note for PR fans: If you get deja vu while reading the first part of this story, don't worry. I share a little bit of my premise with Bryan Rowe's "Consequences", which was written about the same time (after the first airing of the episode "Alarmed and Dangerous") but I did not see until after I'd written most of the first part of this story.

I felt Adam before I heard him.

It's not exactly something I notice everyday. You learn to tune out as much as you can, just for the sake of your sanity. It's something you learn fast as a Tomorrow Person, just as you have to pick up all your skills fast as a Ranger. Normally, I tune such things out, shield as I've been taught to do. Still, some stuff leaks through.

One of the most unusual things I've found is that I can sense the other Rangers. Nobody else I know can do it, but I can for some reason. My friend, Adam Newman, thinks it's because I still carry residue from my years of being a Ranger. It's distracting sometimes, but in most cases I can tune it out like everything else.

But not today. Adam's presence came upon me, well, like a rain of something. He wasn't happy. I try to avoid any of my former or current teammates when they're feeling strongly. It's one of the reasons that I don't go to the Juice Bar much anymore. Too much emotion tied to omnipresent signatures. One or the other I can handle, but not both. It made the peacefulness of that part of Angel Grove park so much less peaceful.

Adam appeared by my side. He was wearing green, as always. One of the things that I'm grateful for now is that I don't have this compulsion to wear blue anymore. Mom's glad that I'm finally wearing my red outfits again after a year. Adam's still stuck wearing green. I wonder what his mom feels about all those unused black clothes.

"What's up?" I asked. I didn't want to appear rude, but his emotions were battering over me. It was kind of overwhelming.

"Justin," Adam replied.

"Justin?" I asked. As far as I knew, my replacement on the team was doing well for his age. I'd talked to him about it, and he seemed to be fitting in. "Is he okay?"

"Sort of," Adam said. "He's physically fine, if that's what you mean. It's his behavior that's not good. He broke the rules."

My jaw must have dropped. Certainly, we'd gotten away with minor infractions of the rules over the years. Justin must have done something major. "What happened? What'd he break?"

Adam smiled a little, but it was a sad smile, a wry one. "He teleported in public."

I whistled. "Whoa. Is he still-"

"With the team? That's what Dimitria's deciding right now. You know, I've never seen her upset before."

Of course, I've never seen her, period, but I don't think Adam remembered that. I didn't mind it, because he was acting like we were close, in the days where I was still a Ranger and not picking up every emotional signature in Angel Grove. "So, you guys are looking for a new blue Ranger?" I asked.

"Tommy thought it was best, just in case," Adam said. "Everyone's looking for you, but nobody ever sees you. I was just about to stop at your place, but I caught up with you. Where have you been?"

"Mostly, it's my Karate school keeping me busy. The last few days I've been getting ready. One of my email penpals is coming down to visit. She lives in Northern California, up near Watsonville."

Adam's expression brightened visibly at this, and I could tell he was happy for me. "That's great! Where is she staying? At your place?"

"No," I said, trying to picture Iz staying at the house. "We discussed it, but there's really no room. She's staying at the Best Western downtown."

"I can't wait to meet her," Adam said. "Do you know what she looks like?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. I realize that you don't with internet penpals, but this one I met when I went up there."

"Oh?" Adam asked. I smiled, knowing Adam's curiosity had been piqued. We'd shared our dating joys and woes when we were in Stone Canyon and when we were Rangers, and even with the distance caused by me not being a Ranger anymore, it was natural for Adam to want to know about my dates.

"Yeah. I ran into Jade, and she asked me if I wanted to play frisbee on the beach. She took me up to this great beach up near Watsonville. This girl I met was also on the beach, we chatted, exchanged addresses, and presto, I had a penpal. Now she's coming down to visit me."

Adam whistled. "Neat. Say, you haven't seen Jade or the others today?"

I shook my head. "No, I saw Jade day before yesterday. Why?"

"We're looking for them, too. Somebody remembered that one of them had mentioned something about government agents, and Kat said that there were a bunch of weird people running around Angel Grove High today. She's worried that it might be somebody thinking that Justin's one of them. We could use their advice on the matter. It's not like Divatox has noticed them, or at least if she has she hasn't gone after them. We'd notice."

"Yeah, I suppose that if the scrambler fouled up, she might," I said. Of course, I knew that we'd gone undetected anyway. I, more than anyone else, would have noticed if I'd gotten bad guys on my trail again. "I'll keep my eye out."

"Thanks," he said, and then jogged off.

I breathed a sigh of relief at his departure. I had to talk to the other Adam about strengthening my shields. I had a feeling that I would be spending a lot of time in the company of my former teammates. Especially since they didn't know about my recent change.

The errand wasn't supposed to take long. I decided to make it longer by walking in some of the more deserted areas of the park. I didn't need to run into another Ranger. I needed time to think. To think about being a Ranger, and being a Tomorrow Person, and whether the two were mutually exclusive. Part of me, I knew, wanted to go back, the part that rebelled against the peaceful existence of the Tomorrow People. The part that had enjoyed being a Ranger. Other parts of me knew better, knew that I'd never be a Ranger again. Even if my back had been completely fixed, I still couldn't kill. A part of me wondered if monsters fell under the no-kill definition. Probably they did.

My karate hadn't suffered when I'd changed. I guess it was because that part of me that forbade me to kill didn't recognize karate practice and karate tournaments as something to worry about. I don't know if I could even combat a monster with my martial arts skills. I don't think I could shoot one.

Why was I even considering this? Jason still lived in Angel Grove. He must have recovered from the golden powers. I remember that he had. Never mind that this would be the second time he was recalled to duty. I knew that he would be glad to be a Ranger again. He wouldn't endanger the team by being unable to kill. That was it. I'd tell Adam and the others to let him do it. I could never do it again.

And, of course, that's when I picked up another Ranger signature. If Adam's emotions had been stormy, these emotions were like a hurricane. I couldn't tell for sure who it was, but I suspected it was Justin. For one, it felt right for him, and secondly, I couldn't imagine anyone else who would be panicking quite so badly. I turned around, trying to locate him. As I swung back to my original position, I felt something that was not a branch from the nearby bush grab a hold of my shirt.

Sure enough, it was Justin. He looked like he'd been running through a lot of bushes. There were leaves in his hair and scratches on his arms. "Justin, what's wrong?"

He shushed me. "Come back here," he whispered. I followed him through the bushes to an area just large enough for the two of us.

"What's wrong, Justin?" I asked. Not that I really needed to ask. Between Justin's strong fear and Adam's information, I could probably guess. Justin had seen the people that Kat had mentioned and went running.

