Tech Support

"What are you up to today?"

"I'm running diagnostics on the Zords and determined by the results of those tests I will then facilitate the capacities the hydraulics will be able to handle while under certain pressures of battle," Billy explained before clarifying with, "Tests, tests, and more tests."

"Fancy an assistant?" Avalon asked.

"I'd love one."

Billy wasn't sure what to expect, really. He wasn't one that many people would call anal-retentive. If he were being gratuitous he'd say he could be as laid-back as Zack at the best of times. At the worst the blue ranger could get a little persnickety. But who liked having fingerprints mar computer and video screens? Who liked having to take the time to clean up a mess that wasn't a mess beforehand? Who liked to have their work messed up when he had a structure order to everything it.

Not to mention what everyone lovingly dubbed his techno-speak. It was a part of him and always had been. But he saw the way everyone looked at him as he continued to speak—or ramble as his parents also lovingly pointed out. Saw the looks when he finished. The half-second pause as they tried to work through what he had said before inevitably asking him to repeat himself.

'English please'.

He thought he was speaking English. It wasn't his fault he preferred to use the big vocabulary he had learned through his numerous studies and pieces of literature that lined the walls of his house and the library when he had the free time.

It was probably the only thing that ticked him off.

So much so that as much as he tried to keep a straight face, Trini, so far, had been the only one he could handle for a length of time. Kimberly, as much as he loved her energy, was a little too energetic for the Command Center. Jason was a little too peaceful about things going on. Zack didn't take it as seriously as he could and Tommy…Tommy tried. His forgetfulness didn't help.

When Bailey joined him in the Command Center it was a match made in heaven, she enjoyed the sciences and alien technology that they came across with their zords and weapons. But she was a young girl with her own set of friends and coming into her own in the world. But she wasn't always available for some help.

Having Avalon helping him wasn't too foreign. He'd subject her to many moments of being his guinea pig for DNA recon due to their proximity. She initially whined and complained about it but dutifully handed over saliva, strands of hair, or nail clippings when asked. Soon afterwards, she could have the samples prepared for him before he knew he needed to ask for them.

He watched as pleasant surprise shot across her face, making her stormy, dark brown eyes brighten. Much like a skyline after a rainfall. The clouds broke away and sunlight came through. The smile that came to her face was one she didn't show often enough. Then it was clouded over once more and she suddenly scowled at him. Billy blinked in surprise, eyebrows coming together.

Logically, he knew there was nothing he'd done in the last couple of seconds that could have made her irritated at him. She did have random bouts of mood swings and knew it was from her trust issues. If he knew her as well as he thought he did—which was very likely—she wasn't sure why he agreed o have her in the Command Center alongside him.

"What" Billy asked the question with a little laugh to his tone. He couldn't help it. The scowl on her face and her smaller stature made her look like a little kid that was having a tantrum. Not the powerful force to be reckoned with in and out of battle.

"What?" Avalon parroted.

"Why are you…glaring like that?" He asked. He lowered his coffee mug from his lips and moved to the sink to rinse it out. With a few quick movements he had it rinsed, washed, and dried, sitting neatly in drying rack. Everything back where it needed to be. Then he turned back to Avalon, patiently waiting for her explanation.

Once again, he found himself unable to stop watching her. He could see the storm of emotions brewing through her eyes. Her shoulders slumped and she started to tug at the sleeves of the orange flannel shirt tied around her waist. Finally, she lifted her head, slapped her hand against her thigh.

Her eyes met his.

"Usually you prefer to do these things yourself," she said.

Ah.

It was true; he could be a bit of a lone-wolf at times. It was never intentional. Sometimes he got so into what he was doing that everything tended to fall by the wayside. Or maybe it was that he didn't quite feel comfortable around them. He was the odd man out in terms of athletic amongst his friends. He wasn't a wimp by any means, being taught martial arts and gymnastics from his friends but it was never his forte.

"Why would you want me to help?"

"Because I enjoy your company," he said honestly.

"Oh."

