******************

Kimberly got down off the table as Ms. Hayes gave the scans a good once-over before she decided that there was something there she didn't like. Handing Kimberly her new morpher, she sat down in the chair across from her. "I take it you have some kind of hormonal imbalance, Kimberly." She said without any preamble.

Kimberly felt herself blush deeply as she nodded, running her fingers through her hair. "Yes ma'am, irregular periods and all, although lately they haven't been too much of a problem."

Ms. Hayes shook her head and snorted, "They shouldn't be ever again." Leaning back in the chair she told her, "That's the nature of the Power, it tends to correct any disabilities you might have. I would suggest coming off the birth control pills you're using to control them. They aren't needed anymore, and they'll throw your whole system out of whack."

Kimberly felt herself blush even deeper, unsure of how to approach this situation, "Uh., uh."

Hayes just smiled and nodded at her, "That's not going to happen either," the woman told her sensing the Pink Ranger's discomfort. "The only way you could possible end up with children is if you talk to Billy really nicely about doing some genetic manipulation for you. Once your Power activated, your ability to conceive was pretty much shut down." She shrugged, "It's the universe's way of protecting itself. Can't have too many 22 year old immortals running around out there." She smiled and indicated Kimberly, "Or in your case seventeen."

Kimberly was confused, "Didn't Ms. Stone say that you're father was part of the Power too?"

"I have two fathers," She told Kimberly. "one mother. Yes one of my fathers is part of the Power, and genetically speaking he's not my parent." She shrugged, "But genetics don't really matter all that much in things like this. Do you think Tommy's parents love him any less because he's adopted?"

"Oh," Kimberly said. "I was just wondering how you could have been conceived if your father was uh. uh." Kimberly felt the blood continue to rise in her face.

Hayes just laughed, "Don't worry about it, Kimberly." Getting up from her chair she continued, "I'll tell you what. One day I'll sit down and tell you all about it. The whole six to twelve hundred years- depending on which point in time you catch my consciousness."

"You're an interesting person to know Ms. Hayes." Kimberly told.

Ms. Hayes laughed, "You're being polite. I'm a weird person to know." Getting up she gestured toward the door and waited for Kimberly before following behind her.

Kimberly walked out of Medical Bay Two with Ms. Hayes to join the other five boys, who were surprisingly enough, blushing. She noted that Kyle was pulling a black and gold polo shirt on over his ever-present black tank. Ms. Stone turned and faced them, "All right boys and girls, we've covered enough of the birds and the bees, and I'm proud to announce that you are all disgustingly healthy. Not a leg cramp or a zit among you." She turned and typed something into the panel behind her and muttered playfully, "Got to be a crime." Turning back to the group she smiled, "As to your new morphers, you'll discover some upgrades in them from the old ones. Most notably is that you don't need them to call on the Power. They're mainly meant as a communicator and a method of summoning the `Zords." She turned and smiled at Billy, "Yes Billy, I was listening. You had some good ideas and I did work them in." Kimberly noticed the surprised look on his face, as he muttered something under his breath. Finally, the Blue Ranger looked up at Ms. Stone and said, "They were just some thoughts I considered that would make our endeavors with the `Zords more effective."

Ms. Stone smiled at him, and actually tousled the blond ranger's hair. "They were good ones, Billy." Turning back she seemed to consider her next words carefully. Finally, coming to some sort of decision she said, "There is something else I want to talk to you about."

Every Ranger turned to face her, "Go on, Ms. Stone," Jason said leaning back against one of the counters.

"It's about your parents," Ms. Stone glanced over at Ms. Hayes before continuing. "Winter and I have been talking and we think that it might be a good idea for some of you," she turned and faced Kimberly, "not all mind you, but some of you to consider letting your parents in on who you are."

"But what of Zordon's admonitions concerning protecting our secret identities?" Billy asked.

Kimberly watched as Ms. Murphy shook her head and chuckled, "One of these days, I'm going to have to have a long talk with Zordon of Eltar. He's got some pretty strange ideas on what's important." She leaned against one of the tables in the room. "I understand the need to protect your family and all that, but sometimes I wonder if Zordon lives in the same reality as the rest of us. Not telling his parents about his situation was what got my son killed. If he'd come to me
about what he'd discovered, and what he was doing at night," she blushed deeply and Kim could hear a strong note of self-recrimination in her voice, "well maybe not all of what he was doing, but the stuff that involved going out in spandex I would have made a few more allowances." She sighed, "What were his rules? Let's get those cleared up now."

Jason ticked off on his fingers, "Never use the Power for personal gain. Never escalate a fight with Rita and Zedd. Always protect your secret identities."

Ms. Hayes nodded with each of them. "All of those are admirable qualities that you should strive to live up to. However, I wonder if he ever considered honesty among them." She smiled at the Rangers, "Number one is a good idea in general. However, you have to be careful about how you define personal gain. Is protecting a loved one, or a teammate personal gain? How about Billy using the advanced technology he has access here to improve his chances of getting into a better college?"

For some reason, Kimberly found herself needing to come to Zordon's defense. "Zordon just didn't want us using the power to make ourselves rich or something."

Ms. Hayes smiled at her. "I understand that, but by interfering in your world, Zordon already created an imbalance. He gave you the Power to use to defend the world, asked you to risk your lives, your sanity, and your families." She shook her head, "It hardly seems fair to take from you, your lives and your innocence and not expect you to want something in return."

"But we don't want anything." Jason said.

Ms. Hayes raised an eyebrow and looked at her, "Oh really?" She walked over to Jason, and looked up into his face, "What if Billy were to get hit by a car and killed this afternoon? Would you not want to use the Power to stop it or if you thought you could, to bring him back?"

"But that's not for personal gain!"

"Really?" she asked. "Using Zordon's formula, all I really would have to do is find a replacement blue ranger. No more Billy, just go out and get a new model. Don't worry about what I might owe you for putting your lives on the line for the planet. The old Command Center's files had at least three names listed as replacement rangers. Since Billy is so easily replaceable," she made quotation marks with her hands for the last two words, "then using the Power to bring him back would only be for selfish reasons."

"That's cold," Tommy told her. "Billy is not selfish reasons." Kimberly could see a coldness come over even Ms. Stone's eyes. "He's a friend, and I for wouldn't care what you told me. If it would bring back a friend I'd do it."

Hayes smiled at him, "From you, I'd expect nothing less." Turning to Jason, "I think Jason, even you'd eventually defy even Zordon over Billy or Kimberly. No, scratch that, I know you would." She shook her head and walked away from the tables, "My point is that these are guidelines, they are not laws written in stone tablets handed down from the Mount by Moses. I also think honesty with your parents in some cases may be better than the last rule." She shrugged, "I'm not talking about going out and using your `Zords to rob Fort Knox, I'm talking about there being nothing wrong with using the Power to save lives, or ease pain when needed, even if you do gain something from it. You are almost adults. You are old enough that I trust your judgment on these things." She shook her head, "You all know right from wrong, I'm just giving you the opportunity to demonstrate that.

"So who do you think should tell their parents?" Tommy asked.

Ms. Stone smiled at him, "I'm not sure your parents are ready for that yet, Tommy. I think given a little time they will, but to be honest there are just getting used to having a son, let's not toss the fact that he's a Power Ranger into the mix just yet." She turned to face Kimberly, smiled, and continued, "With everything else your mom is worrying about right now," Kimberly glanced guiltily over at Tommy, "let's not scare her anymore either."

"Yes, ma'am." Tommy grinned at Kimberly. Both she and he understood that the only thing that might scare her mom more than her spending time alone with `that Oliver boy' is that she might be putting herself in danger.

Turning to Adam she looked at him, "I understand your dad isn't too happy with the whole concept of Power Rangers." She shook her head, "Under the circumstances, it might not be a good idea to tell him either."

"No ma'am," Adam told her.

Looking over at Kyle, "I'm not sure if you should tell your father or not. Your situation is rather unique, and I'm not sure how he'll deal with it." She smiled, "Let's give him a little time to adapt to other things before we hit him with the spandex and the `Zords."

Smiling, she finally turned to Billy and Jason, "You two however, are a different story. I think it's time you came clean with your parents. They aren't stupid, nor are they distracted by other issues. I think maybe they will be a lot more understanding than you give them credit for."

"Are you certain of this, Ms. Stone? We don't wish to overload them with too many worries." Kimberly watched Billy exchanged and embarrassed glance with Jason. "Recent events have already put a great strain on our relationships with them."

Ms. Stone raised an eyebrow, "Came out to them huh?" She smiled, "You didn't waste any time." Smiling at the confused look on the boys' face, "Don't ever make the mistake of thinking I'm stupid. I've been dealing with boys coming to grips with their sexuality for way too long." She laughed, "You might even say it's part of the job description." Sighing deeply, "I think this might be something they can handle.

"Actually, they already suspected," Billy told her. "We were asked whether we were going to attempt to pursue a long range relationship or if we were going to attend the same university."

Although Kimberly had not really expected Mr. Cranston nor the Scotts to disown their sons, the blithe manner in which they seemed to have accepted their relationship surprised even her. "That's great, guys!"

Jason blushed, "I'm still not sure how I feel about things,"

Kimberly watched Billy suddenly blanche. She couldn't help the harsh tone in her voice, "What do you mean, Jase?"

Jase seemed to realize that his words may have hurt someone. Kimberly could see the dawning of understanding come across his face. Finally he spoke up, "Not that. Never that!" He blushed deeply, "I meant I'm not sure how I feel about my parents being so understanding." Turning his face, "Not you Billy, never about you."

The tension seemed to leave the room, as Kim realized that although their blond friend had come a long way toward building his self-esteem, it was still very fragile, especially where Jason was concerned. Finally, Ms. Murphy sighed and then smiled, "So your parents told you?" She shook her head, ran a hand through her red hair, and chuckled. "Like I said, parents are as stupid as most teenagers think. I think this is something they can handle, though. Something they need to know."

Billy nodded and answered her, "We'll endeavor to inform them of our status as Power Rangers sometime in the near future." Kimberly could tell that even though Jason hadn't meant to hurt Billy, his words still had raised some doubts in the mind of the Blue Ranger. She was going to have to have a long talk with Jason about that. Like she'd told him earlier, Jason was going to make some serious changes in his attitudes about Billy. "I can't promise anything right now. Jason and I have to do some settling down of our own," Billy told their advisor.

"Good, just don't take too long," Ms. Hayes smiled. "I know you're parents worry."

***********

Billy ducked the blow from Adam's axe and came up with a quick sweep of the staff that Ms. Stone had supplied. Adam was forced to use a technique Kyle had taught him to get out of the way of the whirling weapon and found himself pinned to the back wall by his friend. Adam couldn't get over how much the Blue Ranger had improved with his martial arts training over the last few weeks. "You're getting good. Pretty soon, you'll be ready to go one on one with Jason or Tommy." He shook his head, "I never really expected you to pick up staff so quickly."

Billy shrugged as the two bowed to the dojo and left the sparring area of the new Command Center. "Ms. Stone has really been pushing me. I'm comfortable with a staff. It's fits in my hand easily, and is a weapon that can be conveniently improvised." He smiled at Adam, "Besides, for some reason, it just feels right in my hand. It's almost as if I am coming out of some fugue and the skill and knowledge of the weapon is awakening inside me."

Adam smiled, "I know what you mean." In the past, a certain amount of skill ability came was evident whenever they morphed, but lately Adam felt like they were tapping into something entirely new, and in many ways frightening. "I can feel myself reaching whole new levels of ability. It's sort of scary." He shook his head, " and for some reason, I keep seeing this frog."

Billy smiled, "You think it's unnerving for us, imagine how our opponents must feel." Billy was right, most of the attacks that Rita and Zedd had been responsible for of late were almost nothing but nuisances. They'd yet even had to put their new `Zords to use, being more than capable of handling the monsters before Rita could even make them grow. He suspected that the ancient sorceress and her new husband were becoming rather frustrated with the changes that had occurred in the Power Rangers.

"That's what scares me Billy, Ms. Stone seems to think we're not ready to handle the Kregar yet, and we're already walking through Rita and Zedd like they weren't even there. What does that mean for what's coming?"

The Blue Ranger just shrugged and his voice became soft and somewhat ominous, "They killed us once. I don't intend to let that happen a second time."

"INTRUDER IN THE COMMAND CENTER! INTRUDER IN THE COMMAND CENTER!" The computer's voice came over the intercom.

Before either boy could react, a familiar and much-missed figure came out of one of the side rooms, "Aiyiyiyiyi! Billy, Adam, somebody's trying to break through the outer doors," Alpha Five suddenly told them.

"Alpha! Where've you been?" Adam asked surprised to see their old friend. He assumed that Alpha had been destroyed when the original Command Center had been blown up by the Kregar.

"I've been in the repair bay. Ms. Stone has been putting me back together!" The little robot looked over at the entrance to the outer doors, "I can't raise Jason or the others on the communicators, Billy! What are we going to do?"

Adam turned to look at the Blue Ranger, but before Billy could respond the outer doors to the training center exploded inward. He felt the force of the blast pick him up and slam him into the far wall. The heat was horrific, and there was a strange smell that reminded him of his trip to Diamonhead in Hawaii.

He let his body go limp to absorb as much of the impact as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Billy back-flipping out of the way of a second blast coming from the direction of where the door used to be. Five figures came charging through the hole made by the explosion.

The first was a man wearing black glasses and some kind of heavy blue jacket- some dry part of Adam's mind registered the shades of gray at his temples before moving on to the of the woman beside him. A tall leggy blonde wearing a matching skirt, came walking through the hole. "Hayes has us fighting children now?"

He and Billy quickly closed ranks, and stood shoulder to shoulder. A quick glance at each other, both boys stepped back into their fighting stances, "Who are you people, and what do you think you're doing attacking our Command Center?" Adam asked.

"Where's the Time Shard?" A large man dressed in a similar costume came charging past the woman to leap at Adam.

"Barricade, no! Not children!" the woman screamed from behind him.

Adam ducked the bigger man- no Adam was honest with himself, this guy was huge- and rolled off to the side. Rolling to his feet, he'd about had enough. Looking over at Billy he nodded again and yelled to his friend, "It's morphin' time!"

He noticed Billy grinning at something as he too summoned the Power. Suddenly Adam was alive and full of energy. He could feel the Power flow through him like a raging river, sweeping away all doubts about his training. He felt his clothes supercharge and morph into the costume he wore the other day in the park. Grabbing the man known as Barricade as he bounced off the wall, he twisted and slung him back toward his comrades. "I don't know who you think you are, but you're not welcome here."

The woman was shaking her head, "I knew this was a bad idea."

Behind her, a girl not much older than Adam, came flying through the hole, her whole body engulfed in some kind of fire, while screaming, "Kurt!" she veered off course and lay down a barrage of flame that drove both Adam and Billy back.

Adam watched as Billy continued with the acrobatic maneuvers to get out of the way of the blasts, but the staff he was carrying was throwing off his balance. He watched in horror as the girl corrected her aim to lead with the Blue Ranger and caught his friend a solid blow across the ribs. Suddenly, the Blue Ranger was engulfed in the flame. If he lived to be a thousand, Adam would never forget the sound of Billy's scream of pain.

Adam felt a grim anger come over him. Who were these maniacs who charged in here, blasting away at his friends? Without hesitation, he reached for the Morpher on his wrist. "Black Ranger NeoZord, Battlemode 1!" Again, he felt a rush of power, as his costume was suddenly replaced with a hardened armored version of his old costume, complete with the Mastodon motif on the helmet. Hitting another toggle on the communicator, he vainly called into the device, "Jason! Tommy! Kyle! Kimberly! Anybody! We got trouble at the Command Center." Before he could finish the sentence, he felt his wrist suddenly trapped in vice-like grip.

"I don't think we need anybody else here right now," the big man called Barricade told him. Adam suddenly felt himself picked up and thrown across the room to where Billy was rolling trying to put out the flames engulfing his costume.

Again rolling to absorb the impact he came up to his feet, putting himself between the Blue Ranger and their attackers. Taking a second to look back over his shoulder, he asked his friend, "You okay ma."

His jaw was suddenly impacted with Barricade's fist and he was thrown back into the wall. As the bigger man closed for the kill, Billy suddenly rolled to his feet, the staff still in his hands whirling around and swept Barricade from his feet.

Hitting the morpher on his wrist Billy was grimly silent as his body was engulfed in blue lightning that transformed his costume into the triceratops version of Adam's own mastadon. That same dry part of his mind noted that for some reason Billy didn't seem to have a need to verbally call on the Power- he simply summoned it. "Bad move man." Twisting his body almost three quarters the way around, the Blue Ranger slammed the butt of his staff into the ribs of his attacker, lifting the bigger man up and slinging him back toward the rest of his closing team.

Once again regaining his feet, Adam noticed that this team didn't stand around waiting to see what happened with Barricade. They quickly closed the distance and the older man was firing some kind of flaming liquid at him. Adam suddenly recognized the smell- lava! Ducking again to the side, Adam rolled back to his feet into the face of a larger man, just barely older than himself. There were glowing triangular spikes protruding from his the backs of his hands. "Barricade may go down, but Shrike ain't that easy!"

Suddenly, Adam found himself in the fight of his life. This guy wasn't a brawler. He knew how to fight and on more than one occasion, Adam felt the energy blades pierce his armor. Slowly and inexorably, he and Billy were driven back against the wall by the combined forces of these invaders. Taking a brief second to glance over at his friend, he knew even through two masks what Billy was thinking. They were getting their butts kicked, it was time to ratchet things up a notch.

"Black Ranger NeoZord Battlemode Two!" he yelled to nobody in particular as he felt a surge through his body again. He watched as the surprised looks on the faces of their opponents as he and the Blue Ranger were encased in a heavier version of their armor, complete with enhanced exoskeleton.

"Who do these guys think they are, Robotech or something?" The man with the spikes asked nobody in particular.

He kicked out at the girl and bigger man who were attacking him to clear a way to the other end of the hall. "Adam," he heard Billy's voice come over the helmet's com link. "If we can get them between us, maybe we can use the new nets."

Adam simply gave a quick nod and began to drive the two back across the room. Hitting the communicator switch now embedded in his armor, he called again, "Jason! Tommy! Anybody! We could use some help in here!"

He was surprised to hear Kyle's voice over the radio, "What's up man? We've got our hands full out here with some guy with a sword and a woman with silver skin in a space ship."

"Well, we're getting our butts kicked in here by five people with weird powers. We're already at Battlemode Two."

"Hang tight man. We'll get there as soon as we can." Kyle's voice came over the radio.

"What is it with Hayes?" The woman in the skirt asked. "It's not like her to use children."

"These children as you call them, Time Stepper are the Power Rangers," Ms. Stone's voice suddenly came from across the room. Learning his lesson from previous encounters, Adam didn't bother to look in her direction. Taking advantage of the fact that the man with glasses did, Adam lashed out with a solid front kick. His foot, now encased in sixteen inches of hardened metal, slammed into the man's ribs with tremendous force. Adam heard the distinct sound of bones breaking as the man was slammed across the room by the force of the blow.

"We've fought C.H.E.S.S armor and won, Stone. This is really no match for us," Barricade told her. "I'll peel it off them and shove up their a."

The man's voice was cut off when Billy's staff caught him along side the head. Adam winced at the force of the blow, and realized that Billy was starting to catch his second wind. Stone came walking across the floor carrying a rather large looking handgun, not caring whether she was hit by any of the new comers or not. Oddly enough, she made it to the center of the room unmolested. "This isn't C.H.E.S.S. armor, LeBeck. This stuff is based on Adam and Steve's designs and fueled by the Power. You can no more peel this off them than you could take down Winter's dad." She turned and faced the girl who was slipping up behind her and dropped the barrel of the pistol between her eyes. "You want to find out if you can melt a fifty caliber round from this range before it splatters your brains across the dojo, Soulfire?"

The girl stopped short of Stone, and gave Stone a chagrined look, "Uh. Hi."

"Hi yourself." Turning she looked over at where the older man was holding his ribs. Glancing up at Billy she winked at him, "Now get up Temblor and tell me what it is you're doing here."

Adam watched as the blond man calling himself Shrike helped the older guy to his feet. Adam noticed both men were holding their ribs, and realized that they'd given a lot better than they got in the fight. He could see bright red blood oozing from the man's mouth. "You okay Dad?" Shrike asked.

The older man only nodded and steadied himself against the wall. "Tell Pandora and Brightblade to stand down." He looked over at Stone, "I've been authorized by the British government to recover the pieces of the Time Stone."

Ms. Stone just shook her head, "So you thought you'd just waltz in here shooting first and asking questions later and take it, huh?"

He nodded, "It belongs to us."

"Wrong!" Murphy cut him off. "It belonged to Merlin. He lost it, and had his powers stripped for the transgression. You found it, and destroyed it, and in the process created a rift in time and space and started the Time War, which eventually led to the Enhancer War. Winter recovered several of the pieces and we are not going to let you have them back. You can't be trusted with it."

Temblor gave her a long look. Adam was unsure if it was due to the pain from his kick or if he was considering his words first. "Destroying the stone was an accident."

"And that means what? You are not to be trusted with the Stone." She crossed her arms, "You can't have it back."

"We can take it," Barricade told her.

"You can try," Billy finally answered softly. Everyone turned to face the Blue Ranger and he continued softly, "I've seen the files on your experiment with the Time Stone. The resulting Time Storm cost at least one kid his life. That alone makes you unfit to be its guardian." He stepped up next to Ms. Stone and put a massive hand on her shoulder. Adam felt a surge of the Power flow to Billy. "I will not allow you the opportunity to destroy more innocent lives in a reckless pursuit of knowledge."

"Accidents happen," Shrike shrugged. "You have no right to interfere here boy. I don't have a beef with you, but I do have a mission, and I will not fail."

Adam could see Billy's weight shift slightly, and was surprised to see the normally quiet Blue Ranger willing to escalate the situation. "Your failure is already evident. You cannot win here. We stand between you and this shard, and against us, you cannot win." As if to emphasize his words he spun the staff he was carrying and then reset it to the ground with a loud thud.

"Huh?" the girl identified as Soulfire said.

"He said we'll have to go through him to get the shard," Shrike told her.

The girl shrugged, "Okay."

"Alpha," Billy said to the general air, "Activate the containment field."

Suddenly the invaders were encased in a field of translucent energy. Only then, Adam could sense a slight relaxing in Billy's stance. "What's going on here?" Temblor asked.

"You are surrounded by a pressor field of energy designed specifically to magnify and reflect back any attack made from the inside. I would advise against any attempt to escape being as the results could become rather messy very quickly." Billy told the other team. "My personal morality does not allow me to encase you in such a field without warning you that any attack you make might result in your own demise. Power Rangers don't kill."

Temblor glared out from the energy prison Billy had constructed, "Let us out of here!" Suddenly Barricade charged the edge of the field and there was a flash of light as he was hurled backwards into Shrike.

Beside Billy, Ms. Stone was laughing quietly. There was a bitter tone to her voice.. "Looks like you've finally met someone who not only is willing to outsmart you LeBeck, but has managed to survive doing it."

"I didn't mean for the boy to die, Murphy. I would have done anything to stop it," Temblor told her as Shrike and Barricade picked themselves up from the floor of the containment field.

"Except shut down your experiment," Murphy told her.

"It wasn't my call. It was Rebecca's project and the British government's call. I didn't have a say."

"And I don't have a say about this either," Murphy told him.

She looked over to where Alpha had taken cover behind a piece of fallen debris. "Alpha send them back to their own reality, minus their time ship." She gave LeBeck a long stare, "We're letting you go this time, Temblor. You come back and bother me or mine again, and the Rangers may not kill you, but I will." As if to emphasize her words, she put the hand gun back into the holster under her jacket.

"Yes, Ma'am," Alpha told her. "I am activating the trans-temporal transportation device now." Adam watched as the members of the StormQuest team disappeared in flash of white light.

Ms. Stone turned back to Adam and Billy, "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea that they would be able to cross the dimensions to come here looking for the shard. Adam watched as Billy sent his armor away and morphed back down. He could see the Blue Ranger suddenly relax as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "You did good out there, Billy." She smiled at him, "Damn good. I wasn't expecting something like that. How did you rig the force field so quickly?"

"It was already there," Tommy's voice came from the main door. "Alpha used it to trap me once when I was under Rita's spell." The Green Ranger picked his way across the room and through the debris to finally stop at Billy. He put a hand out onto the Blue Ranger's shoulder, "That was some good thinking Billy."

Adam watched as Billy blushed deeply, "I only did what any of the rest of you would have done."

Tommy smiled as Jason, Kyle and Kimberly joined them, "But it wasn't any of the rest of us, it was you. You came up with a plan and you carried it out."

Adam smiled at his friend, "And you saved my butt when I thought Shrike was about to skewer me. You're getting good with that staff." He could see all the attention was making Billy nervous. "Good job pal," he told the Blue Ranger. Turning he faced Jason and Tommy, "And exactly where were you guys? We were getting out clocks cleaned in here, until Billy pulled that force field out of his pocket?'

Jason smiled at him, "Sorry Little Bro, we were dealing with some guy with a sword and his pet robot. We were trying to get in here to help out, but to be honest he was one tough hombre. We could've used some of your help out there." Turning to Stone, he asked, "What was that really all about Ms. Stone?"

She laughed at him, "When Winter rebuilt the Command Center, she used a Time Shard to power it. That shard came from what's left after StormQuest shattered the Time Stone back in our universe. That set off a nasty little war between the Time Lords called the Time War, which eventually led to the Enhancer Wars and a rather grim apocalyptic future. That is until Winter stepped in, she closed the rip in space/time," she smiled over at Jason, "-in at least one universe I know of, you were responsible for making sure that rip got closed Jason- and stopped the Time War and averted the Enhancer Wars. Instead of giving the pieces of stone back to Storm Quest for further research, Winter kept them so LeBeck couldn't get his hands on them." She shook her head, "He hasn't quite realized that there is some knowledge man is not yet meant to have."

Adam turned to Billy, "By the way, I like the new `Zords, especially the intermediate Battlemode Two level. For when we need that little extra power without having to call in so much fire power that it's overkill. Good work there too."

Billy just blushed again.

*********

Tommy watched Billy work silently in the lab. He hated to do what he was about to, but he was the only one who really could. Adam, Jason, and Kimberly had all come to him asked him to speak to Billy about the changes they'd all noticed in him lately. Jason felt that he couldn't right now because of what was developing between them, Adam didn't think he knew the Blue Ranger well enough- besides Kimberly and Jason, who did?- and Kimberly thought it would sound better, less scary he guessed, coming from a guy.

Once again, he found himself marveling at his scientist friend's grace in the lab. It was almost as if scientific research was as much an exercise in an art form to him as karate was to he, Jason, and Adam; and gymnastics was to Kyle and Kimberly. He moved with an easy grace that belied his reputation as a klutz, and it was evident even to Tommy who's interest in science was limited to how it could be applied to the physics of martial arts, that Billy was the master of all he surveyed. "Hey Bro, what's up?" he asked.