"They're after me! These weird people showed up at school, and I heard them talking to Ms. Appleby, asking about me. I ran straight here. I'm too scared to go to anybody."

"Running into me was blind luck, then," I replied. "Okay, Justin. First thing you've got to do is calm down. We're sitting in the middle of some bushes, it's not like we're going to be discovered right this minute."

"Okay," Justin said doubtfully. Still, his breathing slowed and his emotions calmed down. Less of a headache for me.

When he'd calmed down sufficiently, I felt more prepared to ask him about the incident that Adam had mentioned. "Justin, what exactly did happen? I ran into Adam, he didn't sound too happy, but he didn't exactly say what was going on."

Justin sniffled but then restrained himself. "It wasn't my fault, Rocky! I was being cornered by these bullies at school, and I just wanted to be out of there. I hit the teleport button by accident. I didn't mean to do it. Nobody at school said anything. I mean, the rest of the team was really mad at me, but it seemed like the two bullies hadn't said anything, so I figured I was safe. That's when the weird people showed up."

I laid my hand upon his shoulder. Probably dumb idea, but sometimes touching helped. "Well, I can see why everybody's mad. You did a pretty bad thing, Justin. Really stupid, too. But I don't think anybody's going to let those people at you. Besides, we should have some help in the matter."

"Help?" Justin asked, sounding distinctly confused.

"Yeah. Help. Adam thinks, and I think, that these people are there because they think that you can teleport."

"But I *can* teleport," Justin said.

"Not naturally," I replied. "The Power Rangers ran into this bunch of people that could teleport naturally. This was just before your time. Anyway, they mentioned that when some of them started teleporting, the government came after them and tried to capture them. I think that's what's going on. These people think you're one of them."

Justin glanced at me, and then glanced back down at the ground. "So that's why they're after me. Doesn't make things any better. I almost wish I could tell them that I'm a Power Ranger, but I think that would be even worse."

"Yeah, and I think everyone would be even madder," I replied.

"Besides, I promised not to tell. I hold by my promises, Rocky. I'm not going to deliberately break them."

"I know, Justin," I said, quite impressed by his maturity. He was serious. I could tell from what he'd told me and how he'd been feeling that his accident was just that, an accident.

"But they're going to make me leave the team anyway," Justin said, almost to himself. He'd kind of forgotten about me. He examined his communicator and reached into his pocket. Then he stopped. "How's your back, Rocky?"

"Huh? I asked. I wished at that moment that I could read his mind, but I was not that good at mind-reading. I couldn't do it naturally like Jade could. "It's about as healed as it's going to get."

He turned his wrist suddenly, in a move that made my stomach clench with familiarity. Part of his morphing equipment materialized on his wrist. He reached inside his pants pocket with his other hand and came up with what had to be the other part of it. "I want the chance to choose my own successor, Rocky. I don't want the team to replace me without me knowing that my replacement is a good choice. You trusted me with your powers. Now I'm giving them back to you."

I watched, stunned, as he unstrapped the morpher from his wrist and handed it to me. He then handed me the other piece, and finally, his communicator. I strapped the communicator on first. I looked at the two pieces of the morpher, hesitant about putting the strapped portion on. Suddenly, I was scared. Could I really be a Ranger now?

The communicator beeped.

Justin jumped slightly. His eyes settled on the communicator, which was flashing. I looked at him. "It's okay, Justin," I said reassuringly before activating it. "This is Rocky."

For a moment, I hoped that the communicator had malfunctioned. That they couldn't hear me. Of course, probably the only reason I didn't get an immediate reply is that the person on the other end was so startled to hear my voice.

"Rocky? What are you doing with Justin's communicator?" Tommy's voice sounded small over the communicator, but it broadcast his surprise as much as the communicator brought his voice.

"Yeah, It's me, Tommy. Justin just handed the Blue Turbo powers over to me a minute ago."

"You're sure you can handle this?" Tommy asked. "I mean, your back...."

"It's healed sufficiently, Tommy. What's the emergency?"

"Oh, yeah, Divatox has sent another detonator and monster. Join us here as soon as you can, buddy."

"I will. Rocky out."

Justin sat there for a moment. "I guess you've got to go," he said finally. "Do well for me, Rocky."

"I will," I said, getting up. Justin stopped me, and I tried to contain his feelings of hysterical merriment. "What?"

"You're planning to morph first, right?"

I looked at the two parts of the morpher. "Uh, would be a good idea. How do I morph?"

Justin was trying very hard not to laugh. I could tell that he also felt kind of resentful and a little sad, but at the moment, he was finding my forgetfulness kind of funny. "First you put this on," he said, taking the wristband and strapping it around my wrist. He then handed me the other portion of the morpher. "Then this opens, like this. You put your arm up like this, and move your arm this way and then this way, and then the key goes into the keyhole. Then you turn the key, and bring your arms down while saying 'Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!' Oh, and you have to say 'Shift into Turbo' first."

"Okay," I said, hoping that I had gotten everything straight. I did as he told me.

The power streamed into me as I found myself wearing my uniform. My *new* uniform, as I'd never had Turbo powers before. Justin's face lit up. "Yeah! You made it. Go get that monster for me."

I nodded, unable to say anything. I activated the teleport function, not surprised to find myself in the middle of a battle. "Hey, buddy! Glad you could join us!"

"No problem," I said, immediately fending off a Piranhatron. Whatever anti-violence and anti-killing instincts I had weren't triggering as I fought the Piranhatrons. Maybe the suit prevented them. Anyway, I was grateful for that small thing. Last thing I needed was to put anybody in danger because of my new abilities.

Soon, all the Piranhatrons were gone, and there was only the monster. He looked like a reject from an open-air seafood market. A fish of some kind, and ugly to boot. The others summoned their weapons, and I suddenly knew how to do the same.

We all alternately shot and tackled the monster. Tommy yelled at Adam to get the detonator. He should have sent me, as my aim was awful. I must have been out of practice. Still didn't make a whole lot of difference, though, as the monster somehow absorbed two torpedo-things and grew to enormous size.

Tommy didn't hesitate, and we were soon completing the megazord. The monster pushed the megazord around a few times, until Tommy seemed to lose patience and summoned the Turbo Megazord Saber. Then we did a spin-out and destroyed the monster.

Everybody else was whooping and dancing around, but I was trying very hard not to get sick to my stomach. Either the no-killing inhibition was kicking in, or the inertia dampeners weren't working too well.