And that was all that needed to be said by way of explanation. It was the truth. HE enjoyed her company. It was a bit of a bragging point for him. He was the first one of their group she had really opened up to. By his count she was the only one that she wasn't too hostile with when they first met. Not that he was keeping score. It was a simple observation. Just like he was the first one that she'd given a nickname to. It had annoyed him at first, who wanted to be known as a short, blue, elfish creature.

Then he'd heard the ones she'd given the rest of the rangers and was grateful for small favors. It had grown on him pretty quickly once he realized the intent behind it. He'd studied Australian culture shortly after meeting her, knowing it was something that many of them did over there. Give nicknames to those they considered friends. He was flattered and pleasantly surprised to know she considered him one, first. Truth be told he didn't always know how to act around her rather than being straightforward.

It was a wonder that he had found himself growing close to her, understanding her so well. She was a lone-wolf in her own way and protected her pack—her little sister and their friends—as fiercely as an alpha wolf would.

He believed the word for it was kismet.

Billy pulled a headset over his ears. "Alpha, please run a diagnostic on the Tyrannosaur zord while I go into the cockpit to asses the damage there."

"Right away, Billy," Alpha agreed, toddling off to do what he was told.

"What do you want me to do?" Avalon asked.

She stood a few feet away from him, glancing around the Command Center's zord hangar. Every time the zords were dismissed after battle they went back to their hiding spots. However, when it was time for them to have maintenance work done they were summoned to the hangar.

Thankfully, it didn't look like there was too much damage that needed to be fixed. But looks could be deceiving. He had an innate understanding of the inner workings of the zords to know when something as small as a chipped piece of a control panel could mean structural damage inside.

"I want you to wait with Alpha to see what diagnostics says," Billy explained. He adjusted the microphone lead so that it rested by his mouth. "And relay the information to me."

Avalon lifted a flat hand to her forehead and saluted him. "Aye, aye, Smurf."

A smirk raised to Billy's lips. He turned and grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder directly to his right and quickly climbed up. He walked along the catwalk, gently sliding his fingers over the metallic finish of the Pterodactyl, Saber-Tooth Tiger, and Triceratops zords before coming to a stop at the Tyrannosaurus zord. Then he carefully lowered himself down the hatch at the top of the zord and wedged his way into the cockpit.

It smelled faintly like mechanics, sweat, and cologne. Their consistent and often sporadic calls to action had caused for everyone's increase in their personal hygiene. It seemed that Jason had taken Zack's advice of the cologne to 'attract the babes' as he put it. If only those babes knew Jason was a ranger, it'd probably cut out the middle man and keep Billy from choking to death every time he went to do basic maintenance.

A wry smile came to Billy's face and he turned his attention back to the computers inside the zord. Everything looked to be okay from the first glance. No chips to the control panel, no buttons jammed into its housing in desperation of needed power. No joysticks knocked loose form their tracks. But that was only on the outside. With the hardware inside composing of wires and fragile pieces of machinery, anything could've happened.

Goldar was nothing short of ruthless when fighting against the Megazord. Almost as if the mere sight caused him great displeasure.

Billy's wry smile widened at the thought of the golden monster instead deciding to use his words when fighting against the rangers. If only they could be that lucky. A simple conversation to send all the monsters away. It'd sure make their jobs a hell of a lot easier. Taking a screwdriver from his belt, Billy pried open a metallic panel that lead to the wires inside.

Leaning over it, he frowned. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. But none of the zords ever came out of a fight with little structural damage. Now that he thought about it, it was typically Avalon's Orange Stegosaurus zord that was the one most damaged. She did have a very offensive offense tactic in her fights. Or else it was easier for her to unleash her aggression on the monsters rather than the other rangers as she'd done before.

A familiar crackling sound filled his ears and Billy lifted his head to press into the ear-piece. "What's the verdict, Alpha?"

"There's smoke coming out of the bottom of the zord, is that good?" Avalon's voice replied over the radio. In the background, he could hear Alpha's frantic 'ay yi yi yi yi's'. For a moment, Billy was floored by the completely casual tone to Avalon's voice.

Smoke in a zord was never a good thing.