Billy turned and smiled at him, "Just making some adjustments to this phase particle shield Ms. Stone asked me to come up with." He put the device down on the table and smiled over at Tommy. "What's on your mind?" Tommy thought he heard a pause in Billy's voice as if he were trying a word on for size, "Bro."

Tommy was briefly caught off guard by the use of a word he and the rest of the male Rangers tended to toss around a great deal, but never seemed to find it's way into Billy's vocabulary. To be honest, the only time he ever remembered Billy using the word was the other day in the park, just before he kissed Jason. "I thought we should uh. sit down and talk a while," Tommy told him.

Billy smiled, something Tommy had noticed the Blue Ranger doing more of lately, "Any particular field of inquiry on your mind, or are you simply wishing to engage in general conversation?" Billy asked.

"Huh?" Tommy asked.

Billy grinned at him, "what do you want to talk about Tommy?"

"Oh, I don't know. You, Jason, Kimberly, the fact that Kim decked me the other day." Tommy grinned at him.

"I had no involvement in that altercation between you and her whatsoever." Billy replied, but the slight rise in his tone of voice and the look in his eyes, told Tommy that his old friend was just a little nervous about the subject.

"Don't worry man. I'm not going to hit you," Tommy told him. "Just wondering about your sudden change in attitude." He looked around carefully, "To tell you the truth, Kimberly's a little worried you might be under some kind of spell. Either that, or some heavy-duty stress."

Billy looked confused. He shook his head, "I don't understand the nature of your inquiry. How has my behavior been any different of late than," he stopped to consider something, "how long of time period are we discussing here?"

Tommy smiled, "Just lately. Since we came back from the Gray." He used the term that all of them seemed to have fallen to using to describe the place where they'd each spoken to Covenant several weeks ago.

Billy reached for something on his face, and Tommy suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses, "How has my behavior different from before we left." He blushed deeply, "Not withstanding my uh. uh.. relationship, if you can call it that with Jason."

"You're more assertive, aggressive," Tommy shrugged, "more male."

Billy smiled, "and you consider this a problem?" Tommy could hear a hint of hurt in his friend's voice.

"No, just wondering why the sudden change." He smiled, "I mean I saw the tapes from your fight with Temblor. You were ready to take that whole team on by yourself if you had to. Before we came back you would have never done something like that."

Billy chuckled and turned his back to Tommy, reaching for some device on the table. Tommy got the distinct feeling that he really wasn't interested in the gadget he picked as much as he needed something in his hands. "Look since we've been back it's not like I've had Zordon telling me that the only thing I'm good for is tech support and you guys letting him get away with it." He brought his gaze up to match Tommy's "I mean, you yourself once described me as only a middling fighter. I decided to change that."

Tommy felt a sudden sense of shame over that comment he made a year ago to Jason. "We never thought of you only as tech support." Some part of Tommy realized that there might be more to Billy's words than he thought.

"Look Tommy," Billy leaned forward toward him, and Tommy realized that whether Billy knew it or not, his body language was challenging him. For the first time he could remember, he was actually trying to match Tommy on the physical level, "I just decided that I had to make a few changes in order to keep what I've got, and I don't want to lose it because I'm too shy or awkward to be interesting."

Tommy actually felt his own hackles rise, and realized that whether he wanted to or not, his body was reacting to Billy's sudden aggressiveness. It took a conscious effort to keep his own voice friendly and level when his body's instincts were screaming something entirely different. Suddenly it hit Tommy what this was all about- Jason. "You think you need to be more like me or Adam to keep that interest?" He shook his head and reached out and put a friendly hand on the Blue Ranger's shoulder, "It doesn't work like that Bro. He likes you because you're not me or Adam. Like the song says, Don't go changin'. Being who you are is what got his attention in the first place, and being who you are is what's going to keep it. You don't need to be like me or Adam. Hell I don't think we could stand the competition." He smiled, "And I know Kim couldn't put up with five of us. You're her rock man. You go changing, and we'll all be in trouble, because she'll go ballistic on us." He took a deep breath and kept going, hoping the momentum would carry him before Billy could argue him into a corner, "I'm not saying change is bad. Just be you. Everything else will fall into place." He reached down and took the device in Billy's hand and set it on the counter. "Now from one guy on the dating scene to another guy, go find your significant other and make with the quality time."

For long seconds, Billy sat there contemplating Tommy's words. For a brief instance he thought Billy was suddenly going to explode on him. He found himself reacting to the Blue Ranger in a whole different way than he was accustomed to. For just an instant he questioned who was the alpha. Finally, Billy smiled, "I'll take it under consideration." Reaching back and picking up the device again, "If for no other reason, than to spare Kimberly the testosterone overload."

Tommy rubbed his chin, "Me and my jaw thank you." He smiled at Billy again as he felt the tension suddenly release from himself and his friend, "Man, that girl is protective of you. Almost as much as Jason."

Billy blushed again, "Yeah, well you know when you've been friends as long as she and I have, you tend to tell each other," he looked off to the side as his cheeks got even redder, "hmmmm. just about everything. I mean after all, I know more about her boyfriends than her mom ever did."

Tommy smiled as he realized that Billy had just shifted the battlefield on him. He could play that game too, "That's okay Bro. You'd be surprised at what Jason tells me too."

Billy looked at the ceiling, "Not really. I've heard most of it anyway." He shook his head, "You have no idea what it was like sitting there listening to him talk about his," Billy made quotation
marks with his fingers, "first time."

Tommy shook his head and gained a whole new insight into the mental stamina Billy had to have. To be in love with someone and have that person telling you the intimate details of an encounter with someone else. "Man that must have been rough."

Billy smiled, "You better believe it."

Tommy chuckled, "I wonder why he hasn't started to talking to me about you guys."

Billy shook his head, "Three reasons mainly, the first being that you and I are friends, and I guess he'd feel uncomfortable telling you that kind of detail. Although Kimberly doesn't seem to have problem with it." Billy grinned.

"Man, she doesn't!" Tommy protested.

Billy smiled, "Let's just say I've heard about your Tarzan impersonation."

Tommy shook his head, "I'm gonna' kill her."

"No, you're not." Billy told him. "Just play Tarzan a little more. She won't admit to you, but she likes that one."

Tommy smiled, "I am so embarrassed."

"Don't be Tom," Billy told him. "She needed someone to tell, and writing things in a diary is just asking for someone to find out that's not supposed to."

"I guess your right." Tommy told him. "What were the other two reasons?"

Billy smiled, "Frank Scott and Edward Cranston."

"Huh?" Tommy was confused.

"Our dads may tell us they don't have a problem with us dating, but they sure the heck hover an awful lot lately."

"You mean you guys haven't.?" Tommy looked for a word.

"Had any quality time?" Billy shook his head, "We haven't even been able to talk about things without someone being around."

"And you're in here," Tommy indicated the lab, "With this stuff?"

Billy smiled, "Look, Jason's dad has him helping cleaning out the attic right now. After a while it just gets frustrating."

Tommy looked down at his wrist bracer and saw a red dot entering Ernie's, "Well, according to my display, Jason just walked into the Youth Center. Why don't you go grab a quick shower and the rest of us will distract your dads while the two of you slip off to," he made quotation marks with his fingers, "talk."

**********

Linda Scott entered the Youth Center and looked around. She could see Jason sitting alone in the corner looking like someone had just kicked his puppy. Even though she'd warned Frank and Ed it would be a bad idea to crowd the boys, she knew that whether they meant to or not, they'd done it any way. "You look like you've got as big a problem as he does," a voice from the side interrupted her thoughts.

Turning she faced the tall woman she knew to be the new counselor at Angel Grove High School, "Hello Ms. Stone." She smiled back in Jason's direction, "I'm just a little concerned about Jase right now. He's sort of having a rough time."

The woman smiled back and indicated the chair across the table from her. "I know. He seems depressed lately. Have any idea what's going on? I mean, I assumed that since he and Billy cleared the air between them, that he'd be happy."

Linda was surprised that the new counselor knew that much about her son already. It wasn't like Jason to be that forthcoming with strangers, especially when it dealt with affairs of the heart. Heck, he'd been dating Ana Meyers for almost a month before he ever mentioned her to his parents in anything other than passing. Then again, that hadn't been serious either. "You know about that?" she asked.

Ms. Stone chuckled, "Yeah, those two were dancing around each other when we first met. I think I came on the scene just in time for it to come to a boil."

"I got that impression." Linda told the other woman. "The problem is that ever since Jason and Billy came out to us, Jason's and Billy's dads haven't given the boys a minute's privacy. I think they're afraid something will happen between them." She actually found herself blushing.

Ms. Stone nodded, "Billy told me that you guys asked them about attending college together."

"I think it was more of a reason for us to clear the air about some things," Linda told her. "Ed saw Billy kissing Jason in the park a couple of weeks ago."

"He saw that?" Ms. Stone asked surprised.

"You know?" Suddenly Linda realized that this woman knew more about her son and his friend's lives than she was letting on.

Ms. Stone smiled, "Perhaps we should talk, Mrs. Scott. I think we may be on the same side of this issue, and if that's the case, it might help if we knew what each other knew." She ducked her head, "You know then who your son is."

Linda Scott nodded, "We've known for a couple of years now." She shook her head, "Jason's really not very good a keeping secrets. He's just a little too honest and open for his own good, even when it gets him in trouble."

"Obviously Mr. Cranston knows, if he's the one who saw the incident." She took a long sip of her smoothie, "How'd you find out?"

Linda laughed, "Actually Frank figured it out. About two years ago, Jason was working really hard on this new karate technique. Right about the time he got it down we saw the Red Ranger use the same kick on one of Rita's monsters."

Linda saw the woman's eyes light up. "Now that's ironic."

Linda looked over to see if her son had noticed her presence here. She really didn't want him to think that she was treating him like his father. Leaning forward she asked, "Out of curiosity, how did you find out, Ms. Stone." Then looking around, "And how about us going somewhere else to talk about this. I don't want Jason to think that I'm spying on him."

"Please, call me Murphy. The kids call me Ms. Stone." She stood up, "As for leaving, that's fine with me. The only reason I came here was because I saw Jason earlier and he looked like he could use someone to talk with."

"I think the person he wants to talk with, his father won't let him have a minute of alone with," Linda told her as the two women slipped from the Youth Center and headed toward the park to discuss their charge.

Five minutes later they were sitting at a park bench, "How is it that you know what's going on?" Linda asked, she was no fool, and knew that most school counselors wouldn't get within a mile of one of their students during the summer. This woman was spending entirely too much time with Jason and his friends for it to be a coincidence.

Murphy smiled, "It's simple. It's my job to make sure they adapt to their new powers, and don't get themselves killed." She shook her head and her voice became serious, "I wasn't really happy when I found out that our predecessor had been using children. It's not the way things are usually done."

"Their new powers, your predecessors, the way things are done?" Linda asked. She knew her son and his friends were Power Rangers, but that was as far as it went. "I think maybe you should start at the beginning."

Murphy sighed and looked at her, "How much do you know?"

"Only what we've been able to figure out about who is who." She smiled, "It helps that the kids tend to wear the color of their costume all the time."

Murphy shook her head, "I'm surprised that nobody else has figured it out. So far, only Kyle has resisted the urge to do that. He says that he looks jaundiced in yellow." The woman leaned back on the bench and continued, "Let's see, about three years ago, somehow an ancient sorceress named Rita Repulsa who'd been imprisoned on the moon was released. The being responsible for her imprisonment was an alien named Zordon. He recruited the first five Power Rangers to deal with the threat she posed. From what I can tell from his records his only criteria for them was to be "teenagers with attitudes"." She shook her head and joked, "To be honest with you, I've yet to meet one without an attitude."

Linda couldn't help but smile. She was happy to finally be getting some answers she and her husband had been wanting to ask Jason about. "I know what you mean."

"Well anyway, Jason, Billy, Trini, Zack and Kimberly were those teenagers. I don't think Zordon really knew what he was getting into when he got those five. He gave them each a Power Coin that linked them to something called the Morphin' Grid. It's sort of a conduit to something that here is called The Great Power. The Power Coins let them become the Power Rangers and to operate the giant robots called Dinozords." She smiled at Linda, and asked a question of her own, "What did you do when you figured it out."

Linda smiled, "I guess it took us about three months before we realized that children were the Power Rangers. That was about the time the Green Ranger joined the team, and Tommy started hanging around with the gang. We went to all the other parents about it. For a while, although we were worried, we dealt with it. I think most of Mrs. Hart's problems with Tommy have less to do with the boy than it does with the fact that Kim's the Pink Ranger. Finally, the stress was too much for the Taylors and they took Zack and moved to Iowa. That's when Adam became the new Black Ranger." She shook her head and smiled remembering how the young Korean boy had suddenly became a part of her son's friends not long after Zack moved away. "Adam's father, Donald is on the force with Frank. He's not really impressed with the idea of Power Rangers and sees them as some kind of a threat, so we thought it best not to tell him." She took a deep breath, "I guess things kind of hit us hard when Trini died. She and Kimberly are like the daughters we never had. We're not sure if we should tell Kyle's dad what we know or not."

Murphy nodded, "I tend to agree. Kyle's had some problems in the past." Before Linda could ask anything, she interrupted, "None of it was his fault, it was just one of those teen age tragedy things that happens every now and again. Anyway his father is having to deal with other issues right now and finding out his son is dressing in spandex and fighting off evil invaders is probably not going to improve his situation. And right now I need Kyle on the team. He doesn't realize it, but he's giving Jason and Billy something of an anchor that they need desperately."

Linda finally decided that she'd ask the question that she and Frank had spent a great deal of time discussing until the wee hours of the morning. "Just what did happen? How did Trini die? I mean that battle didn't seem to last very long."

Murphy seemed to take time to consider the question before beginning. "You aren't going to remember most of it. When everything was over, reality got changed around some, to accommodate what happened that day." Her voice sounded pained.

"What do you mean?" Linda asked almost afraid of the answer. Lately she'd been having nightmares of a war ravaged world, without heroes to protect humanity from alien invaders.

"They lost the fight. They all died." Murphy told her simply.

Linda shook her head. Although she couldn't believe it, something deep in her heart told her that this woman was telling her the truth. "But."

"They got a second chance," Murphy told her. "They made a deal with some very powerful forces. They were given the chance to come back and make things right, but only at a cost."

"What cost?" Linda asked. "Not their souls?" She suddenly had images of Faustian deals made in Hell.

Murphy chuckled, "No, not their souls. Covenant doesn't deal in souls. He wouldn't have any use for them."

"Who is Covenant?"

"The closest thing to a real angel you'll ever meet. He's sort of a servant of the universe. He went out of his way to save your children, but he did not make it cheap for them, or himself." Murphy told them. "Covenant values honesty, probably more than anything else. They had to agree to come back and be honest with each other and the people around them."

"Hence Jason and Billy suddenly acting on the things we've been seeing build for years," Linda said. As Murphy nodded, Linda continued, "That doesn't seem to be a big price."

Murphy smiled wryly, "It is for a seventeen year old, but there's a little more to it than that. Although none of them realize it yet, what they accepted, what they've become has made some pretty profound changes in them. They don't need the Morphin' Grid to access The Power any more. I think that Rita is slowly beginning to realize that there's a whole new game on the field now. When the Kregar come back, and they will be back, this is will not be the same group of teenagers they fought last time." She gave Linda a sad look, "I'm afraid their innocence is going to be another price they'll have to pay. It's not going to be a battle against some half-crazed sorceress who turns things in Kim's purse into villains, but a transdimensional empire whose sole goal is the subjugation or destruction of this planet. Rita and her ilk has pretty much left you and the rest of their families alone. The Kregar aren't going to be so accommodating." She sighed, "I've already told the boys they need to tell you who they are."

Linda considered what the woman was telling her. She wasn't happy about the news about the Kregar, but she was glad she knew now. "What can we do? To help them, I mean."

"Don't try to make them give up the Power. That would be a bad idea. They can't do that anymore. It's a part of who they are. If you tried to make them deny it, it would probably kill them." She leaned forward, "You're probably not going to like the next part, but I think you need to give Jase and Billy some room. The depend on each other a great deal. They need to figure out who they are as a couple, and right now keeping them under your thumb is distracting them a whole lot more than any game of swapping spit might." Linda could sense a deep hurt in the woman's voice, "There is something you need to realize about The Power, the vast majority of all males who wield it prefer their own gender. I'm not saying that there aren't any straight boys out there with it, but they're few and far between. I think it's one of the biggest jokes the universe has ever played on humans. Gay men are seen as less than male somehow, yet most of the greatest heroes of the multiverse are queer as a football bat."

"That'll make Frank happy," Linda told her sardonically. "The very thing that makes Jason a defender of the planet made him gay."

Murphy reached across the table and patted Linda's hand, her southern accent suddenly becoming deeper, "No. The fact that he is gay allows him to wield that power."

Linda could see a hurt in Murphy's eyes that ran as deep as that she saw in the face of one of her oldest and dearest friends. A thought came to her mind. This woman had gone out of her way to help her son cope with the Power that was growing in him. Maybe she could do something for her in return, and help another old friend at the same time. "Tell you what, why don't we go distract Frank and Ed and give the boys a chance to at least talk." She blushed before saying, "and maybe get a little necking in on the side." She couldn't believe she just said that.

******

Jason watched as Tommy got up to leave the table. He couldn't believe what the Green Ranger had told him. He and Billy really needed to talk, but it seems like every time it looked like they were going to get a minute alone, something or someone interrupted them. He was beginning to believe there was some kind of conspiracy going on to- not keep them apart- but to keep them from spending any time alone with each other.

He'd been thinking a lot about what happened in the park that day the Kregar warriors attacked them. The day that Billy had done something so out of character that it had shocked him- the day that Billy had actually kissed him. He remembered the feelings that it had elicited from him. He'd always known he'd loved the Blue Ranger, but for some reason just how much he loved the other boy had never dawned on him. As he thought back on the past few years, he could not put a time to the point at which the feelings had gone from the love a brother he never had, to something more, something deeper.

At first, he thought it might have been last year when Revenger had hurled Billy off the top of the Kingsley Building. That monster had been looking for the notorious Black Ranger from years ago. Adam had been out of town that day, and Billy had loaned his blue flannel shirt to Trini who was cold from swimming. Underneath the shirt, Billy was wearing an old black tee, so the Revenger had thought he'd caught the Black Ranger unmorphed. Before anyone could react, he'd picked Billy up and tossed him off the building. To this day, Jason couldn't forget the feelings of anger and shock that washed over him. He and Tommy literally ripped the Revenger limb from limb before getting down to where Billy lay crumpled on the ground. The thing that had saved the unmorphed Blue Ranger from certain death was that just like in the movies, he actually managed to hit one of those cloth awnings they put in front of buildings and it broke his fall enough to let him survive. Jason had gone into shock when they'd gotten Billy to the hospital.

Jason understood that he had just started to recognize the feelings he had for Billy then, but that they'd been there for a long time. Unfortunately, at the time it took everything he had to hold it together, to keep the team from being revealed to their parents. He still couldn't believe their fantastic luck and how much their parents trusted them, that they bought the flimsy story of Billy falling off the building while helping Kim with a science project for school. Still, he realized that the feelings had been there a long time even then, he'd just refused to recognize them.

Facing Billy's near-death had forced him to reconsider a lot of things in his life, not the least of which was his own preconceptions about what masculinity was. For the longest time he denied what he was feeling: I'm a football player, not a ballet dancer, and was absolutely terrified of how Billy would react if he knew that Jason's own thoughts had crossed the line from brother to something else. Not long ago Billy had made it clear that his own thoughts had been less than platonic. But damn it, they hadn't had a minute alone together to talk about it.

Hell, Jason wasn't even sure how to go about dating, or even being with another man. He knew what he wanted, what he wanted to do, but he had no experience with it. He was scared and confused and that was a condition he didn't like to be in. Now here, Tommy had come to him to let him know that he'd talked to Billy, about the changes they'd all seen lately in the Blue Ranger.

To Jason's great surprise, Tommy informed him that Billy was afraid of losing him, so he was trying to be more- aggressive, more male. Once again, he felt the confusion rise in him about what it meant to be male. He wondered if the behavior that Billy had been exhibiting lately, the hyper-assertiveness, the sudden willingness to escalate the fight was an attempt to make Jason understand that he was still male.

Jason thought about that a minute. Did he see Billy as just a surrogate female? Was that what he was wanting- a female version of Billy? He shook his head at that thought. No, Billy was definitely male, and Jason didn't want him any other way. He thought of the way the light would play off his sandy blond hair, or the those piercing blue-green eyes peering back from behind the glasses. He remembered the other day at the Command Center the way the water in the showers would play down the finely sculpted muscles of his chest and hard abs to disappear into the .. Whoa! Where did that come from? Jason shook his head and realized that no, he definitely didn't want to see Billy as a woman. He liked him- no loved him just the way he is.

He'd managed to finally slip away from his house, finishing the attic earlier than he or his dad had expected. His father, a detective on the Angel Grove Police Force had been called away to an emergency and Jason had the rest of the day to himself. He tried to call Billy but nobody was answering the phone, so here he was at Ernie's sipping his favorite cherry smoothie and missing Billy. "Jason, we need to talk," the last voice he expected to hear interrupted his self-condemnation.

Looking up he smiled at Billy, "Sure we're going to get a chance to?" He looked around and found the place deserted, "I mean any minute now, you're dad or mine is going to come through that door and find something else for one of us to do around the house."

Billy laughed and sat down at the table, his own spinach and prune juice smoothie in hand. "I don't think so. My dad had to run up to San Francisco for his company suddenly, and I peeked into your attic, it looks empty."

Jason had an idea, "You want to slip off somewhere and talk then?" He looked around guiltily. "I thought I saw my mom and Ms. Stone here earlier, but it looks like we might actually get a little time to ourselves."

Billy nodded and smiled, remembering a line from a movie he and his dad watched together recently and replied, "wicked."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in Billy's living room, with absolutely nothing to say. A hundred things were running through Jason's mind, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how to put them into words. From the chagrined looks Billy was giving him from across the table, he decided he wasn't the only one in the room at a sudden loss for words. Finally, he sighed, "I'm not sure where to start."

Billy laughed, "Me either."

"Jason.,"Billy began

"Billy.,"Jason said simultaneously

They laughed and Jason realized how good it felt. Finally, Billy nodded and said, "You go first."

Jason put down his soda and smiled, "You don't have to prove anything to me, Billy. We've been friends for too long for you to suddenly start changing into something you think I want you to be." He smiled, "You should know me better than that."

Jason saw Billy blush, "I do, deep down I guess." He reached for his face, and Jason realized that Billy wasn't wearing his glasses. Looking closely, he could see the faint outline of contacts around the blue-green irises of the Blue Ranger's eyes. Reaching for his glasses was just a nervous habit. His face suddenly became serious, and Jason knew that a conflict was being resolved in that incomprehensible mind of his. He sighed deeply, and committed himself to whatever train of thought he'd decided upon. "What happened in that battle with the Kregar before we met Covenant, the one where we died has forced me to reevaluate my standing on the team." Jason began to protest, but Billy cut him off with a wave of his hand, "Hear me out, Jase. I know that you've spent half your life protecting me. In school, it was from bullies, and later from Rita and then Rita and Zedd. I know that you've always taken a few extra seconds in a fight to make sure I was okay before you handled the things you had to do." He took a deep breath, "I can't let you
keep doing that, Jase. That puts you in danger, and I will not be the cause of your death a second time."

Jason was floored by what Billy said. He knew it was the truth, he'd always kept an eye out for Billy, even checking on him in a fight, but that was Jase's nature. That was what he did. He was the original Big Red Schoolboy. Okay, he knew it wasn't quite the right color for that quote, but the sentiment applied nonetheless. However, Billy was not the reason Jason had died in that battle. Billy could no more have averted it than Jason could have stopped Billy from getting killed when Kim's Pterodactyl crashed into the Triceratops. "You didn't cause my death in that fight Billy. The Kregar did."

Billy nodded, "I know Jase, but.,"

Jason held up a hand, "I heard you out, now you hear me out. I'll admit that I take a few extra seconds to make sure you're safe before a fight starts. I've always watched out for you, Bro-," he saw Billy start to protest, "no Bro's not right, Tommy's my Bro, you're something more- and heaven help me I always will be able to do that. It's what I do. I do it because I love you. I always have loved you." He shook his head, "I don't know when it shifted from being the love of the little brother I always wanted to being something more, but it did. Somewhere along the line, and I don't know when it happened, Athos and Aramis got a whole lot closer than Dumas ever meant for them to." He smiled, "I'm not complaining mind you, I'm just trying to put it into perspective." He reached across the table and touched Billy's hand. "Yes, I've watched out for you, and I want to go on watching out for you."

He watched as Billy considered what he had to say, "I know that. But I think it's about time I pulled my own weight on the team."

"What ever gave you the idea that you don't pull your weight?" Jason asked.

"I'm barely a red belt, Jase. Even Kyle is better than I am," he gave Jason a wry smile.

"Yes, Kyle is more athletic, but he's also coming from a long history of physical training. What he does as tumbler adapts very easily to combat. But as for barely being a red belt Bill," Jason purposefully used the more adult sounding name, "he's not better than you. What you lack, or think you lack in official belts, you more than make up for in sheer experience and skill. You may not know all the katas, but you surpassed most combat-style, and I'd say all tournament-style black belts a year ago. Don't look so surprised, it's true if for no other reason than, just from constantly fighting things that wanted to kill you." He got up and moved to the sofa to sit next to Billy, "As for pulling your weight, from the tapes I saw of the fight with Temblor and that bunch, you and Adam more than handled the problem. You fought well, you kept your cool, and you came up with a plan, executed it and pretty much single handedly captured them. You rebuilt the `zords, adapted the new morphers, and hacked the new Command Center's computer systems. If anything, the rest of us aren't pulling our own weight around you."

Billy shook his head, "You don't mind that the only reason I go the karate classes is so I can spend time with you, and the rest of the gang?"

"Not at all," Jase told him, "You don't have to like everything I like." Jason smiled mischievously and lightly punched his friend in the arm, "If you did then we'd never have anything to grump about and then make up for."

Billy smiled, "There is that."

Jason continued, "But seriously, I would like you to continue with the classes though. Not because I want you to like the same things I like, and not just to spend time with me, although I like that idea. I want you to keep coming so that you'll stay in practice," he smiled at Billy, "and maybe eventually get it through that thick skull of yours that you're not just a red belt."

Billy laughed, "Okay, okay, I'll take my sensei's advice."

A thought occurred to Jason, "That can make things interesting." He pulled Billy's face around to look at him, "don't take this wrong. I love spending time with you, but I think it might be a good idea if you switched over to Tommy' class." He smiled, "That way my dad can't accuse us of groping during class."

Billy snapped his fingers and grinned mischievously, his voice dropping an octave, "drat, there go all those potential nefarious plans." He looked up Jason, his expression changing. Jase could see the old nervousness come back to Billy's demeanor, "about this boyfriend thing?" He let the words hang.

