Maybe it’s a good thing Rita and Zedd aren’t the villains they think they are. The Rangers have enough problems at home.

All things Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks. Demonking belongs solely to Daniel White and Teeg and Rexo belong to KS. The premise of the Coin Series has been borrowed from a story written by Terry, Chris, Daniel, Brice, Katey and myself.

All events in The Coin Series take place in an alternate dimension.

Power Rangers: The Coin Seires
Home Again Part One

Carri walked into Billy’s lab and stopped short. It was clean. Pristine to be exact. She turned around three hundred and sixty degrees, just starring.

“I know,” Kim said. “A little unnerving isn’t it?”

“What happened in here?” she asked. Carri had been in New York for the last two weeks, transporting out to Angel Grove only when she was needed for attacks. She had finally hashed out an agreement with her father the day before. Her television show, Boutique Style, was wildly popular and he was loath to stop production until he’d found a substitute. The two agreed to continue to co-produce the show together, but with a new host traveling from city to city. Carri would do the intros and the closings, all taped from Angel Grove. She still had some production duties back in New York, which she’d have to fly back for, but nothing like she had before. As they were going to pay her an insane amount of money considering the work involved, so she couldn’t complain much. Besides, New York had much better shopping and she’d see her brother more often.

“Trini happened.” Kim answered her simply, nodding her head towards the other counter where Trini was organizing incoming and outgoing administration papers. Kim was sitting on a lab stool next to Billy, who was intently analyzing something on his computer screen. “That and we’re finally moving into the new Command Center.” She said.

“We’re moving? Jase and Tommy actually admitted this is gonna to last more than a few days?”

“Let me put it this way, Tommy’s friend Hayley has moved into his house in Reefside and he’s out with a real estate agent and his mom looking for a new one.”

Carri threw back her head and gave a triumphant laugh and Kim grinned at her. The Zeo Rangers had been back to action for six weeks. The attacks had begun with a monster called the “Alligrator,” an insane looking combination of an alligator and a cheese grater. Carri had burst out laughing when she’d seen him and, to everyone’s irritation, continued to giggle throughout the battle. A series of equally inane creations followed, sort of a monster de jour, finally culminating in the cat litter box monster they had fought the previous day.

Carri, who was a veteran of a serious villain, with serious intentions, and serious weapons, had a difficult time taking Rita and Zedd seriously. Tommy assured her these two were far more incompetent than the original versions, but she’d begun to give him and the others quite a bit of grief for being so worried about them in the beginning.

The claybots were far more serious adversaries than any of the monsters they faced. Monsters grew to sixty feet when you smashed the small version, but even those seemed to be more clumsy than deadly. Kimberly couldn’t figure out the claybots. The ones who fought the Novas were deadly. They’d never give up and generally created serious damage wherever they appeared. These claybots would appear, tire the Rangers out, then re-group and disappear, leaving the Rangers to fight whatever monster Rita and Zedd had sent down.

By the third week, Carri was no longer laughing at the monsters. She’d roll her eyes behind her helmet and simply help trash them. The daily attacks had also lessoned. Monsters appeared at exactly four in the afternoon on Wednesdays and claybots seemed to find something in the city to trash on Monday and Friday mornings. Just what Rita and Zedd did on Tuesday, Thursday and the weekend was a mystery, but the people of Angel Grove weren’t complaining. The school schedule had been adjusted to half day Wednesdays and the citizens seem to take a deep breath and re-adjust to life with the Power Rangers.

The Rangers themselves were treated as celebrities. Angel Grove was quick to realize the Zeo’s had been there before and magazine and newspaper articles constantly drew comparisons of the two teams. Somehow, the rumor had been spread that the fighters inside the uniforms were the original Mighty Morphin Rangers and a virtual media frenzy of photographers and camera crews appeared whenever the morphed Rangers could be found.

How the rumor got started was anyone’s guess. Tommy had been furious and Jason and Billy were quick to point fingers at Dr. Franzstien, but no trace of evidence could be found as to who tipped off the media. Eventually, hoping the frenzy would die down, Tommy had authorized a short statement to be released through NASADA confirming the rumors.

Angel Grove basked in the idea that their original Rangers had come home to save them. The fact that the attacks were so limited and the monsters so quickly and easily disposed of was determined to be because their Rangers were obviously very experienced and senior. Angel Grove relaxed and life seemed to get back to normal.

“Where are we moving to?” Carri asked

“Trini found it.” Kim answered.

“It’s actually an series of old fall-out bunkers on the western edge of the NASADA complex.” Trini said, sipping on some hot tea. She was just over eight weeks pregnant now and had just a twinge of nausea in the afternoon. “I found it while searching for secure storage units.” She admitted.

“I don’t think anyone at NASADA even knew it was down there.” Kim added, “It’s huge.”

“I think there are probably people here who remember it, but it hasn’t been used in nearly thirty years.” Trini said, stretching her arms.

“Why?” Carri asked.

“Earthquakes.” Kim said, pointing at something on the screen until Billy nodded. “Earthquakes made them unstable.” She finished.

“So why are we using them then?” The idea of moving into a ramshackle old bunker was not exactly what Carri had in mind, especially if it was unstable.

“Because we have the technology to re-vamp them quickly and make them stable.” Trini said, placing the last of her papers in the appropriate box.

Trini adored her job. She worked with her friends, she got to play Power Ranger a few times a week without actually having to suit up and fight some weird sort of monster, and best of all, she saw Billy every day. Life inside the lab was a huge contrast to life at her parent’s house or even back in Switzerland.

Her mother was horrified to learn of her pregnancy and to Trini’s mortification, demanded to know who the father was. It was as if her mother was looking for a reason why her daughter’s ex-husband would leave her. Trini’s older brother, whom she’d been fairly close to, also viewed the situation as an embarrassment to the family. It was frustrating and she found herself working long hours just so she wouldn’t have to spend much time at home.

Even her ex-husband had responded negatively to the news of the baby, demanding a paternity test and denying any kind of support before she’d even asked for it. The divorce had been completely stalled and she was becoming more and more frustrated by the day. The filing was now contingent on a paternity test, but she was having trouble finding an obstetrician willing to do one. She was far enough along in the pregnancy now that she could have a procedure known as a CVS, but that held a high risk of miscarriage and she was unwilling to subject herself to that if she didn’t have to. An amnio was not quite as high of a risk, but she’d have to wait several more weeks. Unfortunately, her ex was insisting she have one of them and she was under enormous pressure to comply.

The good thing about working in Billy’s lab, was the access she had to the most modern technology. They could easily do the testing in a non-invasive way and she was once again very grateful to Billy. The only delay now had been waiting for Geirge’s blood sample and mouth swab to arrive and then they were able to determine within a few seconds that he was the father. Now all she had to do was turn the paperwork over to her lawyer on Friday. At this point, she almost wished she didn’t have to. The whole matter had brought out the ugly side of her ex. She didn’t care about compensation anymore; she just wanted it over with.

She had been terrified her pregnancy would mean a quick end to her employment. There were many, many things down in the labyrinth, as the series of rooms and labs on levels seven and eight were called, that were just not conducive to a healthy baby. She’d dreaded coming into work the next day, knowing that Billy would have seen the results of her tests.

But he had surprised her. He’d spent the night removing any trace of equipment that might cause harm to her baby, simply storing it away as unnecessary. The truth of the matter was, he was terrified she’d already been exposed to more DNA altering energies than she should have been. Manx’s lab, where Trini’s physical had taken place, still radiated from a morphanological energy leak six years before. But outwardly, he was always more than reassuring.

He’d been stunned by the report. Staring at the results for several minutes. It changed nothing for him. Trini had been magically placed back in his life and he wasn’t about to give her up. She regarded the pregnancy as a blessing, an event she’d been waiting years for. He resolved to do the same.

Billy had long ago given up entertaining the idea of children. He was only twenty-eight, but in many ways he was much older. Officially, one of his early experiments had gone horribly wrong, ageing him overnight into an octogenarian. Privately, he now held another belief as to what had caused the aging, but he had no proof.