Billy pressed his finger firmly against the ear-piece so he could respond, "No, Av, that's not good."

"Next question; is it normal?"

She was going to give him a heart attack. He knew that for sure. She was going to make him drop dead from stress alone. Billy quickly climbed out of the cockpit of the zord. His feet practically grew wings with the speed he got himself back down to the ground where Avalon stood calmly next to Alpha, who flapped his hands towards the last vapors of smoke that dissipated in seconds.

"As soon as he finished running the diagnostic, something started happening with the tail, mate," Avalon explained. She poked her cheek with the end of the antenna sticking out of the radio. She looked it over for a moment. "Looks to me like the circuits have been fried. I reckon it could use some new rotors, too."

"If you knew what's wrong with it, why did you ask me?" Billy asked.

Avalon's eyes flashed. She pointed the end of the antenna towards him. "To see that look on your face, Smurf." He rolled his eyes. "Honestly? Because you're not going to be able to fix that yourself."

Billy pressed a hand to his chin. He took the scanner that Alpha handed to him and waved it over the tail section of the zord. It beeped towards the inside, where the tail connected with the body of the zord. "You're right," he agreed. "The mechanics at this point of connection are routinely difficult to handle on one's own."

"Well, that's what I'm here for."

"We'll need a screwdriver, a wire cutter, a socket wrench, and a flash light."

It took only a few seconds for the items to be acquired before Billy put himself on his back and wiggled his way underneath the Zord. He pressed the flashlight into his mouth, using his teeth to hold it steady while he looked over the parts. Avalon scuttled up next to him, carefully holding onto the other pieces of equipment.

Reaching up a hand, Billy pulled the flashlight form his mouth and waved it over the section that had been smoking. The parts were covered in soot, an acrid scent hanging around them. It was all he could do to not choke on it. No matter how used to the different smells from the zords, the first wave always shocked him.

"See this?"

"Uh-huh."

"There's structural damage to the zord that I hadn't previous observed. I can't recall it taking in any hits from the last couple of fights. So, it must be standard wear and tear over the countless uses of the zord. These sockets here are starting to become loose, making the wires neighboring them to fray and become structurally unsound. Then these soldered points have commenced to corrode and melt against each other. They need to be detached and re-worked independently."

"So, where are we looking at to start?"

Billy heard a rustling sound then felt her breath on his cheek. His eyebrows came together when he noticed it. It was a little distracting. His heart rate immediately increased and he felt his hands start to shake. Something strange squirmed in his stomach. How peculiar.

Billy turned his head to answer her and was gob smacked by how close she was to him. He could see every individual freckle that dusted her cheeks and nose, see the freckle that sat right above the right side of her upper lip, position perfectly vertical to the one above her eyebrow. Could clearly see the scar that ran from the bottom of the right side of her jaw that stretched up to the apple of her cheek. Could see her long, dark eyelashes stand out against her paler skin.

He'd always thought she had a striking face, her eyes incredibly intense. But up close…

"Billy?" Avalon asked.

Billy turned his attention away. He had no idea what came over him. Yes, he felt she was attractive, but it was just a factual statement. Just as he thought the same about Marge, Melissa, Trini, Kimberly, and other girls at Angel Grove High. It was scientific, they were all aesthetically pleasing.

Keep telling yourself that, the voice inside his head teased.

Now Billy frowned. Where had that come from.

"Yes, uh, it would be best if we started by taking apart the soldered points so that the tail can be detached." He swallowed hard, lifting his flashlight once more. The beam of light wobbled back and forth. "That way we'll be able to wholly ascertain how profound the structural impairment is."

"Gotcha." Avalon carefully placed the screwdriver on the ground beside her and picked up the socket wrench. She squinted, searching for the easiest point of entry then placed the wrench against it, moving her wrist back and forth to start loosening the bolts.

She worked deftly. Ping. Ping. Ping. Bolts dropped down into her hand by the second.

Something struck Billy then. "How did you know what was wrong with the rotors?" He asked.