Finally, Tommy noticed. "Are you okay, man?" he said, bending over me. I realized at that moment that I'd effectively blocked out everybody's emotions. Now I was getting everybody's concern.

"I think I'll be," I managed to gasp out.

Tommy slid his arm under my shoulders. "Let's get you to the Power Chamber." I didn't manage to hear much else. I'd mercifully blacked out.

* * *

"Hey, Tommy! I think the blue boy is now awake and I could use some help if you know what I mean."

I opened my eyes to Alpha leaning over me. Tommy was by my side. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," I said. "But remind me never to have that minestrone soup again."

Tommy smiled, and I could feel the tension seeping out. "You blacked out after the spin-out. We thought it was your back, but from what we can tell it's some sort of chemical imbalance. We think we've fixed it, though. What medications are you on from your surgery?"

"One," I replied. "Although I think the one I'm still taking has lightheadedness as a side effect."

I was lying, but I really didn't want to get into a discussion about what had happened to me. Tommy frowned, but I think he was so relieved to know that I was all right and back that he wasn't inquiring too deeply.

"Okay, buddy, but if this gets worse, let me know," Tommy replied, assisting me off the diagnostic bed.

"I will," I said, grateful for the hand up. "Right now, however, I'm hungry."

Tommy laughed. "Now I know you're all right," he said. "Let's go to the Juice bar."

* * *

The gang had all gathered at the juice bar. I encountered a few knowing expressions when I ordered a large banana split. At least they always had bananas, since Jerome Stone, the new owner, had acquired a pair of monkeys. Kat spoke up as I lifted a particularly loaded spoonful into my mouth. "Are you sure you're all right, Rocky?"

"Yeah, Rock, we were pretty worried about you," Adam added.

I held up my hands. I didn't mind the attention, but I could feel everyone being so worried about me. "I don't know what happened, but I'm okay now."

"You're sure?" Kat asked, laying a hand upon my arm.

I decided to change the topic. "I'm sure. I'm more worried about Justin. He was so scared when I left him...."

"Where is he?" Tommy asked.

I wasn't oblivious to his worry, unfortunately for me. Nor was I oblivious to everyone else's worry. "He was imitating a bush when I left him."

"We've got to get him somewhere safe. I know that we agreed that he should leave the team, but right now the best place for him is at the Power Chamber with Dimitria and Alpha."

"I think that the way he was feeling, that would be adding insult to injury," I said, feeling protective of Justin. "I was thinking of getting in touch with the Tomorrow People. I have Jade's phone number at home. Since we need to talk to them anyway, why don't we ask them if they'll put Justin somewhere safe for a while?"

"That's a good idea," Tommy replied. "I can take you home, if you want."

"Thanks, but I really need to run a few more errands before I even show my face at my house," I said. "I think Justin's safe for the moment, but I'll hurry just in case."

* * *

Lisa? I asked mentally, hoping that I wasn't yelling too loudly.

Iz has left, Rocky. I just said goodbye to her a few minutes ago. I think you have an hour or two left, my "partner-in-crime" replied.

You want to give me a hand? If she's cleared Watsonville, then I still have too much to do, I said.

Sure. Where should I meet you? Lisa asked.

I looked around. I was near where Justin was supposedly hiding. The area seemed deserted. I think it's safe to teleport in beside me, I replied.

I felt Lisa teleport in beside me. I can't explain it exactly, but I guess that a teleport gives off a signal that a telepath can unconsciously recognize. "Thank goodness you're here," I said.

"What can I help with? I don't know the area, but I can shop," Lisa said.

I shuffled uncomfortably. Lisa looked up. "Somehow, I don't like where this is going."

"It's nothing bad, it's just that this kid is in danger because the government thinks he can teleport, and I want him safe. He's a friend of mine."

"You couldn't teleport him yourself?" Lisa asked doubtfully.

"It's like you and Iz," I said. "I don't want him to know what I am."

Lisa nodded. "I can understand that. So, where am I supposed to put this kid?"

"I want you to take him to the spaceship," I said, hoping she hadn't had any more disagreements with Adam. "Take him to Adam and have him tell Adam what's going on. And then, yes, I could use some help of the usual kind."

Lisa looked defeated. "I guess I can do that," she said. "You know, though, how much I don't like being there."

"I know, but..."

"Yeah, I know, you don't want the kid to find out. That's fair."

"Yeah," I said, and started walking towards the bushes. We soon made it, and I identified Justin's emotional signature easily. "Come on," I said, wading into the bushes.

Lisa followed me. After a moment, I could see Justin curled up where I had left him. "Rocky?"

"It's okay," I said. "This is Lisa. She's one of the people I mentioned, and she's going to take you someplace safe."

"Hi, Justin," Lisa said warmly.

"Can I come home again?" Justin asked. I remembered suddenly that he'd spent a lot of time at the shelter. Maybe taking him away wasn't such a good idea. On the other hand, I needed him to be safe. I ruffled his hair.

"I don't think you need to worry, Justin," I said. "It'll only be a couple of days, and it'll give us the time to take care of things."

"If you say so," Justin said doubtfully.

"Come on, Justin," Lisa said, taking his hand. The two disappeared.

I sat down and waited for Lisa to come back. I hoped it wouldn't be long, as I still had to prepare for Iz's arrival and getting turned back into a Ranger had put a bit of a dent into my time.

Lisa popped back in beside me, dropping into a sitting position when she saw that I was sitting down. "You would have thought that kid never saw a piece of alien technology before," she said, smiling.

"It's a bit different than the Power Chamber," I replied absently. "The things there look alien, but not *that* alien."

"He's been there before?" Lisa asked.

I looked up at her. "He's my replacement, Lisa. When I whacked my back out a couple of months ago, I gave my powers to him. Actually, I told him where to go, and *he* managed to persuade them to give the powers to him. And after that, I didn't want my powers back."

"So, he's a Power Ranger," Lisa said. "Why didn't he just go to where he was safe?"

I shrugged. "He could have, but I volunteered the Ship instead. The same stunt that has everyone after him also got him removed from the Rangers. I figured that he might be more comfortable someplace else. Besides, who's going to look for him in a spaceship under the beach of a deserted island in the south Pacific?"

"Yeah, I can see what you mean," Lisa replied. "In that kind of situation, *I* wouldn't want to go there, either."

"And it makes the team happy. He's safe, and our enemies can't get to him, either. Nobody can really scan the interior of the Ship, much less teleport him out of there."

"Yeah, and Adam will keep him out of trouble," Lisa said. "So, what do you have to do now?"

"Um," I said, trying to remember the shopping list after all the excitement. "I have to get her a gift, and a card, and go to the florist's, and then run and get picnic supplies."