Jason moved closer and took Billy's hand in his own massive one. He could smell the spicy scent of Billy's cologne and was surprised at the reaction it was causing in him. "Yeah, about that. Do you think I could get some clarification," he tried to bring some humor to Billy's question. In reality, Jason was just as confused and nervous himself.

"Jase, I'm serious here," Billy said.

"Hey, I am too," Jase backed away just a minute to give Billy some room to think.

Billy shook his head, "I've never been a boyfriend before, much less had one. How do we go about this thing?" He smiled, "I know what I want, I know what I feel, but I lack practical experience."

Suddenly Jason realized something. He'd known Billy was inexperienced, but hadn't really considered just how inexperienced. "Are you telling me you've never kissed anyone before that day in the park?"

Billy nodded, "Only distant relatives, and then on the cheek."

Jason hoped the shock didn't show in his face, "that was your first kiss?"

"I believe I just indicated that Jason." Billy sounded hurt, "You don't have to rub my face in the fact. I haven't exactly had as many willing partners with which to experiment as you."

Jason was confused, "huh?"

Billy looked down, Jason barely heard him mutter, "how many girlfriends have you had? How many have I had?"

Suddenly it hit Jason what Billy was trying to tell him, "Oh my God! You sat there and listened to me go on about Ana, all the time wishing it was you?" He slapped his own forehead, "I am such a jerk!"

"No, you didn't know," Billy protested.

"Oh man, that's rough," Jason reached out and put his arm around Billy, pulling him to him.

"It could have been worse," Billy said.

"I don't see how?" Jason remembering telling Billy about the night things had gotten way out of hand with him and Ana.

Billy looked over and smiled sadly, "It could have been an Andrew."

Jason took Billy's face and turned it toward him, "That, will never happen. I've been such an idiot these past few years. Until recently I hadn't realized just how much of place you took up in my heart. Even if you get tired of me, I'll always love you Billy. I'll never leave you."

Billy smiled at him, "Speaking of things that will never happen, me getting tired of you is at the top of that list."

Jason smiled back at him, "Good. That's straight now."

Billy shook his head, "No. It's cleared up. It's not straight."

It took Jase a second to realize that his friend was actually joking with him. He laughed, "Oh and by the way?" Billy gave him a questioning look as he reached up to clasp the hand Jason had at his cheek. Jason was surprised at the quite strength he felt in that hand. For the first time in his life, he understood what the term velvet coated iron meant. "Judging by that kiss in the park, you're a natural." He gave Billy a wicked smile, "You just need some practice."

"Perhaps I can find an instructor," Billy said. "Maybe Tommy?"

"Not if Kimberly wants to keep him." Jason told him. "Nah, but I know of even a better instructor that has the afternoon off. He can fit you in."

Billy raised an eyebrow at that, "Interesting choice of words." He smiled and leaned in close, his lips almost touching Jason's. Jason caught the light scent of the cinnamon Altoids Billy liked so much. "Exactly what does he want to fit in where?"

Jason leaned forward and kissed Billy, pulling the other boy to him. He felt as much as heard Billy groan, as the Blue Ranger opened his mouth to invite Jason in. At some point, Jason remembered that he needed to breath, and pulled back slightly, not quite wanting to break the kiss just yet. He could feel his pulse pound in his veins and realized that no girl he'd ever been with had elicited this kind of reaction from him. He pulled back from the kiss suddenly as he realized what that meant to him. Looking at the questioning expression on Billy's face he felt the last of his doubts crumble, and leaned back into the kiss, this time, throwing everything he had into it. To his surprise, Billy matched his passion and raised the stakes.

Finally, the Blue Ranger pulled back, a look of concern on his own face. "Jase, we need to talk before this goes any further," Billy told him, slightly out of breath.

"What about?" Jason asked.

"Exactly how far we're willing to let this go right now," Billy answered.

Jason thought about what he'd been asked and realized how profound it really was. Would Jason be willing to go all the way with a girl he'd been out with this soon in a relationship? He realized that although his and Billy's relationship wasn't exactly new, but this phase of it was. He realized that out of respect for himself and Billy, as well as for what he knew he wanted to build with the Blue Ranger, they'd have to go slow. Finally, he shook his head, "Eventually all the way. But right now I don't think either of us is ready for that yet."

Billy nodded, "I concur." He smiled, "But the level of contact we were just experiencing is acceptable to me for now." He looked around and blushed deeply, "As long as there is nobody else present."

Jason smiled, "So for now, necking in your dad's living room is okay, as long as we're alone. But no swapping spit in the park."

"Jason!" Billy protested, "that is not a very attractive term to use." He shook his head, and Jason knew Billy's protests were more out of teasing than any real discomfort. He smiled up at him shyly, "But could we continue with the experiment?"

"Oh, definitely," Jason pulled Billy back to him. Just before they resumed the kiss however, something seemed to occur to Billy and the smaller boy broke off giggling. "What?" Jason asked.

"I was just thinking," Billy said.

"What about?" Jason queried.

"Your analogy earlier," Billy told him, "Aramis eventually becomes a priest." He gave Jason a long hard look, "Just wanted to let you know, that I'm not Catholic."

"Billy, I know," Jason told him.

"Just so you know I have no plans for the priesthood," Billy smiled and pulled Jason into a rather fierce kiss.

"Good," Jason mumbled just before their lips touched.

*****

"You definitely need more yellow in your wardrobe," Kimberly told Kyle as they made their way through the men's department at Macy's. "Not the bright yellow that everybody seems to want to put you in, but more of tarnished gold." She smiled at him. "It would set off your eyes."

"You mean something more like a bronze?" Kyle asked her holding up a sweater with gold and black running through it. Kimberly was surprised she'd actually found another ranger willing to shop with her. In the past only Trini and occasionally Billy were brave enough to venture into Stone Canyon Mall with her. Kyle evidently was more at home in the mall than even Trini was.

"Yeah," she said taking the sweater from him, "but not that."

"Why not?" Kyle asked.

"Not the right climate for it. Around here, you may wrap that around your shoulders, but not wear it. It's too hot." She looked around in disgust. Most of this fall stuff was not even going to be worn by most Angel Grovers. It was meant to be worn on skiing trips to north.

Kyle just sighed at her, "Well, there goes half my winter wardrobe." He gave her wicked look, "It does get cold in Kentucky you know."

"Kyle, you shouldn't NEED a winter wardrobe for the next few years. At least until you acclimatize. You're probably going to be hot most of the time." She grinned wickedly at him, "Look at this way, it's an excuse for more shopping."

To her great surprise the raven haired boy grinned back, "yeah!"

"So, what do you think of Adam?" Kimberly asked innocently.

Kyle shrugged while looking at a dark gold polo shirt, "He's nice. He at least talks to me."

"What? I talk to you," Kim protested.

"Yeah, but Adam comes over to the gym and talks to me. We usually go afterwards to the dojo, he wipes the floor up with me for a while and then for smoothies." Kyle smiled over at her, "By the way, thanks."

"For?" she asked picking up a dark pair of slack with a slight gold thread running through them to hold next to the shirt. Shaking her head at the mismatch- they were just a shade or two off from being right- she looked at him questioningly.

"Loaning Adam the LAST HERALD MAGE series," he told her.

"Why are you thanking me for that? Those are Billy's books. I just thought Adam would like the story. Billy was telling me about it, and Adam is almost as much a fantasy-phile as Billy."

Kyle raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Billy know you're stealing his vocabulary?"

Kim held a finger to her lips and smiled, "Shhh, I only play a ditz on television." She shrugged, "besides, with Billy as friend, you tend to pick up words quickly."

"Well anyway, he said the books helped him understand what was going on between Billy, and Jason," Kyle replied, but Kim got the impression he meant more than he said.

"And what it might be like for you?" she added quietly.

Kyle nodded and chuckled, "and what it might be like for me." Turning, he was silent for long minutes as he lay out a few shirts. Kim noticed that most of them still ran toward blacks but there was a great deal of gold in them too.

"You're hurting over someone aren't you?" Kimberly finally broke the silence.

Kyle shrugged looked down, "What do you think?"

Kimberly reached across and pulled his face around to force him to look at her, "I think you're hurting, but healing, that maybe you're starting to see that life does go on."

"For an air-headed mall rat, Kimberly Hart, you're pretty astute," Kyle replied.

"It's all part of my act," she told him. "It hides the fact that I'm a straight-A student, and can understand Billy most of the time," she grinned thinking of listening to her oldest friend in the world espouse on his latest idea, "as long as he doesn't get too technical."

She saw some realization reach Kyle's eyes. He stopped and looked at her closely. "Don't take this wrong, because I know you really love Tommy." He paused a second, and rubbed his chin. "But somehow I get the feeling that if Billy was straight- and I'll bet you've known he isn't for a long time- that Tommy might just have a little competition from our Blue friend."

Kimberly felt herself blush deeply, "Now what ever would make you think that?" she asked. She held up a pair of basic black slacks. "Now these pants would go really well with those shirts."

Kyle just smiled as if realizing that he'd get neither affirmation nor denial from her, and took the slacks. "I'll try these on." He turned before entering the changing rooms, "Just how long have known that Billy's gay?"

"Oh, I've suspected since junior high school," she told him.

"What made you suspect it?" Kyle asked from in the changing rooms.

"I guess just women's intuition." She laughed quietly to herself, "Just remember, if Billy comes to you talking about electronic mind-reading devices, run. Run as far, and as fast as you can."

"Huh?" Kyle asked coming out of the dressing rooms. Kimberly couldn't help but notice that he had a particular style that was extremely attractive. Not that she would consider ever being unfaithful to Tommy, but just like the guys, she could appreciate beauty when she saw it, and right now, she was definitely seeing it. What was it Tommy was kidding Jason about? It doesn't matter where you got your appetite, just as long as you eat at home.

"It's a long story, and I'll tell you about it sometimes. Let's just say that Billy and I got a chance to see how each other lived a few years back. It's not an experience I would want to repeat, but one that really opened my eyes about our friend." She told the new Yellow Ranger, as he looked at several other articles of clothing to try on.

"I can imagine," he smiled back at her. Then as if something had just occurred to him, "Kim, why did you ask me about Adam?"

"No reason," Kimberly shrugged. "You two are just spending a lot of time together."

".And because I'm gay, you thought there might be more going on there than just friends," Kyle finished with a half-amused voice. He shook his head, "I'm not looking for a new boyfriend, Kim. I don't think it's a good idea to get romantically involved with anyone. It ends up hurting them, sometimes dead-type hurting."

Kim thought about the sadness that always seemed to hover about the raven-haired boy. She'd gotten the impression from Adam that something pretty terrible had happened to him back in Kentucky, but he had yet to mention any of it to her. "I wasn't trying to play matchmaker or anything."

He smiled at her, and she realized briefly that the smile was genuine, and for some reason that fact made her very glad. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't. I like Adam too much to put him through what I went through back home." He shook his head, "Right now, I think I'll concentrate on seeing what I can do to make it easier for Jase and Billy."

"What do you mean make it easier for Jase and Billy?" Kim asked warily.

Kyle smiled at her, "Kim, you have such an open and giving heart that you don't always see the ugliness in other people. School starts back next week, and when it gets out that Billy and Jase are dating, those two are going to be in for a rough time." Kim started to come to Jase's defense, but Kyle continued before she could reply, "I know Jase is the big karate hero and football player, but I also know how people see guys like us. It doesn't matter how big we are, how mean we are or if we can whip our weight in snarks, they still see us as being weak because of our orientation. There are people who are going to think that just because Jase's is gay that he's an easy mark for physical abuse." There was a deep hurt in his voice as he rubbed his left forearm. "And I promise you, the things that will be said to him and Billy are going to be even worse." He sighed, "I just want to make sure that they know that there is at least one person who knows what they're going through."

Kimberly listened to what Kyle had to say. She found herself strangely proud to call him friend. Without even thinking she reached out and hugged him. "That's sweet."

Kyle shook his head and grinned, "Nah. It's self preservation. Stay in good with the team leader."

As they headed toward the cashier she stopped and gently put a hand on Kyle's arm. The shorter boy turned and she told him, "Just remember Kyle, this is California, not Kentucky. Things are a little more accepted here."

Kyle shrugged, "Tell that to that actor that just got hit his head busted in for being gay, in West Hollywood no less."

*****

"She wasn't kidding!" Adam told Tommy, knowing the surprise in his voice was clear. "Here they are. It's a list of names and addresses for possible replacement rangers. My name is even on here." Tommy looked over his shoulder, and Adam couldn't help but notice the scent of the taller boy's cologne. For some reason it made his heart beat just a little faster. Shaking his head <stop it!> he thought to himself. <You're not that way! You've been hanging around Kyle way too much!> Still he couldn't deny what seemed to be happening to his body.

Tommy rubbed the side of his face, "Hmmm, notice who's name isn't on here."

Adam looked up wondering what the Green Ranger was talking about, while trying to ignore the growing tightness in his own jeans. "No,"

Tommy looked down at him and smiled, "You're newest bestest buddy, Kyle." Tommy looked back up at Zordon's list. "He's not on here. Evidently Zordon didn't think he was Ranger material."

"Well, somebody did, because there's no denying that he's holding the Yellow." Adam found himself suddenly defensive of his friend.

Tommy must have heard the tone in his voice, "Whoa there chief, I wasn't saying that he isn't a Ranger, or that he's not qualified, just that he's not on Zordon's list."

"Maybe it's because he's new to the area," Adam suggested meekly.

"You may be right," Tommy replied, but for some reason Adam wasn't sure that he believed it. "Hmmm, let's see, who all is on here, Rocky DeSantos from Stone Canyon," Tommy looked down at him, "Looks like your buddy made the cut." Turning back he continued, "Aisha Campbell, another friend of yours if I'm not mistaken, and somebody named Katherine Hillard." Tommy sat back and gave Adam a long look, his chocolate brown eyes unreadable. Finally he shook he said. "Speaking of our Yellow Ranger, how're things going with him?"

"Why you askin' me?" Adam asked defensively.

"Because you're the one spending the most time with him." He smiled, "I appreciate that too. Between my own training, and Kimberly I don't have much time to break in the new kid on the block, and I know that Jason's been busy lately, so that's sort of left it up to you to make him feel at home." Tommy put a hand on his shoulder. "Where is he by the way?"

Adam gave Tommy a wicked smile, "You mean you don't know?" Adam loved teasing Tommy.

Tommy shook his head, "No."

"He's got a date." Adam told him.

Tommy looked surprised, "Man, those farm boys move fast. Who with?"

"Kimberly," It was everything Adam could do not to snicker. "He's taking her shopping. He keeps it up and he's going to steal your girlfriend away, Oliver."

Tommy shrugged, "Not really. He just wants her for her keen fashion sense." Both boys broke out giggling. Finally, Tommy stopped snickering and looked over at Adam, "Who's buying this trip or is it just window shopping?"

Adam snickered, "I think Kyle is. He said something about a lot of his clothes being damaged during the move from back East." He smiled, "I think Kimberly is going to try to get him to wear more yellow."

Tommy chuckled, "It's funny, we all seem to do that, but for some reason Kyle is fighting it tooth and nail."

"I think he sees black as a mourning color and doesn't want to take it off just yet," Adam told him. His long talks with the new Yellow Ranger had left him with the impression that he was still hurting a great deal over the death of his- well to be honest, Adam didn't know if Kyle and the other boy had ever been actual lovers or not- `friend'. "To be honest, I think he's afraid that if he takes off the black, it means that he's forgotten his friend, and he's not quite ready for that."

"Friend?" Tommy asked, "I got the impression that they were more than that."

Adam shrugged, unsure as to how much he should say. While what was said between him and Kyle wasn't necessarily confidential, Adam still didn't feel comfortable telling Tommy the things they'd talked about. "It's as good a term as any," Adam told him.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, "you're not still having problems with Kyle being gay are you?"

Adam smiled at him, "No, not at all. It's just that he and I talked about what happened to him back in Kentucky, and I'm not sure if they were lovers yet or not, or how Kyle would describe them. I didn't want to make any assumptions that might hurt him."

He watched Tommy sigh and lean back in one of the Command Center's plush chairs. He liked the addition of comfortable seating. It didn't make him feel like he'd been sent to the principals office all the time. "You're a good guy, you know that Adam Park?"

Adam just shrugged, "I'm just trying not to spread rumors."

"Good." Tommy smiled. "I get the feeling there's going to be enough rumors flying about all of us in a few weeks anyway."

"Why's that?" Adam asked.

"Once it gets around about Billy and Jason, I get the feeling things are going to get pretty cold for those of us who are their friends."

Adam hadn't thought about that. He remembered some of the conversations he and Rocky used to have. His friend would say some pretty nasty things about `fags' and `queers'. He'd only said it once around the house, and it was within earshot of Adam's dad, who made it clear that such talk was not going to be tolerated at the Park residence. Adam's uncle Sean and his life-partner Alex still spent every New Year with them, and Adam enjoyed their visits immensely. "Once Jase busts some of their heads I don't think anybody will give them too much trouble."

Tommy leaned forward, "I'm afraid it won't work quite like that. Fighting will only make it worse for them. Besides, most of it will be just little niggling things, said and done to make trouble. I'm afraid anybody that hangs around them is going to be in for some of it too." He put a hand on Adam's shoulder, "Think you can handle it?"

"Tom," Adam locked eyes with the Green Ranger, "Jase and Billy are my friends. I've stood by them fighting a giant yellow winged ape. High school bullies are nothing." He gave Tommy a joking smile, "How `bout you? You think you're reformed bad-boy kick-ass karate dude reputation can stand up being ragged for hanging around with a couple of," he made quotation signs with his fingers, "fags".

Tommy smiled, "I think I can handle it." Adam saw something else in his eye too, and in a brief flash of insight, he realized that Tommy would be willing to kick in the gates of hell for his friends. He told Adam without reservation, "Besides, as Jason would say, it's the right thing to do."

****

"I don't know what was said to who, but things are finally calming down for us," Jason told Kimberly. They were all on the back patio at Jason's house getting ready for a cook-out and discussing the recent changes in both Ed Cranston and Frank Scott. The two fathers had suddenly stopped hovering over the boys like a couple of hens watching their chicks, and were giving them room to discover what they really meant to each other.

"Whom," Billy said quietly."

"Huh?" Jason asked.

"What was said to WHOM," he stressed the last word.

"Oh," Jason replied. "Sorry, I wasn't worrying too much about grammar."

"We can tell," the Blue Ranger teased him, as he lay out the eating accoutrements. "But nonetheless, Jason is of course correct. Our parents have ceased any attempts to prevent us from
being together unsupervised."

"Huh" Kyle asked, as he mentally defined all the words. Finally, the realization of what Billy meant slowly took form, and he said, "Oh".

"So, everybody ready for school to start back Monday?" Adam asked. He found himself just a little concerned about the prospects of the situation he and Tommy had discussed. He knew that Jason would be able to deal with almost anything, but he worried about Billy and his only recently gained self-esteem. Looking over at the Blue Ranger, he wondered just how he would deal with some of the nastier aspects of high school. Slowly he came to realize that maybe he'd be okay. After all, Billy had been dealing with bullies since elementary school.

Kyle on the other hand was a different story. Adam wasn't sure how his newest friend would handle dealing with The Power, a new school, and the general animosity he was going to face for being as open about his sexuality as he obviously was. Plus Kimberly's gymnastic coach was beginning to get that look in his eye whenever he saw Kim and Kyle together. Adam had seen that look before in the eyes of his own karate coach. It meant one word- Gold.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Kyle grinned, "Watch out Angel Grove High, here I come!" He said from the low wall at the side of the ornamental pond in the back yard. The others had told him on numerous occasions that that wall had been installed not long after the other four had entered sixth grade. Evidently, Kim had gotten a bee in her bonnet about something and had backed Jason across the back yard and almost into the pond while lecturing him at the top of her lungs. He'd been told it was very mature lecture, complete with the requisite, "did not, did too," and at least one person, who of course shall remain nameless, sticking her tongue out. The Scott's had installed the low wall to prevent any further mishaps.

"Why does that thought worry me a great deal?" Mrs. Scott asked Kyle smilingly as she came out the back door carrying a big bowl of fresh fruit.

Kyle grinned at his hostess as he came down from the wall, and took the bowl from her. "Because of my charming personality and stunning good looks?" he joked. Adam was glad to see that his new friend was beginning to come out of the dark shell he'd tended to wrap himself in. He realized that Kyle was beginning to move on, and allow himself to heal. Somehow that made Adam feel both better, and just a little afraid.

"Young man, you are incorrigible!" Mrs. Scott smiled.

"That's what my dad tells me too, Mrs. Scott," Kyle grinned and put the food onto the table. "By the way, thank you for hosting this little back to school blowout for us."

"You're of course welcome." She smiled at the rest of them as she returned to the house, "All of you." She stopped at the back door, "Oh Jason, would you go ahead and get the grill ready, so that all we have to do is light in when your father gets here." She paused for a second and smiled before correcting herself, "On second thought, maybe you should go ahead and light it so all we have to do is put the food on. We would like to eat before dark."

Everybody laughed; it was a running joke that while Mr. Scott was a great cook, he couldn't get a grill started in under three hours to save his life. Adam jumped down from his perch on the picnic table and followed Jase to the back shed, "I'll give hand, man."

"Jase, you thought much about school since you and Billy started dating?" Adam asked trying to sound casual, as he grabbed an armload of charcoal briquettes.

Jason looked over at him, "What'cha mean?"

"Well, I was just thinking about how things are going to be different around school when word gets out that you two are more than just friends," Adam said. "I mean, people can be pretty mean, and I'm not just talking Bulk and Skull. I don't want to see you or Billy get hurt."

Jason stopped and looked at him, "I hadn't thought much about it, Bro. I've sort of been busy sorting out my own feelings." He shook his head, "But, we'll deal with it."

"Well, if you need anybody to talk to.," Adam let the words hang.

"Thanks man. I appreciate it," He told Adam as they carried the cook-out supplies back to the yard.

"No problem." Adam replied.

"I've never really attended such functions in the past beyond that of support staff," Billy was saying, "so I don't think it will be a problem."

"Well Jason has, so one of you are going to have to make some kind of adjustment to your habits," Tommy was kidding the Blue Ranger.

"What?" Jason asked.

"We were discussing what you two were going to do about the Fall Mixer," Kimberly smiled and replied.

"If I understand the purpose of that dance, it is to primarily introduce the freshman and new students to AGHS, so our presence really isn't necessary. We both are after all, seniors." Billy told her.

"You know I hadn't considered that," Jason said thinking. He looked over at Billy, "You want to go to the dance?"

Before Billy could reply Kimberly protested, "Jason, if you're going to ask him to the dance, ask him to the dance. Don't make it sound like an afterthought." She turned to Tommy with a warning tone said, "You taking notes?"

"Yes, Beautiful," Tommy answered dutifully.

"I don't know." Billy replied with a mock tone of apathy, "I might get a better offer."

That stopped Adam in his tracks. He'd never heard Billy be this casual about social interactions in his life. Jason's reply was almost as uncharacteristic. "You do, and I'll beat him up."

Everybody laughed, and the seriousness of their tones degenerated into their normal light banter. Adam simply sat and watched as everyone slipped into only slightly modified versions of their old roles. Billy and Jason did keep stealing small touches and glances at each other, but for the most part everything was back to normal. For the first time, he realized that the normal didn't include Trini, and that small amount of guilt he felt at that was lost in his understanding that she'd made her own peace with the universe.

*************************

An hour later, Jason sat down at the table next to Adam with his plate piled high with food. Billy and Tommy quietly had their heads together whispering something, and every now and again one or the other would giggle. He smiled over at them and asked Kimberly, "What's with those two?"

Kimberly shrugged, "Beats me."

Both boys looked up, chuckled, and pointed toward Kyle. Tommy laughed maniacally and rubbed his hands together, "We're plotting the defeat of B-Ball Team 2."

"In your dreams falcon-breath," Jason told him and winked at Kimberly.

"What's B-ball Team 2?" Kyle asked.

"You're team," Jason said. "The one that loses regularly."

"You mean basketball?" Kyle smiled big. Jason felt just a twinge of worry when he said, "Ahh basketball." He gave a Jason a low look, "You do realize that where I come from basketball is the state sport. Whole schools are built around it. You cut me, I bleed UK blue."

Kim glance worried over at him and Adam, "Uh oh."

"We'll see just how good you are after dinner," Jase said as everyone's eyes turned to the back gate.

Jason turned to look in that direction and felt his jaw drop. Ms. Stone came walking through the gate carrying a bowl of something. She was dressed in pair of khaki walking shorts and a lavendar peasant blouse. Next to her was Mr. Cranston, and they had the look about them that they'd just arrived together. "I'm sorry we're late," Ms. Stone said, "I'm not quite unpacked in my place yet, and was having problems finding everything." She held up the bowl, "But I did bring a peace offering, homemade southern banana pudding."

Kimberly leaned over next to Billy and Jason heard her whisper, "Do you get the impression that they arrived together?"

Billy just nodded, and Jason saw just a small amount of pain his lover's eyes. He understood that Billy had never really gotten over his own mother's death, and only on rare occasions had discussed it, even with him. Seeing his father with another woman, no matter how casual had surprised the blond. Quietly getting up, he went around the table and gently inserted himself between Kim and Billy. "Hey man.,"

Before he could finish the sentence, their communicators went off. Every eye at the party turned to the table where they were sitting. Looking around trying to find an excuse to leave for a moment, Jason's draw dropped when his dad simply said, "Go. We'll keep things warm for you."

"Huh?" Tommy asked.

"What you think we're stupid or something?" Mr. Oliver replied. "Just go."

The communicators went off again and Jason looked over at Ms. Stone who nodded, "What? You six are still here? Go."

"Jason hit the stud on the device, "We're here, Zor. uh Ms. Hayes."

"It looks like you're old friends on the moon have finally realized how much trouble their in." Ms. Hayes's voice came over the device. "They've sent down more than just one monster this time."

Jason nodded, "We're on our way." Turning back to his friends, he declared, "It's Morphin' Time!"

He felt the rush as The Power flowed to him, and he called out his `zord, and was encased in his new costume. Behind him he heard,

"Pterodactyl!"

"Mastodon!"

There were two beats of silence.

"Dragonzord!", finally, Tommy's voice came in somewhat shaken. When they looked, Billy and Kyle were standing there quietly in costume.

"Can we go now?" Billy asked blushing.

Jason just nodded to him confused. The last thing he heard before the grid took him was Ms. Stone's voice, "Go and be careful. And remember, don't leave anything behind you." She said something else but it was lost in the transport beam.

Landing in the park they suddenly found themselves surrounded by Goldar, and five large figures from ancient Mythology. "Well, isn't it the Power Geeks!" Goldar laughed, "With Zed's new Nors.," The tall golden ape never got to finish the sentence as the Blue Ranger's staff caught him solidly in the teeth. With a smooth motion, Billy twisted, his body, swinging the staff low a second time and easily swept the Goldar off his feet. As the spin came to stop, the butt of the Blue Ranger's staff came slamming down into the giant ape's solar plexus. There was a whoosh of air escaping and a groan.

