"Dad? Dad is everything alright?" I yelled as I walked in.
I heard noise coming from upstairs. I dropped my backpack next to the door and headed upstairs.
"…I can't…I just can't!" I heard Dad yell from his office followed by another voice.
I tiptoed across the carpeted landing and kneeled down, peering through the crack in the half open door. Dad was standing in front of his computer.
"Tommy we wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't important."
Dad began to pace and on the screen of the computer I saw Mr. Cranston.
"Billy…I know but Izzy's my daughter. You know damn well that she doesn't know anything about the old days and truthfully as proud as I am of what we did I don't want her involved in something like this. I don't know if she could handle it." Dad replied.
"I've watched her Tommy. She's in my science class and she's just like you. There's no way that she couldn't handle it." Mr. Cranston replied.
Dad sighed and sunk into his chair, "She's all I have. Since Andrea died I…I don't want to lose her."
Mr. Cranston moved aside on the screen and what looked like a robot popped up on the screen.
"We know Tommy but you made your promise that you would do whatever was possible to protect the earth." the robot said.
"I know Alpha but I didn't realize that it meant sending my daughter into mortal peril." Dad sighed.
"You have to trust us Tommy. Besides she won't be alone. There are others." Billy said.
Mortal peril? Protect the earth? A robot? I was thoroughly confused but something kept me from moving or making a sound. I wanted to know what they were talking about and I was afraid if I interrupted them I would never find out.
"So tell me again how all this is possible? I mean the coins were destroyed. I know Adam used his once after but it nearly killed him." Dad said.
"Recently a new team of was created and during the course of them having them powers they had trouble and their powers were taken away for a short time. A being known as the Sentinel Knight used some of his power to restore the powers of some past rangers, Adam being one of them. That jolt to the power grid caused the old power coins to repair themselves. They're fully functional again." Mr. Cranston replied.
"Okay so they're functional again…why do we need to use them? Is this just a trial or…?" Dad asked.
Mr. Cranston and Alpha The Robot looked at each other.
"We have information that there is a new threat rising. His name is Zard and he's Zed's nephew. He's rising to take over what he sees as an empty place. It's only a matter of time until he makes his move!" Alpha said.
"Then why can't the others and I do it? Why can't I step back up? Why does it have to be Izzy?" Dad asked.
"For some reason when the coins regenerated they became respondent only to those with DNA similar to the former holders. We're not sure which holders though. We've done tests but we can't be certain who each coin belongs to." Mr. Cranston replied.
"So the DNA only has to be similar right? So it might not even be Izzy. The coins might not even respond to her DNA." Dad replied.
"It's possible but not likely. The best bet is a child." Mr. Cranston replied.
Dad sighed, "Okay. Fine. I'll tell Izzy tonight."
"Thank you Tommy. We understand how hard this is for you." Alpha replied.
"Well it's my duty. Once a Power Ranger always a Power Ranger." Dad sighed.
I kneeled there in shock for a moment, my mind spinning. My Dad used to be a Power Ranger? And how did Mr. Cranston know all this? Had he been a Power Ranger as well?
My mind racing I stood up. However I wasn't paying attention and tripped over a bump in the rug and fell forward.
"Ow." I groaned as I picked myself up from the floor of my Dad's office.
"Izzy! Are you okay?" Dad asked running over to me.
"Fine. I'm fine." I said standing up.
"Okay second question…how much of what I just said did you hear?" Dad asked.
"The whole thing." I replied.
Dad sighed, "I'm sorry I never told you Izzy. I always worried that it might somehow put you in danger."
"Did Mom know?"
"Yes. It was a mutual agreement for us to not tell you." he said.
"And Mr. Cranston…" I said swinging around to look at the computer, "were you a Power Ranger too?"
"I was. I was the Blue Ranger." he smiled.
"And the Robot guy…Alpha or whatever? What is he?" I asked.
"My name is Alpha 5. It's nice to meet you Izzy." Alpha said happily.
"Nice to meet you too. I just wish that this wasn't such an insane situation." I replied and sunk down into a chair.
"Holy shit I'm going to be a Power Ranger." I said running my hands through my hair.
"First of all watch your mouth young lady and second of all there's a chance you might not be." Dad said kneeling down next to me.
"And what if I am? Am I going to have to fight this Zard guy?" I asked.
"I'm afraid so sweetheart." Dad said.
"And what if I say no? What if I decide not to become a Power Ranger? What if I refuse?" I asked.
"Then you refuse. No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to." Dad replied.
"So when do I get to see this coin thingy?" I asked.
"What do you think Billy?" Dad asked.
"You two can come over anytime." Mr. Cranston said.
"Right." Dad nodded.
"I guess we'll see you later." Billy said.
"Bye!" Alpha waved and the screen went black.
"C'mon there's some stuff that I want to show you." Dad smiled and stood up.