The illness had forced him to leave Earth and relocate to Aquitar for treatment. The healing waters he’d been submerged in had reversed the ageing effects, but the damage had been done. Physically, he looked a good ten years or more older than his peers and internally he’d had to have several repairs to his heart and other organs. He’d also been left sterile.

Sterility in itself didn’t bother him. He never considered having children. Once he had decided to remain on Aquitar, children were never part of the equation anyway. His wife had been Aquitian and, although the Aquitians were physically similar, a hybrid was out of the question.

Billy’s primary concern now was for Trini. He had quickly removed anything and everything in his lab that might harm either her or her child; which had removed a surprising amount of equipment. His next step had been to recruit Dr. Manx as an unofficial private physician for her.

Kat Manx knew a surprising amount about human genetics and obstetrics. She’d had to become an expert of sorts after the accident. The levels of morphanological energy that had been released in the labyrinth were far higher than the levels released by any of the morphers or even the levels released during the destruction of the old Power Chamber. The children born to the women present on those levels showed strikingly altered DNA. What would happen when the men present began reproducing was unknown. It might be years before they tracked down every child born.

Kat Manx had been more than happy to help. To the best of her knowledge, Ashley and Trini were the first of their generation of female Rangers to give birth. The countless studies done on male Rangers showed that they didn’t appear to pass on that many genetic variations to their offspring. However little to no research had been done on female Rangers.

Ashley and Andros had been fiercely protective of the daughter she had given birth to three weeks ago. They wouldn’t allow Manx access to her gestation and had firmly resolved to raise her as a normal child on Earth. If, by chance, she developed side effects from her parent’s tenure as Rangers, Manx would be contacted. To have the opportunity to monitor Trini’s entire gestation and the development of her daughter from birth was a priceless opportunity.

“Where’s Rocky?” Trini asked, looking behind Carri. The two had been attached at the hip lately. It was odd to see one without the other. Carri blushed slightly. She felt all giddy, like a teenager again. Rocky, for his part, still wasn’t sure he believed that Carri’s relationship with Jason had been one of platonic convenience, but as both Jason and Kim adamantly confirmed it, he simply decided not to turn his back on good fortune. They had been taking things very, very slowly. More slowly than Carri would have cared for, but Rocky was still having a difficult time with Marie and his family, so she bided her time. A large part of why she’d agreed to go back to New York and visit her parents was to put a little space between them and let Rocky settle things.

“He’s working.” Carri answered simply.

“That man works harder than anyone I know.” Kim commented. “And I know a lot of hard working Rangers.”

“Are things any better with his family?” Trini asked, coming over to stand by Kim.

Carri shook her head. “Nope, they pretty much still refuse to meet or speak about me. Rocky’s mom invited Marie over for dinner twice while I was in New York, without telling Rocky she’d be there, and Rocky’s sister forgot to give him the message I left at his karate school saying I was taking an earlier flight home.”

“I thought you just transported back yesterday afternoon after the battle.” Kim said.

“Shhh.” Carri said, putting her finger to her lips. “I didn’t clear it with Tommy. Besides, yesterday’s monster attack is how I know Rocky didn’t get my message saying I was taking a different plane.”

“Didn’t clear what with Tommy?” Tommy asked, coming up behind Carri and placing two firm accusing hands on each of her shoulders.

“Uh…my trip back from New York. I came home early.”

“You used the transporter for personal use again didn’t you?” he asked sternly, but his eyes were twinkling so she just grinned guiltily.

Tommy was kind of a hard person for Carri to read. On the one hand, he was a very stern and no-nonsense kind of Ranger. There were people at NASADA, both human and non-human, who would literally move in fear to the other side of the hallway if he walked by. On the other hand, there was a part of him that Kim called the complete and total marshmallow. Carri had seen the marshmallow side often enough over the years not to be too phased by the stern side. However, she did find herself not flaunting the rules as much as she otherwise would. Or, at least, not telling him when she flaunted the rules.

“All right, I have time now,” He said looking over at Kim, but with hands still firmly on Carri’s shoulders, “You ready?”

Kim nodded and picked up a large folder next to her on the counter.

“Do you need me for anything else?” She asked Billy as she slid off her stool. He shook his head, but continued to absorb himself in the data on the screen.

“Wait, does this mean we’re not going to the pre-sale?” Carri asked her, trying to shake off Tommy’s hands. They wouldn’t budge.

Kim stopped just short of her. “I’m so sorry.” She said, “I totally forgot. I’ve been so wrapped up in this property auction… I just haven’t thought about anything else.”

Carri smirked. “Not even the biggest pre-sale, blowout of the season?”

Kim shook her head, “Sorry.” She said simply, wincing a bit. She and Carri had planned to go out a few days ago, but her grandfather’s old ranch was scheduled to be auctioned the next morning. Although she and her brother and possibly even her Uncle Steven were going in on the deal, making it a reality was less than a sure thing. Payment was due in cash to the court and she was worried the price would go far above what they had already secured.

“No big,” Carri said casually. “I’m still on east coast time anyway. I’ll just transport…ow!” She yelled as Tommy’s fingers dug into her shoulders. “Will you quit that?”

“You’ll just what?” Tommy asked sternly.

“Oh, uh… I’ll just take a freaking thirty minute cab ride back to my place and crash until my boyfriend finishes up at his school.” She said testily.

“Much better.” Tommy said, releasing her shoulders and patting her like a child. He glanced over and caught Billy’s attention, “Assembly tonight at seven, you sitting in for Aquitar?”

Billy nodded and returned his attention to the screen.

“You know,” Carri said, rubbing her shoulders, “I don’t think my boyfriend is going to take kindly to you putting bruises on my shoulders.”

Tommy indicated for Kim to precede him out of the lab. “You know,” he said, looking back over his shoulder, “I’m really not all that concerned.”

Kim walked down the main corridor of Billy’s section of level eight and stopped at a small conference room that was actually furnished. Level eight, for all its mystery and intrigue was really nothing special. Although the underground complex was far larger than the other bunkers at NASADA, each floor was nothing more than a cookie cutter of just about every other floor in the building. Level eight itself was just over a hundred thousand square feet of underground, bunker type offices and laboratories and probably just less than half utilized. There were only four scientists that called it home, all of whom, besides Billy, were from off world and all of whom had some affiliation at one time or another to the Power Rangers.

The conference rooms, offices, and lab spaces that were a much-coveted commodity on other levels, for the most part, simply stood empty. Billy, who had become a solitary figure, had taken over a good fourth of the empty square footage for his own use and had promptly sealed off his wing from the other side. The result was that many of the offices normally occupied by staff, didn’t even have furniture. Jason and Tommy had even thrown a mat down in one and used it as their own private sparring ring.

It would probably have been fine for them to continue to call level eight home and designate it as their command center, but the transport signatures of the Rangers were fairly easy for many at NASADA to recognize. Tommy and Jason had both ruled in the end that it was better to move operations, especially if things were going to trickle on for a while. Both agreed they didn’t need an outside source watching their comings and goings.

The other side of level eight fared a bit better. It had become a sort of high priority intergalactic welcome center with twenty foot ceilings. Any high ranking dignitaries or visitors considered too important to be sheparded through with the other intergalactic masses on level seven found themselves escorted through its gate. It was elegantly decorated and looked very much like a five star hotel. It even had its own cafeteria with food synthesizers and a large indoor garden with a fountain and tables to eat at. This was the section where the Red Assembly would meet a few times a year and the place through which all official correspondence to the Power Rangers was directed. The difference, Kim thought as she sat down in the ugly office chair next to an equally ugly old table, was glaring.

“As you know,” Kim said when Tommy had seated himself. “My grandfather’s old ranch, Heartland, is going up for auction again tomorrow morning.”