"Do you have a car?" Lisa asked.

I smiled, and then felt my cheeks go pink. "Yeah, but mom borrowed it. I was planning to teleport all over the place, but not now."

"You have an urge to walk?" Lisa asked.

"Actually, no," I replied. "But I'll have to. I took Justin's place, and that means I get tracked, and I don't want to explain why in the world I'm teleporting."

Lisa got up. "Wait a minute, you're telling me that you're a Power Ranger?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "Probably only temporarily though. I'd like to stay on, but I don't know if I can."

She sat back down, heavily. I could feel her horror, even before I picked it up in her expression. "Don't Power Rangers have to kill? How are you going to get away with that?"

"Yes," I said, trying to explain it to her. It wasn't easy. "We do tend to slice up monsters. But, Lisa, we battled a monster today and I'm still here. I still have my powers."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be talking to you if you didn't I suppose," Lisa said. "Nothing happened? At all?"

"I got sick to my stomach and passed out after we defeated the monster, but that was it," I said, trying to sound indifferent. "I still don't feel that great."

"Maybe it was a clue that you're not cut out for that anymore," Lisa replied. "I don't buy into everything that Adam says, but I do believe that he's right on the no-killing thing. You could probably even ask Megabyte about it."

I shrugged. "Maybe you're right," I replied tiredly. "I just want to try it again, try to be what I was."

"Even if it kills you?" Lisa asked softly.

"You're beginning to sound like Adam," I said.

She smiled wryly. "Maybe that's a compliment."

* * *

"You think we have everything?" Lisa asked. She held up a grocery bag full of paper plates and other picnic supplied. I held a dozen roses in one hand and a book in a bag in the other, along with a card.

"Yeah, I think we're done," I said, laughing and hefting one of the bags to my other hand so that I could get the grocery bag. "Thanks, Lisa. For the grocery shopping, I mean. I'll take it from here. Can't have mom seeing you and blabbing."

Lisa laughed. "Good idea. Let me know how it goes. And stay out of trouble, okay?"

"I will," I said, hefting the grocery bag. She teleported out. I shifted the bags, sighed, and went to catch the bus.

* * *

Rocky? Adam said. His mental voice sounded a touch annoyed, but mostly it held Adam's innate gentleness. No matter how annoyed he was at me, he wasn't going to yell if he had any reason not to. It wasn't Adam's way.

Just a moment, Adam, I'm busy and Iz is due at any moment now, I said in a hurry.

We need to talk.

I sighed. I liked Adam, but sometimes he was just too talky. Still, I had a feeling that he would insist on distracting me until I talked to him. If you don't mind setting out the food, come join me and we'll talk.

Sounds good to me, Adam replied. He appeared next to me as I browned some meat. "Justin tells me you replaced him as a Ranger," he said, almost conversationally.

"I did it because I couldn't really refuse," I replied. "Then an emergency came up. Besides, I'm the only one who can do it until Jason comes back next month."

Adam just studied me for a few minutes. Maybe he knew I was lying. "Rocky, this may not have sunk home yet because of your background, but we can't kill. Period. That's it. If you tried to go into battle again, you'd probably destroy yourself."

"But I *did* go into battle, Adam," I replied, handing him a bowl of green beans. "And I'm still here."

"Did you kill?" Adam asked.

"No, I tried shooting it, but I kept missing. And in the megazord, I didn't have much to do besides activating it. Tommy took care of the monster, mostly. All I did was get sick and pass out."

"That's probably what saved you," he said, after taking the dish to the table. "The not killing, I mean. But it's not going to last forever. Someday you're going to find a situation where you have to kill, and find you can't."

I sighed. "I know that, Adam, but I just want to be a Ranger for a short time longer. Not anything against you or anyone else, but I was a Ranger before I became one of us. Give me that, okay?"

"Then do something for me. Tell the Rangers what you are."

"I can't," I said.

A frown creased Adam's face. "Why not?" he asked.

I sighed again. "You mentioned before about some things not sinking in. Well, Adam, this is a case of that. The Power Rangers and the Tomorrow People may get along fine because we're all good guys, but I have to say that we're not exactly enchanted with each other. Some of the Rangers, like Jason and Tommy, are really scared that you- we- are the future of humankind. They may love peace greatly, but they're scared that someday something's going to come around and nobody's going to be able to fight."

"Maybe by the time we're dominant, we won't need to," Adam offered. He sounded vaguely offended.

"I know that, you know that, but *they* don't know that. And, as I said, it scares them. It used to scare me. It's bad enough that I barely see any of the current or past Rangers as it is. I don't want them to withdraw from me because I'm a Tomorrow Person. And there's another reason."

"What's that?" Adam asked, genuinely curious.

"They think we're helpless," I replied. I hadn't really thought to put it into words, but then I never thought I'd see this kind of situation. "They know we can teleport, but except maybe for Justin, they don't think we can defend ourselves and get away. Maybe some of us can't, but some of us can. And I don't want them to go out of their ways to protect me or cushion me. I know I could still defend myself, and I think they could realize that, but they'd still want to protect me."

"And you don't want to be protected."

"No," I said. I dumped the meat into the taco mix. Iz loved tacos. "Here, we'd better get all of this to the table. Everybody's due in any minute now and I want to be ready."

Adam picked up another bowl and carried it out. "Just don't let things go too far, Rocky."

"I won't."

We worked for a few more minutes, and then the doorbell rang. "I'll get that," I said. I smiled. "Thanks, Adam."

"You're welcome," he said and teleported out.

I went to the door very aware that I was still wearing an apron. When I opened the door, Iz was waiting for me, suitcases in hand. I found myself enveloped in a very tight hug. "Hi, Iz," I said.

* * *

Momma sat Iz down in the living room while I and one of my sisters washed the dishes. I'm sure mom was interrogating Iz. I'd warned her to expect it, and she looked serene as she waited. I almost lowered my shields to find out how she felt, but I decided against it.

After half an hour of washing dishes, I was finally able to get away to talk to Iz. I sat down on the couch and put my arm around her shoulders. She relaxed into my arms. "Did I tell you you look great?" she asked.

I shook my head, and then realized she couldn't see it. "No, but thanks."

She smiled, and relaxed more. I inspected my clothing. It didn't look so good to me, but then I'd resisted changing into anything with blue in it. My own little rebellion, I suppose. All my blue clothes looked so wonderful that I had to pass them up. I'd be wearing blue soon enough.