I followed him to his room and sat down on the bed as he began to dig in the closet. A few moments later he pulled out a box and sat it down on the bed.
"These are a few things that I kept from when I used to live in Angel Grove. Take a look at that." he smiled and handed me a photo.
I recognized Dad in the middle right away with long hair and a huge smile. Next to him was Mr. Cranston in overalls and large round glasses.
"Who are these people with you and Mr. Cranston?" I asked.
"That is Jason, Trini, Kimberly and Zach. Also known as The Red Ranger, The Yellow Ranger, The Pink Ranger and The Black Ranger." Dad smiled.
"Really? What color were you?" I asked.
"Well that's a little more complicated. Let's see first I was Green when an evil sorceress name Rita Repulsa brainwashed me and I was evil." he laughed.
"Evil? You were evil?" I asked trying to imagine how on earth my Dad, who was the nicest person I could imagine, could be evil.
"Yeah but it didn't last long. The others and our leader Zordon turned me back. After that I was White and then Red." he replied.
"And you had the same team each time or did it change?" I asked.
"It changed a few times. Jason, Trini and Zack left for a thing called the World Summit and in their place came Rocky who was red, Aisha who was yellow and Adam who was black. After a while Kimberly left and Kat took her place. Then Aisha left and we got Tanya. And then finally we lost Rocky after he hurt his back and Justin took his place as the blue ranger." Dad said and pulled out pictures showing me each person as he talked about them.
"Wait…Justin…is…is that Mr. Stewart?" I asked.
"Yep he was the youngest ranger ever. Zordon recruited him after Rocky hurt his back and he accidentally found out that we were all Rangers. He was a big help." he smiled.
"So Dad…when am I supposed to go and try this coin thing?" I asked.
"I was thinking we would head there now and then we'd go out to dinner." he replied.
"Sounds good." I replied.
"Aright then. Let's go kid." he smiled and kissed the top of my head before standing up.
He grabbed his keys and we got on our way. Soon we pulled up to a house not far from our own and walked to the front door. Dad rang the bell and a few moments later Mr. Cranston opened the door.
"Tommy! It's great to see you." Mr. Cranston smiled.
"You too man!" Dad grinned and hugged him.
"And Izzy welcome. Come in!" Billy smiled.
"Thanks Mr. Cranston." I replied feeling a little awkward as I was standing in my teacher's living room.
"We're outside of school Izzy it's okay to call me Billy." He replied.
"Okay….Billy." I replied.
"So where are the coins?" Dad asked.
"They're in the basement with Alpha. Follow me." Billy said and walked towards the hallway.
We headed down a flight of steps to the basement which was filled with all sorts of gadgets and things. Tables were littered with all sorts of papers and charts and the walls were covered with sketching of what looked like robotic animals.
"Tommy!"
The robot I had seen on the computer screen earlier came hurrying towards us. He was a little shorter than me with a gold head and a red and blue body.
"Alpha!" Dad smiled.
"Ay-Yi-Yi! It's good to see you again! And Izzy. It's nice to meet you in person." he said.
"Nice to meet you too." I smiled.
"How did you get back to Earth Alpha? The last I saw of you was when you and Zordon left for Eltar. I know what happened to Zordon…Andros had to break his tube to save everyone. No one knew what happened to you though." Dad said.
"Well I was badly damaged during the fight but I managed to make it back to earth and communicate with Billy. He fixed me and now here I am." Alpha said.
"Well I'm glad to have you here." Dad said.
"Thank you Tommy." Alpha said.
"So Izzy are you ready to touch the power coins?" Billy asked walking forward with a box.
"Yeah…I guess." I replied.
Billy set the box down and opened it. Inside nestled on black velvet were six gold coins.
"Which one do I pick up?" I asked.
"Just touch them and see if any of them react." Billy said.
I nodded and tentatively reached out and ran my fingers over the coins. My finger grazed each coin slowly and lightly, first the top row and then I moved to the bottom. I had decide that nothing would happened when I felt a zap shoot up through my arm.
"Ah!" I said pulling my hand back quickly.
"What?" Dad asked.
"That coin…the middle on the bottom…it shocked me." I replied.
Billy and Dad looked at each other.
"Pick it up." Billy said.
I carefully touched it again and felt the same electricity but it was less of a surprise. Picking it up I felt it grow warm in my hand and a second later a pink colored static traveled up my arm, engulfing my body. Power seemed to surge through my body and I felt like I could do anything. After a few moments though it died away and I was left with the coin in my hand.
"What does that mean? Is that what's supposed to happen?" I asked.
"Yes. Congratulations Izzy…you're the newest pink power ranger." Billy said.
The sound of the doorbell interrupted anything I could say.
"That's the other possible ranger." Billy said and headed upstairs.
"Are you okay?" Dad asked looking at me.