Tommy nodded, “And hopefully the claybots will stall off until after the gavel goes down.” He said. He already knew she’d most likely be missing from any Friday morning attacks, but he’d also made it very clear that if she was needed, the Rangers came first. Not that he thought she’d renege her duties, he just couldn’t resist reminding her. There was a tiny little frown line that would pop up when he dug at her that was actually kind of cute. It gave her away every time.

Kim ignored him and handed him the pre-auction papers she’d copied. “Originally, the auction was just supposed to be the house, cemetery, and about a hundred acres. Just over half of those acres are in a land trust. It can be farmed or ranched, but not developed.”

Tommy nodded. “Okay.” He said slowly. “So what happened? Why do you need my help?” He kept his face neutral, resisting the urge to smile. Privately, he was thrilled that she’d ask him for anything. She’d held him firmly at arm’s length for years. Even in the last few weeks she’d maintained an aloof distance. Not that he didn’t deserve it, he reminded himself. He had been the one who got nasty when she’d wanted to make amends five years ago, but he’d been dealing with his breakup with Katherine, among other things, and the thought of Kimberly waltzing back into his life had been more than he could handle back then. He’d been immature and handled it badly; but it still saddened him a bit that the old closeness was gone and there was a definite wall between them. This auction was highly personal; he knew how much it meant to her. That she’d actively seek him out for help…it was kind of nice.

“Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure.” She began slowly. “I think its reputation caught up with it.”

“I don’t follow you.” He said, sitting back in his chair.

“It has a bad reputation.” She began carefully, then stopped.

“Alright...”

Kim put her pen down, settled back in her chair, and began the history of her family’s property. Heartland, had been homesteaded in the late eighteen-seventies. In its hay day, it was just over a thousand acres of cattle ranch. It’s founder was the son of one the very few miners that managed to make a fortune outside of San Francisco, mining gold in the year preceding the forty nine gold rush and later tripling that fortune selling dry goods and land to the thousands who flocked to California in the following years. He had been a quiet man, but fairly active in the development of Angel Grove from small township into a city. The house had been built as a consolation prize to his wife. Her family had been part of Boston’s society and nineteenth century life in California was not what she had bargained for. It was out of place for such a rustic area and remained one of the largest homes in Angel Grove for many decades. According to the court papers, it was just over twenty-three hundred square feet, but Kim remembered it to be much larger.

Heartland’s founder had lived a good, prosperous life, leaving the property to nine surviving children at the turn of the century. Four had remained to work the ranch, only one of which married and had children. By the time Kim’s grandfather took over after the second world war, the ranch had shrunk considerably in size to just over two hundred and fifty acres. He had walled up the upper stories as uneconomical to maintain and remodeled the first floor to accommodate his small family of four.

His two sons had never been interested in the property and had left as early as they could for the city itself. By the time Kim was a young girl, she remembered not much more than a few old horses and a large garden. After her brother was born, she would spend days at a time at the old ranch where her grandfather would care for her after school and during the summer. If it had been up to her grandfather, Heartland would have been hers. However, her grandfather and his three brothers jointly owned the house and the property and it was not his to dispose of.

Her grandfather’s death in the nineteen eighties had sparked a huge battle between the remaining heirs. The three surviving brothers had children and all of them wanted to inherit their share of the valuable land through their parent. The court battles drug on until the early nineteen nineties, during which the old house simply sat vacant. The property had eventually been ordered sold off by the court to satisfy the heirs and pay the lawyers.

But that was the most mundane of Heartland’s history. According to the original owner’s will, Heartland was never to be sold outside the family. This decree was unenforceable by law, but came with the warning of a curse. According to the will, anyone outside of the founder’s family who possessed Heartland’s manor would meet their ruin.

The heirs to Heartland’s acreage had laughed at this curse. They were modern people and didn’t put much faith in the nonsense of a century before. Yet within three months of Heartland’s sale, two of the remaining brothers were dead and the third institutionalized after a massive stroke. Within the year, two of the other nine descendants had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and Kim’s Uncle Steven suffered a mild heart attack.

The same year, Kim’s father went through a painful divorce from her mother where he estranged himself from both children and eventually declared bankruptcy. Several serious car and boating accidents were also reported and Kim herself had fallen off the parallel bars just before her freshman year of high school and fractured her collarbone. Her Uncle Steven even blamed a plane incident, where he had passed out and Kim was left to land the aircraft by herself, on the curse. Kim knew for a fact that episode was the fault of the old Rita, but she held her tongue.

These calamities were nothing compared to the woes that befell Heartland’s new owners. The first developer to purchase the land had been stung by a bee while trying to open the plywood covering Heartland’s door. An hour later he was found dead in the front foyer.

His son swore that everything that crossed the land, from bulldozers, to cartons of nails, to people, would simply disappear. When he himself simply vanished one day, Heartland’s legend grew. By the end of five years, Heartland had claimed the lives of as many owners. All that touched the property were ruined, including foreign investors, some of which had never set foot in California.

Within a decade of the sale, it became undisputed that the old house was haunted. Ghost hunters and paranormal seekers from all over the world flocked to it. Angel Grove, the center of weirdness in California for many years, claimed Heartland its epicenter. Even the banks didn’t want to own the property as several had found themselves the targets of hostile takeovers while carrying the property on their books and it became a running joke at Angel Grove City Hall to notify the coroner’s office that Heartland had a new owner.

Kim’s brother couldn’t believe his good fortune when he read that Heartland would once again be auctioned. The opening bid was a pittance compared to California land prices and as Kim and he were both legitimate heirs, perhaps they could break the curse. Michael, now a junior architect for their Uncle Steven’s construction company, wanted to split the property. Kim, as the primary investor, could have the house and the acres in the land trust and then the two could develop the remaining acres together. While Kim didn’t agree that they should develop the land, she wanted that old house. It was filled with very happy memories of her grandfather; memories Michael was too young to remember.

As virtually no one was stupid enough to bid on the property, Kim thought their chances were pretty good to obtain it. Hopefully, with any luck, the auction price would close for less than she had paid for her little house in Turtle Cove. If that was the case, she might be able to talk Mike into letting her buy back most of the remaining acreage at a later date.

But the auction had hit a snag. The bank, which had taken possession again through the bankruptcy court, wanted the property gone. It suddenly found itself in the process of being absorbed into a national franchise and, blaming the Heartland curse, it’s directors wanted to clear its books of the land; quickly. They had paired the property with another connecting lot, lost in the same bankruptcy. Although the land was part of the original Heartland ranch, it was a one hundred acre tract that had been sold long before Kim’s grandfather had moved in. This piece of land was a choice bit of California hills real estate, which backed up to several exclusive suburban mc-mansion communities.

The local developers were furious that the Heartland property had been tagged on to it and Kim was devastated. She and Mike had quickly re-grouped, bringing their Uncle Steven into the deal, but there was no assurance the auction would go their way. The other tract of land was much sought after, so everything depended on how desperately the other developers wanted it.

“So now, instead of an opening bid around four hundred thousand, the auction is expected to start between two and four million.” Kim said as she finished her story. “Basically, buy the desired tract and get Heartland free.”

Tommy let out a long breath and shifted in his chair. “So let me get this straight.” He said, “Your grandfather’s house is Haunted Hill?” He knew the stories, everyone knew the stories. Even his brother didn’t stray onto that land and David would investigate just about anyplace rumored to be weird.

“Kimberly…” He said slowly.

“I can stop the curse, that’s why I came to you. No one else can have that land.”

“You really think this is a curse?” Hell, he chastised himself silently; even he thought it was a curse. He’d seen enough strange things in his tenure as a Ranger to know that things like that were very real.

“As much as any curse.” She said honestly. “Mostly it’s a security system, a very old one.”

“A security system?” Tommy asked, one eyebrow rising slightly. Now that had his attention.

Kim nodded. “My grandfather knew he had a terminal disease. Before they took him to live at the hospice, he and I went out into his garden and dug up a stone. It was just a stupid piece of glass, but he told me to hang on to it and never let it go.”

“Glass…” Tommy said, deadpan.