My communicator beeped, much to my annoyance. I don't know what I muttered to Iz, but she let me up and I headed towards the bathroom. "This is Rocky. What's up?"

"Rocky, I know that you're probably having a party there, but we need to discuss the problems we're having with those investigators. Are you really in the middle of something?" Tommy asked.

I groaned. "Yeah, but I'm sure Iz is tired after her trip. Let me make excuses and see if I can get her to the hotel.

"Did you call any of our friends?" Adam asked, coming in over the same band.

"I'll have to do that, too," Rocky said. "Let me take care of Iz, and then I'll make a call."

"We'll see you in a few, then, buddy. Tommy out."

I yawned. Back to the old routine. I mentally rehearsed what I was going to say to Iz. It was a good thing she hadn't heard most of my excuses yet. "Iz?"

"Yeah?" she asked, yawning.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Just a little bit sleepy. I'm glad to be here, but it was a long trip. Are you going to be overly offended if I go to the hotel?"

I sagged in relief. "Er, no. I'd be glad to take you to the hotel, if you want. I have to go to a friend's anyway. They need some help."

"I could doze off over there," Iz offered.

"You probably would," I replied. "But I think your bed would be more comfortable, and besides, I'm likely to be there for a while. I just didn't want you to think that I was kicking you out."

"No, I'm cool with that," Iz said, getting off the couch. "Your mom gave me a map and directions."

"Just watch out, or you'll go back with leftovers," I said, joking.

She grinned, crossed over to me, and gave me a quick hug around my shoulders. "Yeah. I'd better escape now. I'll see you tomorrow then."

I helped her out and watched her drive away. I turned back inside, making my way towards my room. Once inside, I opened my mind. Lisa? Adam?

Adam's sleeping, Lisa replied. Will I do?

You'll do, I said, quietly relieved that I didn't have to deal with Adam. Not only was it confusing to have both Adams in the same room, I didn't need him giving me mental lectures. Come here and I'll explain.

She did so, appearing by my side in about half a minute. "So, what's up?" she asked.

"We're trying to get the bad guys to lose interest in Justin. They just called me to discuss it, and they expect me there as soon as I send Iz back to the hotel and get ahold of one of the Tomorrow People."

"Where's Iz?" Lisa asked, glancing around nervously.

"At the hotel," I replied. "I got her out before I called you."

"That's a relief. What now?"

"We go and talk," I said, activating my communicator. Lisa stared at it. "This is Rocky."

"Rocky, are you ready?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah. I got one of the Tomorrow People. Could you teleport us, please?"

"Sure thing, man."

Lisa and I dissolved into streaks of light.

* * *

"Whoa!" Lisa exclaimed as she materialized. "What a ride!"

"Lisa, this is Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Katherine."

"There's Dimitria and Alpha, too, but neither of them are here are the moment," Tommy added. "Pleased to meet you. You're Lisa?"

"I'm Lisa," Lisa replied, sounding slightly breathless. "I see my reputation has preceeded me."

"She was the only one that was awake," I offered. "Everybody else is eight hours ahead of us, which puts them in the middle of our sleeping schedule. Besides, she was there when the stuff that we need to talk about happened."

"I'll try to help all I can," Lisa offered.

"Thanks, Lisa," Tommy said warmly. "Has Rocky told you what was going on?"

"Sort of. Justin teleported and the government thinks he's one of us, right?"

"Right. Is there any way that we could get them off of Justin's trail? How did you get away, anyway?"

"I don't really know of a way," Lisa said. "And the way I got away won't work this time."

"Why's that?" Kat asked.

Lisa smiled at her. "The only reason that we got away is that our opposition included a corrupt government agent, a bumbling scientist, and Megabyte's dad, who wasn't about to let the government know about his son. The agent's in prison, the scientist's been discredited, and Megabyte's dad would have said something if he'd be assigned to look for a teleporting kid. Besides, he can't do too much without looking suspicious."

"That's out," Tanya said softly.

"So, how do we clear Justin?" Tommy asked. "The only way I can think of is exposing him as a possible Ranger, and then having him discredited as one."

"Yeah, but while they're looking at Justin, they'll be investigating us," Adam replied. "And if we're not discreet enough, they'll notice us appearing and disappearing."

"And there's also other problems," I said, tugging on my sleeve.

"What?" Tommy asked.

I pulled my sleeve out a bit. "We're wearing our colors... we always wear our colors. In real life, it just means that we like to wear whatever color, but if they start looking at what we wear, they might get suspicious."

"That's a problem," Kat observed.

"I wish there was some way to prevent Justin from teleporting except for Ranger business," Tommy said. "But I don't know enough about the communicators and I'd hate to fry one by accident."

"I got the impression that it was an accident," Lisa said. She must have been talking to Justin.

"It could have been," Kat said softly. "But this isn't the first time he's teleported like that. Earlier, he teleported out of a tree. I thought he'd learned his lesson."

I stayed out of the discussion, but looked at my communicator. Fried... accident... I looked at the communicator again. "Hey, I think I have an idea," I said. The rest of the group looked at me, startled. "Why don't we fry his communicator?"

"That won't do us much good now," Tommy said to me. The others looked as if I'd lost my sanity. Not yet.

"Yeah, maybe now alone," I said, feeling the plan pop into place. "But what if Justin came to school with this piece of equipment that he'd found and told them about accidentally transporting himself miles away? And what if that piece of equipment had fried after he was transported, so that he had to find another way back to school?"

"So, he has no powers, he's just a kid who picked up something that looked like a piece of junk?" Tanya asked.

This is Justin, after all," Kat replied. "They'll think that since he's an orphan, he might just tend to pick up stuff."

"So," I said, fleshing out my idea even more. "Justin's in the park one day after school. He finds this neat bracelet or watch or whatever. He puts it on. He has no idea that it's anything but a weird bracelet or whatever, until it accidentally activates it. The trip causes the insides to melt. He comes back, discovers the problem, and shows anyone who asks the now worthless piece of junk. They find he's nothing but a kid, and leave him alone."

"Sounds good, but we might want to alter the appearance a little," Adam said. "Let's see if I can find a communicator to melt." "Lisa," Tommy asked. "Could you get Justin and bring him back? You should be able to teleport straight back in."

"Sure," Lisa replied, and popped out. I watched her go, vaguely conscious of Adam and Tanya discussing how to make one of the spare communicators look less like a communicator.

Tommy laid his hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I really didn't mean to interrupt anything, and figuring that I should have remembered the time difference...."

"It's okay, Tommy," I replied, trying not to wince at the waves of concern emanating from him. "Iz was tired anyway. She's going to be here for a few more days. Just as long as Divatox doesn't decide to attack during her visit. I don't want to scare her off."