"Don't call me a geek!" Jason just barely heard Billy's low growl before the staff caught Goldar as second blow across the side of his head.

"What's gotten into Billy?" Tommy asked.

"Don't know." Jason replied, "But good technique."

Any reply from Tommy was lost in the joining of battle, as a hammer from a tall man with horns on his helmet caught him squarely in the chest, hurling him back into a nearby tree. Jason felt bones crack under the force of the blow and was vaguely aware that there wasn't the usual explosion that came with any contact by monstrous weapons with their costumes. "Fight! Don't talk!" The tall muscular man charged him, and Jason found himself in the fight of his life.

****

"Oh, that had to hurt," Murphy said to nobody in particular, as she watched the battle on the holographic projector from her wrist. The parents of her charges gathered around behind her.

"Do you mind if we watch?" Mr. Scott asked.

"Actually we want to watch whether you mind or not," Mrs. Oliver volunteered. "They are our kids after all."

Murphy smiled over at them. She understood their concern and their reactions. She hadn't been surprised when Linda Scott had told her that they knew about their kids' extra-curricular activities. It really wasn't that hard to deduce for anyone with half a brain in their head. Most kids think that their parent's are stupid, and it takes several years of adulthood to figure out that those self-same parental units are a whole lot smarter than previously suspected. "You sure you want to watch this?" she asked. "This isn't the nice clean version you're going to get from the newscasts.

"We're sure Ms. Stone. We've long suspected that the news footage had been sanitized for public consumption," Ed Cranston told her. She saw a concerned look come over his face, "Although, I've never seen Billy this aggressive in the past."

Murphy smiled softly over to the smaller man and said, "That's the result of two things."

"And they are?" Mr. Cranston asked.

"Number one is that he has someone to fight for now," Nodding over to the Scotts she said, "Jason. Number two is that I've been trying to break all of them of this very bad habit they have of wasting motion and energy with what comes down to looking like poses and still scenes from a comic book. So far, only Billy and Kyle seem to be listening. It makes Billy come across as being more aggressive than he really is."

"And Kyle?" Frank Scott asked.

"Kyle didn't have than many bad habits to break. He's a farm boy, he's used to a more rough and tumble style of fighting. He's the kind that's likely to knock somebody like Goldar in the back of the head with a tire iron, if means protecting his friends. Plus Kyle's been beat up enough to know to get his licks in while he can."

Realizing that everybody standing behind her was making them all uncomfortable, she removed the bracer from her wrist, sat it on the table and hit the command to project the scene above it. At least they could all be comfortable while watching what she felt was going to be Rita's and Zedd's last stand. "Jason, don't turn your back on him." She winced as the hammer caught in the back of the thigh. "Ooh that's going to leave a bruise."

"These monsters seem more brutal," Mrs. Scott said worriedly. "Most of the one's from the past fights were almost comical."

"They are," Murphy told her. "Rita and Zedd have been losing pretty badly. Now they've gone one-step further in their monsters and have used a forbidden text to summon the spirits of some of the most violent deities in human history.

"My daughter is fighting a god?" Mrs. Hart asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but that's just Freyja- Kimberly can take her. As a matter of fact, Freyja shouldn't even be in this fight. She's a fertility goddess for heaven's sake." She looked over at the Scotts, "There wouldn't happen to be a Norse exhibit at the local museum would there?"

"Icelandic Mysteries and the Heimskringla," Ed Cranston told her. "Billy and I went the other day. It's actually very good."

"No doubt," Murphy muttered under her breath. Reaching out she touched the communicator stud, "Jason, you're fighting someone that wrestled Death. Tommy, that sword will really cut you. If you don't stay out of it's way, you're going to get sliced and diced. Tyr was a war god, and he knows how to use it. Kyle, good work with Loki, now give Adam a hand with Vidar. If that shoe comes down on him, you'll never get it off."

"Yes, ma'am," Kyle's southern drawl came back over the communicator.

Suddenly some kind of staff appeared out of nowhere, and the whole town shook as six forms grew to monstrous proportions. Over the intercom Jason's voice commanded as he leaped high into the air, "We need `zord power now! Red Ranger Neozord Battlemode Three!" The command was repeated three other times.

Murphy smiled as the whirlwinds of energy engulfed each of the Rangers and their `zords appeared around them. "These zords look different. They're more streamlined." Mr. Cranston said.

"Exactly," Murphy told him. "They're made from a material called syntenol and are capable of reprogramming their molecular structure, at the Rangers' command." She leaned back against the desk, "If they are forced to go to Battlemode four, then I'm afraid Rita's going to be in for an unpleasant surprise."

Ed Cranston asked, "Aren't those new `zords for Billy and Kyle?"

***********

Meanwhile, Jason was feeling embarrassed at the rebuke from Ms. Stone. Couldn't he do anything right for that woman? He closed quickly with the guy he'd taken to calling Thor.

The man seemed to be disoriented, by his sudden change in his stature. He looked around, "What sorcery is this that would make us into giants?!"

"The bad kind!" Billy called out. "You guys really don't want to fight us, we're not your enemies."

"Odin's lost eye!" the man with one hand yelled. "It's Fenris!" He turned from Tommy and charged Billy's zord, sword held high. With some surprise, Jason noted that Billy's Triceratops was gone and in its place was a huge blue wolf-shaped `zord. Looking around he realized that Kyle's was not the saber tooth tiger he expected but was instead a giant yellow raccoon.

Before he could go to Billy's aid, his own tyrannosaur was slung backwards by a blow from the red-head's hammer. Getting his feet back under him barely in time to meet the guy's charge, he spun his zord around and slammed the tail into his charging foe. With some satisfaction, he noted the surprised look on Thor's face.

His readout showed that Tommy's opponent as well as the female who had been trading arrow shots with Kimberly had disengaged and were attacking Billy. "Oh no you don't!" Jason had thoughts of Billy being gang attacked. He gritted his teeth as the big man started to get up, and leaped at him, deploying the `zord's rear claws."

With a satisfying tearing from the claws he pinned Thor to the ground and brought the `zord's jaws into play on the massive forearm holding the hammer. Jason ground his own teeth again as the tyrannosaur's jaws came together, severing the hand holding the hammer. "Get out of my way you has-been! Three on one isn't fair!"

As the great giant's hand fell away he felt him begin to dissolve into what ever force brought him into existence. Turning he saw Goldar with his head now bloodied, close with the others against Billy. He wasn't sure what it was about Billy's `zord had set these guys off, but they'd abandoned all their own opponents to attack him. Goldar was screaming, "Yes! Destroy the Blue Ranger first and then turn on his friends."

Jason watched as the giant yellow raccoon that was Kyle's `zord picked up the fallen hammer, which for some reason had yet to dissolve. Standing behind Goldar, Kyle tapped the giant ape on the shoulder saying. "I'm not exactly pure of heart, but damn it I'll take what I can get." When Goldar turned to face him, Kyle swung the hammer with everything the `zord had. There was a satisfying crunch as the giant ape's head was snapped back by the force of the blow and he was hurled across the bay. The hammer in Kyle's hand dissolved at that point.

Billy's voice came over the radio, "someone has been reading too many Marvel Comics."

The huge man wearing an iron shoe had raised is foot high above the back of Billy's `zord. For some reason, Jase knew that he couldn't let that shoe come down on Billy. Without thinking, he leapt, feeling his own `zord transform under him. Great claws extended from the massive forepaws and he suddenly felt the control cockpit shift under him. As he crashed into the man, he saw the dinosaur shaped readout shift into something resembling a grizzly.

Rolling across the empty soccer and baseball fields of the park, he and his opponent came to a halt, half in and half out of the water of the lake. Bringing a massive forepaw around, he raked the man into the bear's grasp and brought the arms together into a bone crushing bear hug. Twisting his body right and left, he once again bit with the `zord's jaws tearing huge chunks from the giant's shoulder. Again, he felt the warrior return to whatever force had brought him into being.

Looking back he saw that only the man with one hand was left, and acting outraged. "Ragnarok was not supposed to turn out this way!" he screamed and charged Tommy incoherently. "It was Thor who was to fight the Midgard Serpent!"

With a practiced ease, the Green Ranger ducked his Dragonzord and brought a knee up into Tyr's stomach. Pulling down with an empi-uchi elbow strike to the back of the head, he slammed the one handed man to ground and watched as he too dissolved into nothingness.

"Not bad Rangers. Good job Jason," Ms. Stone's voice came over the intercom. "Report back to your parent's house. Jason I want to check out those ribs."

***************

Meanwhile on the moon, Baboo entered the throne room. "Sire, long range sensors have picked up a large craft approaching the system very fast."

"Show me, you imbecile!" Zedd screamed.

Baboo walked to the window-shaped view screen, and pointed. "There!"

A long sleek craft, weapon ports all over it began a slow deceleration toward Earth. Zedd recognized the markings of the scout craft, and had he possessed a skin, he would felt the goose bumps of fear. "Pack my things. I'm leaving. Teenage kids I'll fight. The Kregar are a different story."

*************

Billy watched Jason wince as Ms. Stone pushed and prodded at his ribs. He hated to see Jason in pain, but he had to admit to himself that the view with Jase's shirt off was nice. Finally, Ms. Stone turned back to the worried Scotts and said, "He'll be okay in a few hours. Being a manifestation of the Power, he heals almost immediately." She indicated her medical bag, "Billy hand me that Ace bandage please."

Retrieving the requested item, Billy helped her wrap Jason's ribs getting a small thrill from the touch of Jase's smooth skin. "I really think you should take it easy tonight, Jason." He told him, "The scans I've been doing indicate that although the Power will heal this damage, it will draw on your own energy reserves to do so. You will probably experience a great deal of fatigue and hunger over approximately the next seventeen hours."

"Huh?" Jason asked with a slight smile.

"You're going to eat like horse and sleep like bear for the next few hours," Kimberly told him, "which of course is appropriate, all things considered."

"You did well out there children," Ms. Stone told them as she finished up with the wrapping, "especially you Jase. "Do you realize that you actually managed to take out two Norse deities?"

"Why were they confused about Zedd making them grow?" Adam asked.

"Because, in their tradition, they FOUGHT the giants, they aren't supposed to BE giants." Billy answered. "Didn't you hear Tyr's confusion as he attacked Tommy? He thought Tommy's `zord was the Midgard Serpent, and knew that Thor was supposed to die fighting it." Billy leaned back against the sink in the Scott's house and watched as Jason buttoned up his shirt. "Choosing the exhibit at the museum was a tactical error on Zedd's part. He may have resurrected the Norse Pantheon, but by forcing them to fight us in giant form, he confused them. They thought they were in the Battle of Gotterdamnenrung or as we know it, the Battle of Ragnarok."

"You mean we were really fighting gods out there?" Kyle asked. Taking a moment, he thought, "That's why they all attacked you then, wasn't it Billy?"

Billy nodded, "Choosing this fight as an opportunity to use my new `zord form was an error on MY part." Billy felt himself blush at the admission, "I had forgotten about the legend of the Fenris Wolf, one of the most feared creatures in the Norse mythology." He smiled at his new companion, "Although I have to admit some surprise at finding someone else who recognizes Icelandic legends."

"Ever read Elizabeth Bowyer?" Kyle asked.

Billy nodded, he'd read several pieces by the aforementioned author, and greatly enjoyed the retelling of Icelandic mythology. He told the young Yellow Ranger, "Although, her writings are very much on the juvenile level, I do find them highly entertaining."

"Speaking of `zords, Billy," Tommy asked, "what ever made you design one based on a Raccoon?" He shook his head, "Not that I'm complaining mind you, the look on Goldar's face when he turned around and saw three hundred feet of yellow raccoon was priceless, almost as priceless as the sight of Kyle hitting him with that hammer."

"I didn't design the `zord as a raccoon, Tommy. I designed the `zords to tap into our inner strengths and personalities. The raccoon is appropriate for Kyle, it's intelligent, resourceful, fierce, and agile. Just like our new friend." He smiled over Jason, "Just like the grizzly bear is very appropriate for Jason. He's the great protector."

Kimberly put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. He knew he was in for a teasing from her tone when she said, "Somehow I don't see you as all that wolfish Billy. I mean, a wolf has a certain reputation that you are lacking."

Billy smiled at her, "The wolf is a pack animal. It lives or dies by its pack mates." He shrugged, "My pack mates are the most important thing in the universe to me."

Jase came down off the table and put an arm around Billy, "Besides, the wolf works as part of a team. It's intelligent, and resourceful." Jason leaned in closely so that only Billy could hear, "and it mates for life." Billy felt himself blush deeply.

"Well, I think that's enough excitement for one day, children," Ms Stone told them all. "Why don't we clean up the back yard and call it a night?" The woman clapped her hands and started directing the Rangers as the cleanup crew. In a matter of minutes, the Scott's backyard was clean and the grill put away.

Billy watched as Ms. Stone and his dad left through the back gate after his dad offered her a ride home. Before they left, Ed Cranston turned and looked at Billy, "Don't be too long, son." Billy felt something hard grow in the pit of his stomach, something dark and resentful, and he finally realized that it was anger. Sitting down, he analyzed the feeling. He was actually angry with Ms. Stone for riding home with his dad. It was all of course perfectly innocent, but still it ate at some part of Billy that he'd always kept deep down inside him.

"She's not moving in," Jase put a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh?" Billy turned to the dark eyed boy.

"Now that's a switch," Jason teased, "you not understanding me." He took Billy by the shoulders and looked directly at him. "He's giving her a ride home, that's all. She's not trying to take your mom's place."

Billy smiled as he understood what Jason was trying to tell him, "I think I understand that, Jason. Up here." He tapped his head. "But I'm having trouble with it down here," he put a hand on his chest and shook his head. "I guess this is what Kimberly was trying to tell me right after my accident last year. I may be a graduate of the School for Baby Genius's but when it comes to emotional stuff, I'm pretty much remedial classes all the way." Looking up, he smiled at Jason, "you're not going to take advantage of that and use it to seduce me are you?"

He saw the look of confusion on Jase's face, "Of course not, Billy!"

Billy smiled and snapped his fingers, "Drat!"

Both boys laughed briefly at Billy's joke. Almost as quickly as the laughter began, it became quiet. Suddenly, he wished Jason would kiss him. After long seconds of getting lost in the midnight eyes, while waiting for Jason to make the first move, Billy decided to take the initiative himself. He leaned in close and brushed his lips against Jason's lips. He felt a tingle that started at his lips and spread down to settle somewhere at the base of his spine. Jason crushed him against his chest and the deep kiss set off explosions in Billy's mind. At the sound of Mr. Scott clearing his voice, the boys separated as they both turned bright red. "I guess there goes the stricture about kissing in public."

Billy muttered, "I guess so." He looked over at the Scotts who were standing there giving him the "you boys know better," look. He shrugged and said, "Sorry." Turning back to Jason he said, "See you tomorrow at the Command Center."

Jason just nodded and walked back toward his parents, as Kyle came up beside him and said in his Appalachian accent, "Smooth move Blue; shock the parental units. What's next, skinny dipping the lake?" Reaching out, the raven haired boy took Billy's keys. "I'd better drive, at least until we get to my house." He smiled. "Give you a chance to come back down to earth." He looked down at the front of Billy's jeans, "and replace your stick shift with an automatic."

*********

Kyle dropped Adam off at home first, before heading toward his own home. He was actually very pleased with his performance today, although he was a surprised as Tommy about the Raccoon `zord. It made sense he guessed, but it was still a surprise. He would have hoped for a lion or maybe a black leopard, but he'd settle for what he got. Of course considering what the alternative was, what he got was damn good. Some small part of his mind recognized that as a very Eastern Kentucky attitude. The more he thought of it, the more he realized that the raccoon was appropriate for him.

"Why did you make that comment when you hit Goldar?" Billy finally asked.

Kyle turned to glance at the Blue Ranger and smiled. He could already tell that the boy had come down from the adrenaline high from the fight as well as from the passion high from his kiss. He still had a slightly glazed look in his eyes, but for the most part the flush was gone from his cheeks. "Which comment?"

"The one about being pure of heart, if you know enough about Norse mythology to recognize the Fenris Wolf, you'd know that there is no such stricture about picking up Mjolnir. That's something purely for the comic books." Billy told him.

"I know, but I couldn't help but think of Wonder Woman picking up the hammer in that really bad cross-over series they did. You know the one where Storm beat her."

Billy smiled at him, "I know. Someone needs to tell the writers at Marvel that lightning doesn't work that way." Shaking his head, "And if Diana were any real kind of Amazon, she'd have cleaned Storm's clock before it ever got started." He grinned at Kyle, "After all, we've seen how real Amazons fight." His voice changed from the light banter, "But seriously, what makes you think you're not pure of heart?"

Kyle shrugged, "Let's just say that I've had some pretty impure thoughts lately." He really didn't want to go into what he'd been feeling lately with the Blue Ranger. His new friend had too many other worries on his mind without loading him down with Kyle's.

Billy just smiled, "I can't imagine they're any more impure than the ones I've had of late myself." He turned to face Kyle, "Look Kyle, like I tried to tell all of you earlier. Whatever this force that makes us what we are has bound us together. If you need anything, to talk, or just to unload, let me know. You and I are probably closer matched in the dojo than you are with anyone else, so if you want to go and work off some frustration some time let me know." He laughed, "believe it or not, but I do understand that sometimes a physical release of energy can be cleansing to the soul."

Kyle smiled at him, "Tommy and Jase are corrupting you. If you're not careful it'll ruin your reputation."

"I have a reputation?" Billy asked.

"Uh huh," Kyle told him.

"And you know this how?" Billy asked.

"Kimberly told me."

"And what did Kimberly say about me?" Billy asked.

"That you're a good friend, a good listener, and don't get as caught up into the testosterone overload that the other guys do." Kyle told him, "also that she has suspected that you're family for a long time." Kyle smiled and teased the blond, "and that if you should come toward me with an electronic mind shield I should run as far and as fast as I could."

Billy laughed, "She still hasn't forgiven me for that." Then he tuned to face Adam, "What does she mean by family?"

"Oh, sorry," Kyle apologized, "My word, not hers. Family, it's a term used by the gay community to denote someone else who's gay. It's sort of an homage to the concept that since we are so often denied our biological families, that we make our own."

Billy's voice got serious, "And have you been denied your biological family?"

Kyle shook his head, "Some of it. I've got several uncles who don't want me around their kids anymore. But, for the most part, things are cool at home. Dad isn't happy about the fact that I'm gay, but he still loves and supports me." Kyle suppressed the shudder that ran through him as his own emotions built up. He realized just how much his coming out of the closet affected his father, but the man had never been anything but supportive. "Hell, he moved across the country to give me a chance at a new start."

"From what happened with the other boy?" Billy asked.

Kyle nodded, and was surprised that although the pain was still there, it was beginning to be bearable. He realized that his new friends had accepted him for who he was, with no judgments or reservations. "I take it that Adam told you what happened."

Billy shook his head, "No, if you tell Adam something that he thinks is personal, wild horses can't drag it out of him. You've made enough comments that I've pieced together that somebody you loved was murdered and you blame yourself. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I was just making an observation."

"I appreciate that." He shrugged, "Some of it is still too painful, but I'm getting where I can function again." Kyle smiled weakly as he pulled into the drive at his house.

"Well if you need anybody to talk to, I've got a free ear." Billy said. "Since I'm not the object of your impure thoughts, I should be safe to talk to." It was clear that Billy still had a long way to go before he realized just how attractive he was. Some part of Kyle's mind noted that his lack of realization of his own good looks was part of the young genius' charm.

"What makes you think you're not the source?" Kyle teased Billy. "Although I'll admit that you aren't, you're not chopped liver either. Trust me on this Billy, I can guarantee you that you make great masturbatory fantasy material."

"Kyle!" Billy protested as he turned a bright shade of red.

Kyle shrugged, "Hey, if you don't believe me, that's fine. But I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you star if quite a few of Jason's nocturnal fantasies." He turned and headed into his house, leaving the young genius to think about that.

"Son, you're home early," his dad commented as he came into the house. Looking over, Kyle saw his father sitting quietly at the kitchen table going over some paper work from the plant. His father had been lucky to find such a good job so easily out here. Back home in Kentucky, good paying jobs were few and far between and the loss of one could spell disaster to a family. His father's experience as a Union Representative in the steel plant there had become a valuable commodity here in Angel Grove.

"Yeah dad, we're supposed to go out to the desert tomorrow and I wanted to get a good night's sleep so I can be on my toes. I'm still adjusting to the climate here," Kyle told his father. Technically he wasn't lying to his father, after all the Command Center was in the desert.

"You're spending a lot of time with those new friends of yours." He looked up from the paper work, took his glasses off, and said, "Sit down. I want to talk to you."

"Yes sir," Kyle replied fearing the worst.

"I did some checking with some of the other parents in the neighborhood," his father began. "You're friends have a certain reputation around here, a good one. I'm glad you're making friends of that caliber. I'd like to meet them sometime."

Kyle smiled, "Sure dad."

His dad laughed, "Since when is it that easy? Back home, it was like pulling teeth to get you bring any friends home to meet me."

"Dad, back home everybody knew everybody. It wasn't that big of a deal. Here, it's new people and a new environment." Kyle let his voice get serious, "I know how much this move cost you dad. In case I haven't told you so, I do appreciate your standing by me." He looked down, and hoped he kept the hurt from his voice, "Even when mom didn't."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up into his father's eyes. "You're my son. What did you think I would do, put you out with the garbage?" He sighed, "I may not understand what you're going through but I do love you. I helped bring you into this world that makes the kind of man you turn out to be my responsibility, and I want you to be the best person you can be." Turning and looking down, "You're mother's leaving was not your fault. She may have used what happened as an excuse, but she decided to leave a long time before that."

"Yes sir," Kyle told his father. He'd known his parents were having problems before the mess with Neal and Katy. He knew that it wasn't his fault, but for some reason, he felt that if he'd stayed out of trouble, then maybe they would have been able to work it out.

"Now go on up to bed," he smiled at his son, "We don't want you falling out in the desert tomorrow, do we?"

"No sir."

**

"How long have you known about us?" Kimberly asked her mom as they sat at the kitchen table sharing two bowls of Rocky Road ice cream.

"Since just after the Power Rangers appeared," her mother smiled. "Jason's parents figured it out first, and slowly let the rest of us know."

"You're not upset with us lying to you about it?" Kimberly asked, unable to believe that her mom knew she was a Power Ranger.

"I wasn't happy to find out my daughter can lie, but I understand why it was necessary," Mrs. Hart told her. "And you've always been honest with me about other things, so I can let this slide." Her mom smiled. "You have been honest with me about everything else haven't you?"

Kimberly blushed, "I haven't lied to you mom," she quickly added, "about non-Ranger stuff. But you haven't asked certain things so I haven't told you." She really felt weird having this conversation with her mother. Although they'd talked a great deal, about many things, all her mother ever really said about certain subjects was that she was uncomfortable with her spending too much time alone with Tommy.

Her mother smiled seriously at her, "Do you want me to ask?"

Kimberly thought about it, "About some things I guess I do," she blushed, "others are kind of private."

"I understand that," Kimberly. "You're almost an adult now. You've made some pretty mature decisions, and have taken it on yourself to be responsible for the safety of a great many people. I can't complain about the kind of young woman you're turning into." She sighed, "I just don't want you to get hurt," she gave Kim a long look, "or make the kind of mistake that could cost you any career you might want."

Kim blushed, "I'm not going to become a parent any time soon, Mom." Kimberly thought about what she had been told her during the exam at the Command Center. "If I were sexually active, which I'm not saying I am, nor am I saying I'm not, I would be very careful about it."

"Kim, I've always been pretty sanguine about your running around with so many boys. Jason, Zack, and Billy have always proven me to be right in my decisions in this matter, but you've never really had any interest in any of them besides as friends. That's something I'm very proud of you for. You've realized that you can be friends with a boy without it crossing any lines, and that's something some girls never learn. But, Tommy worries me. Not as much as he used to, but he does worry me."

"Tommy worries a lot of people mom. I think it's the hair." Kimberly replied with a smile.

Mrs. Hart smiled, "He does have that roguish look about him doesn't he." She shook her head, "I just don't want you to get too serious too fast, sweetie."

"I won't mom," Kim smiled. "Besides, I've got a couple of big brothers that are looking out for me too."

"I don't understand," Mrs. Hart replied.

"Jason and Billy," Kimberly said. "They threatened to do some pretty nasty things to Tommy if he hurt me."

"That's nice dear, but I just want to make sure that you don't LET yourself get hurt." She shook her head, "Wait a minute? Billy threatened Tommy?"

Kim smiled at her mom, "Let's just say that he threatened to use some of the advanced technology he has access to, to remove certain non-essential but important body parts from Tommy if he hurt me."

Mrs. Hart laughed, "Leave it to Billy to find a way." She put her hand on Kimberly's, "What I'm trying to say, is that if you have or should you decide that Tommy is the person you want to be with, please be careful." She gave Kimberly a stern look, "Mind you, I'm not giving you permission."

"Yes, ma'am," Kim replied.

***********

Jason sat quietly in the den, resting his eyes, and trying to fight off the drowsiness that threatened to overcome him. The worst part was that whenever he closed his eyes, a certain pair of blue green eyes came to mind and then the memory of the kiss they'd shared on the lawn would combine with the drowsiness to create an embarrassing situation in his jeans. Billy had warned him that the healing process for his ribs- the pain in which had finally faded to a dull throb- would make him hungry and sleepy, but he hadn't mentioned anything about being horny.

His parents were in the kitchen speaking in low voices, and he wondered just how much that little kiss had cost him. He'd been surprised that it had happened, and was somewhat pleased the Billy was the one that wanted to kiss him. Jason came to the conclusion that he liked kissing Billy. He liked kissing Billy more than he liked the other things he and Ana had done. Somehow, with Billy everything just seemed so right- the way things were supposed to be. He found himself wanting to try other things with the young genius.

Entering the room his dad sat down across from him on the couch, "Jase?" he asked. "Let's talk son."

Jason smiled at his dad, "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

His dad chuckled, "I don't know. You tell me."

"The kiss," Jason began.

"Was a little shocking, but nothing we can't deal with son," his dad told him. "In reality it was nothing I haven't seen you do with Ana or Emily. It's just a little unnerving to see you kissing Billy I guess."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Jason asked.

His dad cleared his throat and Jason realized his father was as nervous as he was. Finally, he began, "Your mom and I are concerned about your activities with Billy. About how far things have gone between you," he cleared his throat again, "uh. sexually."

Jason felt the blood rise in his cheeks, "What do you mean sexually, Dad?"

"I mean, I know you know the mechanics of the things that men and women do together." his Dad continued nervously, ".and God knows I'm not going to try and even fathom the mechanics of what men and men do together."

"Dad, are you asking if Billy and I have had sex?" Jason felt his face burn with embarrassment.

