Author's Note: I fill in a few gaps of Billy's personal life that were never covered in the show or may not be considered canon. And I'm leaving the Super Megaforce episode "Legendary Battle" out as if it never happened, or perhaps hasn't happened yet. This story makes references to established canon, but consider this a 'What If' or alternate timeline story (which I guess all fanfics are anyway). Hope you enjoy!
In the space just beyond Earth's moon, a group of stars blinked and dulled in their brightness. A small anomalous ripple occurred in the vacuum, and a worm hole burst open, its blackness seemingly devouring the light in its wake. A small ship forced its way through the void. It was round with scaled plating. Purple arcs of energy writhed around its hull as it slowed it to impulse speed. The wormhole snapped itself shut, returning the stillness of the stars beyond it.
"Report," said the ship's only passenger.
"All systems functioning accordingly. It appears we have survived the jump," replied a high pitched robotic voice. "Welcome home, Billy."
"Thanks, Alpha, but I don't think we're quite there yet. Scan for life readings or abnormal energy fluctuations on the moon or in the immediate space about Earth's atmosphere. Last time I made this trip, King Mondo nearly cooked me alive."
"Scanning..." Alpha said.
Billy touched the controls on the console in front of him, adjusting some of the ship's features, and double checking the weapons system. There was a mosted array of torpedoes on board. He wouldn't last long against a more powerful ship, but he was ready to put up a good fight if need be.
It was another few seconds of tweaking and calibrating before he finally noticed the blue and white orb floating in front of him.
Earth.
It has been almost two decades since he had seen the planet. Welcome home, Alpha had said. But was it really home? Billy had spent as much time on Aquitar as he had Earth. He had grown up on Earth, but it was Aquitar where he had made a life for himself. As a kid, Billy loved science fiction stories. Star Trek, Star Wars, the classics. It not only fueled his passion for real life science, but his curiosity and dreams of visiting new races and worlds. And that's what his life had become.
He was still the Blue Ranger when his parents died. Instead of giving himself time to grieve, he threw himself into his work as a Ranger. More so after his Power Coin was destroyed. The Power Chamber became his home. He devoted all his time and energy to aiding Zordon, Alpha, and the Zeo Rangers.
Admittedly, he was upset when he couldn't become the Gold Ranger because of the negative proton energy his body absorbed when the Command Center exploded. Even jealous toward his good friend, Jason, when he took on the power from Trey of Triforia. He felt as if he had been robbed of his purpose in life. His very calling to be a hero. To make a difference.
But that all changed when he met Cestria. She helped him find a new calling. A new way to make a difference for the people of Aquitar. A chance to live his dream of discovering new worlds. And more importantly, they had fallen in love. Billy no longer felt compelled to stay on Earth. He had found a chance to do help people in a new way. And a chance to be happy.
On Aquitar, Billy was able to help the Rangers of that planet defeat the Hydro Contaminators. It was a long war, but one he was proud to help win. And then, for the first time in his life, Billy felt completely at peace. It was a strange feeling to him. He grew up a shy, awkward, teenager, always on the look out for bullies like Bulk and Skull, then being chosen to protect Earth from space monsters. Very few times in his life did he ever feel completely in control. Now, on a world where he was considered an alien, he never felt more normal. Even invincible with Cestria by his side.
They had always decided to start a family, even though their unique physiology made it impossible for them to have children. Not to mention with the war going on, there was never a good opportunity to consider adoption options. But with Aquitar finally at peace, nothing was stopping them.
And then Cestria was diagnosed with disease not uncommon to Aquitar. It was similar to cancer to a human. She died just three months later.
"Scan complete. Earth space is all clear, as far as our readings are capable of detecting," Alpha said. Alpha's voice startled Billy away from his thoughts. "Shall I set a course for Angel Grove?"
Billy wiped exhaustion from his face. "Uh...yeah. Well. Contact the Command Center. I'd like to know if anyone is occupying it. Initiate cloak. Let's not send anyone into a panic down there."
"Cloak initiated. Scan shows the Earth Command Center functions have been dormant for a number of years."
"No one's home, huh?"
"That appears so, Billy."
Billy straightened his posture in the cockpit seat and flipped a pair of switches. "Alright. Let's go knock the dust off."
When Billy's ship broke through the clouds over the city, the first thing he noticed was the textures. The trees, the hills, the grass, the rocks. It was like seeing it for the first time. Angel Grove itself had grown noticeably. After so many monster attacks, it looks as if they started building the city to withstand them. He watched the landscape change as he left the city and entered the desert. The Command Center was hardly noticeable in the distance against the rocks, but quickly came into view.