"Yeah, I hope so too. Hey, when can we meet Iz? Adam was saying something about how you met. It sounds neat."

I smiled. "Thanks. Yeah, I was planning on her meeting everybody anyway. Just as long as I don't get sick or something."

"If you do, don't hesitate to get help, okay? That faint still has me worried."

Lisa appeared back in the Power Chamber with Justin. I could tell, even without looking at his posture, that he was a little apprehensive about being there. "Lisa said you found a way for me not to have to hide," he said, trying to look utterly calm and normal and failing miserably.

"Take a look at this," Adam said. He indicated the piece of metal in his hand. "I was able to find a flatter band that Billy wasn't using, and I removed everything above the grille. Just as long as they don't get a full look at a real working communicator, we'll be fine."

Tanya came up behind Adam, holding a soldering tool. "Maybe we should melt the grille a little," she offered. "I've already melted the inside."

"Yeah, there's no way they're going to be able to figure this out," Adam added. "We hope."

"That's all we can do," Tommy replied.

"So what do I need to do?" Justin asked.

Tommy filled him in on the plan. "Does that sound good?" he asked finally.

"It sounds great. Thanks, Tommy."

"It was Rocky's idea," Tommy replied, motioning over at me. Justin turned to look, and I could see the grateful look in his eyes.

"You're welcome," I said softly.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" I yelled as Iz and I came up behind the rest of the Rangers.

"Rocky!" Tanya replied as the group turned towards me. "Is this Iz?"

"This is Iz," I said as the group crowded around the two of us. "Iz, these are my friends. Adam, Katherine, Tanya, and Tommy."

"Great to meet all of you!" Iz squealed. "You must be some of the people Rocky's talked about."

"So, what are you up to?" Adam asked. "A big date?"

"I was going to show her around town for a bit, and then go have lunch in the park."

"Then, go see a movie," Iz added. "Return of the Jedi."

"That's neat," Tommy said. "Hey, how about having lunch sometime with the rest of us. We could have lunch on Saturday."

"Sounds good to me," Iz replied cheerfully.

"We'll see you there, then," Tommy replied. "We've got to get to the charity ice-skating competition at the auditorium."

"Have fun," I replied.

The group went off, turning the corner at fifth street. Iz and I continued on ahead, crossing the street. "Just tell them to not bring a big lunch for me," Iz said, sighing. "Mom will have fits, but she's not here."

"Speaking of lunch...."

Iz smiled. "Rocky, Mom would love you. Let's get to the park."

We walked towards the park, hand in hand. As we drew near, I could tell that a lot of people were at the park. I vaguely remembered the paper mentioning some sort of event. I decided to head towards a picnic area farther away from the event. The tables in the area had been destroyed in a monster attack some while ago, and had never been rebuilt. Instead, the concrete foundations had been left.

"How does this look?" I asked.

Iz was looking at the concrete. "What happened *here*?" she asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Power Rangers?" I asked. It was likely that she had. Lisa had when I had asked her about it.

"Yeah, they're some kind of superhero team that fights monsters in some town in Southern California. I remember them being in the news once or twice," she said. She then looked up. "I take it they meant here, in Angel Grove."

"Yes. They seem rather fond of the park, at least the last three or four sets of bad guys did. Eventually, the city got tired of replacing picnic tables. Angel Grove seems to be the only place affected, by the way. Stone Canyon, which is right next door to us, never gets hit. Nor does anything else for that matter."

"If monsters keep attacking, why does everyone still live here?" Iz asked.

I shrugged, not quite knowing the answer. "I dunno. Maybe because we've got a nice climate, or because people are drawn here the same way the bad guys are. We just keep going, somehow."

"So, do you think there's going to be a monster attack while I'm here?"

I shrugged again. "There could be. The bad guys seem to attack at random. They don't attack every day, otherwise Angel Grove really *would* be a ghost town, but we can never tell when they're going to attack next. If there is, there'll be sirens. Probably not today, though. We had a monster attack yesterday, and they rarely attack two days in a row."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, it sounds like your life is certainly more interesting than mine!"

"It's all part of life here," I said, suddenly aware of the communicator on my wrist.

We set the picnic basket down. I'd cooked enough for two and a half, knowing that I'd finish off the meal if she didn't. I knew that she liked food, and had a good appreciation for gourmet eating. She just had a very small stomach. Probably her small stomach was her only fault. While not supermodel-gorgeous, she looked wonderful. She wasn't very thin, even with her small appetite. I guess it's because she has several small meals a day, instead of the main three. I loved talking to her.

We didn't have that much in common, but under my encouragement she was considering taking karate. She was still trying to convince me to donate blood. I kept telling her that I hated needles. She kept replying that she did, too, but that didn't prevent her from donating.

It was going to be so good to talk to her face-to-face. We'd gotten a chance once, when Jade and I had discovered that spaceship, but we were too busy talking about Jesse to get into that kind of thing.

Rocky? You there?

Hi, Lisa, I replied. Any emergencies?

No, just wanted to know how Iz is.

She's fine. I just explained Angel Grove's resident problems to her. She seemed to take it very well.

Good. Do you like her?

Of course I like her, Lisa, she's a nice girl...

Good. She's still my friend. I don't want her feelings hurt.

If you're so worried, come on our next date and bring Adam. I'm sure he'd be flattered you asked.

Why don't I just come by now and flog you with this pillow? Lisa argued, although I heard a smile in her mental voice.

Probably wouldn't do your reputation much good, Adam said, surprising us both. How's Justin? Lisa told me something of what's going on.

I think he's fine, I replied. He got swept up the moment he got back to school. Kat's going to visit him later on this afternoon - she's the only one who won't arouse suspicions if she goes to visit.

That's good. Keep us up to date.

I will, Adam, I replied. I then realized that Iz was staring at me.

"Rocky, are you okay?" she asked. "You kind of zoned out on me."

"Sorry. My brain was elsewhere," I said, grateful that she wouldn't interpret it literally.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Iz asked. I think she was trying to be helpful. Well, I could tell her part of the truth.

"I was just thinking of how happy I am, and then I was thinking of ways to fix Lisa up."

"With who?" Iz asked, warming to the subject. I was right: some people were unadulterated matchmakers.

"There's this guy, Adam, a different one than you met today. Anyway, they're friends, but they don't hang around much together. Everybody can tell they love each other, but they don't seem to realize that."