"I'm not asking, son. That's your business," he told Jason. "I'm less concerned about you having sex as you having safe sex," his Dad finally blurted out.

Jason shook his head, "Dad, we haven't gotten that far yet. Actually we decided to take things slow, and limit our activities to necking for a while." Jason had always had a close relationship with his dad, and because of that, he felt comfortable talking about things with him that most seventeen year olds would never mention to a parent. "But when we do, I promise you that we'll be very careful."

His Dad nodded, "Okay, son. We just wanted to make sure that you were being safe." Reaching out and putting his hand on Jason's his Dad continued, "and that you know we love you and support you and Billy. It may take some time to get used to the idea of you two together, but we do love you- both of you."

Jason smiled at his dad, "Thanks dad. That means a lot."

"Just so you know son," his dad said, getting up to leave the room.

"And Dad?"

"Yeah, Jase?"

"Thanks for understanding about the other stuff," Jase told him.

"What other stuff?" his Dad asked.

"The Power Rangers stuff." Jase told him. He was surprised at the relief he felt over no longer having to lie to his parents about what he was doing. He also had to admit to a small thrill at the idea of morphing in front of them.

"We understand that you had to keep things secret," his father told him. "Murphy told us why you had to keep it to yourselves."

"I still felt bad about it, Dad. I don't like to lie."

"I know, Son."

Jason drifted off to dreams of a certain blond and chocolate sauce.

****
Billy sat back next Jason and watched as Adam and Kyle closed with Ms. Stone. They'd already had their turn at the circle kumite with their new mentor and were each nursing a whole new set of bruises from the experience. Billy noted that Ms. Stone's training style was very different from Zordon's. She was much more of a hands-on teacher. In this case, that included hands, elbows, knees and an occasional boot-to-the-head.

Adam's years of training as a martial artist were showing through. He was able to at least hold his own against the woman- who by the way, seemed to be a master of several different styles of armed and unarmed combat- but Kyle was struggling to keep up. His years as a tumbler were making the martial arts easier to pick up, but he still lacked what Ms. Stone kept calling Toma-shi. When he'd heard the word, Billy took time to look it up only to discover that it meant "fighting spirit". She said that he fought as if it was a competition, not a life and death situation, but that he was getting better. Billy wondered at what part in their own training had Jase and the others switched over from tournament to combat styles. With Jason's help, Billy had come to realize that with their baptism in fire, he and Kim had to come up through the ranks thinking in terms of fighting for their lives, and that Kyle would eventually catch on.

It finally appeared that the two boys had been able to get an upper hand on the woman. Adam engaged her with a series of vicious reverse punches followed up by a spinning back kick- all of which she blocked, but with increasing difficulty- while Kyle worked his way behind her. Coming down from the back kick into a solid stance, Adam refused to let up and launched another flurry of blows and kicks aimed their teacher's head and ribs, as Kyle launched himself into a flying side-kick aimed at her shoulders. Billy realized that although Kyle was an excellent tumbler, it was impossible for someone of his small stature to leap high enough to strike Ms. Stone's head without using The Power, which so far he and Adam had refused to do in this fight.

As if some internal sense warned her, Ms. Stone dropped to the ground in a perfectly executed split to allow Kyle to go flying over her head. Billy winced as the Yellow Ranger's bare foot slammed into the bridge of Adam's nose. Blood flew in every direction from the force of the blow, and both boys went down in a jumble of arms and legs.

T-ing his hands Tommy called time out and went to check on his fallen comrades. Ms. Stone meanwhile calmly walked over and began to see to Adam's injury. Producing a towel from the back of her gi, she gently probed the bones in his face. Finally deciding that nothing was broken, she smiled at him. "That's going to be sore for a while, but you'll live." Helping the Black Ranger up, she quietly told him, "You need to work on keeping your face blank in a fight, Adam. You told me what was happening the minute you let yourself smile when Kyle got behind me." Laughing
lightly, "otherwise, a really good set of techniques, and an excellent strategy."

"Too bad it didn't work," Adam mumbled to himself as he staunched the flow of blood from his nose.

"Don't worry about it, Adam. You're all improving." Turning to Kyle she smiled, "Good idea, wrong kick." She walked over to where the short raven-haired boy was standing looking very vulnerable. "A sweep would have been more appropriate. You're getting better though, but don't get too caught up in the tumbling. Every time you leave the ground, you make yourself vulnerable."

Kyle hung his head, "Yes, ma'am."

Ms. Stone reached out and put a hand on his shoulder before saying, "You ARE improving Kyle. Keep up the workouts with Adam, and you'll get there."

"Yes ma'am," he repeated.

Billy saw her look down at him and then back over to where Tommy and Jason had finally managed to get Adam's nose to stop bleeding. Turning him by the shoulders, she pushed him in that direction before heading toward the women's showers. "Now why don't you go over and see how Adam's doing?"

Kyle nodded, and walked over to the other boys, his head hung low. Billy got the feeling that there were other issues at play besides Kyle accidentally hurting the Black Ranger. Joining them at the edge of the tatami, Billy tapped the Yellow Ranger on the shoulder, "Ms. Stone is correct," he told his newest friend, "Your skill is improving at a remarkable rate."

"Trust Billy," A new and unexpected voice called from across the room. "You should have seen him in his first fight with the putties. He actually asked them to wait for a second while he took off his glasses. The thing about it is that they were so surprised by the request that they did." All eyes turned to see the tall African American boy standing in the door way.

"Zack!" Kimberly screamed and raced across the room and flung herself into former Black Ranger's arms. "When did you get back?"

The incident with Kyle and Adam forgotten, the rest of the team converged on their old friend. "Just yesterday. My parents decided that Iowa wasn't for them." Smiling big he told them, "It may be a great place for Captain Kirk to grow up, but for a former Power Ranger it sucks!" He disengaged himself from the Kimberly and took turns greeting the rest of the team. Billy too found himself caught up in the emotions of the reunion, and almost forgot about Kyle standing off to the side.

"Zack," Billy said, "this is Kyle Kerry, the new Yellow Ranger."

Zack smiled hugely at Kyle, and offered a hand, "Good to meet you man. I saw the footage of your fight with Rita's monsters last night. Nice move with that hammer."

Kyle smiled weakly, and muttered, "thanks."

"So, are you starting back to school at AGHS Monday?" Tommy asked.

Zack smiled, "Yep," he looked around the room. "This place has really changed. I almost didn't recognize it." Putting a hand on Jason's shoulder, "So tell me, who's the Amazon babe who was wiping up the floor with you guys? What happened to Zordon?" He punched Jase in the shoulder and laughed, "And how're things with that cute little blonde you were dating when I left?" He looked over at Tommy and Kim and grinned, "I don't have to ask about you two."

There was a brief pause before Tommy interjected, "The Amazon is our new advisor, Ms. Stone. Zordon went back to Eltar.....," he stopped and looked at Jase and Billy before smiling, "and Jase's got a new blond." He chuckled, shook his head and continued, "It's a whole new ball game around here, new villains, new `Zords, and a whole new attitude."

Zack's effervescent personality bubbled over as he looked around the room, "Man this place is awesome." He gave Billy a sly look, "And I bet my Main Brain over there has already taken it apart and put it back together again."

Billy cleared his throat, "I've been sort of engaged in other pursuits of late, Zack. I haven't had the opportunity to explore."

"You, not take new technology apart? You ARE feeling all right Billy?" Then he stopped a moment and thought, "Oh, I see. Somebody's been bitten by a more biological bug. You sly dog." He looked over at Jase and smiled, "It's always the quiet ones. Who's he making time with?"

Before Jase could reply, "Zack, I don't know you. But I'm going to give you a quick piece of advice," Kyle stepped interrupted in that deep Appalachian accent, "you're about to stick your foot in your mouth- all the way up to your knee cap."

"Huh?" Zack asked smiling.

Kyle looked over at Jase and then Billy. Billy could see a question in his eye, but for the life of him could not ascertain its meaning.

Before he could continue, Jase cut him off with a smile, "That's okay Kyle, he's always doing that." Turning to Zack he continued, "What Kyle's trying to warn you about old buddy, is that things are a little different now. Some of us have finally gotten our heads together." He gave Billy a questioning look.

"I told Adam I wasn't ashamed," Billy answered the unasked question, "and I meant it."

Jason grinned and came up and put an arm around Billy, "The new blond is Billy."

Billy watched as Zack gave him and Jason a long look. Finally, a slow smile spread across his face, "That is sooo cool. You guys a couple! Great, I never thought of it, but it just fits!" He clasped both of them on the shoulder. Billy realized that he and Jase must have looked startled or confused, because Zack continued, "What? You think Zack the dance king would have problems with two of his best buddies being gay? You gotta' be kidding." He got one of his most mischievous looks on his face, and did a quick little dance step and turn. "Although," he stroked his chin and looked at Jason slyly, his tone indicating that somebody was in for a ribbing, "I guess Jase is going to have to change his name from the Red Ranger."

"Toooo?" Jase asked warily stretching the word out.

Zack smiled and ducked out of the way before Jason or Billy could grab him, "The Rump Ranger!"

"Oh man that was baaaaad!" Tommy said shaking his head.

"You're comedic material has not improved by any great measure," Billy warned his old friend. "And to be honest, there are very few people, I'd allow to get away with a comment like that unscathed." He smiled, "count yourself as fortunate that I consider you one of them."

Zack gave Billy his best dramatic shocked look, "I'm not sure, but I think I've just been threatened," then, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, "by Billy no less."

******

Adam watched as the rest rallied around the former Black Ranger and began to catch up on old times. He'd barely known Zack before he left for Iowa being as it was he who was recruited to replace the African American youth as the Black Ranger. Adam let himself drop back from the crowd around Zack and stood next to Kyle.

"Sorry about the nose," Kyle said quietly next to him.

Adam turned and smiled at him, "Don't sweat it, buddy, I should have seen it coming. Things like that happen in the dojo. You get used to it." He put a hand on Kyle's shoulder trying to make the new Yellow Ranger feel better. "Besides, it's already healed. I guess the Power has its uses after all." He'd had his share of blunders in the dojo himself, so he knew how embarrassing they could be. "Tell you what, while these guys catch up on old times, why don't we get a shower, head over to Ernie's, and I'll buy you a smoothie." Suddenly he found himself starved. "And maybe a burger and fries."

He saw a worried look flash across Kyle's face and then disappear into a big grin. "You're on!"

A half an hour later the two were sitting in Ernie's enjoying two maxi-size fruit smoothies and a couple of double cheeseburgers. Adam hadn't felt this tired and hungry in a long time. Most of all he was really getting some strange signals from Kyle. An occasional smile up from the smoothie, those sky blue eyes boring holes into his soul kept doing things to him with which he wasn't quite prepared to deal. Adam kept feeling the blood rise to his face every time some very non-friend type thoughts came into his head. He really didn't want Kyle to get the wrong idea. His friend had been through enough without suddenly having to deal with Adam starting to be curious about certain things. Finally, in exasperation he said, "I can't believe how hungry and tired I am. I feel like I could eat a horse and sleep a week." He didn't say anything about needing to take care of other urges before that sleep.

Kyle smiled at him, "Well, Billy did say that when our regeneration factor kicked in, it would draw on our own energy reserves." He looked down and continued, "Sorry for causing you problems."

"Don't sweat it," Kyle told him fighting back the urge to, either grab Kyle or to leave the table to avoid the feelings the Yellow Ranger was setting off. Without closing his eyes, Adam mentally went through the new kata Ms. Stone had recently taught them.

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked after a couple of minutes.

"I'm fine," Adam answered quickly. "Look, I think I'm going to head home and crash for a couple of hours."

Kyle nodded, "Sure man, no problem." There was regret in his voice that Adam hadn't noticed before.

<Damn, I bet he's feeling left out again! Everybody else is catching up with Zack, and here I am about to abandon him too.> He sat back at down at the table, "You want to come over and go over that kata Ms. Stone taught us yesterday?"

He saw the smile on Kyle's face actually reach his eyes, and briefly wondered how he could get him to do it again. "Sounds like fun," He looked down for a second as if considering his next words carefully, "Look I got a new movie on DVD. You want I should bring it?"

Adam thought about it. His parents were going to be gone for most of the evening, but they didn't mind if he had a single guest over. As long as they stayed out of trouble, it was cool. Briefly, he wondered about the Yellow Ranger's reticence, but shoved his doubts into the back of his mind, "Sounds like fun. I think I can dig out some microwave popcorn and sodas."

*****

Jason pulled Billy back against him and sighed contentedly. The changes he'd felt since he'd finally come to grips with what had been going on in his heart for so long, were finally falling into place. He slowly realized that Billy was more than just his best friend, but that he held the other half of Jason's heart. He wasn't sure when the friendship had changed, but some time between their first meeting in the park seven years ago, and Billy's accident last year, Jason realized that the love he felt for Billy had gone from that of a brother to something deeper, something much more profound. He found himself wanting to spend the rest of his life with Billy, daydreaming about building a home with the young genius, or just wanting to get lost in those blue-green eyes.

Looking up at the night sky as it spread across the desert, he held Billy tight, feeling the warmth of the smaller framed boy against him. "This is gorgeous! Why haven't you asked me out to do this before?" he asked.

Billy nuzzled his head against Jase's chin, "Because I was afraid you might misinterpret- or correctly interpret what I wanted out of the evening."

"And what do you want out of it?" he asked letting his hands roam across the well defined chest of his companion, reveling in the sensation of the hardness he felt there. Billy may not be as massive as Jason, or as densely built, but he did have an athlete's body, and Jason found himself wanting to touch and feel every part of it.

"This," was Billy's reply. "To be held by you, hold you. To share with you what I see out here, away from the light pollution of the city."

"I wish you had," Jase told him. "I wish that I had realized what it was I was feeling." He snuggled closer, inhaling deeply the sharp scent of Billy's cologne combined with a softer underlying mustiness that was Billy. He found the scent both soothing and arousing at the same time.

"I had no idea, not even a hope of a dream that you would feel this way, Jase. I've loved you since Junior High, since before that camping trip where you thought Trini had broken my heart. I loved you more for your desire to be there, to help ease the pain you thought I was feeling. It wasn't Trini telling me that her parent's expected her to marry another Chinese man that hurt, it was the knowledge, no matter how erroneous, that YOU didn't feel about me the same way I feel about you." Billy turned and faced him, "I've wanted you forever, Jason Scott, and had no idea that I could have you. These past few weeks, since our return from the gray, have been like rain in the desert."

Jase reached out and pulled Billy to him, kissing him deeply. He felt Billy gently bite at his lower lip, and then his tongue questioningly probe for entrance. Opening his mouth, he sucked in Billy's tongue, and breathed in the heady aftertaste of cinnamon Altoids. He felt a pair of surprisingly strong arms crush him to that hard chest. He felt light headed, as Billy released him, and he sucked in air, realizing that he'd forgotten to breathe. Not giving up his prize so easily, Billy began to nibble along Jase's jaw line to eventually, reach the side of his neck just under his right ear. As Billy gently nipped at the sensitive skin of his earlobe, Jason felt a surge of electricity run down his spine directly to his groin. He gasped, "Billy!"

"You enjoyed that, did you?" the blond muttered against his throat, sending another shot of power through his system. Jason swallowed and nodded. No girl had ever had this kind of effect on him, not even when Ana had." the image of the little blond girl's head bobbing up and down in his lap sent a new surge of desire through him- this time it wasn't to be on the receiving end.

With a strength he didn't know he had, Jason forced Billy back against the soft sand, and ran a hand under the blond's shirt, feeling the hard muscles of his abdomen and pecks. As his hands brushed against the hardening nubs on the well defined chest, he felt a shudder run through Billy. Kissing at Billy's throat, "Hmmm, I think I found something you enjoy," he teased.

Lying full out flat against his lover, he let his fingers play along the sensitive spot he'd found as Billy began to nibble at his ear. Jason could feel Billy's hardness thrusting against his own thigh, as
Jason moved in against Billy's hand, building toward his own release.

******

Kyle sat cross-legged on the floor of the Park's living room eating popcorn and enjoying Sam Raimi's take on Spider-man, of course it didn't hurt that Toby McGuire was fun to look at too. "Oh man that has to be the best looking fight scene I've ever seen on film," Adam was saying. "It's so realistic, and I love how they're showing Spidey as beaten and bruised."

Kyle chuckled and shoved Adam as he said, "leave it to a martial artist to pick a superhero fight scene apart."

Adam shoved him back and smiled, "Yeah, but who was it picking apart all the acrobatics?" He pitched his voice to an almost perfect match to Kyles, "He just doesn't have the momentum to pull off that many back-flips."

Kyle rolled backwards with the shove, and pushed off into a hand-stand and then turned around to face his new friend, "Touché," he told him while walking over to his feet before dropping smoothly into a split, and then twisting his legs back into a semi-lotus sitting position.

"Show-off," Adam told him. Then with a more serious note, "You know, you're very good at that. Why don't you compete anymore?"

Kyle shrugged, "I thought about it for a while, but decided that now it wouldn't be fair." He gave Adam a quick wink, "You know, not using our powers for personal gain."

"Jason, Tommy, and I all still compete in karate tournaments," Adam told him, "Kimberly even still does gymnastic competition, and we all know Billy doesn't try to hide his intelligence. Your tumbling is a natural part of who you are, you don't have to give it up, just because you occasionally put on spandex and fight giant monsters."

Kyle smiled, "I know. But I'd rather just keep practicing, and develop my skill without competing." He'd recently considered this very issue, and even talked it over with his dad. He wasn't that interested in pitting himself against others anymore. Now, he just wanted to see if he could be a better tumbler today than he was last month.

"Sort of becoming a master sensei of tumbling huh?" Adam smiled.

"Something like that," he laughed at the image of him as an old man in a gi teaching a young David Carradine the `philosophy' of tumbling. "I can just see myself," he pitched his voice low and took on his most serious tone, "young grasshopper, you must experience the Tao of tumbling."

Adam threw at sofa pillow at him, he ducked, caught it, and slung it back at the tall Korean boy and the match was on. The fight started out with pillows and then degenerated into a wrestling match. Kyle knew he could never hope to match Adam in a blow for blow combat situation, so he closed with him for wrestling. His shorter frame combined with the upper body strength it took to be a tumbler, made up for any lack of skill he might have.

Being careful of furniture, and other breakables in the living room, the two boys grappled across the large living room floor of the Parks. Much to his surprise, Kyle found himself suddenly pinned with Adam stretched out atop him. He wasn't sure who made the first move, maybe it was something mutual, but one minute they were staring at into one another's eyes, the next Kyle found himself lip-locked with the Adam.

***********

Billy wasn't sure how things had suddenly gone from a heavy necking session with Jason to the two boys stretched out nearly naked on the desert floor, thrusting against each other's hand, while locked in fierce tongue-duel. Not that he was complaining mind you, he just wasn't sure how he ended up with his and Jason's pants off.

Jason groaned into his mouth and his body suddenly tensed against him, the feeling of which sent Billy careening over the edge. Suddenly his mind exploded into a thousand pieces as his and Jase's very essences were intermingled before coming back to their own bodies, each carrying with them just a little piece of the other. Slowly bringing his breathing under control he finally opened his eyes to see explosions going off in the night sky. Some small part of his mind noted that the explosions seemed to be centered on the moon, just before the transport beam took him.

*********

Adam couldn't believe what he was doing. He was actually kissing another guy, and loving it. Kyle tasted of peppermint, buttered popcorn and diet soda, and something else, something entirely different yet strangely familiar. He wasn't sure what it was he was feeling, but it was a feeling he was quickly deciding that he liked. That is just before the transport beam took both of them.

********

It was unusual for Alpha to teleport them without some kind of warning, and it was only ever done in the most dire of emergencies. Looking around at the others as they arrived in the Command Center, Tommy realized that the little robot had failed to warn anybody, and had simply grabbed them all. He blushed deeply at the sight of Billy and Jason lying flat on their backs, still locked in their embrace and each of their hands buried in the most incriminating place possible.

Looking around he realized it was an evening for surprises. Adam and Kyle suddenly appeared in a streak of black and yellow light that was so intertwined as to almost be a single muddy shade of yellow. When they materialized he understood why their beams seemed so combined. Evidently, Billy and Jase weren't the only ones doing some late evening explorations. He shook his head and smiled as he looked up to see Kimberly sitting with a little pink robe and a towel around her hair, still holding the bottle of nail polish, and suddenly blushing deeply.

"Aiyiyiyiyi!" Alpha was screaming as he entered the Power Chamber, "Rangers you're needed immediately. The Kregar have destroyed Rita and Zedd's moon pala...," He stopped in mid sentence as he saw the compromising situations from which he'd teleported two thirds of the team.

********

"Alpha!" Kimberly screamed angrily as she looked around and realized where she was, and in what state of dress. Then the situations involving the others intruded on her mind, and she blushed deeply. "You are SO dead!" Without a second thought, she took the towel from her head and tossed it across the blushing forms of Billy and Jason.

"Aiyiyiyiyi," Alpha said in a low tone, as he once again started to move toward the main holotank of the Power Chamber. "Sorry Rangers, I seem to have teleported you at a bad time."

"I am going to take him apart, and use his body for a trash can," Jason grumbled under his breath as he wrapped the towel around his waist, leaving Billy scrambling to pull on his jeans.

"Well, well, well," Ms. Stone commented with a smirk as she came into the room. "Alpha, didn't you warn them before you teleported them here?"

"You did say immediately," Alpha replied.

"Just what I need, an AI who takes orders literally," Ms. Stone said to the ceiling. She turned to Jason and Billy and it was obvious to Kimberly that she was hard-pressed not to snicker, "You could go ahead and Morph. I don't think it would count as personal gain, to get a few clothes on your backs." She turned to look where Kyle and Adam doing their best to disentangle one from the other. "As for you two," she smiled, "We can talk about what ever is going on later. Right now we've got work to do."

Both boys suddenly scrambled to their feet, blushing deep red. For just a moment, Kimberly was afraid one or both of them were going to bolt from the room. "What's the problem, Ms. Stone?" Jason asked as he morphed into his costume.

Ms. Stone suddenly became all business, "A Kregar Light Cruiser just entered orbit around the moon. Currently, they are bombing Rita and Zedd's palace out of existence."

"You'll pardon me if I'm not heart-broken," Kyle said under his breath.

"Oh, I agree entirely," Ms. Stone replied. "However, the moon is only their first stop. As soon as they're finished there, they'll be heading this way, and we had better be ready to stop them." She indicated the holotank and hit a stud on the panel. Suddenly an image of the Kregar ship appeared dropping huge egg shaped pods from it's underbelly. As the pods descended into the atmosphere of some alien planet, they released a swarm of giant robots that looked like the head of a grasshopper suspended between two backwards sloping legs. Each was about a fourth the size of a `Zord. "This class of cruiser carries a complement of almost a hundred walkers. These walkers, although one-on-one are no match for your `Zords, do carry enough fire power to be dangerous in swarms. If we let the pods reach a low enough orbit, we'll have the invasion all over again. You have to stop most of them in the air."

"What about the main ship?" Billy asked as he pulled his shirt back on. Kim noted that for some reason, Billy had managed to at least keep most of his clothing partially on his body, where as, Jason had been almost totally nude when he'd arrived. "How much of a threat is it without the walkers?"

"Good question Billy," Ms. Stone replied. "It carries several batteries of particle cannons and lasers, as well as a small mass driver. It has navigational and defensive shields, but all these are fairly useless without the walkers. What good is it to bomb a planet if you can't hold it? That's what the walkers are for."

"Besides," Ms. Hayes voice said as she entered the room, "I will deal with the main ship. You take care of the drop pods and any walkers that get through."

"With all due respect Ms. Hayes," Billy said, "How do you intend to disable a craft capable of super-luminal speeds from a planetary surface?"

"With these," Ms. Hayes smiled and opened her hand to reveal the five power coins that the team had originally possessed. According to Billy and Ms. Stone, the team no longer needed the coins to tap into The Great Power, so they were of little use to the them. "Alpha Five and I have been very busy upgrading your old `zords, and I intend to borrow a page from Zordon's book and find myself five more teenagers with attitudes, and drop them and their `zords directly into the hangar bay of that cruiser."

"Where are you going to get five new Rangers?" Jason asked.

"From Zordon's files," Ms. Stone replied. "Surely you wondered why Zack Taylor's family had decided to return to Angel Grove? With a little help from some friends, I made arrangements to get him and all of Zordon's replacement Rangers here," she looked at Kimberly. "Plus one that Rita and Zedd had plans for becoming their evil ranger."

"What chance do they have against the Kregar with our old `zords?" Adam asked.

Billy pushed his glasses up from his nose, "Actually, I've seen the modifications Ms. Hayes has suggested. The new Tyrannozord can easily match the fire-power of our new `zords." He shrugged, "Just not the versatility."

Ms. Stone turned to Kim, "By the way Kimberly, I've been reviewing the old tapes from your first mission," she gave the petit chestnut-haired girl a teasing smile, "You're going to have to worry more about your particle cannons and flying than the cool stereo."

Kimberly blushed, she knew that remark was eventually going to come back and haunt her. "Yes ma'am," she replied.

"Why do I suddenly have the image of Kimberly flying into a fight with DANGER ZONE playing in the background?" Kyle asked innocently.

Everyone laughed at that mental image, and the embarrassments they'd all felt earlier were put behind them, as the mission took precedence. Ms. Hayes continued to explain. "As you know doubt realize now, you're `zords are no longer limited to simply one form, plus the mega-zord, and ultra-megazords . You can reconfigure them into several forms depending on your needs, as Billy, Jason and Kyle have already demonstrated."

"What forms are available then?" Adam asked.

Hayes smiled at him, "What forms do you want?" She turned and leaned back against the counter, "You guys still haven't even begun to touch the edges of what you've become. Those `zords can be anything you want them to be- anything you have the will power to make them." She sighed and shook her head, "I understand that you're still awed by the power of what's happening to you, but keep this in mind. Even with all this new power, a victory against the Kregar still isn't guaranteed. So far, you've only fought against Rita and Zedd. Now you're going to see real fire power, and this is only a light cruiser. When the Kregar get here with their primary invasion force, you're going to be in for the fight of your lives."

Kimberly felt a shudder run down her spine at the woman's words, as they continued to analyze and plan for the upcoming battle. She remembered the ferocity of the attack that never happened, in that battle before the Gray and it made her worry about the people who she loved.

She looked over to where Tommy and Jason had their heads together with Billy as the three planned their strategy. The relationship between the three of them had strengthened over the past few weeks, not that it had ever been anything but strong, and Kim seriously suspected it had a great deal to do with the revelation of Jason's and Billy's relationship. It seemed to have brought their friendship into a whole new realm. Some part of her realized that for some reason it finally made Billy as much of Tommy's Little Bro as he was Jason's or Zack's.

***********

Adam kept stealing glances over to where Kyle was doing his best to concentrate on what Jason as telling them about their attack strategy. However, he caught the raven-haired youth returning his glances on more than one occasion. He wasn't so much concerned about what had been revealed about their activities, as he was how it was going to affect their ability to work together as Power Rangers and as friends. He thought he'd crossed a line that may have cost him a friend.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You're worried about something," Kim commented.