The ship circled the structure, performing a final scan, then parked itself on the rock. Billy seemed to appear out of thin air next to the Command Center. With its cloak still intact, his ship was invisible. The sun was immediately unbearable to him. The air tasted funny. The oxygen quality was vastly different than Aquitar. Everything felt dry. His skin would take time to readjust to it. Being in a cool and wet environment for so many years makes big changes to a human's flesh.
The Command Center appeared unguarded as Billy walked in with no trouble at all. Inside it was dark and stuffy. A stale scent of plastic and metal. The only light in the room was a soft glow of a few white dots against the walls that looked like stars. It always seemed gave the illusion that the room was floating in the middle of space. The viewing screen seemed like a black hole in that space. The control consoles were lifeless. And the ominous presence of Zordon's containment cube. Even empty, it still seemed to look over Billy. The stories of Zordon's sacrifice during the great evil uprising lead by Astronema stretched as far as the galaxy itself. The news hurt him as if he'd lost his third parent.
In one corner of the room, Billy turned a large switch, and the lights and control systems began to blink awake. On one panel of the console, he plugged in a small drive, and tapped a few buttons. "Alpha?"
"Almost finished installing. My, my, these systems are long overdue for an update."
"Let's get right on that. And run a diagnostic. If anything needs repaired, I want it taken care of immediately. I want scans of Earth space running at all times. I need a report on any current threats on Earth and status of any active Rangers. I want to get right to the lab underneath the Command Center. We need an inventory of any weapons or equipment we have access to, on or off site."
"Preparing for war, are we?"
"I wanna be ready for-"
Billy felt the room fill with static. A pop of black light ignited in the center of the room. In the space of a second, the light took the shape of a man, and before Billy stood a familiar figure. A white diamond stretched across black. A dark helmet reflected the light from the room. Silver tusks stretched around the visor. The Ranger was poised to attack at an instant, but seemed to relax at the sight of the other man.
"Billy?" The Black Ranger said.
Billy wasn't sure what to make of the Ranger at first, but then immediately recognized the voice. "Hello, Adam."
Adam Park powered down. The two old friends looked at one another for a moment, taking in the years that have passed on the other's face. They both smiled and shook each other's hand which turned into an embrace.
"It's so great to see you," Adam said. "How is Cestria? What brings you back home?"
Billy's features fell at Cestria's name. He told Adam of Cestria's disease, and the war against the Hydro Contaminators.
"Update and diagnostic complete, Billy," Alpha said. "I've compiled a list of repairs and upgrades necessary in order of priority."
Adam looked surprised, then confused. "Alpha?"
"Before I left, I made a copy of Alpha's AI. He's been with me ever since," Billy said. "Well, a version of him."
Adam went on to catch Billy up on some of the Earth Rangers that have come and gone, as well as the threats they've had to overcome. A bit about some of the old gang, and how his power coin was restored by the Sentinel Knight.
"Now I run a dojo in Angel Grove," Adam said. "With the original Alpha. And I keep an eye on this place. When you turned the power on, Alpha alerted me, so I morphed and came right over."
"Well, I hope you don't mind me moving in. After being on another planet for so long, I'm not sure Billy Cranston is even still legally alive."
"Hey, this place was always more home to you than it was me. She's all yours. And if there's anything I can help you with, you know where to find me."
"Thank you, Adam."
The two shook hands.
"Before I go," Adam said. "I have something here that belongs to you."
Adam pressed a few buttons on the console. From the center of the room, a pillar rose from the floor, and stopped at waist height before Billy. Another button pressed by Adam caused a small wooden chest to materialize on top the pillar. Billy turned to look and Adam. Adam's eyes met Billy, and he nodded his head toward the box. Billy stepped toward it and lifted the lid.
Inside sat three Power Coins. Pterodactyl, Sabertooth Tiger, and Triceratops. All three were cracked and scarred from when they were nearly destroyed and lost their connection to the Morphin Grid. Billy brushed his fingers against the Triceratops Power Coin.
"I wanted to ask the Sentinel Knight to restore their power like he did for mine, but he's not an easy guy to track down," Adam said.
"What about the others," Billy said. He couldn't take his eyes off the coins.
"Jason and Tommy have theirs. Kim decided she didn't want hers. No need for it I guess. Same with Kat and Aisha when I asked if they wanted them."
"What about Trini?" Billy asked. When he didn't hear Adam speak, he finally broke his gaze at the coins and looked to him.
Adam returned a grim expression.
"How?" Billy asked. His voice was a robotic tone.
"Car accident. About 16 years ago."
Billy turned and refocused on the coins. It seems like so much of his life has been about death. He wasn't sure how exactly he felt hearing that Trini was gone. Was he capable of feeling sad about this now? Intellectually, Billy new this was upsetting, but his heart was no longer capable of being broken when it was already shattered.
