again. That's all." Eric still had that cool expression on his face.

"Shouldn't take long. And while Tommy and Jason are here, maybe the four of us can get together."

"Get together?"

"Yeah. It'll be great hanging out with them again, won't it?"

"Great. Yeah."

Wes hesitated. "If you're busy, I'll go with them by myself."

Eric's eyes narrowed slightly, but an instant later he was smiling. "No, I'll be there." He straightened abruptly. "Well, I've got some things to do. See ya later."

"Okay, see you--" But Eric was already out of the door.

---

Eric walked rapidly back in the direction of his own office. He had seen the puzzled look in Wes's eyes. His partner wasn't blind, and Eric knew he had let his own dismay show. -Damn it all to hell and back again.- Why did Dr. Zaskin have to start this damn study, and why did he have to team up with a friend of Tommy Oliver's? Why couldn't Jason Lee Scott have moved away, disappeared, been unfindable? Most of all, why did he have to come here?

The familiar hallways of Bio-Lab surrounded him, but what Eric saw was the outside of a hangar at NASADA as he and six other Red Rangers ran outside to watch a motorcycle pull up and park, all of them lined up and squinting in the sun as the rider dismounted and took off his helmet. Eric had been glad no one was looking at him as that rider turned and smiled, and as he heard Tommy greet him as 'Jason', confirming the jolt of recognition that had shot through him.

The newcomer was coming closer, slowly pacing down the line of Red Rangers, saying something to Cole, smiling at TJ, nodding to Andros, saving Eric and Tommy for last. Eric saw no reaction in his face, and wasn't sure Jason remembered him from that night when they had both had something to celebrate and had found each other to do their celebrating with. He wasn't sure, until he heard...

"I recognize some of you guys. Some of you more than others."

Yes, Jason recognized him, although that one direct look and that one smart-ass remark were the only signs. Jason remembered and so did Eric. The club, the music, a little conversation; then the night outside followed by a small but private room; and for a few exciting minutes he had been able to forget about the relationship he had just ended and the uncertainties of the new job he faced in Silver Hills, and had even stopped wondering how good his chances were of running into Wes Collins again.

They were never supposed to have seen each other again after that night, yet there Jason was. Still, it didn't really matter. They had a mission, one which was more important than any lingering bitterness over disappointment, angry words, and a door that had closed more than a year ago. Eric knew how to leave the past in the past, and he had a feeling Jason did too.

They had worked together on the mission, with no more reminders of what had happened between them. Later, they had both celebrated their victory with the rest of the guys. Eric had even wondered what he would say if Jason suggested a repeat performance. Then he and Wes had been on their way home and it had been over. For good, he had thought.

But things were different from what they had been on that sunny morning in Angel Grove almost four years ago. What had been friendship and a business partnership between himself and Wes - at least outwardly - had changed and deepened into the kind of love that Eric realized he had always been looking for. But now, Jason was about to turn up again like another echo of a past Eric thought he had left behind forever, a past with too many barely-remembered names and faces from darkened bars and back alleys. First Nick had brought that past face to face with Wes, and now Jason was going to. Eric knew his relationship with Wes was strong - as his partner himself was stronger than he might seem on the surface - but he also knew the kind of pain jealousy can cause, and wished he could spare him that.

But there would be no choice. He couldn't let Wes walk into this situation without knowing the truth.

All because he had seen a good-looking young man sitting at the other end of a bar one night, and decided to talk to him ... "Dammit," Eric muttered. "Of all the guys in the world ... why did he have to turn out to be a Ranger?"

To Be Continued …