"You want to come up with a way to get them dating?" Iz smiled mischievously. "No wonder Lisa's never had a date, if she's been carrying a flag for this guy!"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm not so good at this mushy stuff, but those two deserve to be together. Think you can help?"

"I can but try," Iz said, then looked thoughtful. "First of all, this is a long-distance relationship, right? Those are kinda hard. Do the two of them have internet access? That'll help. Where does this guy live, anyway?"

"London, England, but he came from Australia."

Iz whistled. "Talk about long-distance. How'd they meet?"

"I think it was at a beach on an island," I said. "They just bumped into each other practically."

"That's a nice, interesting place to meet," Iz replied. "Maybe I'll buy a few romance novels from the used bookstore. Somebody's got to- aaagh!"

Iz's plans, whatever they were, were cut off by the appearance of several Piranhatrons and something that resembled a mutated octopus. One of the Piranhatrons reached for Iz. "Oh, no you don't," I said, getting between it and her. "Iz, when I say run, run!"

She glanced and started backing away. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll keep them away from you while you get away. By that time, the Rangers will have shown up. Run!"

Iz ran. I hit one Piranhatron, knocking it off-balance, and foot-swept another that looked like it was going after Iz. I managed to activate my communicator as two Piranhatrons grabbed my arms. "Hey, Tommy, guys! I could use some help in the park! Oh, no you don't!"

I knocked both Piranhatrons to the ground. Two more rushed at me and I was soon embroiled once more in battle. The rest of the Rangers fizzed into existence. "Need some help, buddy?" Tommy asked as he and the others engaged the Piranhatrons and the monster.

"Thanks," I yelled. Finding myself with some free space, I finally managed to morph. "Shift into turbo! Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"

Meanwhile, the other Rangers had mostly gotten rid of the Piranhatrons, and so only one was left. Tommy and Katherine were fighting the monster, while Adam and Tanya went after the one remaining Piranhatron. The thing grabbed Tommy with one of its tentacles, raising it high in the air. Katherine screamed "Tommy!" At the same time, Adam and Tanya had finished up and were rushing the monster. I joined them.

The monster grabbed Tanya with one of its other tentacles and raised her up in the air, where she struggled. Another one snared Katherine from where she was firing at it, and the final one got Adam. Fortunately for me, there were only four tentacles. It couldn't grab me. The monster laughed and waved the other four Rangers around as if it were a carnival ride and they were on it. Finally, it brought Adam and Katherine down near its sides, hanging them upside down. "Want to try shooting, blue Ranger? You'll never hit me! And I know you won't kill me."

I groaned. Divatox must have been spying at some point when I was discussing my status. That meant that she knew that I couldn't kill. Of course, there was a slim possibility that I still could. After all, who knew the limits of our no-killing restriction. I shot at the monster, trying to aim straight in the middle of its body. Unfortunately, every time I did, my aim wavered, and I was in danger of hitting either Adam or Katherine. The monster seemed to enjoy this, bringing Adam and Katherine closer as my shots went wilder.

And then, suddenly, I got an idea. Sure, I couldn't shoot *at* the monster, with my body betraying me like that, but who said you always had to shoot it?

I aimed at the monster's feet, recalling a few cartoons and westerns I'd seen over the years. Sure enough, even though I wasn't hitting the monster, it started hopping around. I hoped to get the others loose as the monster concentrated on keeping its balance, and it worked. Tommy finally slipped out, or rather fell out, of the tentacle holding him. He gathered himself up and summoned his sword. I angled my shots away from him so that I wouldn't start shooting at his feet by accident. The monster, perhaps sensing Tommy behind it, turned around to get a grip on him.

It never had a chance, as he cut the thing in half. I turned around, being sickened by its destruction and wondering why I was. Maybe because it was living, in a way. It certainly wasn't because of the blood and gore. There wasn't any. The monster simply exploded, tossing the remaining Rangers into the sky.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked as he kneeled beside me.

"No," I managed to say. I was sore and would probably be a bit stiff, but those were minor. I wondered how I was going to tell everyone about my change. It was getting rather obvious that I would have to, and then it would be time to pass the Power on. Again.

"Come on, buddy, let's get you to the Power Chamber. Maybe we didn't get rid of those imbalances that were causing problems," Tommy said.

I straightened up. "I don't think it's anything that can be fixed, Tommy, but thanks."

"At least let us look at you," Tommy said in his most soothing, dealing-with-the-lunatic tone of voice. I sighed.

* * *

"Come on, buddy," Tommy said as he guided me towards the diagnostic bed. I shook off his guiding hands, but Adam was by me instantly, and gently guided me to the bed.

"It's okay Adam, I know what's wrong," I said, sitting down on the bed. It seemed to mollify my teammates somewhat.

"Then what is wrong?" Tommy asked. "Come on, man, it's got to be important."

I scratched behind my ear nervously. This was not how I imagined informing everyone of my change. "You remember mentioning some time ago how strange it was that the Tomorrow People ended up here, Tommy?"

"Yeah, but I finally decided that it was coincidence," Tommy said. "Like one of them said, they came for the water park and ended up coming back."

"That's how they figured it too," I said, taking a moment to demorph. "But it seems they came for another reason, me. Except they didn't realize it."

Adam was the first to understand. I saw it flash across his face. "You're a Tomorrow Person?"

The rest of the group was frozen in amazement. They looked from Adam to me, almost in unison. "Is this true?" Tommy asked finally.

"Yeah," I said. "The way Adam, Newman that is, figures, I would have broken out a while ago, but when I became a Ranger, it kind of blocked the process. It wasn't until I passed on my powers to Justin that the actual change was able to start."

"Rocky, why did you not tell your teammates about this when you took over Justin's powers?" Dimitria inquired.

Dimitria, bless her, would have been a good psychiatrist if she wasn't the team's mentor. "I really wanted to be a Ranger again. I wanted to be on the team, and I was afraid you'd take me off again if you knew what I'd become. Besides, I didn't believe that the no-killing restriction that the Tomorrow People had covered monsters... but it does."

"Rocky," Tommy said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I can understand how you feel. That doesn't mean it wasn't a stupid idea, but understandable."

"Yeah, I really wasn't thinking things through," I admitted. "I ignored the warning signs, like what happened in the megazord, and I ignored everything Adam Newman and Lisa were trying to tell me. Besides, I couldn't let Justin or the team down."

"Rocky, you did you best. You tried," Tommy replied. "That's all anyone can ask."

"Yeah," I said, hanging my head down. "You better call Jason in now. Justin's off the team and I can't Ranger anymore, obviously."