Kim’s temper flared slightly. She’d been under an incredible amount of stress lately and just didn’t have the patience to walk him through this. “Oh come on,” she snapped, a bit edgier than she’d intended. “You and I have both been through enough weird stuff to know things like this happen. Curses, pieces of glass, crystals, even rocks, they’re all innocuous things that play vital roles in the bigger picture.”

Tommy nodded and rubbed his eyes. When she didn’t continue, he waved his hand in a gesture to do so.

“I kept the glass with me because it was from my grandfather. That was the last time we gardened together and it was a very special memory. Anyway, I went out there yesterday, just to look at the house. I was so incredibly disappointed that it was probably out of our range now. Even with Uncle Steve’s help, it’s probably not going to happen.” She paused and looked him directly in the eyes. “That’s when I noticed the grid.”

That had Tommy’s full attention. He sat up a little straighter. Grids weren’t all that uncommon on the California coast. Zordon had used more than a few in his ten thousand year residency. Finding them was next to impossible. You had to know what you were looking for and then you had to posses the keys to get them to communicate with you. Almost all of them were protected by security systems. Systems that could easily transport bulldozers or people out of the danger zone. That would explain why things tended to never come back from up there. They could have ended up anywhere, or any when, in the galaxy.

“You think that piece of glass was a keystone?” Tommy asked. A keystone was a critical part of a grid’s security. Remove it and the grid went on red alert and would do whatever it had to for self-protection. As grids were sentient, tended to be extremely intelligent, and could communicate with other grids giving them extensive ranges, self-preservation could get nasty.

“I know it’s a keystone. I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me before. The signs are all there… Zordon even told me once he knew of my grandfather…and I’ve had that freakin stone in my possession for nearly twenty years. But the point is, I can’t let that property go. I’ve got to diffuse the grid and stabilize the area again. It can’t be developed. Can you imagine what would happen if a dense population like a neighborhood moved too close?”

“You think you can stabilized it?” Tommy asked seriously. A grid out of control for more than two decades was going to be tough to manage.

“I know I can. I’ve done quite a bit of training with Dulcea,” She confessed. “A little with Lerigot, but he’s so busy now.” She paused, she didn’t want to misrepresent herself, but she was pretty good at what she’d been asked to do so far. “I might be only in my first years of training on things like this, but I’m not powerless. And I have the fact that I’ve possessed the keystone for so long on my side too.”

Tommy nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like they had a choice in the matter. He was in communication with a grid up in Reefside, perhaps between the two of them, and the current grid they might be able to calm this one down. “What time is the auction?” He asked.

“It starts at eight tomorrow morning, but there are a number of properties, so I don’t know the exact time they’ll get to it.”

He let out a long, tired breath. His plate was too full right now. Rita and Zedd drained his energy, but they weren’t his biggest problem by a long shot. After a decade of relative peace, the intergalactic wars were gaining momentum again. Tommy was faced with the sad realization that Zordon’s death had only bought a temporarily stall to the conflicts. It was a sad waste of his life force. Earth had only a decade or so at best to get ready before it would also be drawn into the fray. That was a short period of time to bring the planet up to intergalactic standards, especially when Earth’s leaders were far more interested in their own myopic gains than in pulling together.

Then there was his personal life. His adoptive mother was thrilled to have him back in Angel Grove. He was her only child and she enjoyed having him close by. But over breakfast with her, he’d suddenly remembered why he’d moved to Reefside. He loved his mother dearly and honestly enjoyed spending the weekends visiting her. But visiting and living next to her were very different things.

He’d been regaled with the details of every available female in his mother’s acquaintance. She wanted to see him happy, he understood that, but for him, happy didn’t consist of dating. He loathed the process, hated the games, and frankly didn’t have time to deal with the emotional side of it. He had female company when he wanted it, he didn’t need his mom setting him up with her friend’s daughters. She even hinted to the real estate agent, more than once, that her son was a very available bachelor. The woman had been amused, but he’d been more than a little annoyed.

“Alright.” He said, fatigue showing through in his voice. “I’m going to call Hayley and have her wire money from one of the offshore corporations. Bid as high as you need, then call her at the end of the auction and she’ll get the funds transferred to the right people.”

Kim smiled in relief. She hated coming to him for help with money, she’d pounded out every option she could think of before approaching him, but he was the only one she could think of to help. Tommy was not only one of the few that she could confide in about the grid, he was also one of the few who could also do something about it financially.

He was rumored to have made a large fortune in the last decade. How much, she wasn’t sure, but she knew how much a zord cost to build and he had built many of them. Barely out of college, he and Hayley had developed an invention that read DNA traces far more accurately than anything on the planet. The machine was in demand everywhere from forensic labs to universities all over the globe. She’d even used one in Turtle Cove to analyze plant DNA.

She knew he’d also inherited a good amount when his adopted father had passed away. She didn’t know all the details, but she knew he’d taken some and invested in his brother’s house flipping business and in the coffee shop he and Hayley had built in Reefside. Whatever else he’d been up to, she didn’t know, but it had apparently paid off. He hadn’t even blinked at the price of the property. It was a far cry from their middle class upbringing as teenagers.

Although Kim was descended from two of Angel Grove’s most prestigious families, her upbringing had been less than ostentatious. Her father was horrible with money. If it hadn’t been for his trust fund, which doled out his inheritance in monthly increments, he would have been destitute long ago. His family had long since washed their hands of him. It was Kim’s mother’s family and later her stepfather, who had paid for the costly gymnastics training in Orlando and the expenses of the Pan Games.

After the age of twenty-one, Kim also had a small trust payment each month, but the bulk of her money had been made from her TV show with Carri and her book deals about the Pan Games. Her stepfather had very wisely tied most of it up in long term investments which gave her a monthly income, but she didn’t have nearly the funds available to make this kind of a purchase.

Tommy rose and started out the door, “Assembly’s at seven. You’re a home-based senior red. Yes I know,” he said, holding up a hand at the scalding look she’d given him. “I’m ignoring your demands to be called a pink. I don’t care Kimberly. It’s my Assembly. Be there by six to go over the details with Jason and me. Andros is out tonight; he doesn’t want to leave Ashley alone with the baby now that Rita’s back in town.”

“Thank you.” She said earnestly, as he turned and opened the door. “For helping me with this auction. It means a great deal to me.”

“Just secure that grid.” He said sternly over his shoulder.

“I’m glad you could meet me for lunch.” Carri said, as she slid into her chair. She’d been surprised by her cousin’s call. Katherine Hillard had a full time job teaching Kindergarten at Angel Academy and another successful business teaching dance in the afternoon. Between her jobs and her new fiancé, Carri had seen far less of her cousin in the last six weeks than she thought she would.

“My class lets out at twelve-thirty.” Kat said, taking her own seat. “Normally I have enough work to keep me busy until my afternoon dance classes, but I thought we might steal away.”

“I’m always up for lunch and shopping.” Carri grinned. She grimaced inwardly, even if it was wedding shopping. But, she was glad her cousin called.

“So how was New York?” Kat asked casually over her menu.

“Fine. Hot, crowded, busy. Pretty much the same.”

“And you mum and dad?”

Carri rolled her eyes heavenward and gave Kat a mischievous smile. Her parents were as baffled by her as ever and if it weren’t for the fact that she continued to co-produce her old TV show with her father, Carri was tempted to just shut them out of her life and ignore them for a while. Not that she didn’t love them both dearly; they were just driving her insane.

Her mother was devastated that she’d broken things off with Jason. Apparently, she and Jason’s mom had planned a ski trip together over the coming holidays. Carri had encouraged her to keep the plans, it wasn’t as if she and Jase were on bad terms, but her mother had simply shaken her head hand headed off to the bathroom to take an aspirin.

“They’re doing fine.” She said simply.

“And how are the other things going?” Kat asked carefully.