A chuckle escaped Avalon's lips. "I guess that's the one bright side to having dated Chase for a while, yeah?" She pointed out. "He knows more about cars than anybody. I reckon, alien technology aside, it'd work out the same way." She shook her head. "Honestly, I'm surprised he had more to say than what hit we were going to do next. It became his life."

"Gang life can be pretty difficult to get out of," Billy said. He didn't have to explain it to her. She knew firsthand. He often wondered if she continued to run with them out of fear or because if it was the same reason he, statistically, knew to be true. It was harder to get out than to stay in.

"Not if you don't want to get out," Avalon pointed out. "And Chase definitely doesn't. It's the only life he knows, he likes the power." A slow smile started to work its way to her face. "Imagine if he ended up being a power ranger."

Billy thought about it and smiled as well. What a preposterous idea. Being a ranger was for those who were true at heart. It as how the power chose you. Still, seeing the vicious teen as a ranger was a humorous idea equally.

"What color do you think he'd have?" He asked.

"Knowing him?" She paused for exactly one second. "The girliest color you could imagine."

"Pink?"

"Maybe even yellow, mate. Can you imagine the bloke in yellow?" She started to giggle. "What would his dinosaur be?"

"Well, considering we have the Mastodon and the Saber-Toothed Tiger, it doesn't necessarily have to be a dinosaur," Billy pointed out. He thought about it for a moment. It came to him almost immediately. "A chicken."

He said it so dead-pan, so frank, so flat that Avalon burst out into hysterical laughter. Billy found himself laughing along with her in seconds. He continued to laugh, trying to hold the flashlight steady but found that he couldn't do it. He hadn't laughed that hard since the last time Bulk and Skull managed to get cake all over them at a ill-fated martial arts attempt at the Youth Center.

He had fun with his friends, always had fun with them, but completely letting go and not being so shy was…hard. Finally, Avalon popped off all the other bolts and collected them in her hand before shimmying her way out from underneath the zord. Billy followed her then sat up, running a hand through his hair. He got to his feet and walked over to the end of the tail and gave a short tug, eyes widening at the weight of the machinery.

He expected it to be heavy, but the thought came back of how heavy it would've been if he didn't have the added physiology from their ranger power. Billy carefully dropped the tail to the ground then stepped around it to look inside. Just as he thought. Some of the inner machinery wasn't looking too good and Avalon was right when she said the rotors were an issue.

"Told you, mate," Avalon said. She reached in and in a matter of seconds managed to remove the rotors from inside the machine piece and hefted them into her arms. "I'll get started on these and then you can work on the other stuff."

She walked over to a work bench and set the pieces of machinery down. Then she picked up a pair of glasses that sat on the bench and held them up to her face. Then turned to face him. "These yours, mate?"

Billy looked up at her. "Yes, they're mine."

"You've got terrible style in frames." She slid them onto her eyes and scrunched her nose for added effect. "Hate to break it to you, Smurf, but It makes you look like a nerd."

"They're prescription."

"Even worse. You're fucking blind, too."

Billy laughed to himself. At least she's honest.

With a teasing smile, Avalon carefully set his glasses aside and picked up another set of safety glasses, immediately sliding them onto her face. He could practically see the manic glee in her eyes as she picked up the blow torch to use it.

Billy placed his hands on his hips, eyelashes fluttering as he watched. Avalon pulled her flannel shirt up over her arms, slid her hands into a pair of gloves, and arranged her hair behind her shoulders. She adjusted the safety glasses that already rested on her face and picked up the blow torch, holding it against the spinning metal in front of her. Sparks flew but she continued to focus on the part in front of her, turning the blowtorch this way and that every few seconds.

And still Billy watched. Watched as the sparks illuminated her face, making her freckles stand out against her skin, making her dark eyes reflect the bright light. The way the corner of her lips turned up in concentration. Then she lowered the blow torch and lifted the safety goggles up her forehead, making her hair fringe stick straight up so that he could see her entire face.

Could see the smile of pride at her own work.

It was then he knew.

Then he finally, completely understood what was making him act so weird all day.

He was in love with her.

THE END