"Right," Tommy said. He sounded a tad reluctant. I didn't blame him. I wasn't looking forward to giving up my powers again, and he probably wasn't happy about stripping the power from two blue Rangers in a row. He activated his communicator. "Jason?"

"What, bro?"

"We have an emergency. Can you come here?"

"Okay, bro. Just teleport me in."

* * *

Jason shook his head. "Man! What a sequence of events."

"You're telling us," Tommy replied. "Rocky?"

I summoned my morpher and key for the last time. I looked at the morpher for a moment before unstrapping it and handing it and the key to Jason. "Take good care of it," I said, conscious of how weird it was. I took over Jason's power when I joined the Rangers. Now, here I was, handing the Power back to him.

Jason, too, took a moment to look at the morpher before strapping it on. I could feel the Power leave me and become part of Jason as he strapped the morpher on. "I will, bro," he replied.

I felt suddenly awkward. Maybe part of it was losing the power, but it was probably also not being part of the team anymore. I felt the tears building in my eyes. Not wanting to let the team see me cry, I teleported back to the park under my own steam. It wasn't as if the team could track me now. I could be alone for a while.

I wandered for a while, finding the street increasingly crowded as people came out from where they'd gone during the monster alert. I stopped when I reached the edge of the park near the abandoned festival, hoping that I'd spot Iz as she came from the shelter.

"Rocky?" Iz yelled. Behind her, a senior citizen smiled.

"This the young man that you were looking for?" the old man asked.

"Yes, thank you," Iz replied, turning to the old man. "Thanks for helping me. Rocky, what happened to you?"

"I ended up at the next shelter over," I said, hoping no one would check on that. The old man was walking away. "I wasn't that far behind you, but they were diverting people to that place. I tried looking for you, too, but I found that we'd ended up in different places."

"Are you okay?" Iz asked. "I mean, you took on those things...."

"Just a few bruises, that's all," I replied. "Not anything that won't heal in a few days."

"Good. Maybe we can salvage our picnic. Are you sure there won't be any more monster attacks?"

"Hey, Rocky!" Adam's voice came from behind us. I inwardly groaned. How had they found me so fast? I turned around to find the entire team standing there. "Oh, hi, Iz. Mind if we borrow Rocky for a few moments?"

Iz looked slightly uncertain, but finally smiled. "Sure. Maybe I'll see if the folks at that festival need help."

I followed to the team to an area where we would not be overheard. I didn't know what to say. Yelling at them about my privacy wouldn't do any good if they had come to tell me that the scrambler had failed. "What? Is teleportation showing up again?"

From the blank looks on their faces, I could tell that they'd tracked me by other means. "It's working fine, as far as I know," Adam said softly.

"Then how did you find me?" I asked.

Jason spoke up. "You forgot to take off your communicator before you left," he said, pointing at my wrist.

I looked down and realized that I was indeed still wearing it. I'd gotten so used to it that I'd forgotten to take it off. I reached to take it off, but Jason put his hand up. I looked up and saw that he was wearing another one. "Oh," I said. "But I'm not a Ranger anymore, and you better not suggest that I need protecting. I'm a Tomorrow Person. That doesn't make me helpless."

"We weren't going to suggest anything like that, bro," Jason said, sounding vaguely offended.

"We know you can defend yourself, Rocky. That's not why we want you to keep the communicator," Tommy added.

"Then why?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

"We realized that if something like this ever happened again, we would want to get in touch with the Tomorrow People faster than we did. Having you only a communicator away helps," Adam replied.

"That's a good idea," I said. It was. "Sorry about that."

"Why would we think you were helpless?" Kat asked. "We know you can fight."

"It sort of has to do with the way that the Rangers think of the Tomorrow People," I confessed. "I was afraid you'd think of me differently because of what I'd become. The Tomorrow People aren't as helpless as we tend to think they are. I haven't changed, really."

Adam clapped me on the shoulder. "We know you haven't changed, Rocky," he said quietly. "Not in the ways that matter."

"Well, yeah," I said. "It's funny about that. I get to see things from two different perspectives. First of all, I've got you guys, who despair about the Tomorrow People because they- we- can't kill. And then I've got the Tomorrow People, who despair about you guys, because you kill monsters. And then there's me, and I'm stuck in the middle."

"But that also means that you're both," Adam said. "You're part of both, and understand both. Don't you think that I understand that?"

I studied my friend, and suddenly realized that he, half-asian and half-caucasian, would understand. "Yeah, you do. Sorry."

Adam cuffed me affectionately. "So, you don't mind us hanging around?"

I shook my head. "No," I finally replied, feeling at home once more. "I'm glad to be back. But, boy am I glad not to be a Ranger anymore."

* * *

The team and I sat on my porch steps waiting for Iz to come by before she left for home. All except Justin, that was. It still wasn't safe for him to rejoin us. Kat reported the government agents gone, but we were playing it safe and waiting a few days just in case.

Somehow, I didn't mind them hanging around anymore. My brief time as a Ranger seemed to have fixed my over-sensitivity towards them. I think my shields were forced to get stronger.

"It was nice of Iz to come down," Tanya said. "She's a really nice girl."

"She is," I replied. "And she makes me glad I left. No more Andreas, no more running out in the middle of dates to save the world. Let me tell you, that's one part of Rangering that I do *not* miss."

The group chuckled, with Tommy placing an arm around Katherine, and Adam putting his arm around Tanya. They were always the ones I envied, the ones that didn't have to worry about the excuses to their loves. At least I didn't have to make many excuses anymore.

Iz drove up and got out. Her hair was neatly braided, and she wore a tshirt that was probably meant for comfort, but looked wonderful on her.

I got up and hugged her. "Thanks," she said. "I had a wonderful trip. And it was great getting to know you better, and to know your friends. I'm just sorry that I couldn't stay longer."

"I'm just sorry that you had to see so much excitement," I replied.

"That's okay, I could do with excitement every so often in my life," she said, smiling broadly. "Though it's going to make home seem awfully quiet. Ah, well. Come up to visit, when you can. I'll miss seeing you. Besides, we have a date to plan, and I'd hate to see all my efforts come to pass!"

"I'll miss you too, Iz. I'll be up to see you as soon as possible. And as for that- I'll look forward to your plans."

The two of us hugged, then she hugged the others and then walked back to her car. After she departed, the rest of the team looked at me. "Date?" Jason asked, smiling broadly, if looking a bit confused.

"Adam Newman and Lisa Davis," I replied. "Iz and I have plans."

I spent the next twenty minutes discussing plans. By the end of the discussion, I felt sorry for Adam and Lisa. But at least I felt back with my friends again.

-end