“By that do you mean the monster bashing?” Carri asked softly. Kat nodded and she grimaced, nose crinkling. “Jase and Tommy have apparently caved on their attitude that this is gonna be over in a few weeks. It’s weird, we’re still kinda trying to figure things out.” She confided softly, leaning a bit closer. “Kim says the claybots aren’t behaving the way they should and everyone keeps saying the monsters aren’t what they’re cracked up to be either. Billy’s analyzing the battle patterns now. It’s as if they’re just trying to keep us busy rather than conquer the city.”

The conversation stopped as the waitress came by their table and took their order. Kat handed back her menu, folded both hands in front of her, and smiled sweetly. As the waitress left, Carri had the sinking feeling that her cousin wanted something.

Katherine was one of the nicest people Carri knew, but she also had a not so nice side that Carri avoided if she could. At the core, the cousins were very similar. That was probably why they had both been tapped as Rangers. But Carri was as opposite in personality as she was in looks. She was blunt, and direct, and seldom beat around the bush, but she was also incredibly out-going and willing to embrace the new. Katherine was sweet, and soft, and reserved, but had a tendency to be slightly myopic.

“So, Kim’s Zeo One?” Kat asked sweetly. Carri relaxed a little. This she’d been expecting. She knew Kat and Kimberly had once been friends, but dating the same guy had changed their relationship into a minor rivalry. They had patched things up recently, but it was more of a situation where they avoided each other and agreed to be nice. In the six weeks since Carri had moved to Angel Grove, Kat had barely returned her phone calls. She claimed to be too busy with work and wedding plans, but Carri suspected it also had to do with Kim being her roommate.

“Yes,” Carri answered her question.

“The uniform is different.” Kat commented, breaking off and toying with a piece of bread. “It’s darker and has more gold around the collar.”

“Her weapons are a little different too.” Carri said, continuing the small talk. “Billy thinks it’s because she’s had so many different morphers.”

“She has?” Kat asked, a bit surprised, and Carri winced internally. She didn’t think it was a secret among the Rangers, but she just wasn’t sure how much to tell Kat. Tommy hadn’t given her any barometers where her cousin was concerned. He rarely participated in conversations about any of the former Rangers, he wasn’t around enough, but conversations about Katherine he pointedly avoided altogether.

“Well, not nearly as many as Tommy, I don’t think anyone’s had as many as he has, but she’s had a few. Everyone on the team seems to have had more than one. Billy says that’s why there’s so much more banding and the colors are darker. If you noticed, Zeo Five’s uniform is apparently really different too.”

Kat simply nodded. “It’s certainly not as bright as it once was. Rocky definitely looks like he’s wearing black and not blue…that is Rocky isn’t it?”

“Oh yes.” Carri smiled.

Kat frowned a bit. She hadn’t expected Tommy to resurrect the old Zeo morphers. She supposed it made sense. The Zeo crystal hadn’t been destroyed; it had simply been united and stored away when the team shifted into their Turbo powers. As far as she knew, the grid was even still in Angel Grove. But the Zeo crystal was personal. They had all gone on a special quest to restore it. To just hand them out to other people seemed… wrong.

“And how’s Rocky doing?” Kat asked softly, redirecting her thoughts.

Carri beamed at her, “Wonderful.” She grinned. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time Kat.” She confided.

“Well… that’s nice.” Kat replied a bit distracted. Carri’s giddiness drained away.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” she asked.

“Nothing.” Kat said, back peddling a bit. “It’s just that… it must be strange to work on a team with both Rocky and Jason every day. How is Jason taking it?”

“Gauging by the steady stream of blonds making their way in and out of his apartment, I’d say just fine.” She said dryly.

“I suppose we all deal with things the best way we know how.”

Carri gave her cousin a hard look as she added sweetener to her tea. Just what was going on here? Katherine was her cousin, but the girls had they’d lived in different countries most of their lives. Katherine had grown up in Australia and Carri’s parents had moved her to the US as an infant. She had hoped her move to Angel Grove would bring them closer, especially as both now shared Rangering in common.

Katherine obviously had an opinion about her break-up with Jason and her new relationship with Rocky. Carri wished for one brief second that she felt secure enough with Kat to confide in her that she and Jason had only been good friends, were still, in fact, good friends, but she just couldn’t find the desire to do so. She tossed her teaspoon on the table and sat back.

“All right Kat.” She said, a bit of an edge in her voice. “Get it out. This obviously wasn’t a spur of the moment social call. You have something to say, tell me.”

“Direct and to the point as ever.” Kat sighed, sipping her tea.

“On with it.” Carri said flatly.

“I’m concerned Carri.” Kat began tentatively, placing her tea cup on the table in front of her. “I mean that with all the love and affection in my heart. Rocky’s going through a very difficult time and I’m worried that you’re going to get hurt by pushing your way into the middle of it.”

“I appreciate the concern, but it’s not necessary. I’m a big girl Kat.”

Kat leaned forward on the table, obviously trying to choose her words very carefully. “Carri, this isn’t just something you can jump into and then brush off. The Ranger community is very small one.”

“Why the hell does everyone keep saying that?” Carri groaned. If she heard that phrase one more time she was seriously going to hit someone. Rocky had gently slowed things down for six weeks because the Ranger community was so small and they needed to be careful. She was sick of it.

“Because it’s true. Carri, I’ve been there before. I’ve been the second girlfriend. Now Rocky is the second boyfriend. It strains the team.”

“Kat, trust me, it’s no big deal.” She interrupted. “Do you want to talk to Jason himself? He’s totally fine with it. I seriously doubt they’d still be apartment mates if he weren’t.”

“No. I don’t want to talk with Jason about it.” The irritation was clear in Kat’s voice. “It’s you I’m concerned about. This whole affair is just all very odd ... even for you.”

“Gee thanks. What’s so odd about it?” Carri asked, frustration creeping into her voice. She hated being told what to do, she hated criticism even more. She’d spent two weeks with her parents and their opinions about her breakup with Jason, now Katherine was going to start. None of them knew anything about it.

“I find it a bit odd that the two of you would just throw away two good, steady, thriving, long term relationships for an spur of the moment, ill thought out affair.”

“My relationship with Jase was hardly thriving.” Carri responded sarcastically. “About the only people who thought so were our parents. And what the hell is ill thought out supposed to mean?”

“You were with Jason a long time. All relationships go through a damper phase.” Kat said, frustration now giving her voice an edge as well. Her cousin was incredibly impetuous. She had no idea the havoc she’d wrecked by turning Rocky’s head. If Carri only understood bluntness, then she’d be blunt. “It’s normal to slow down, but that’s no reason to go out and steal Rocky away from Marie.” Katherine sat back in her chair. “What happened? Maybe you got a little bored? That’s so typical of you Carri. You want something, so damn the consequences for everybody else. As long as you get your way…you don’t think. Rocky’s not a toy, he had a good life going…”

“Whoa.” Carrie said firmly, leaning forward and raising her hand in a stop gesture. Her hackles had risen automatically at Kat’s tone and she fought to keep a civil tone.

“You’ve got your information wrong Kat. Rocky broke up with Marie before we even considered seeing each other.”

“Rocky broke up with her the morning after he moved in with Jason and found out you two had broken up.” Kat countered.

“No.” Carri insisted. “Rocky had no idea Jason and I called it quits, I was there, you weren’t. And, if you’ll remember, no coincidence, that was also the same time we formed the new Ranger team. Did you think of that? There was a lot going on that week. We were all re-prioritizing our lives. Rocky told me he was being smothered in that relationship. Between his mother and Marie, his entire life was orchestrated for him. Going back to the Rangers made him realize how little of his life was his own.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Kat asked waspishly, “Does it make you feel better when you sleep with another woman’s man?”

Carri stared at her cousin, mouth slightly open. Actually, she and Rocky hadn’t slept together yet. Not that things hadn’t gotten fairly hot and heavy, but they had decided to wait until she got back from her trip to New York. The night before, he’d been called over to his mother’s house to fix a broken pipe. This afternoon they had agreed to turn their phones off. Carri had been walking on air all day, waiting for their date tonight. Kat’s attitude stopped her cold. Her comments seemed better suited to her old grievances against Kim rather than anything to do with Rocky and her.