Adam turned, smiled weakly at her and said, "Wouldn't you be?" He shrugged, "I mean what happened wasn't planned, it just happened. How would you feel if the first time you ever kissed a boy you'd gotten teleported into the Command Center with him?"

"I see what you mean," Kimberly replied, "However, I don't think that's what's bothering you."

Adam shrugged. Kim was right. He was confused. He'd never even considered the idea of being attracted to another guy until recently. In reality, he'd never even thought the idea of sex to be that appealing, it all seemed kind of messy and just a little frightening. However, getting to know Kyle, he'd discovered that the idea wasn't so bad after all. Now before he could really decide for himself, he'd had his quest for self-knowledge suddenly thrust into everybody's view. "At least Billy and Jason got a chance to decide on what they wanted, and to experiment in other areas before we all got to find out that they loved each other. I just had my first kiss exposed to the whole group."

Kim chuckled at him, "Don't feel like the Lone Stranger. Jason told me that the same was true of Billy. Evidently that day in the park was our Blue Friend's first kiss too."

Adam smiled, "Really? I would have thought he'd at least kissed Violet." He shrugged, "Anyway, he was the one who started that, knowing we were all there." He turned to look toward the holotank where the Red, Green, and Blue Rangers were developing a strategy for taking out the drop ships while in the air.

Kim sighed and turned his face to look at her, "Really? You know what that first time we used the Power felt like that day. Billy was running on an emotional high, created by the rush of the fight. I wouldn't grant him too much testosterone credit for that kiss if I were you."

"You think so?" Adam asked.

"I know so," Kim said. They stood there listening the battle plan for long moments, as Adam considered her words. Finally she said, "I'm not going to ask if you love him, after all, you've only known him a short while. But, I am going to ask you if you intend to find out."

Adam shrugged, "If he wants to I guess. I'm not going to push anything. I don't want him to think I'm trying to replace his first love."

"That's sweet," Kimberly told him. "But don't wait too long to talk to him. I know it sounds cold, and I don't mean it that way, but you heard Ms. Stone. We could all die soon, and I'd hate to see one or both of my friends feeling like they had a chance to tell the other how they felt and never did."

Adam turned to face Kimberly, surprised at her insight, "Since when did you get so smart?"

She shrugged and smiled, "Eh, I've always been smart. You guys just have never noticed before."

******

"Missiles away!" Tommy said as he fired the missiles on the leading edge of the wings of his falconzord and banked hard, barely avoiding the blast of energy from the falling drop ship. Checking his scanners, he realized that the missiles had not even scratched the surface of the egg shaped vehicle. He smiled weakly as he keyed the mic, "No good, they impacted on the surface, they didn't go in." He quoted his favorite movie.

Suddenly his targeting warning klaxon went off, and he banked hard to port, and pulled up on the yoke as a huge energy bolt slammed into the ground below him. The mother ship was targeting him!

"Use your scanners, find a weak point in the armor," Ms. Stone's irritatingly calm voice came over the speakers. It should be somewhere near the juncture of the heat deflector plates at the top of the ship."

"Yes ma'am," Tommy radioed back.

Tommy brought the falconzord around for a second strafing attack on the drop ship, dodging more of mother ship's blasts from orbit. Getting a solid lock on the juncture Ms. Stone suggested, he fired the `zord's particle cannons. Twin beams of annihilation energy lanced out to strike dead on target. Keeping himself in a steep stoop to avoid any more attacks from above, he watched as the punishing energy of the cannons peeled away the hull plating of the Kregar attack craft. Finally, closing to almost point blank range, he fired a full volley of missiles into the area he'd been hitting with the cannons, before he pulled out of the stoop. Looking back over his shoulder, he watched the ship slowly erupt into a fiery ball of hot plasma, that rained down pieces of ship, and walkers onto the city below. To his dismay, he saw several of the walkers right themselves as they scanned area for targets to attack.

************

Jason watched as the walkers that fell from the exploding drop ship began to right themselves. Cursing to himself silently, he charged his Grizzlyzord into a group of them, batting the smaller craft to one side. Extending the huge claws from the `zord's paws, he raked two of the Kregar walkers into a bear hug. Pouring power into the crushing force of the `zord's arms he watched as the stress on the structural integrity fields increased. Finally, in a satisfying series of explosions, he felt the smaller walkers crushed into so much scrap metal.

Dropping them, he turned to where his sensors showed that he was being targeted by a walker that was just a little larger than the others. Dropping his `zord to what Billy liked to call four-paw all-terrain mode, he charged the walker. Suddenly the `zord was rocked by a blast as the Kregar energy weapon grazed its right shoulder. Jason realized that the Kregar had been targeting the `zord's groin area.

Closing the last few hundred yards in a steady run, he brought the `zord back up into an erect posture and swiped again at the smaller walker. He was surprised to encounter only air, as the smaller vehicle launched itself over the head of his craft, like the grasshopper it resembled.

Turning to face where the walker had landed on the side of a building- which by the way was beginning to collapse from the extra weight of the seventy-five feet of war machine clinging to it's surface- he caught a second blast from the walker's twin lasers.

He felt the temperature in his `zord rise as the heat from the punishing energy being poured into his Grizzlyzord's shields. That energy tried to find some place to which to escape. His sensors suddenly went blank from his heat sinks overloading, so he swagged it. Lashing out blindly with a forepaw, he swept the offending walker from the building. Before the smaller craft could recover its feet, he leapt with Grizzlyzord and came down on the juncture of the walker's head and leg. Jason heard a satisfying grinding of metal, as his own `zord crumpled the walker under its weight.

"Just like in sixth grade," Kim's voice came over the radio, "you're throwing your weight around, again." His friend reminded him of an embarrassing time when he was thirteen and had tried to solve all of their problems through intimidation.

"Well next time, I'll just wait around for you distract them by stripping," he teased back.

"Won't work," Kimberly told him. "I have it on good authority that they're all piloted by women."

Jason smiled to himself and gave her something to think about, "What's that got to do with it? You know a matriarchical society would probably embrace all-female sex."

"Ooooh!!!," Kimberly protested over the radio.

"Good one Big Bro," Adam interrupted. Jason was mildly surprised at the comment coming from their shy friend.

**********

Adam felt his Ravenzord rock under the force of another aerial bombardment from the Kregar mothership. Fighting for control of the craft, he brought her in low, and twisted hard on the yaw control so he was literally flying sideways down the concrete canyons of Angel Grove. <Can't keep this up for long. Turned this way, the wings have absolutely no lift.> Just, as he felt the primary feathers of the Ravenzord scrape the asphalt of the street below, he hit an open area of the city and brought the craft back to flight mode to regain some altitude. Looking over his shoulder, he saw black smoke pouring from the aft section of his craft.

"You just keep your tail feathers out of the fire," Jase told him.

"You worry about Billy's tail, I'll worry about Adam's" Kyle's voice interrupted the team leader as twin beams of yellow ion energy lanced past him to knock a walker that was targeting him from the roof of a nearby building.

"Sorry Kyle," Jason's voice came back over the radio, "didn't know you'd officially staked a claim."

"Yeah well, now you do," Kyle told him. Adam was shocked to hear that. He wasn't sure how he felt about Kyle, but some small part of him was pleased that at least Kyle felt something too.

Forcing the conversation from his mind, Adam pulled up hard on the yoke and brought the Ravenzord into a zigzag climb to avoid any more blasts from space. Suddenly, the night sky lit up with an explosion from somewhere in orbit. "Jeeze! I hope they got off there in time!" he said into his mic.

"Don't worry," Ms. Stone told them over the radio. "I've recovered all five of the other Rangers, safe and sound."

"Hey man, you guys take care out there now," Zack's voice came over the radio. "Have we got a story to tell you?!"

"We'll be there to hear it," Adam growled into the mic as he brought the Ravenzord back onto an attack run for another drop ship. "Just as soon as we clean up this mess here!" He fired the `zords particle cannons at the top of the drop ship, while extending its talons.

Dodging several defensive blasts from the enemy craft, he continued with his weapons lock watching his own power levels pushed to the max. Slowly, the armor plating at the top of the drop ship peeled away as he closed with the huge invading craft. At the last moment he killed the particle cannons, pulled the craft up, and then back down until he felt the `zord's talons bite into the metal of the target. Closing the claws, and rotating the `zord's feet backwards, he brought the wings forward and climbed, pulling the drop ship with him like rabbit caught in a raptor's stoop.

Banking with his prize, he fought the lack of aerodynamics his `zord was suddenly experiencing. <This is sure the hell different from piloting the mastodon.> It was like trying steer a pregnant whale using only a towel for a sail. Finally getting the `zord onto the course he wanted, he accelerated until he could see his target. Diving at the second drop ship, he released the one caught in his talons and let gravity do the rest for him. He banked hard away into a victory roll, with a certain raven-haired youth on his mind.

*******

Kyle brought the Raccoonzord back down the street, getting a good lock on all the targets in the area. Somehow, he got the feeling that this particular configuration had the best sensor suite of all the `zords. From what he was reading from his teammate's attacks, he knew that the twin particle cannons that fired from the Raccoonzord's eyes were at least twice as powerful as anything anyone else was using. Except for the slightly larger versions he'd taken to referring to as command walkers, most of the invaders couldn't take a single blast from his cannons.

However, he also noticed with some trepidation that this configuration, while much more agile than the others, offered a whole lot less protection from the Kregar weapons. He'd taken several hits that were going to take a long time to repair, and his structural integrity field was almost down to thirty-three percent. He knew what would happen when it dropped to below ten percent. The `zord would collapse under its own weight.

Locking weapons on one of the command walkers that were targeting the Wolfzord, he shifted more power from the deflector shields into the cannons. He smiled quietly to himself as the beams
literally punched a hole clean through the command walker. Two seconds later, he was engulfed in blackness and explosions as four of the smaller walkers unleashed combined attack on him.

**********

Kimberly watched in horror, as Kyle's Raccoonzord was engulfed four fiery blasts of energy from a concentrated attack. Bringing her Cranezord around for a closer look, she fired everything she had in a deadly ring of explosions around the fallen `zord. She said into her radio, "Hang on Kyle, I'm coming in to get you."

As her own `zord set down on the yellow hunk of smoldering metal, she watched as two of the four she hit, came walking through the. <Omigosh, gotta' hurry!> She popped the escape hatch on the bottom of Cranezord and dropped down onto what was left of the canopy of the Raccoonzord. Willing strength into her arms, she peeled the transparent material back and dropped into the cockpit next to Kyle.

Looking around, she noticed that the readouts on the `zord showed it in a self-repair mode. More disturbing however, it showed that Kyle had drained all the `zord's defenses. The particle cannons showed a full charge, but the SIF was almost empty. Gathering her fallen comrade up over one shoulder she flipped several controls to redistribute the `zord's energy. She said into her radio, "Somebody needs to tell the Farm boy that if he drains his shields he won't last very long in a fight."

"What?!" Jase's and Adam said simultaneously.

"He drained all his defenses to take out as many of the Kregar as he could. They couldn't take his blasts, but he couldn't take many of theirs either." She flipped another switch and the `zord began to dissolve around her. "I'm sending it back to the bay for repairs."

Pulling herself and her unconscious comrade into he own cockpit, she looked up in time to see the last two walkers rotating around to target her own vulnerable `zord. "Uh oh. Guys, I think I'm in trouble."

Suddenly both of the enemy `zords were bowled over by a huge blue wolf, and a familiar friendly voice came over her radio, "Belgarion's got nothing on me!"

Kimberly slowly gained altitude, and headed back toward the Command Center. She watched on her scanners, as below Billy tore into the last two invaders.

*******

Jason shook his head as he looked at the devastation shown on the holotank in the Command Center. Fortunately, most of the attack was limited to the Grant Center area of Angel Grove, a section of the city that was in desperate need of renovation anyway. As bad as things were, they were nowhere nearly as bad as they could have been. Most of the damage was to condemned buildings and rundown tenements that should be condemned. Ms. Hayes was sitting beside him shaking her head, "I haven't seen this kind of property damage since Dad and Ragnarok went toe to toe in DC."

"Huh?" Jason asked.

Ms. Hayes turned and faced him, "It was something that happened in my world. Let's just say when my Dad was forced out of retirement, half the city was damaged."

Jase smiled, "It must have been strange growing up the daughter of a superhero."

Winter smiled, "I don't know. It's all I ever knew, so I don't really have anything to compare it with." She zoomed into the area around the devastation where EMS services were having difficulty in controlling the fires. Standing up she said grimly, "We'll help."

"What?" Jason asked.

"We helped make the mess, the least we can do is help clean it up." Turning, she looked at him, "Take Tommy, Adam and Kimberly, down to the docks along with your `zords and help move that rubble onto the barges. Use the scanners on the `zords to find out if anybody is trapped in those collapsed buildings."

Jase felt himself smile. Zordon had never allowed them to use the `zords to help cleanup after trashing a section of downtown. Nor had he ever allowed them to assist in the hunt for survivors, it was considered too much of a threat their secret identities. "Yes ma'am!"

Hayes smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder, "That's one of the things that I did learn from my dad. Being a hero is more than fighting monsters. It's doing what you can to help ease pain and suffering, and taking the responsibility for that when you cause it, intentionally or not." Then she gave him a wink, "Besides, it'll keep Adam's mind off the infirmary."

Jason grinned at her, "You're a very wicked woman Ms. Hayes." Then thinking of what shed told him, he continued, "One of these days you're going to have to sit down and tell me about your dad, uh dads."

She smiled at him as he exited the room to find the others. Just before leaving he heard her say, "I think I'd like that, Jason. I think I'd like that very much."

*******

Billy glanced up at the readouts on the diagnostic bed. According to the readings, the Power was slowly healing the Yellow Ranger, but it was going to take a while. Although his armor protected him from most of the blast that hit the Raccoonzord, enough of an electrical charge got through that Kyle was severely burned and there was a chance of slight neurological damage.

Shaking his head, he sat down next to the raven-haired boy's bed, and waited. It was all he could do for now, sit, wait, and monitor. He understood that there was probably someone else out there who'd rather be in here, but everyone understood that he was the best qualified to monitor the situation. To be honest, he'd rather be out there with Jason, but he had a duty, a duty to the Rangers, a duty to his commander, and a duty to his new friend. He was going to fulfill that duty no matter what.

He also had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on in Kyle's head. He hoped to heaven that he was wrong, but there was still a nagging doubt, and he intended to find out if it was true or not. So, he sat back in the chair, a book in hand, and waited for his friend to come around.

Several hours later, Kyle groaned slightly, raised a hand to his head, and seemed immediately to regret it. Billy stood, checked the readouts and waited for the boy to open his eyes. "I would ask how you feel, but that is information I can easily ascertain from looking at your face."

"Cranston, did anyone ever tell you that you have a lousy bedside manner?" Kyle joked.

Billy smiled at him, "On occasion. However, they tell me that I'm an even worse patient."

Kyle smiled weakly, "No doubt."

"What happened out there?" Billy asked carefully, "Kimberly said that you'd drained all your `zord's defenses to take out the Kregar walkers."

He watched as Kyle slowly remembered what had happened out there. He'd been pretty stupid, and it had nearly cost him his life, "I figured I'd take out as many as I could before I went down."

Billy gave him a long look trying to bore past those sky blue eyes to the truth beneath them. "You were expecting to die in that fight weren't you?" he asked neutrally.

Kyle shrugged nonchalantly and said, "It was a possibility." He tried to sit up in bed.

Billy pushed him gently back down, "Lay back down, Farmboy." He sighed. "I'm going to tell you something that if it ever leaves this room, I'll know it was you, and I'll reprogram the Morphin' grid to drop you somewhere in the Arctic nude and with nothing but a sock full of pennies." Kyle started to protest, but Billy cut him off.

Taking a deep breath, he began. "When I was ten years old, I was miserable. My mother had died the year before, and my dad wasn't in very good shape himself. Fourth grade had been a nightmare. I had lost my mom, I spent a eight weeks in care with my uncle- which is something I DO NOT wish to discuss- while my dad recovered, and had been beaten up at least once a week at school. That summer I found out that I would be transferring to another school due to redistricting in our neighborhood and THAT was the only reason I had for going on. The hope that things might would get better at Blue Spring at least gave me some hope. I had been wrong, and I knew it from the first week."

"What's all this got to do with me?" Kyle asked.

"Just shut up and listen, Kyle." Billy told the other boy irritably. "I have only ever told one other person about this, but I think it's something you need to hear."

Kyle leaned back and Billy could see just a little shock in his friend's eyes, "Okay."

"Anyway, life was a living hell for me at that time. I was hurting because of my mom's death," Billy fought back the pain those memories brought. Pausing long enough to regain some semblance of control to his voice he continued, "My dad wasn't much help, he'd withdrawn into his own pain, and could barely do what was necessary to keep us going financially and physically. Mind you, it wasn't that he didn't care, he just didn't have the strength to do anything more than what he was doing. He was on medication for depression and seeing a therapist at the time trying to cope with what happened. I knew that I was the only reason he hadn't gone on to join her."

Billy paused in his narration to gather his thoughts. Having this discussion with Jason right after being thrown off the Kingsley building was one thing. Telling it to someone whom he'd known for such a short time was not usually his way of dealing with things, but he thought that Kyle needed to hear it. He began again, "It wasn't so much that I wanted to die, I just didn't want to be alive anymore. After that first week, I had plans of cleaning out my desk that Friday, going home and taking an overdose of sleeping pills."

He watched Kyle start to protest, but something he must have seen in Billy's eyes stopped him. "Anyway, on my way home, I got cornered by about half a dozen sixth graders. Normally, I could outrun them- I may have been small then but I was fast, but this time I didn't even try." He shrugged and tried to put his feelings into words. Try as he might, he could not dredge up what he felt as a ten year old. He wasn't the same boy anymore and the emotions that had made him so desperate then weren't inside him anymore. "I figured that if I let them kick me to death, I'd save my dad the extra grief of his son committing suicide."

"Billy, that's." Kyle seemed to be a loss for words.

"I said, be quiet, Farm boy," he joked before continuing. His next few memories, although somewhat more pleasant were still choked with emotion. "All of a sudden, this red whirlwind of punches and kicks came out of nowhere screaming like a banshee." Billy laughed at the image in his mind, "I guess a lot of what I remember of those events is colored by what I feel now, but at the time it seemed almost supernatural. It was like a god had come down from Olympus to save me. A god dressed in red with eyes like midnight. In a very short time the six big kids were on the run, and Jason was seeing if I was all right." He sighed at remembering those serious eyes as they sought to help him in his darkest hour. "He took me home and introduced me to his mom, who immediately administered first aid and brownies, and then called my dad to make sure it was okay if I had dinner with them. Not long after that, I met Zack, and Trini- I already knew of Kim, and we all became friends." He sighed, "we all had quite a few adventures after that, including a brief stay in detention, that if you want to know about you'll have to ask Kimberly. It was all a big understanding and we all had perfectly good reasons for being there, but those adventures were nothing like what we're living now. Anyway, Jason saved my life," he paused and added, "and my soul, that day. Kimberly saved your life today. Don't let your soul go too. We need you, and oddly enough, we're starting to love you. Don't take yourself away from us yet."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're telling me, Billy," Kyle told him, but his tone indicated to Billy that at least some of what he was trying to say got through.

Billy sighed, "I'm trying to tell you that no matter how dark you may think things might be right now, don't take yourself out of the game just yet. You never know what the next hand might hold."

"And what if I keep getting the same lousy deal?" Kyle asked him.

"Then you've got friends who'll re-deal the hand for you." Billy told him calmly.

"Billy, I screwed up my life in Kentucky and got somebody I cared about killed. Now I'm making the same mistakes again."

"What that kiss you and Adam were sharing?" Billy asked.

Kyle nodded, "I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think everybody was too distracted by. . .," Billy knew he was blushing at the memories of what had transpired earlier in the Command Center, ". . .other things."

"Oh, the fact that you and Jason were primin' each other's pumps when you got teleported in?" Kyle kidded him in that strangely musical Appalachian accent of his.

"Colorfully expressed, but essentially yes," Billy told him. Then remembering the other two boy's positions on the floor, another thought occurred to him. If Adam was on top, it was hard to imagine the Black Ranger wanting to resist anything that might have happened. "Did Adam say no? Did he indicate that he might have wanted you to stop? Based on what I saw, it was a pretty mutual exchange of affection going on between you two." Kyle started to protest but again Billy cut him off, "Just think about two things for me. Adam seemed to be enjoying what was happening as much as you were. Talk to him about it. You may be pleasantly surprised at what he has to say. I know I was about what Jason had to say."

Kyle nodded and said, "I will." A long silence passed between the two of them, before he finally asked, "and the second thing?"

Billy smiled at him, "If you take yourself out of this world and end up hurting my friend Adam in the process, I'll be very upset with you." Pushing the raven-haired boy back onto the bed he told him. "Now you get some sleep, and when you wake up, I'll make sure you've got some dinner." Winking at him, "I'll even make sure someone else prepares it, God only knows my cooking probably WOULD kill you."

Kyle leaned back into the bed, "Thanks Cranston."

Billy left the room smiling, "Just don't make a habit of it, Kerry."

*************

"How's he doing?" Tommy could hear the worry in Adam's voice as they reentered the Command Center. Cleanup had taken less time than any of them had anticipated. After all, a `Zord capable of smashing a building can be useful in cleaning up one that has been smashed. They'd also been able to find several people who'd been trapped in the rubble by using the advanced sensor suites on the `zords. All in all, it had been a good day, if an exhausting one.

Billy looked up at them as they all gathered around for an update. "He's eating, now."

"Not your cooking, I hope," Jason protested.

Billy shook his head and smiled, "No. I asked the new Black Ranger to prepare a meal for him." He turned to Adam, "You're friend Rocky is actually very good at the culinary arts."

"Rocky is one of the new Rangers?" Adam asked shocked. Billy nodded, and Tommy watched the interplay of emotions across the young Korean boy's face.

"Cool," Adam smiled, "I always hated hiding the fact that I'm a Power Ranger from him. Turning back to Billy Adam asked, "Can I see him?"

Tommy watched the Blue Ranger's eyes twinkle as he told Adam, "Sure, he's cleaning up the dishes after cooking."

Adam stopped a second, before he realized who Billy meant, "Not Rocky, you jerk!"

Billy laughed, "Sure. Go on in." His voice suddenly became serious, "I think you two have a lot to discuss." But Tommy noticed that Billy didn't yet move from in front of the door. "But before you do, I want a word with you," looking over at Tommy, Jase, and Kimberly he added, "alone."

Tommy put an arm around Kimberly and smiled at Jase, "I think I liked your boyfriend better when he wasn't quite so pushy."

He watched as Jase looked questioningly back over his shoulder, "I'm not sure I don't agree with you."

"Woah there, Jase," Tommy reached out and stopped Jase, "what do you mean by that?"

Jason shrugged, "nothing really. It's just this is a side of him, I'm not used to seeing. I like it, but I keep expecting him go back to the way he was before we died."

"It's probably not going to happen, Jason," Mrs. Hayes said as they entered the main Power Chamber.

"How do you know?" Tommy asked this woman who seemed to know more about them than he was entirely comfortable with.

She shrugged, "You guys have spent a lot of time trying to get him to come out of his shell. You did a good job, but now he's got to finish coming out on his own." She smiled at Jason and winked, "To paraphrase a line from a Susan Sarandon song, "he's tasted blood and he wants more."

"Huh?" Jason asked, although Tommy thought he understood.

"You," Tommy told him. "Most of his life, he's seen you as some kind of unattainable goal. Now he's got you, and that's given him the confidence to start asking for other things he wants."

"Like what?" Jason asked.

"Respect, recognition for his accomplishments," Tommy continued. "Think of it as his next belt, Jase. With each belt, his level of confidence increases." He shook his head, "Don't misunderstand me, he's probably not going to suddenly become Joe Cool, and his personality really isn't going to change all that much. He is going to start going after things he wants though, and that's a good thing."

Kimberly smiled at him, "Looks like your Little Bro is growing up. I'd say you should look for him to start dressing a little nicer, paying closer attention to how he looks, that kind of thing."

"Why?" Jason asked.

Kimberly smiled and punched her old friend in the shoulder, something Tommy understood that she rarely did, "For you silly. He's trying to make sure you notice him, pay attention to him, still love him."

"Of course I notice him," Jase told her. "I pay attention to him." Tommy heard something in his old friends voice that warmed him all the way to his bones, "and I'll never stop loving him. It took me a long time to realize what kind of love it was, but I'm not about to let it get away from me now that I know."

Tommy should have seen the setup coming. Jason could be forgiven, he'd been distracted by Billy lately, Tommy felt he had no excuse for not recognizing the neat little trap his girlfriend had set for them. She smiled sweetly, bounced over to the Red Ranger and kissed him lightly on the cheek before saying, "Then ask him to the Fall Mixer." She turned and batted her eyes at Tommy then, and he knew he was sunk. "I'd love the chance to take him shopping for a new suit for it."

************

Billy had given him a lot to consider, and knowing that Kyle was at least capable of committing suicide in the past worried him even more. By his own admission he'd walked into the first fight looking to die. Adam entered the room where Kyle was finishing his meal. Noticing how much better the Yellow Ranger looked now, than when Kim had brought him into the Command Center, all burned and ashen faced, Adam smiled to himself. "Hey Farmboy, how're you feeling?"

Kyle looked back over at him and smiled, "Like I just went ten rounds with Tyson."

Adam grinned back at him and checked the sides of Kyle's head, "Nah, can't be. You still got both ears."

They both chuckled, and Adam sat down, "You scared me, Kyle. Don't do that again."

"I didn't mean to," Kyle said.

Adam gave him a long steady look, and reached out and took the raven-haired boy's hand, "Good, because you and I have some unfinished business."

"Such as?" Kyle asked him warily. Adam could tell the other boy was concerned about what had happened yesterday.

Adam wasn't sure why he answered the way he did, maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe it was because he thought it might be funny, or maybe it was just to prove a point. He said, "This," and then he leaned over and gently kissed Kyle on the lips. He noticed with some satisfaction that the tempo of the heart monitor's beeps increased dramatically, and there was a slight rise in the pale yellow blanket covering Kyle as he stood back up.

"Do that again, and we'll have `Doctor' Cranston," in here checking on us," Kyle joked.

"And I'll toss him out on his kiester," Adam smile back before sitting down in the chair. "Look Kyle," Adam began, "Up until recently, I really didn't have a whole lot of interest in romance, sex, girls, OR boys. To be honest with you, the whole idea seemed like it was too messy, and a whole lot more energy than it was worth." He sighed, "But my talks with you lately have made me realize that maybe I was wrong. Maybe I am interested in somebody," he gave Kyle a knowing look.

"And you think that somebody is me?" Kyle asked him neutrally.

Adam swallowed and nodded before barely whispering, "yes."

