This story probably needs quite a lot of explanation. I started writing a story ages ago, The Children of Orasella. In this story were two kids who travel back in time to the Zeo era to try and change history and stop Jason discovering the secrets of a mysterious order of ninjas. It becomes apparent that the kids are Catrina and William Hart, Kim's children, raised by Tommy and Kat after Kim's death (Tommy's not the real dad, but that's largely irrelevant to this story).

This story is a prequel (isn't time travel wonderful!) to that story. It tells how the twins got involved in the Order of Orasella and learned about their parents being Rangers. It's going to be the first of a trilogy in which Children of Orasella is the third story. You don't need to know about the first story to read this one.

Chapter One

"Do you ever get the feeling that Dad and Kat hide stuff from us?"

Trina looked up from her history text book to where her twin brother, Will, was sitting on his bed, ignoring homework in favour of comic books. No doubt he'd be trying to copy hers first thing in the morning. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were even related, much less twins. Other people just laughed and said that Will took after his Dad while Trina was their mum through and through. Trina supposed they meant Kat when they said that, rather than their real mum.

"No," Trina answered.

"You're not in the least bit curious as to why we're not allowed to go in Dad's study?"

"Because you break things," Trina said, deciding whatever her brother's latest, crazy theory was, it was probably more interesting than the French Revolution, "Dad's probably worried you'd decide to fiddle with some gazillion-year-old fossil."

"I don't break things that often."

As answer, Trina reached into the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a pink, plastic figure, which had one arm at a slightly odd angle because it had needed to be stuck on with superglue.

"That was two years ago!" Will protested, "Besides, you'd think they'd make Power Rangers that could survive falling out of a tree."

It might have been two years ago, but it was a grudge Trina would carry to her grave. Will shouldn't have been playing with her stuff, particularly after his White Ranger figure had ended up severely melted fighting a dragon. Will decided to change the subject by returning the conversation to the original subject of discussion.

"In the last house, we could go anywhere. Now, all of a sudden, there's a room we must never go in. You don't find that at all odd?"

"Before we moved to Reefside, Dad did all his work at the university or at Dr Mercer's labs. Now he does stuff at home and doesn't want us messing it up." Trina thought Will was, as usual, making a huge deal out of nothing.

"I think he'd got some big secret he doesn't want us to find out about."

"Like what?"

"Like, maybe he's a secret agent. Or he could be alien in disguise."

"You read too many comics."

"I think we should sneak into the study when they're out and find out."

"And I think you're a moron," said Trina, smiling sweetly, "but no one listens to me either."

"Next week's washing up duties says we find something top secret."

Trina considered this. After all, there was no way her brother could actually be right. "Two week's washing up duties. But if we get caught, I'm going to tell Kat it was all your idea."

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"I told you," said Trina, "nothing but fossils and lesson plans." Will looked somewhat disappointed as they searched what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary study. The desk held a computer and some drafts of what their dad planned to teach when his first semester started at Reefside High.

"I was sure there'd be something," said Will. He went to a table where there was a little model of a t-rex.

"Don't touch that!"

But Trina was too late. Will had pulled down on the t-rex's mouth. There was a strange scraping sound and then, to her utter astonishment, a piece of the floor raised up to reveal a set of stairs leading beneath the house.

"Yes!" Will punched the air. He hurried down the stairs, Trina following somewhat more cautiously. She wasn't sure what was more surprising, that her dad had a secret passage hidden in his study, or that her brother had been right. She followed him down into a sort of lab, with dinosaur bones in the walls and a huge computer system against one wall.

"Awesome!" Will declared. Even Trina had to agree with that.

"Do you think this is just Dad's secret hideout?" Will asked, "Or do you think Kat does stuff down here too?"

"Of course Kat comes down here."

"How do you figure that out?"

"There's not a three inch layer of dust on everything." Will gave a little laugh at Trina's proof. She certainly couldn't imagine this place being anything like this tidy if it was just Dad who worked down here.

Will went over to a strange, lumpy black rock with what looked like Gems set in the top. He was about to touch it when Trina grabbed his arm.

"Are you a total idiot?" she demanded.

"What?"

"A, you shouldn't touch creepy glowy rocks in a mysterious lab. And B, if Dad and Kat figure out we were down here, we'll still be grounded on our hundredth birthday."

Will seemed to accept this.

"What do you think they do down here?" Will asked, still looking round the lab but, thankfully, not trying to fiddle with anything else.

"I have no idea."