“What’s going on here Kat?” Carri asked as evenly as she could. This wasn’t Kat’s style. Something wasn’t right here. “Is this payback for my disapproval of Chris? I thought we put that behind us. You’re going to marry him, I already told you I’d do my best to be nice and treat him like family.”

“This has to do with the fact that I can’t believe my cousin would steal my best friend’s fiancé.”

“Wait,” Carri said, shaking her head and trying to digest what her cousin had just said. “No. Rocky and Marie were never engaged and since when are you guys best friends?”

“It was implied.” Kat insisted firmly. “Rocky told her repeatedly he was going to make things official. That is until he met you, I saw how the two of you cozied up together that night at the Grand when Marie wasn’t there. It’s no wonder Jason called it quits after that…and Marie and I have become very good friends since she transferred at the beginning of the school year. I helped her to get a job teaching the new first grade class at Angel Academy when Mrs. White decided not to come back after her maternity leave. I know all about how Rocky broke things off with her… and why.”

“First of all, you’re facts are wrong and I’m a little disappointed you didn’t bother to verify things with me before you formed your opinions. You’re my cousin, you’re supposed to be on my side whether you agree with me or not.” If Carri had a dime for every time she sided with Kat against Kimberly, she could probably pay for an entire spa day. At the very least, Kat owed her the same. “ I honestly don’t care if you pal around with my boyfriend’s ex or not, but you could at least defend me a little.”

“As my cousin, I would have expected you to be above sleeping with your boyfriend’s friends.” Kat fired back. “Yes, Carri, you’re my cousin. I know you very well. It’s not a stretch to understand that you’ve run from every relationship that’s ever gotten a little serious. You’re rebounding just like Rocky is, but it’s a lot more significant this time. The two of you could do a lot of damage to the team.” She paused briefly, biting her lip and trying to diffuse her anger a little. “It’s not too late to end it Carri, Jason might never forgive you, but Marie still wants Rocky back. You and I both know it’s only a temporary fling on your part.”

“What?” Carri hissed. She had never wanted a relationship this badly in her entire life. If she hadn’t already committed to the long haul, she would have never put up with six weeks of kissing him good night and going to bed alone. Carri didn’t care what Kat thought, she was being the most responsible of her entire life. They were taking things more slowly and carefully than she had ever done before. She knew full well that this might not work out, she understood he was rebounding, but she also knew that there was a good possibility it could work after all. For that, she was willing to take a chance.

“Oh don’t play games Carri.” Kat continued, sitting back in her chair. “You and I both know you’re in another of your little life crisis’s, otherwise why would you just quit your show, toss your relationship with Jason out the window, and jump into bed with Rocky?”

“I quit my show because I was offered another morpher.” Carri growled softly. Well, that was partly true. Truth always stung the hardest. She’d been bored. She’d been bored with the show, bored with the travel, and bored with her pretend relationship with Jason. It wasn’t Kat’s fault that she didn’t know what she and Jason had been up to…or rather not been up to.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that you’re playing around with Rocky,” Kat added. “Jason’s friend. Was your relationship with Jason so stalled you had to go out and jump into bed with someone else?”

“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black.” Carri snarled angrily. Her voice was low and calm. Shockingly calm, even to her own ears. Her words were precise and deadly and meant to hurt. She was beyond angry now. “Tommy didn’t exactly know what you were up to in that study group with Chris did he?” If Kat was going to sling mud, cousin or no, she better be prepared to wrestle dirty.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kat spat, her eyes wide.

“You can play innocent all you like with other people Kat, but I’m family, I know what really happened when Tommy went on his first dig in South America. Things had been slowing down for months between you two. He came back all contrite about a one night stand and you cried bloody murder for months… all the while you’d been up to the same thing with Chris.”

“How dare you!” Kat hissed, eyes wide and furious. “That isn’t true Carri.”

“Oh I dare cousin, and it is the truth, we both know it. The whole family knows it. Little Miss Perfect ain’t so perfect after all is she?” Carri spat, eyes hard as stone. Kat’s face had turned beat red and she looked like she was going to claw Carri to pieces. But Carri wasn’t quite done. She had never managed to actually quit when she was ahead. When her temper flared, it was no holds barred.

“Unlike you though, Rocky and I both had the guts to admit our previous relationships were going nowhere and end them before starting something new. You just dabbled on the side until you realized Tommy was really going to leave you after all.” Carri paused and Kat simply starred at her in horror.

“Go tell your new best friend she’d deluded if she thinks I’m going to stand by and listen to her howl at the moon…oh yes, I’ve heard what she and Rocky’s mom have been up to...it’s not going to work. Sending you to get me to cry off was downright stupid of her. You don’t know shit about me Katherine, you never have. I waited twenty-eight years to meet that man, I’m not giving him up.”

“I try to save you a heart break from your stupid, impulsive decisions and this is what I get in return?” Kat asked incredulously. She had tears in her eyes and Carri honestly felt bad about them. She knew she’d gone too far, but she didn’t care. She was sick and tired of people pretending to know who and what she was. If Kat didn’t have any higher opinion of her than that, well then screw her.

“No.” Carri said flatly as the waitress delivered their plates to the table. She rose from her seat and grabbed her purse. “What you get is stuck with the bill.”

“So how late are we?” Kim asked Trini as they walked through the back hallways of the main research floor.

“I think you’re still ok,” Trini answered, “Billy still hasn’t answered the non emergency pages on his communicator, so he’s probably engrossed in something and hasn’t noticed the time. We should both be fine.”

It was just past six-forty in the evening and Trini had told Billy she’d be back just after five to have dinner with him in the cafeteria. Kim was supposed to have been back no later than six for the Assembly pre meeting. They had slipped away earlier to visit Ashley and play with the new baby. The time had gotten away from them and Kim had quickly transported them back to the NASADA complex. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get them directly back to level eight because of the extra security shield Billy had set up in anticipation of the meeting. She had to transport them to the main hall of level seven and take the elevators from there.

Tommy was going to be furious. He had been pressuring her for a week to attend the meeting he’d called in response to the new attacks on Angel Grove. It was a formality. They called a new Assembly a few times a year or anytime a new Ranger team appeared. Kim had resisted the invitation because he insisted on giving her red status. Even if she was technically now wearing a pink uniform, she still had her red Ninjetti powers. He’d been adamant in her attendance. If she wanted the pinks in leadership, he told her, then she needed to participate in the leadership, not hide from it. She had grudgingly agreed, but he’d still been after her all week about her actually showing up. She’d already missed the pre-meeting; she’d never hear the end of it if she’d turned up late for the Assembly itself.

“Just a moment you two!” an angry voice called from behind. Kimberly did an abrupt about face and ran straight into Dr. Franzstien. The older woman swerved and made a sharp curve around her.

“Miss Kwan.” She snarled, cornering Trini. “I would like a word with you.”

“Any other time, Dr. Franzstien,” Trini said sweetly, “But I’m afraid we’re both running late.”

“It has come to my attention that you failed your intake physical.”

“I assure you, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Dr. Matilda Franzstien was not an overly tall woman, but she towered over Trini. She used this added height to her advantage and leaned inches above Trini’s face.

“Are you denying that you’re expecting?” She demanded, almost triumphantly.

“Expecting what?” Trini replied innocently.

“This is a serious matter Miss Kwan, I cannot…”

“Dr. Frankenstein I presume?” Kim said, coming around and standing behind Trini, both hands on her shoulders.

“Miss Hart.” Dr. Franzstien said waspishly, “I had heard the vicious rumor that you deigned to grace us with your presence once again. Miss Kwan” She continued, her attention focused back on Trini, “This is completely unacceptable. It’s an absolutely shocking breach of protocol.”

“And I, for one, can tell you how absolutely shocked I am.” Kim said a bit dramatically.

“You mean to tell me you didn’t know about this?” Dr Franzstien asked, her tone clear that she didn’t believe Kim for an instant.