Billy always looked up to Trini. She was as intelligent as she was powerful. She saved Billy more than once as Rangers. Even tought him how to believe in himself. How to be a hero. At one time Billy thought he loved her. He was never sure if she felt the same. Doubtful, he thought. But eventually summed up those feelings as a boyhood crush.
"I'm sure you know this already, but, using those things are dangerous. I know from personal experience." Adam took another long look at Billy. "Like I said. Call me if you need anything."
Billy's eyes were still on the coins. "Thank you, Adam."
Adam teleported out of the Command Center.
Billy pulled the triceratops coin out of the box and closed the lid. The box disappeared and the pillar sunk back into the floor. He held the coin in front of him, transfixed by it. His eyes studying it. His brain analyzing the possibilities.
"Alpha," Billy said.
"Let me guess. You're going to try to repair your old power coin."
"Let's head down to the lab. I have some ideas."
By evening, Billy had built most of the custom equipment he needed to run his experiments on the coin. His old cot he used years ago when working long hours at the Command Center was still there. He had shed his Aquitarian space suit for some old clothes he kept in the quarters with the cot. They were a bit 90s in fashion, but they still fit. One pair of jeans even had a couple 20 dollar bills in the pocket. It was all the Earth money he had to his name. He teleported into Angel Grove and brought back a pizza. He thought about stopping at Ernie's, but remembered how awkward it would be having to explain where he's been for so long were he to run into any old friends who weren't Rangers. More so, he had work to do. He wasn't here to socialize with ghosts from his past life.
The coin was now displayed in the center of the lab surrounded by test equipment Billy had put together using leftover parts from old weapons and gadgets he had left behind. Billy's most important contribution to the old team was his brain. His ingenuity. He could throw together a weapon or device on a moment's notice using whatever was laying around. He learned to be extremely resourceful.
An instrument built in the fashion of a laser using parts from a Power Blaster was pointed at the coin. Exposed wires crawled from all sides of it. It's barrel smoked. Billy read data appearing on a computer screen.
"Alpha," Billy said, leaning back in his chair. He rubbed at his eyes. His contacts he had specially engineered for the Aquitar atmosphere were no good in an Earth desert. He removed them and pulled out a spare pair of glasses he always had kept in a drawer. "Let's run that one again. We're doing something wrong. These readings are far to inconsistent. Let's recali-"
"Billy, may I ask you something?"
Billy was taken aback. "Uh...sure," he said. In all the years together, Alpha never asked if he could ask something. He just asked it. It was a very odd thing for Alpha to say. Last thing he needed was Alpha malfunctioning.
"Why are you doing this?" Alpha asked.
Billy stood up. That was it. Something was wrong with Alpha. "Do you need a diagnostic on yourself Alpha? We need to test the residual energy of the coin and its connect to the Morph-"
"I know that, Billy," the robot AI said. It hesitated another second. "But why?"
Billy crossed his arms. He saw where Alpha was going. "Because I need to be able to morph again."
"Why, Billy? Why now? You've proven you are strong without being a Ranger. Your old Power Coin is dangerous. It could kill you. Why are you determined to play with fire?"
Billy slowly walked the length of the room. He was quiet for a long time. "Ever since I was a teenager, I've been fighting a war. I had never even left Angle Grove before monsters from all ends of the galaxy have wanted to kill me. Stopping these monsters. Saving lives. Saving planets. Saving entire cultures. It's all I've ever really known...it's all I have left."
"But what are you preparing to fight? Earth is well protected, and current threats at a minimum."
"The Rangers have always been a line of defense. Reactive to whatever evil comes from space or the core of the planet. Waiting for disaster to strike. What if there were a team of Rangers that were proactive. What if the Rangers were able to eliminate a threat before it had a chance to knock over a skyscraper or crush a dozen people under its heel."
Alpha was quiet.
"The first time I saw this lab was when I found you and Zordon building the White Tiger Ranger. You two were able to build one of the most powerful Rangers I've ever seen in this lab. Forged a new Power Coin."
Billy took the triceratops coin from its place holder. He slammed it down on platform connected to various computers and interments. His glasses were replaced with specialized goggles. He slipped on rubber gloves and a rubber apron. He held the coin in place with an oversized pair of tongs. With a custom power mallet plugged into a generator, Billy pounded the coin once. Hard.
"I'm not Zordon, but I'm damn smart. And if you two can build a new Ranger out of nothing..."
Billy pounded the coin again with the mallet. Blue sparks flew from it.
"...Then we can rebuild an old one out of this."
"Let's go looking for trouble, then," Alpha said.
He struck the coin again. Harder. More blue sparks flew. He struck it again, even harder. And again. And again.