*************

Six o'clock Monday morning, Kyle walked into the Command Center put his yellow book bag down on the console, and waited for Ms. Stone to finish whatever adjustment she was making to Alpha before she too went off to her new job as Angel Grove High School Counselor. After several long minutes, she looked over at him- even sitting cross-legged on the floor her head was even with his- and asked, "Something on your mind Kyle?"

Kyle nodded and replied, "Yes ma'am."

After another minute she said, "You goin' to make me drag it out of you, or you gonna' ask your question?"

Kyle took a deep breath and plunged in, "I had a question about the not using our powers for personal gain thing."

She put the high-tech tool down, lay her hands in her lap and smiled at him, "You haven't robbed Fort Knox or anything have you?"

Kyle smiled at the giantess and replied, "No ma'am, nothing like that."

"Come on boy, spit it out," she said, her own Southern accent getting deeper.

"I was just wondering, with school starting back today and all, and Jason, and Billy being new in their relationship and all, and Adam and I startin' to see each other an' all, and after what happened in Kentucky an' all.,"

"You got a point in there anywhere son, or are you just givin' me a litany of everythin' that's happened to the Rangers in the past few weeks?" By now she was deep into the her role as the Southern Matriarch.

"Yes, ma'am," he sighed. "It's like this, back in Kentucky when everybody found out I was gay, I toted a beatin' at least once a week." He remembered what Billy had told him of his time before meeting Jason, "Well, I don't know Billy that well, but I'm afraid some of the things that I had to go through he's going to face."

"Such as?" she asked warily.

"Well, you know I was in line for the Pan Global gymnastics team until I broke my arm don't you?" She nodded, and he continued, "The reason I broke my arm is that eight linebackers from our football team decided to play `smear the queer' with me in the boys bathroom."

"You're worried about people beating up Billy because he's gay?" Ms. Stone asked.

Kyle nodded, "I'm worried about him thinking that he can't fight back because he holds the Power."

She thought about his words momentarily, before leaning back and giving him a knowing look, "To be honest, I'd be more worried about you not fighting back than he."

"Actually, I'm sort of the other way around. I'm likely to try and take as many of them with me as I can" he blushed and looked down. "That's what I did back in Raceland. That's how I got my arm busted."

"Kyle, look at me," she ordered him, "It's not a violation to defend yourself, or others for that matter." She sighed, "I'll talk to Billy, Jason and Adam about it too."

Kyle smiled at her, and retrieved his book bag. "Thanks, that's a load off my mind." He'd been worried about how the school was going to react to Billy and Jason, and now him and Adam since he found out he wasn't the only person on the team with same sex attractions. He knew first hand how cruel high school kids could be, and didn't want to see his new friends hurt.

"Don't worry about it Kyle. I think they're big boys. They can take care of themselves." She put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him before he threw himself into the teleportation grid, "And they've got good friends like you to help."

He simply smiled to himself said, "Yes, ma'am," and threw himself into the grid.

******************

Kim came bouncing into the school auditorium and her eyes went immediately to where the other Rangers were gathered in one corner quietly talking to a small group of others. She recognized Zack of course, after she realized it was him wearing red, and then there was Rocky, Adam's friend, dressed in jeans and a black tee-shirt, a slight blonde girl she didn't recognize wearing pink, and two African American girls, one wearing yellow and the other blue. Jason, Tommy, and Billy were all ready there. She saw no sign of Kyle anywhere as she walked up smiling and slipped under Tommy's arm. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Zack was telling us about his team's activities the other day. Evidently they had a very good first outing," Billy said standing VERY close to Jason without actually touching him. Kim noticed Rocky giving them both strange looks.

Kim turned to the rest of them, "Wonderful," she threw on her best Pink Ranger smile and offered her hand, "I'm Kim."

The blonde wearing pink smiled back and said in an Australian accent, "I'm Katherine Hilliard; it's a pleasure to meet you." Kimberly noticed that the blonde kept stealing glances at Billy.

"I'm Aisha Campbell," the girl wearing yellow told her.

"I'm Tanya Sloan," said the girl in the blue dress.

Adam piped in, "And you already know Rocky and Zack."

"Hiya guys," Kimberly smiled at the others. "Welcome to the team."

"Kimberly?" An unexpected voice came from behind her. Turning, she saw Bulk and Skull standing looking rather like they had something important to say.

"Yes?" she tried not to let the strain show in her voice. These two had been a thorn in her side since second grade. Off to the side she could feel, Jase, Tommy, and Billy close ranks.

"We just wanted to say," Skull turned and looked nervously at Bulk.

The bigger boy pushed Skull aside and continued, "I'll do it you numbskull," he straightened the leather vest he was wearing and said, "We just wanted to let you guys know that we're sorry about what happened to Trini." He looked over at Jason and Billy, "And congratulations to you two." Then hitching up his jeans, "But we still think you're geeks, though." The two turned and walked off.

Billy reached up for the glasses he wasn't wearing and then blushed lightly at not finding them there. "Now that is an event I would have wagered never to see in my lifetime."

"Just goes to show you that not everybody is as bad as they want you to think they are," Tommy smiled.

"What did he mean by congratulations?" Rocky asked nervously.

The original Rangers all exchanged nervous glances. Jason finally sighed, "I guess it's going to eventually get out anyway. It's not like we're want to hide anything," he looked back to Bulk and Skull's retreating forms, "although I wonder how those two found out," he put an arm around Billy's shoulder," I guess the best way to put it is that Billy and I are sort of dating."

Kimberly groaned, "Jason! Sort of dating? That's like saying Madonna is sort of a pop star." She punched him. She was not going to let him get away with treating Billy like some kind of second hand relationship. "Either you're dating or your not, and if you're not, then I really want you to explain to me about Saturday."

Jason blushed deeply, "Would it make you feel better if I grabbed him and French kissed him right here in the gym?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Billy protested. "Whereas I have no qualms about our relationship being known, I would like to avoid being assigned detention for public displays of affection on the first day of school." Everybody chuckled, as Billy turned to face Rocky.

"Why? You have a problem with it?" Kimberly knew that the tone of her voice made it clear that he'd better not.

Rocky's gaze kept sweeping back and forth between Jason and Billy, and then to Tommy and Kim, and then finally back to Adam. "I don't know. It's sort of sudden and all. I never expected Jason Scott, big man on campus, deca-county athletic champion, to be qu. . .,"

"Rocky!" Adam's voice cut him off, "you finish that word and as Kyle would say," he pitched his voice into an Appalachian accent, "I'll take you out behind the woodshed."

Everybody laughed at the remark, and the tension was broken. Rocky finally shrugged, "I'm sorry. It just takes some getting used to."

"What takes some getting used to?" Kyle asked as he joined them, his own true voice setting off peals of laughter among the rest of them. Kim noticed that he was wearing a nice yellow polo shirt with black jeans and Reeboks. His hair was neatly groomed and he had a faint odor of vanilla about him.

Rocky grinned and gently punched Jason in the shoulder, "just the idea of Jason here swapping spit with Billy."

Kim heard something dangerous in Kyle's voice, "and that is a problem why?"

Rocky shrugged and Kim could see that he was trying to make an effort to sound casual, "Just takes some getting used to I guess. It's not the kind of thing that goes over well in my family."

"Rocky," Adam interjected looking over to his other friend Aisha for help, "I think we need to talk."

Before Rocky could reply, Zack stepped in with his usual exuberant self, "It is so great to be back in Angel Grove! God! I've missed this place!" He danced a quick couple of little steps around Kyle put an arm across his shoulder and Kim heard him whisper to the raven-haired boy, "Chill Farmboy, give it a chance to sink in before you get all medieval on him."

Kyle turned and growled at Kimberly, but she could see the twinkle of playfulness in his eyes, "This is your fault. You had to go and start calling me Farmboy, and now it's caught on. I have never lived on a farm in my life! I lived in a nice little suburb on the Ohio River in a two-story house, with a two-car garage and a DSL modem. I am not a country bumpkin!"

"Then lose the accent, Dan'l Boone," Tommy teased him. This is California, as long as you sound like that, then people are going to assume that you're some hick racist redneck who's favorite sport is shootin' `possums in the middle of the night." He shrugged, "It's not right, but it's the way things are."

Kyle stepped up toe to toe with the Green Ranger and smiled, "I'll have you know that the only time I've ever killed a `possum is when I hit it with my dad's car coming home from a meet one night." He turned and looked at the rest of the group the smile gone from his tone and his eyes, "As for being a racist, I really hope that you guys don't believe that." Kim noticed that several of them glanced down and she realized that maybe the idea had crossed their minds. She understood that many of them had wondered at how Kyle would deal with the racially balanced group of friends they had. Southerners did have a certain reputation after all. His gaze stopped to where Adam was looking down at the ground. "Not you too?" he protested. Then turning on his heels, he walked off muttering to himself, "I guess, I just got a lesson in prejudice."

"I think maybe we all did," Billy said to the group. "I myself have to confess to a certain reticence about Kyle's feelings on the issues of race among us. I think that whereas we tend to recognize each other as being of different ethnic backgrounds, and embrace those differences, perhaps we felt that being from the South, he was incapable of it."

"I'll go talk to him," Adam said, but Jason stopped him. "No I think I should. He's gone out of his way to defend Billy and me, and this was a poor way for us to repay him." Kimberly watched as
the Red Ranger headed off after Kyle.

Rocky looked over at Adam with a questioning look, "What was that all about Bro? I know you've been spending a lot of time with him. . .," the tall Hispanic youth suddenly stopped mid-sentence as something seemed to dawn on him, "You," he pointed in the general direction that Kyle and Jason went, "him" he pointed back to Adam and then shook his head, "oh, man, this is going to be one interesting year. The school's star athlete, the genius, and my best friend are all gay. . .," his speech deteriorated into Spanglish- which was a sure sign that he was upset.

"Rocky," Adam began.

"Look Bro," Rocky held up his hands, "I've got to have some time to think about this, okay?" He headed off by himself.

"Why do I get the impression I just missed something important," Katherine commented.

"It's a very long story, Katherine," Billy told her. "Most of it has to do with agreements made while we were in the Gray."

"In the Gray?" Zack asked.

Billy nodded, and checked his watch. "Why don't we all sit down and we'll catch you up as much as we can. We've still got a little time before first bell."

********

"Kyle, wait up," Jason called after the raven-haired Yellow Ranger. "We need to talk."

Kyle stopped, turned and looked up at him, and for just a second, Jase could have sworn he saw the tracks of tear shaped shadows down his face. "What do you want, Scott?" The pain and hurt
in his voice hit Jason like a hammer.

"To apologize for one," Jason told him. "To thank you for another," he said more softly.

"What for?" Kyle asked.

"For standing up for me and Billy," Jason told him.

"I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done. . .," Kyle broke off and both boys realized that Jason had failed to do just that.

"Tommy didn't mean anything by what he said," Jase told him. He knew Tommy well enough to know that what he'd said was meant in jest, it just got really serious before anybody realized it. "He was trying to tease you, and I guess it blew up in our faces. I guess it pointed out that maybe we have some prejudices ourselves."

Kyle nodded and smiled weakly, "You can say that again." He got serious, "Do you really think I might believe that the color of a person's skin, or the shape of their eyes, or the texture of their hair makes a difference to me. Do you really think of me as some kind of half-educated country bumpkin who still thinks he's living in the nineteenth century?"

Jase shook his head, "Of course not, Kyle. I think it's sort of like Tommy said, it's the accent. Like he said, it's not right, but it does have a certain imagery that goes with it."

Kyle nodded, "When you hear a Spanish accent does that make you think the person might be an illegal immigrant? When you hear someone with an Asian accent do you think of them as being smarter than most people? What about when you hear Ebonics, does that make you think that person is a violent gang-banger?"

Jason shook his head and thought about Kyle's question, "No, not really, I guess."

"But it's okay to feel that way about a Southern or Appalachian accent?"

"No it's not, Kyle." Jason shook his head, "And it took you to point that out to us. I guess in some ways we've let television and movies set our prejudices for us. Now we've got to rethink about
some of the things we've always taken for granted."

Kyle smiled and sat down, "At least you're thinking." He shook his head, "You know it's sort of funny. I went to Ms. Stone this morning with a problem that I really should have taken to Ms. Hayes, but I was more comfortable with her." He shook his head, "I guess that was my own prejudices coming through. She's a Southerner, and don't tell her this because she'd probably kick my ass, but in some ways she reminds me of my Grandma. You know, the Southern Matriarch who always looks out for her charges and rules the family with a velvet fist."

"Nothing wrong with that," Jase told him. "There are some problems I take to my dad because I'm more comfortable talking to him and others I go to mom about. I guess we discuss problems with the people we feel the most comfortable." He shrugged, "Just be glad you've got someone to listen to you."

Kyle laughed, "There is that. God only knows, I'd never have gone to my mom about anything."

Jason watched his friend struggle with loss and pain. He wondered just how much Kyle had given up for being honest with himself and the world, and he wondered if it would cost him as much. "Im afraid there's more involved than just me though isn't there."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kyle protested too quickly.

"Adam," was all Jason said.

"Adam," Kyle repeated. "Yeah, I guess the idea that he would have thought that about me hurt too."

"It wasn't conscious, Kyle. It wasn't he did- any of us did- it on purpose. I know it's no excuse, but now that we know the reaction is there, all we can do is promise to check it." Jason told him.

"Jason, what do I have to do to prove that I'm not those things?" Kyle asked. It was obvious that the boy was reaching out his new friends in a way that Jase couldn't understand. He needed something, but Jason wasn't sure what it was, and didn't know how to give it to him, or even if he could.

"Kyle, you don't have to prove anything to us. It's us that need to prove to you that we don't think ill of you." Jason shook his head. "It's our failing, not yours, and it's something WE have to overcome."

"That's easy for you to say, Jason. You didn't just find out that the guy you would really like to get to know better thinks you might be a bigot, for no other reason than my accent is a couple centuries behind yours."

"Huh?" Jason asked. "I'm sorry, but that went right over my head. The couple of centuries thing, that is."

Kyle smiled at him, "The reason the Appalachian accent sounds the way it does, is because for almost four hundred years, the settlers in the area were extremely isolated." He laughed, "Did you know that because the area was so cut off from the rest of the country, that as late as the nineteen-seventies there were sections of Eastern Kentucky that were so isolated you could hear Elizabethan English spoken as it was in Elizabeth's day?"

Jason shook his head, "Can't say that I did."

Kyle continued, "Most of what we know of old Scottish, Irish, and English folksongs, culture, and language comes from the fact that those things got preserved in Appalachia, and were only recently re-discovered."

Jason shook his head "You learn something new every day." He put a hand on the raven-haired boy's shoulder, "We're sorry, Kyle. I'm sorry."

Kyle smiled over at him and said, "Thanks." He shook his head, "But I'll let you in on a secret."

"What's that?"

"My GPA is three point nine, not exactly Billy's four-oh, but pretty darn close." Kyle told him.

"Okay, so you're not Jethro Bodine," Jase told him.

Kyle laughed, "Nope, a double naought spy I'm not."

"Come on, let's head back and see what everyone else is up to," he put an arm around Kyle's shoulder.

*********

"So that's pretty much the whole story," Billy finished filling in Zack and the rest of the new Rangers about their adventures. Zack couldn't believe that Trini would give up like that, or that someone else could so easily slip in to fill her place. He had to admit that Kyle was pretty cool, and was definitely protective of his new friends, but he still felt just a little jolt at the idea of someone else wearing the Yellow. Of course, he also had to deal with the fact that Aisha was closer to the same Ranger that Trini was, than Kyle. She after all carried Trini's Power Coin.

"So you guys don't need a Power Coin anymore?" Zack asked.

Kimberly shook her head, "No. But we had to make some pretty intense deals to come back and get another shot at the Kregar."

Zack thought about what Billy had said, and asked his old friend the original Blue Ranger, "What are the chances of you being able to read this Time Stream that the AI told you about?"

Billy shrugged, "With enough time to study it, I think I might be able to get some details about it. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you could get some information on this Covenant guy you were telling me about. Personally, I'd like to know what his stake in all this is."

Bill sat back and seemed to consider what Zack was saying. "I think Kevin and I working together might be able to come up with something."

"Kevin?" Zack asked.

"Yes, the Command Center's alternate AI personality," Billy told him. "I'll get him to start working on it, and we'll see what we can find out."

"Hey guys," Jason interrupted as he and Kyle approached.

"Sorry for storming off like that," Kyle said apologetically.

"No, we're sorry for making assumptions," Billy stood up and put a hand on Kyle's arm. "We found out some things about ourselves."

"Billy's right Bro," Tommy stood. "I'm sorry for the racist comment. It was out of line, and WAY off base, man."

"It's cool," Kyle said.

Zack thought about everything he heard before finally answering, "No it's not." He shook his head, "When I first moved here, it took a while for me to realize that there are people in this town to whom prejudice is just another word in the dictionary. It took people like Jason, and Trini to teach me that, and now, I find that I may not be one of those folks." He offered Kyle his hand, "I'm sorry too."

"I'm still not sure what all this all about," Katherine said, "but I'd appreciate it if you'd stick around for a while. I'd at least like to know why your accent is supposed to be something bad. It doesn't sound any stranger to me than everyone else's." She smiled.

Kyle laughed, "It's a long story. Let's just say my accent is the American rural equivalent of a Cockney accent."

"That bad?" Kat asked.

Kyle smiled, "A little worse actually." Then he let it drop.

"I'm sorry too, Kyle," Adam said stepping out from behind Zack.

Kyle gave him a long look, and to Zack's surprise, "You, you're not so easily forgiven. I thought you knew me better than that." He smiled and, softly reached out and touched Adam's face, "But, we can talk about that later."

*******

Tommy pulled into the parking lot of the AGHS gym, looked over at Kim and forced himself not suddenly go all gushy and sigh. She was wearing a nice pink evening dress, cut low enough to be interesting while remaining within the boundaries of good taste- barely. The sight of her sent chills down his spine. They were the good kind of chills and made him realize just how badly he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She returned the smile and asked, "What?"

He grinned at her, pulling at the tie that was too tight around his throat, and replied, "I was just thinking how beautiful, kind and sweet you are, and just how lucky I am to have you."

She seemed to vibrate with pleasure at his words and he made a mental note to remember that, and to do something like it again. Engaging the emergency brake and removing the keys, he came around to the other side of the Jeep and helped her out. Getting out of the car she said, "You're sweet. And thank you."

Taking her arm, he gently escorted through the doors, presenting their tickets to the chaperone. He almost did a double take when he realized it was Mr. Cranston. "Hello, Tommy," Billy's dad said and nodded toward Kim, "Kimberly."

Kim grinned, "Hello Mr. Cranston. Are Billy and Jason here yet?"

Mr. Cranston shook his head, "No, not yet. Jason's car is in being repaired, and Billy had to pick him up in the radbug." He grinned at Kimberly, "By the way, thank you for taking him shopping. I almost didn't recognize him when he came into the living room this evening. It's amazing how much difference a few small changes can make."

"It was nothing, I just took him to get his haircut. The person you should really thank is Kyle. He's the one who helped him pick out the wardrobe."

Tommy saw Ms. Stone approaching them with two cups of punch. She was wearing a long teal dress, all tied up in ribbons and bows, and she had her hair neatly waved and permed. He then realized that he was surprised to see the woman wearing anything other than her usual jeans, and a functional blouse, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Mr. Cranston smiled and said, "I'll have to remember to do something nice for your new friend then."

"Hello children," Ms. Stone greeted them. As she handed Mr. Cranston the punch she added, "Here you go, Edmund."

Mr. Cranston actually smiled at her as he replied, "Thank you, Murphy."

"Hello, Ms. Stone," he and Kim said in unison.

"Good to see you could make it tonight," she gestured toward the back corner, "several of the others are already here."

"Thank you, ma'am." Tommy told her as he led Kimberly toward the group of other Rangers.

"Hey guys," Kimberly said cheerfully at his side as they got within speaking distance.

Adam and Kyle both smiled up at them, "Hey Kimberly," they said in unison. Adam was wearing a black dinner jacket and waistcoat over a gray turtleneck and black slacks. Tommy noted with a smirk that Kyle was wearing a black tux jacket, a bolo tie, with a yellow waistcoat along with a pair of blue jeans and cowboy boots. On anybody else, the outfit would look ridiculous, but Kyle somehow managed to pull it off with style.

"You two made up I take it?" Kimberly asked quietly.

Kyle looked over at Adam and both boys blushed, "we're working on it," Adam said.

"Yes'm we sho 'nuff are," Kyle said in his deepest Appalachian accent, "we're gettin' 'long like a couple houn'dawg pups wit' a new bone." He gave her a huge grin and everyone laughed at Kyle's attempt of making light of the things said a week ago.

"You keep that up Bro and we'll never let you live it down," Tommy told him with a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind Tom," he smiled and leaned back. Tommy wondered about his use of the shorter, more adult version of his name. "I was just taking this opportunity to get to know some of the other team members." He shook his head, "It's going to get really confusin' with two of every color on the team."

"I've been considering that myself," Adam said. "I've noticed something about our incarnation of the team,"

"What's that?" Tom asked.

"We don't have to vocalize to summon our armor."

Kimberly looked around to as if to insure that nobody was listening before she asked, "You mean no more holding the morpher to the sky and calling our 'zord?"

Adam nodded, "When we fought StormQuest, I noticed that Billy didn't say a word, he just summoned his armor and went at them."

"Well, at least that'll keep us from accidentally calling the wrong 'zord," Tommy replied. "But, it still doesn't solve the problem of how to tell us apart."

"That's easy," Kyle said.

"Oh?" Tommy asked.

Kyle grinned widely, "We stitch all our names on the front of our uniforms."

They all laughed and Tommy looked to where Kyle and Zack were high-fiving each other, and realized just how wrong all of them had been with their unconscious assessment of the new Yellow Ranger. He shook his head and gave Zack a hard look, "You've known him for less than
two weeks and you've already corrupted him."

"Hey," Zack protested, "the boy's got natural talent." They all laughed and Tommy realized that the addition of five new Rangers might work out well after all.

"Oh my goodness," Kat said holding her hand to her mouth.

Turning in the direction of where she was looking, Tommy saw his best friend calmly walking onto the dance floor with Billy in tow as a slow dance was just starting to play. Jase was wearing a black suit with a blue string tie and crimson waistcoat, while Billy had on an identical suit except his waistcoat was cobalt blue. The gym suddenly fell silent, as the two boys began to dance close to each other, leaving no question as to the affection they felt for each other. As he was pulled onto the floor by Kimberly, he silently wondered about who was leading.

The part of his mind that was the Green Ranger automatically noticed several of the line backers on the school football team seemed to be talking in whispered tones with each other in one corner. Half way through the song, Adam and Kyle quietly strode onto the dance floor hand in hand. In just a matter of seconds, the rest of both teams joined them: Kat and Rocky, Zack and Aisha, and Tanya was dragging some poor guy she'd seen sitting quietly in the corner with her. He smiled to himself at the girl's audacity. She wanted to dance, so she didn't wait until she was asked. She just grabbed a partner and headed toward the floor.

"I think Mr. Kaplan is about to flip his wig," Kimberly said in his ear. "Nobody thought to warn him about Jase and Billy."

"Well, if you see Jason before I do, tell him not to let Billy go anywhere by himself," Tommy told him. "Carty and his bunch don't look too happy about what they're seeing, and although they're bright enough not to try and take on Jase, they'd be more than willing to jump Billy."

He felt Kimberly nod against his shoulder. He knew that she had no illusions about what Jase, Billy, Adam, and Kyle just did. It would change their status at school a great deal. It helped that Jason was well known as a black belt, but Billy didn't have that kind of reputation. Kimberly pulled back from him, "I think Ms. Stone had a talk with them about this."

"What did she tell them?" Tommy asked.

"That, they should be honest, but careful too. This may be California, but there are still plenty of people out there who might not like the idea of two guys dancing together at a high school gathering." Kimberly told him.

"What do you think Kaplan will do?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing if he's smart." Kimberly held him tighter, "Ms. Stone told me that if he tries to ban them from attending these functions that Billy and Jase can take him to court and lately the law suits have been expensive for that kind of thing."

The dance was over too soon for Tommy's taste. He liked being able hold Kim close and dance with her, not that he'd ever tell her that. Joining the rest of the team back in the corner, he pulled Jason aside, "Bro, what ever you do, don't let Billy go off by himself." He indicated where the football players were leaving, "Carty and his buddies don't seem too impressed by your choice of dance partners tonight."

"They really don't want to go there," there was something dark in Jason's voice. Looking down to where the Red Ranger was holding his cup, he saw that Jason's knuckles were skinned.

"Something already happen tonight?" Tommy asked warily nodding down to his friend's hand.

Jason looked down and smiled, "Only if you count busting my hand on the engine block of Billy's radbug." He grinned widely, "Luckily Dad took pity on us. He let me drive the Dodge."

Tommy whistled, "You've got your Dad's Viper? Man, he babies that thing like there's no tomorrow. How'd you swing that?"

Jason grinned, "Honestly? I think it's because it doesn't have a back seat." Both boys laughed at the implications of that.

"How're things going with you and Billy?" Tommy asked carefully.

Jason smiled hugely, and Tommy realized just how happy his friend had become since he and Billy had started dating. It was almost as if something was in place that had always been missing but nobody knew it. "Great. It's funny, I've always known that I loved Billy, it just took being hit upside the head with a 'zord to get me to realize what kind of love it is."

"Scott," Coach Martin's voice came from behind them. Tommy and Jason turned to see the man standing with his arms crossed. "I'd like a word with you."

Jason shrugged and put down his cup and said, "Right away Coach." Looking over at Tommy, he said, "I'll be right back." Then, he walked over to where the larger man was waiting.

Tommy couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell it was intense. After several exchanges between them, Tommy noticed Jason's fists starting to clench and unclench. Finally, Jason stomped off toward the door saying loud enough for half the gym to hear, "Fine, if that's the way they want it then they can find a new quarterback."

Tommy and Billy headed out after him. Clearing the door, Tommy felt someone grab him from the side and sling him against the wall. Before he knew what was happening, he felt an explosion of pain in his ribs as a fist slammed him harder against the wall. Looking up, he saw that two of Carty's friend's were trying to hold him against the wall, while one of the larger defensive guards was preparing to punch him again- this time in the face.

Reflexively, he twisted his head to the side, and felt the wind of the punch as defensive guard's fist slammed into the concrete wall behind him. Bracing himself against the boys who were holding him, he snapped kicked the guy in the groin, followed by a round-house kick to the ribs. Before anyone else could react, he kicked his feet out and came back with a double back-kick to the knees of his captors.

Feeling himself released, he grabbed each of the boys holding their knees by the collar and rammed their heads into the wall. Turning back around, he saw the defensive guard saying hello to his dinner for the second time tonight. Looking around he saw Billy standing over the writhing forms of two offensive guards. Both boys were holding their knees in pain, and Billy was looking to where Jason, was standing back to back with of all people Bulk and Skull, as what was left of the offensive and defensive lines were surrounding them. "So much for Carty being smart," Tommy said.