“Know? Of course I knew. I’m absolutely shocked that you, of all people, are the absolute last person to know. If you’ll excuse us?”

She turned Trini around and pushed her toward the level eight elevators. Ahead of them was Karone. Andros had asked her to stand in for him at the Assembly, but her attention had been drawn to the conversation in the corridor outside the elevator. Always curious to know what had Dr. Franzstien in knots, she had witnessed the scene and, racing ahead, keyed her id card through the security slot to open the doors.

“I am not finished with this!” Dr. Franzstien shouted as she raced to keep up with the retreating pair.

“I can assure you that you are.” Kim called over her shoulder.

“Miss Kwan, Miss Hart! I insist you stop this instant.”

“Gotta run,” Kim said sweetly, pushing Trini into the elevator that would take them down to the primary level eight complex. She held out her hand as Dr. Franzstien approached the elevator door.

“Sorry Frankenstein,” Kim said every bit as frosty as Dr. Franzstien herself. “You don’t have clearance for this corridor…don’t make me call security.”

With that, Karone immediately closed the elevator doors.

“That was brilliant.” Karone said mischievously, leaning back against the elevator walls. “Did you get a look at that old hag’s face? She’ll spit metal for weeks after this.”

As the computer finished its security scan and began its decent, Trini leaned against the railing and took a deep breath.

“You all right?’ Kim asked and Trini nodded.

“Tired. Nauseous.” She said. “I’ve been able to avoid her the past few weeks. This wasn’t the best day to get cornered.”

“It’s never a good day to have a run in with Frankenstein.” Karone sympathized. “So there’s truth to the rumors then?” She asked cautiously.

“Are you attending the meeting tonight?” Kim asked, changing the subject. She spun around and gave Karone a warning look. Just what Karone did for the Rangers at NASADA, Kim wasn’t sure. Like most Rangers, it was simply better not to ask. She caught the cue and nodded.

“Tommy asked me to report on Gruumm’s movements in sector twelve.” She answered.

“What rumors?” Trini asked.

“Gruumm’s on the move again?” Kim asked, ignoring her.

“Kimberly, what rumors?” Trini asked as the doors opened.

“I’ll just, uh… see you after the conference.” Karone said sweetly. She stepped out of the elevator and walked briskly down the hall.

Trini grabbed Kimberly’s arm and stopped her as she also tried to walk away.

“What rumors?” Trini insisted firmly

“They’re absurd.” Kim said, shaking her head in emphasis. “NASADA is a huge complex with a tiny community of very competitive people that just don’t like each other very much. They have nothing better to do than speculate and try to undermine each other.”

“What rumors?”

“No one believes them...”

“Kimberly!”

Kimberly sighed heavily, “Frankenstein’s supporters are saying Billy brought you into his lab because you’re his mistress. Now that it turns out your pregnant and he won’t dismiss you…” Kim stopped.

“They think Billy’s the baby’s father?” Trini asked, eyes wide an unbelieving. Kim nodded.

“Like I said, it’s simply stupid high school type nonsense. It’s not even worthy of high school.”

“But…” Trini protested, “I’m still married to my husband.”

“It’s common knowledge you’re separated and getting a divorce. You’ve been back in the California for eight weeks, you’re about eight weeks pregnant…people love gossip, especially when it’s about someone else. If that someone just happens to be on level eight, they love it even more.” Kim felt bad. They had all tried to keep the rumors from her. She was on such an emotional roller coaster; she didn’t need the petty gossip of this facility added to it.

“Sweetie I was the gossip target for months when I first came here. Tongues are still wagging that I only won the Pan Games because I’m a mutant. Believe me, most of it will die down and the rest isn’t important.”

“Oh my God.” Trini groaned covering her face with her hands. “Does Billy know about the rumors?”

Kim nodded. “Billy plays the part of the absent minded professor, but he knows everything that goes on around here…that’s part of his job. He and Manx keep their eyes and ears open for Tommy. There’re too many people here trying to make new Rangers like Lightspeed did. Trini I’m sorry.”

“Kimberly.” Tommy stated firmly, placing two hands on both her arms from behind. She jumped, startled, and his grip hardened.

“Don’t do that.” She snarled. If there was one thing she hated, it was being surprised. If there was anything else she hated, it was being restrained. She’d been restrained on Muirantias when Divatox lowered her and Jason into the Pit of Eternal Fire. Neither of them could stand it now. How the hell he’d snuck up on her like that, she didn’t know. She’d been so focused on Trini; somehow even his well-known signature had slipped past her. “Sneaking up on me is dangerous.” She warned, eyes glowing red. She saw Trini’s stare and quickly diffused the glow.

“I think I can defend myself.’ He said dryly.

“Until you end up face to face with a real live version of one of your dinosaurs.” She snapped. She supposed she shouldn’t be so surprised after all, he was who he was, but it didn’t make her temper dissipate any easier. “Portals generate through a reflex action. Don’t startle me like that again. We could end up anywhere or any when, even deep space.”

“Your late.” He said casually, ignoring her. “ The Assembly is this way.” He turned her around, hands still shackling her arms.

“Really.” She said, voice deadpan.

“Yeah, come on. We’ll walk together.”

Kim made a sound not too un-similar to a growl. She just didn’t remember him being this obnoxious as a kid. If she had any bruises on her arms, she and Carri were going to have to put their heads together and make him regret his little strangle hold. She was not about to give him that kind of advantage over her again. Let the rest of the universe think he was mister mean and nasty, Tommy had a heart of gold and it wouldn’t take much drama on their part to seriously turn on the guilt.

Trini caught Kim’s eyes as they passed her and she grinned despite herself. She wondered briefly if Tommy had any idea Kim had payback written all over her face. Slowly, she turned and walked the opposite way down the hall towards the small cafeteria, thinking about the rumors again. If Billy knew, why hadn’t he said anything to her?

Well, she had the genetics tests to prove her soon to be ex husband was the father. She was going to have to give them over to her lawyer in the morning; although she really didn’t want to. Geirge was demanding full custody if it was his. This was going to change everything. There would be no quick divorce now. The bastard was going to get everything he wanted after all. He was going to marry his bimbo girlfriend who was going to give him his son in a few weeks and now Trini was going to give him a daughter who they were going to battle over in court. At the very best outcome, the baby would very likely have to spend every summer with him in Switzerland or at his parent’s house in Sweden...if the courts ruled in her favor. If not, she would lose custody of the daughter she so desperately wanted and she would be raised in Switzerland with her father and step mother. Geirge’s lawyers were already making the argument that their client provided a stable two parent home whereas she lived in a research facility that was just simply not conducive to raising a child… and the tests weren’t even turned in yet. Billy had sworn to her that he’d provide an army of lawyers, but she was devastated none the less.

She stopped, thinking over what Kim had said. She was just under eight weeks pregnant… and she only knew that for certain because the medical equipment in the labyrinth was so sophisticated. She had been back in the States for just over eight weeks, so she had very likely gotten pregnant the very last night she had spent with her ex-husband. Who was to say Geirge was the father of her baby? Because he was the only man in her entire life that she’d ever slept with, she chided herself. But what if she said it was someone else’s? Even her own mother had asked who the father was.

If she did name someone else, what would it hurt? Geirge wouldn’t be interested in the baby anymore. It would be over. She’d be free. Her daughter would never know him, but was that really such a bad thing? Anyone was a better substitute parent than her ex. He’d turned on her in an instant and tossed her out like a piece of trash; just how would he treat their daughter? The chances were she wouldn’t look very much like him or his new wife or any of the other children around her. The baby would most likely resemble her Vietnamese heritage; how would they feel about that? She knew his mother had always despaired over the “mixed marriage.” How would her in-laws treat the baby?

“Are you all right?” Billy asked, coming up from behind her. Despite his divorce from Cestria, he often sat in as a proxy at Assembly meetings for the Aquitian Rangers, but he had turned around when he saw her wandering down the hall. He felt incredibly guilty about missing dinner with her. He only noticed her pages after his computerized assistant reminded him it was time to attend the assembly.

She smiled at him. “Just thinking.” She said quietly.

“You sure?” He asked gently placing an arm around her waist. It was a casual gesture, not meant to be anything more than a gesture of friendship and support. But as Trini looked up, she looked closely at him for the first time since she had returned to Angel Grove. He looked older, she thought sadly. The years of illness and stress had not been kind to him. His hair was graying some and his eyes and forehead were lined. Yet, his blue eyes were sharp and bright and he still had the aura of a young man.

He wasn’t that un-similar in features to her ex; the differences were minor. Geirge had been tall, where Billy was of medium height. Billy’s hair and eyes were darker, but he was still blond and blue eyed. Trini was Vietnamese, it was very doubtful her daughter would have many of her father’s features anyway, but if she did…and if people already thought Billy was the baby’s father…at least she’d know he’d treat her better…

“You know the rumors that have been circulating about me?” she asked and he cursed under his breath.

“Your divorce is a public record, once you turn over the genetic test showing your husband is the father, it will all stop.”

“What if I don’t turn over that test?” She asked. He frowned, but didn’t answer.

“What if…” she paused, half of her not believing she was actually going to say it out loud. “What if I say I don’t know who the father is?” she whispered. “What if I said it was someone else?”

Billy stared at her for a moment, then gently grabbed her arm and led her into a small conference room.

“What are you saying?” He asked intently, pulling out a chair for her and taking one himself.

“If I claim him as the father of my daughter, it’ll never be over.” She struggled to find the right words to tell him what she was feeling. She felt betrayed, abused, and deeply hurt by her ex. She wanted him out of her life forever.

“He slept with me the night before he kicked me out.” She admitted. “Do you have any idea how incredibly angry I am about that? That’s probably when it happened. I had a sonogram the day before and there was nothing there; suddenly, two weeks later I’m pregnant?” She paused and took a deep breath. “He doesn’t want me. He tossed me out like I was no better than a used piece of furniture. Why should I have to deal with him the rest of my life? I know the way Kim’s father has treated her, do I really want that for my daughter? She’ll have to shuttle back and forth the rest of her life, always being the daughter of his other wife. I don’t want that for her.” her voice had taken on a slightly hysterical edge.

“Trini, you’re going to have to name a father.”

“Why?” Trini asked. “She’s mine, no one else’s. He was a donor, nothing more.”

“You’ve already told the lawyers you’re pregnant. Your ex husband has already expressed an interest in the genetic report. His attorney is waiting for it tomorrow.”

“What if it’s inconclusive?”

“Trini…”

“I work in a maximum security, intergalactic, scientific facility. Are you telling me documents aren’t altered before they reach non-secure levels?” she asked. “Especially the medical records of the refugees passing through here?”

“Are you asking me to forge that test?”

Trini’s shoulders slumped. “No.” she said quietly. “I’m sorry. It was a crazy idea. I made my bed, I’ll live with it.”

Billy was silent for so long that it made her nervous. She looked up to find him studying her intently.

“Am I such a bad person?” she asked, a tear running down her cheek. He reached out and gently brushed it away.

“No.” He said.

“I’m a former Power Ranger.” She said. “Power Rangers don’t exactly lie do they?”

Billy chuckled and she looked up and met his eyes. “Zordon used to tell me that the truth is only a matter of perception. Kim utilizes that same philosophy, it’s driving Tommy insane.”

He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes, grappling with an inner dilemma. On the one hand, he had an obligation to the truth. On the other, it would suit him just fine if Trini never had contact with her ex again. He wasn’t the only one who had seen the results of that test. Manx had seen it. He seriously doubted Kat would say anything if he chose to aid Trini in her deception. But, as he obviously knew the truth, did he have any moral obligation to the father of Trini’s child? She was right, the man had tossed her out in favor of a woman he’d had an extramarital affair with. It had turned out Geirge an had never been faithful to Trini, keeping mistresses both in Switzerland and in his father’s home country of Sweden. But if he, Billy, were the father of a child, wouldn’t he want to know? He sighed again, that was a highly unlikely scenario.

“If I was the father.” He said gently, “I would want to know I had a child.”

“Because you’re a good man. You would never have tossed me out like that in the first place.” She countered.

He smiled behind his hand. No, if he had been Trini’s husband he would never have done that. He was going to make it up to her. As soon as she was ready, he was going to tell her how much he adored her. He was going to spoil both her and her daughter until no thoughts remained about the life she left behind. He was actually starting to look forward to this baby. It was something he’d never have the opportunity… he stopped. He was planning on raising this child with her. It never occurred to him not too. Was the donor concept of hers too farfetched? It wasn’t honest, but was it really so far off the mark? If he was ever to consider having children, he’d have to consider a donor anyway.

“You want me to claim the baby is mine?” He asked seriously.

Trini panicked, it was what she’d been thinking, but hearing it said out loud made it seem even more far-fetched. Billy had been very good to her; this would be more than taking advantage of his generosity. This was life long, not something to view as a quick fix.

“Billy…no. It isn’t fair to you, I let my imagination get the best of me when I heard those rumors.”

“That’s not what I asked. Do you want me take responsibility, legally, for this child?”

“You and Geirge have similar physical characteristics...” She admitted. “It’s not like...” She hurried on, “I wouldn’t ask for money, you wouldn’t have to do anything, I wouldn’t hold you responsible. It could just be an agreement.”

He held a hand up and she stopped. Taking her hands in his, he edged the chair closer so that their knees were almost touching. “I can’t have my own children.” He explained, choosing his words carefully, “It’s the result of the condition that sent me to Aquitar for treatment.” He paused, searching for the courage to continue. “There is nothing in this universe that I desire more than to help you raise this child.” He said finally, taking a huge, deep breath. He was completely out of his element. Emotions were far removed from scientific fact; they unsettled him. He was at a loss to express the depth of his feelings and paused, his chest tightening

“You’ve been such a good friend to me.” Trini said earnestly, squeezing his hands. “I know it’s not fair to you. I appreciate this so much, you have no idea…”

“I want to do this Trini,” He said, interrupting her. “But I was also wondering, if we raise this child together… do you think…perhaps…one day… could you possibly conceive of a… non-platonic perception of me?” He asked hoarsely.

“What?” She asked, her brow creasing a little. Billy’s heart sank.

“Nothing,” he said “Forget I mentioned it. Of course I’ll help you Trini, I’ll assist you in any way possible. I desire nothing in return except the chance to spoil your daughter.” He smiled weakly and stood up. “If you think it’s appropriate, perhaps she could even refer to me by a paternal name?”

Trini stared at Billy. It was the first time since she’d returned that he was actually acting like the Billy she had known in school. The Billy she worked with was a confident scientist, a far cry from the socially uncertain boy she had known.

“What did you just ask me?” she asked, standing up and moving toward him. He turned away and she moved so he would have to look at her.

“If I claim to be the father, do you think she could call me dad?” He said hopefully, phrasing his words a bit more simply.

“No, before that. By a non-platonic perception, do you mean would I think of you as more than a friend?”

He nodded, but didn’t look at her. His heart was crushed. It was physical sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. He had moved far too soon. He had just hoped, given the situation…

“We’ve been friends for so long, why would you ask me this now?”

He shook his head, “I spoke out of turn.” He said quietly. “I’ll help you Trini. That’s all that needs to be said. I won’t ask for reciprocation.”

Trini wasn’t sure what propelled her to act. He was hurting; she saw it in his eyes. This man who had been so good to her for the last few weeks. Her friend. The one who, for as long as she could remember, had always been there for her. She recognized the loneliness in his face, the uncertainty that lurked not so very far below the surface wall he showed the rest of the world. The man who had just said he was willing to lie for her, to accept her child and raise it as his own. She threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips.

Teeg slightly adjusted the controls on the transporter device. A few more seconds and her emissary would arrive. She had minor doubts about removing him from his previous assignment. She despised him, but he was necessary. She smiled silkily, just a few more moments…

The End

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