He watched in amazement as Billy charged toward his lover screaming like a banshee. Feeling somewhat chagrined by his timid friend's reaction, he joined him half a beat later. The fight was short and brutal, and Tommy could swear that Billy was drawing on the Power to fight. He sure the hell was more like his Blue Ranger self than the young genius. More frightening was the fierce look of protectiveness in his eyes, as he dropped one of the bigger guys with a vicious series of kidney punches. The guy was about to bean Jason from behind.

"I think that's quite enough of that," Ms. Stone's voice cut through the night. Tommy smiled to himself realizing that she was right. Nobody was left standing.

"I thought I might better check on what was going on out here when you didn't come back in." She smiled up at the cameras mounted to the outside wall, "I think we've enough lighting out here to clear you of any charges."

Jason turned and offered a hand Bulk, "Thanks man. I appreciate the assist."

Bulk just smiled and looked at the hand but didn't take it. "Like I said, congratulations. But I still think you're a bunch of geeks." Then he took the hand.

********

"I understand that you didn't start the fight, and were only defending yourself, but you do have a responsibility to avoid situations where you might find yourself involved in a fight," Mr. Kaplan told them. Leaning back, he looked at Jason, and Billy before continuing, "You two are going to have to realize that if you are going to be out of the closet, you'll have to expect this kind of thing.'

"No sir," Kyle interjected with a hardness in his voice that cut through Jase like a knife.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kerry?" Mr. Kaplan was surprised that one of his students was willing to disagree with him.

"No sir, we don't have to expect this kind of thing. We have to, and DO expect to be safe at school. We have the same rights as any other students, it's part of YOUR job to make sure we are safe." He looked back at Billy, Jase, and Adam, "Billy, Jason, and Adam don't deserve to go through being beaten, and kicked just because they're gay." Jason noted that their new friend didn't include himself in that list.

Jason had never seen anyone stand up to Mr. Kaplan quite that way. It was against his nature to challenge someone in charge, and he knew that the others felt pretty much the same way. Kyle evidently was just a little different. He wasn't being disrespectful, just forceful. "I think Kyle has a point, Mr. Kaplan." Jason told the Principal. "None of us deserve to be attacked, and although we don't want to fight, we WILL defend ourselves."

"And each other," Billy said quietly.

Mr. Kaplan leaned across his desk, "You're right, you don't deserve to be attacked, and if I find out about it, I'll take all the steps the board will allow me to, but understand this. You three," he pointed to Jason, Billy, and Tommy, "are on probation. Any more fighting and I'll be forced to suspend you." He looked over at Kyle, "As for you, this is your first week here so I'm willing to cut you some slack. I don't know how things were done at your old school, but here we show a little more respect for the administration of the school."

Kyle smiled, "Yes sir. No disrespect was intended."

Mr. Kaplan, "Then don't try to tell me how to do my job."

"Now all of you, get out of here," the man told them.

******

Kimberly finished her post-routine stretching and reached for her towel and water only to find them handed to her. Looking up, she saw a tall woman dressed jeans and a blouse smiling at her. The stranger had coal black hair, dark eyes, and an olive complexion. Kim was supposed to be alone in the gym now. Originally she was to meet Kyle this evening for some pointers on a couple of tumbling routines they were trying to develop, but the Yellow Ranger had canceled saying he'd try to make it but not to expect him. "Thank you," she said cautiously.

"You are very good," the woman said with a slight European accent.

"Thank you," she smiled, "again."

"You are Kimberly Hart?" it was as much a statement as a question. The woman had an air of power and command about her and Kimberly got the impression she was not accustomed to having to ask anything.

Kim nodded and stood before saying, "Yes, I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

The woman smiled, "Yes."

Kimberly glanced around wondering how the woman got into the gym, and realizing that she was all alone with her. Finally turning back, she asked again, "And you are?"

The woman smiled and answered, "Lyta Michaels, I would like to talk to you Kimberly. I have an offer that we would both find beneficial."

Kimberly asked warily, "what kind of offer?" She had a bad feeling about this. When the woman looked at her, she felt like rabbit under the gaze of a hawk.

Smiling she said, "Why don't we sit down over here," she gestured toward a series of low benches at the edge of practice mats.

Kimberly nodded and warily followed the woman to the benches. Some dry part of her mind kept telling her that she should be wary, while the logical part told her that she was being silly. Besides, she was a Power Ranger. There was little that she couldn't handle on her own, and if she did encounter trouble, the boys were just a quick call away. "What kind of offer?" she asked. "Are you from one of the gymnastic scouts?"

The woman smiled as she sat and said, "Actually it has more to do with your other team, Ms. Hart." Leaning back against the bench she continued, "I am here on behalf of a party that does not appreciate a certain upstart Time Lord interfering in your world."

Kimberly remembered Ms. Stone telling her that Ms. Hayes was something of a rogue Time Lord, one the others felt didn't play by their rules. Personally, she was glad the woman didn't, she and her friends wouldn't be alive today if she did. However, she wasn't about to give this woman the satisfaction of knowing that. Besides, if she played along she might be able to gain some more information. "Go on," she told the woman neutrally.

"This world will eventually fall the Kregar. So far, very few worlds have been able to resist the forces of the Council of the Umbra. Hayes' world is an anomaly, one where there are just the right amount of stubborn women and men who try to shove their brand of morality down the throats of the population. Covenant was a mistake on the Council's part in choosing the wrong assassin, and target, but for the most part, worlds fall the Kregar very easily. You really don't stand a chance against them, no matter what successes you've had so far."

Kimberly felt her hackles rise. How dare this woman suggest that they shouldn't even try to defend the Earth? However, that logical part of her mind kept telling her that this kind of thing Jason, Tommy, and Stone would want to know about. With an almost super-human effort, she forced her reaction down and feigned interest. "If that's the case, what kind of offer are you making me?" She raised an eyebrow.

The woman leaned back and seemed to consider something. Finally she asked, "No protests of giving it a try anyway- fighting the good fight no matter what?"

Kimberly shrugged, "A few years ago, maybe, but not anymore. I'm older, a little wiser, and don't see the world through quite the same rose- colored glasses. I died once. I'd really like to avoid that again."

The woman smiled, "You might do after all Ms. Hart."

"What's your offer?" Kimberly asked.

"Convince your friends to join the Kregar instead of fighting them. I have it on good authority that if you do that, then they will limit their attacks to military targets and spare the general population," the woman told her. She leaned forward and her voice took an inspirational tone, "For once, take your destiny into your own hands. You be the one to lead the Rangers and this world into a new era of peace and prosperity." She leaned back and smiled, "Life in the Empire is actually rather pleasant. There would be no more insane monsters attacking the populace. There would be access to advance medical technology, and much more. You could end poverty on this world, make sure everyone had enough to eat, see to it that social change would occur that would bring an era of prosperity to the whole world. " She chuckled, "You would go far in the Empire, Kimberly. You're strong, talented, more intelligent than others would give you credit for, and you are a wielder of the Power. You would probably one day even make it to the Imperial Council."

"And my teammates?" Kimberly asked. "What about them?"

The woman leaned back, "What about them? You could make the one called Tommy your consort, ensure his fidelity by binding him to yourself." She shrugged, "A place could be found for the others, or at least most of them." She shook her head, "I won't lie to you, Kimberly. Their options are somewhat more limited. There are really few places in the Empire for a man who wields the Power."

Kimberly threw on her best mall rat persona, "Tommy as my consort huh?" She smiled to herself, "That could have interesting possibilities."

"Don't limit yourself to a single male, Kimberly. As one of the rank you would no doubt receive for your loyal service, you could have your pick of men throughout the galaxy," she told her.

"There is that of course," Kimberly borrowed one of Billy's favorite phrased. She turned and looked at the woman, "Tell you what, give me twenty-four hours to think about it and I'll give you my answer then."

The woman thought about her request and smiled, "Okay. I'll relay your message to the Kregar." Rising from the bench, she headed across the floor at a brisk walk as she literally faded from view, leaving Kimberly with a bad feeling about the whole encounter.

*********

"She offered you what?!" Tommy asked jumping up to sit on the low wall surrounding the now infamous ornamental pond in Jason's backyard. Billy thought he detected a certain amount of outrage in the Green Ranger's voice.

They were discussing what Kimberly had told them about her meeting with the mysterious Lyta Michaels. Kimberly gave him a vapid look, "She offered me my pick of men throughout the galaxy if I'd convince you guys to not fight the Kregar." Billy watched her smile mischievously at Tommy, "You know that's a rather tempting thought. Let's see, there's Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Carter. . . hmmm, I could have several. . . ,"

"Kimberly!" Tommy protested, and everybody laughed at the Green Ranger's discomfort. He looked around, "You wouldn't?" In a brief flash of insight, Billy suddenly understood that in some ways Tommy was even more insecure about Kim than he was about Jase. He deduced that it was probably left over from his days before he became the Green Ranger.

Billy knew that Tommy had been shuffled around among different foster homes before he finally settled with the Oliver's three years ago. It took the formerly troubled teen a long time realize that they weren't going to give up on him or abandon him like his biological family did, like all those other foster families did. The idea of Kimberly even considering such an offer must have been Tommy' worst nightmare. Coming to his friend's defense Billy said, "I believe she's engaging in a bit of feminine subterfuge in an attempt to good naturedly, put you ill at ease, Tom."

"Huh?" the long-haired boy asked.

"He said that she's teasing you, Bro," Jason told him.

"Why didn't you just say so then?" Tommy asked with a smile that let Billy know he knew exactly what the Blue Ranger was doing.

"I did," Billy gave him an innocent look.

"Anyway, what are we going to do about this woman who's offering Kimberly the world if she convinces us to roll over and not do our job?" Jason asked.

"I don't like this guys," Adam told them. "I mean, there's something about this whole set up that's setting off all kinds of alarms in my head. There's something important we're missing." He leaned back, and closed his eyes. Billy new the Black Ranger well enough to know that he was trying make sense of something that he felt should be obvious.

"Personally I've no desire to be anybody's bed warmer," Jason remarked to nobody in particular.

"Really?" Kim asked raising an eyebrow as she looked over at Billy. He felt the heat rise in his face. He was still more than just a little uncomfortable about what happened with the teleporter. He and Jase had yet to share much more than holding hands or a kiss since Alpha had managed to expose a lot more of them to their friends than he felt comfortable with.

Suddenly, Kyle snapped his fingers, "I've got it! Kim, why come after you?"

"Duh?" she asked and pulled at the front of her bloused, "The Kregar ARE a matriarchy. I'm the only female here."

Kyle smiled, "But the Kregar are also a star-faring race that has to have encountered more male dominated worlds than female. I think there's more to it than that." He began to pace back and forth, as if to force an idea to coalesce in his mind. He looked over at Jase, "You're team leader, why not come to you? Take you out, and although we're not quite beaten, we're just severely crippled." He smiled over at Tommy, "After all, we've got a spare leader standing in the wings ready to take over."

Tommy smirked at him, as if to make it clear he understood what the raven-haired boy meant without taking offence. "I still think it's because she the female on the team."

Kyle shook his head, "No think about it. You and Jase are our leaders. You'd never give up. You're hard wired to fight to the bitter- end. To take you guys out, all they'd have to do is throw several armies at you until somebody got lucky. You're our King and Rook." He gestured over at Adam and then himself, "As for us two, we're the knights. We're the good little soldiers who're always there to back up the rest of you guys and occasionally pull an unexpected save out of the situation." He pointed to Kimberly and Billy, "But these two are our real power pieces, our Queen and Bishop."

Jason smiled at Billy, "I thought you said you had no plans for the priesthood?" He reminded Billy of their discussion in his living room about the Three Musketeers.

Ignoring the remark, he turned to Kyle, "I don't quite follow your logic," Billy told him. The analogy didn't quite fit.

Kyle ran a hand through his hair, and looked up at the sky, trying to find words for what he was saying. He sighed and then looked around him, "Jase and Tommy are our warriors, our chew-bubblegum-and-kick-ass-take- names-later squad. Adam and I are the second line of defense. We keep the extras off their backs while they plow through the enemy." He stopped and looked at Billy and Kimberly, "But you two. You're the heart and soul of the team." He spun on Kimberly, "If somebody on the team is upset, who do they usually come to for help getting their emotions sorted out?"

She shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I do tend to do a lot of listening."

"Exactly," he said. "You're our sounding board, our rudder. You're what binds us all together." He turned and faced Billy, "And you, you're the one who always pulls the neat device out of his hat to save the day. You figure out how to kill the big baddie of the day, and then let one of the rest of us loose on them."

"I still don't understand why that would make them go after Kimberly," Tommy protested.

"Because who do we go to for advice? Who can influence us more subtly and yet more effectively than anybody else?" He pointed to the Pink Ranger, "Kimberly." He walked over to Tommy, "Tell me you wouldn't cut off your right arm if she asked you to." He let his gaze pass over each of them, "All of us would. We trust her more than ourselves."

As Kyle's gaze swept over to him, Billy knew the Yellow Ranger was right. If Kimberly told him something was the right thing to do, he realized that he very well might find himself doing it before he even thought about it. "As for you," he pointed to Billy this time. "If you told us that something was the logical way to do something, then we'd all pretty much let you have your way on it."

He stopped and looked at the sky, "I'm not saying this very well." Dropping his gaze he turned and looked at them, his hands out in supplication. "Think of the six of us as a living being. Jason is our heart, Tommy the body, Adam and I are the arms and legs, but Billy and Kim are our Mind and Soul. The quickest way to defeat something is to attack its mind or its soul."

"For someone who can't quite find the words for something, you seem to have found quite a few analogies," Billy chided his new friend.

Kyle shrugged, "I want to be writer someday."

"I'm not sure I believe it, but it is at least a working theory," Billy told him.

Tommy jumped down from the wall, "But it does make a certain amount of sense." He looked over at Jason and smiled, "You and I would charge the Gates of Hell, if we thought it was the right thing to do. We see a problem we want to fix it right away. Action is our middle names." He grinned over at where Kyle had settled back against Adam's chest, "These two aren't much better. They stop and reconsider the situation a little more than we do, but not much." He winked at Kyle, "Remember Farmboy and his stunt with his deflector shields." Billy knew that Tommy was trying to make Kyle understand that it was all right to make mistakes, as long as he learned from them, and we all got the right to tease him about them. "But Kim and Billy are different. They're endurance fighters. They keep plugging away long after the rest of us are ready to give up. They never give up hope. Subvert that quality and we're beaten before we ever start."

"So what do we do about this woman?" Adam asked.

"I'm not sure." Tommy said, "Maybe we should ask Ms. Hayes." He smiled, "After all it was her that Michaels called an Upstart Time Lord.'

********

"Upstart Time Lord?" Ms. Hayes smirked. "I kind of like that."

"You like being called an upstart?" Jason asked.

The woman smiled at him, "Well, it's fairly accurate. I'm the youngest Time Lord, being only six hundred- or twelve hundred depending on when I am at a particular time- and I have been something of a rebel among the Time Lords. Besides, look at it this way, I've managed to irritate the Kregar to the point that they're calling me names. I take that as a good sign."

Jason shook his head. This woman was confusing the hell out of him. He wasn't used to this concept of different aspects of her personality being in control at different times depending on when she was exploring in the time stream. Ms. Stone had tried to explain to him that although her body continues through space, Ms. Hayes' mind can and does jump back and forth to different periods in her life. So far, the oldest version of her mind they'd encountered was around twelve hundred years old. "If you say so, Ms. Hayes, I'm just not really happy with this whole concept of them targeting Kim or Billy."

The woman gently reached out and touched his face, "You want them to bring the battle to you, huh?" The light in her pale blue eyes was soft and understanding, and Jason wondered how a woman who appeared so young could project such a mothering aura. She smiled and said, "There are many kinds of combat, Jason. Some of them are on the physical plane," she indicated him and Tommy, "others on a mental field of battle," she nodded to Billy. Walking around him, she put a hand out on Kimberly's shoulder, "Still others are fought in a spiritual realm. A good leader learns to let his people do what they're good at."

"More battlefield wisdom from your father?" Ms. Stone asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled, "It's from Dad, but this was more of boardroom wisdom. Although, it does apply to the battlefield as well." Turning back to Jason she continued, "But you are more worried about your ability to protect them."

"Jason's not the only one," Tommy told the woman.

She smiled over at the Green Ranger, "I know, Thomas, but, you're a little more of a loner than Jason. You tend to let people see if they can find their own way before trying to fix a problem. He's got a strong caretaker instinct that sometimes gets in his way, and won't let him do that."

"Hey! I'm still here!" Jason protested.

"I know you are, dear," Ms. Hayes smiled over at him. "I'm just being honest, and sometimes it's a good thing to hear how people really see you." Clapping her hands and sitting down in the chair, she seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Jason used the quiet lull in the conversation to reacquaint himself with the Power Chamber. He'd actually been avoiding this particular room since the Command Center had been rebuilt. It brought back too many memories of their mentor Zordon, and reminded him how he missed the Eltarian.

"So what should Kimberly do when the lady comes back?" Tommy asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled and mumbled under her breath, "That was no lady. That was a Kregar Imperial Officer." She looked up at them, and the seriousness in her eyes frightened Jason, "My first instinct is to tell you to kill her." Shaking her head and cutting off any protest, she continued, "But as Billy told Temblor; You're Power Rangers, and Power Rangers don't kill."

"That situation changed as of their last attack," Billy reminded her- reminded them all of what they'd been forced to do to save Angel Grove in the Kregar last attack. That was something Jason was still getting used to, the idea that he'd actually taken human life in that fight. It was one thing to kill one of Rita and Zedd's monsters, but these were real people, not some plant brought to life to make Kim jealous.

Ms. Hayes nodded her head and said, "I know Billy. But killing in battle is completely different from planning and executing a murder in a non-combat situation."

"It's all well and good that Power Rangers don't kill, but this is the kind of opponent who that if you don't kill them, they just come back stronger," Ms. Stone interjected. She really had a hate on for the Kregar.

Jason turned to face the tall woman. Today she'd returned to her usual jeans and blouse, her hair once again pulled back into a ponytail. "Still, I don't want to kill somebody if I don't have to."

Ms. Stone leaned back against the console, "What if I told you that in the next fight, they are most probably going to concentrate their attacks on Kimberly and Billy? Oh, they'll send enough after you guys to keep you busy, but they're going to do their best to draw those two out and then hit them with overwhelming force."

"But why?" Jason could hear the worry in Tommy's voice. "Why take out them?"

"Because they're the lynchpin for taking this world," she said as she looked around at all of them, "You six are this world's symbols. Michael operates on level of symbols, being one himself. That's why he couldn't take my world, because our symbols were too strong. That's why he'll go after Kim and Billy. It would cripple this team, and destroy its value as symbols."

Jason heard something in Billy's voice that worried him, "Because we're the weak links?" He looked around and said what Jase knew was on everybody's mind, "Because our fighting skills aren't up to par with the others."

"Sorry, you don't get to go there, Bro." Kyle interjected. "If anybody is the weak link in fighting it's me. You and Kim both have a couple years experience on me."

"Yes and no, Billy," Ms. Stone said quietly. "You are not the same kind of warriors that Jase and the others are. You fight in an arena that the Kregar don't and can't understand. You are the spirit that binds them together, and mind that directs them." She smiled sadly and continued, "Should the Kregar succeed in getting a toehold on this world, then, it's your knowledge, and skill that could equip an army capable of driving them back. Before you became a Ranger, your scientific knowledge alone was greater than the combined brainpower of every other scientist on the planet. Your access to Eltarian technology has increased that gap geometrically. If you don't believe me, look at this base." She gestured around the Power Chamber and smiled, this time there was no sadness in it, but a fierce pride in the accomplishments of someone about whom she cared. "All this technology comes from various Billy's throughout the multi-verse. Some of them were a Power Rangers who died; others were simply quiet heroes, working on the side until the Kregar came. This is YOUR technology Billy, and that scares Kregar more than a hundred thousand
Power Rangers."

Jason watched as his lover turned a deep crimson. He felt a deep sense of pride for Bill himself, so he finally told him, "You told us yourself yourself, Bill, the technology here just makes sense. Now you know why."

"But what about me?" Kimberly asked. "I'm no brain. I'm just a mall rat that happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right group of friends.

"Ever wonder why these particular friends, Kimberly?" Ms. Hayes asked.

Jason watched Kim shrug. He could see the petit brunette's mind turning over the question carefully before she answered, "No, not really. We've all been together since grade school." Looking over at Tommy she smiled, "Well most of us at least. We just seemed to click."

Ms. Hayes stepped back and smiled, "Really? How many other groups of friends do you know that are so well rounded. You had the Jock, the Brain, the Cheerleader, the Happy-Go-Lucky Dancer, and the Serious Student. You didn't have a whole lot in common there." She chuckled, and continued, "I know how cruel kids can be. How many of your cheerleading friends in middle school would have given Billy the time of day?"

Jason thought about what she was saying. Their friendships had always just seemed right, even if their being together didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. He realized that the social forces at school should have pulled them all apart into separate groups by the time they'd finished middle school. He should have been hangin' with jocks, maybe with Kim on his arm because she was after all a cheerleader. Billy should have been with nerds, never to cross his path except to get beaten up- not a thought he liked to even consider- maybe with Trini as at least an acquaintance. Zack, with his effervescent personality would have fit with Kim and Jase's group well, but not Billy's or Trini's. However, for some reason they'd all stayed together in spite of everything. He knew that Kimberly had lost several of her friends in seventh grade over being friends with Billy- he just wasn't cool enough for them. He himself had caught grief over being friends with both Zack and Trini, but only once or twice. A few busted teeth later, anybody who had anything disparaging to say about their heritage learned not to say it around Jase. "What about Tommy, Adam and Kyle then?" he asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled and looked at Tommy and Adam, "Some friend come to you later in life than others." She gave Kyle a strange look, "Sometimes, events conspire to introduce a wild card into the mix as well- a random element that can bring about positive change in all that are involved." Jason wondered if she meant Kyle's tendencies to be willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. She continued, "What it comes down to is that the Master put forces into nature that are meant to inspire us. You are that force."

"What's that got to do with me?" Kimberly asked, and reminded Jason of the original question.

"It's simple Kimberly. You're the glue that holds everything together. You're their conscious, their anchor." Ms. Hayes smiled, "You're surrounded by enough testosterone to send Gloria Steinem into apoplectic seizures, and you sail through it without ever losing your sense of self. You are the sister, the mother," she turned and looked at Tommy, "the wife figure. You're their anchor to reality." She sighed and stood up. "Take you out, and they'll all go off balance," she smiled and looked over at Billy, "Even calm Billy would find himself drifting."

Jason watched Kimberly preen under the high and very justified praise. "But that still doesn't answer what to do about Ms. Michael's offer."

Ms. Hayes looked at him and asked, "Do you want to surrender?"

Jason snorted, "No ma'am."

Ms. Stone smiled and said as she strode over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Good, because you wouldn't want to pay the cost for that." She looked meaningfully over at Billy. Turning back, she smiled and continued, "Tell her no, and then kick her butt into next week sideways."

"You mean escalate the fight?" Tommy asked.

Ms. Stone smiled, "Trust me, you won't have to escalate the fight. As soon as Kimberly turns her down, the Kregar is going to do her level best to kill her. So, I suggest the rest of you be there when she tells her what you think of her offer."

"Don't worry, we will." There was hardness in Tommy's voice with which Jason found himself agreeing.

********

Jason sat and watched Bill read. He was reading for pleasure, no hilighter or notes, just reading, flipping the pages quickly and smiling every now and then. He was sitting at the Cranston kitchen table, his cup of coffee sitting half forgotten at his elbow. Once, he actually laughed out loud. Jase wondered what the book was; He might buy it. Jason put his hand on Billy's where it lay on the table next to his coffee, and then slid it up his bare arm to his elbow.

"Can I finish my chapter?" Billy asked, an undercurrent of amusement in his voice. The sound sent shivers down Jase's spine. He was worried about what Ms. Hayes had said. He found himself needing Billy, needing to touch him, to assure himself that the Blue Ranger was there. That he would always be there.

"I don't know. Can you?" Jason said, grinning. Jason couldn't believe how fast things had changed between the two since he allowed himself to admit what he felt for Billy.

"Is that a challenge?" Billy asked with a smile. Jason knew the blond could focus his mind on carrying out half a dozen different things, and never miss a beat. But, what Jase had in mind was just a little out of Billy's realm of experience. Looking around he wondered if there was any chocolate sauce in the house. "You'd lose," Billy said, not looking away from the page, and not expecting what Jason had in mind.

"Really? How many pages?" He reached down and flipped through the book. "Six. Hmmm..." Billy could polish off six pages in less than three minutes, but right now three minutes seemed like a lifetime.

"I have excellent powers of concentration," Billy said, a smile tugging his lips.

"Well, that's true," Jason conceded. "Whatever you focus on is definitely focused on. Might be fun to try and distract you, though."

Billy turned the page and said, calmly, "It might, if futile."

"Cranston," Jason said in frustration, "you drive me insane."

"I don't believe that's a drive," Billy said. "I think it's a putt-"

"Stop with the damned book already," Jason said. "You know we have to face that Kregar commander tomorrow. It may be a long time before we get any time alone. You're dad's gone, my parent's don't expect me home for several hours and you'll have plenty of time later to read this thing-" he picked it up stuck his finger in it to hold Billy's place. "-Hogfather? What the hell?"

"Terry Pratchett," said Billy. "Social commentary disguised as extremely funny fantasy. Brilliant. My favorite fiction writer... give me that." He took it back and slid the bookmark that had been on the table into it and put it carefully down. "It's best not to put any serious strains on your mental faculties in situations like this, I believe." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at Jason. The look in those eyes, the way Billy's hair caught the afternoon sunlight, the way his pulse gently throbbed at the little dip below his Adam's apple, conspired to send a hard lump into Jason's throat.

"What," Billy asked, "did you have in mind to do for the afternoon?"

Jason leaned over and, putting his hand on the chair back to take his weight, and kissed Billy. Billy eased up out of the chair, moving sideways to stand between this Jason's legs, one of his hands in the short black hair and the other reaching around him to pull him close. Jason felt his heart race as he detected the slight taste of coffee in Billy's mouth. Jason decided that he could learn to love that taste. Jason's hands slid under Billy's polo shirt, then tugged it over the blond head to drop it on the floor. A few minutes later Billy was stepped back, pulling on Jason's hand and saying, "Bedroom."

"Bedroom, yes," Jason replied feeling his heart pound through out his body. He let Billy lead him from the kitchen, kissing him again.

An hour later, the bedroom was quiet. If Jason survived being a Ranger, lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget what it felt like- so beautiful, so... so right. Blankets around them, Billy's head on his chest, resting on his heart, in his heart. Jason's arms around him, Billy's around Jason, Billy sleeping in safety, in love. It was at that moment Jason felt his life, his heart finally complete.

-------------