"I'm fine." I replied staring down at the gold disk emblazoned with what looked like a pterodactyl.
"You don't have to do this you know." Dad said.
"I know I don't Dad. But…"
"But what?' he asked.
"I want to. Now that I'm holding this in my hand I feel like I should. Like it was meant to be. My favorite color is pink. There is no way it could be a coincidence." I replied.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Well then just let me say I'm proud of you." he said and pulled me into a hug.
There was the sound of muffled voices and a moment later Billy came back down with a woman with brown hair and…Ethan?
"So there's already a new ranger?" the woman asked.
"Yes. In fact she's is the pink ranger." Billy replied.
"Wow! That's amazing who's daughter is she?" the woman asked.
"She's mine." Dad said stepping forward.
The woman and Ethan stopped at the bottom of the steps. Looking at her I realized that she was Kimberly, the former pink ranger and obviously Ethan's mom.
"Hi Tommy. You look well." Kimberly smiled at Dad, her face beaming.
"So do you Kim." Dad replied his eyes bright.
"So is this your daughter?" she asked pointing to me.
"Yeah this is Izzy. Izzy this is Kimberly…sorry Kim I forgot your last name. It's been forever." Dad said apologetically.
"It's still Hart, Tommy." she said.
"Oh. I didn't know." Dad replied.
"It's fine. This is my son Ethan." Kimberly said gesturing to Ethan.
"Nice to meet you." Dad replied.
"We've already met." I said to Kimberly.
"You have?" Dad asked.
"Yeah he gave me a ride home after they cancelled school." I replied.
"And she opened my locker for me." Ethan added.
"Well I guess that's one less introduction that has to be made." Kimberly smiled.
"Now to the power coins. Ethan if you'll follow me." Billy said and led him to the box that held the coins. I followed and joined Billy on the other side of the box.
"What do I do?" Ethan asked.
"Touch them. See what you feel." I piped up before Billy or Alpha could say anything.
Ethan took a deep breath and touched each one. He started with the top and a moment later jerked.
"I felt something." he said looking at Billy, Alpha and I.
"Pick it up." Billy said.
Ethan picked up the coin and a moment later was shining red just as I had shone pink earlier.
"And we have our Red Ranger." Billy smiled.
"Congratulations baby!" Kimberly squealed and walked over hugged Ethan.
"Thanks Mom." He smiled.
"It's official…you two are our newest Rangers. Ethan as the red ranger you will be the leader of the new team. It will be up to you to guide the others. Both of you are now protectors of the earth and must abide by three rules."
"Never reveal you identity to anyone, never engage in battle unless you are provoked and never use your powers for anything but good. Do you understand?" Billy asked.
We both nodded.
"Then congratulations and may the power protect you." He smiled.
"Zordon would be proud man." Dad smiled clapping Billy on the back.
"Yeah you did amazing Billy." Kimberly smiled.
"Thanks. But hey…how would you guys like to stay for dinner and catch up a little?" Billy asked.
"Sounds fun to me." Kimberly said looking to Dad.
"I would love to but I kinda promised Izzy that I'd take her out to dinner." Dad said.
I could see that my Dad really wanted to stay and I didn't have the heart to tear him away from his old friends.
"It's okay Dad…we'll go out some other time." I replied.
"Are you sure Iz?" he asked.
"Yeah totally." I replied.
"Then I'd better go start cooking." Billy grinned.
Forty-five minutes later Ethan and I sat on Billy's porch balancing plates of spaghetti with homemade garlic bread on our laps. We could hear our parents inside laughing with Billy, Alpha and Justin who had arrived shortly after everyone had decided to stay for dinner.
"So…you just like fell into the room?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah. I'm such a klutz. How did your Mom tell you?" I asked.
"She sat me down and explained the whole story to me. I didn't really believe her at first but she's never lied to me so why shouldn't I believe her y'know?" he said taking a bite of his bread.
I nodded and pulled my power coin out of my pocket and looked at it.
"Who would've thought that something so small could change everything. I mean suddenly the world is depending on us." I sighed.
"Scary huh?" Ethan laughed.
I smiled and slipped the coin back into my pocket. I don't know what it was about Ethan but I could talk to him like I hadn't ever been able to talk to anyone before. I'd known him only a few hours and suddenly we had a huge secret between us and were talking like old friends.
"Okay I have a question. Is it just me or does it seem like our parents may have had something back in the day?" he asked.
"So you picked up on that too? Yeah I think I'll have to drill Dad later to find out." I replied.
The front door opened and Dad was leaning out.
"Hey kiddo I was wondering if you'd mind just staying here for the night? Billy has a couple of extra rooms he said you and Ethan could bunk in. The bunch of us are having a great time talking." he said.
"Um…sure. No problem." I replied.
"Yeah I don't have a problem." Ethan replied.
"Okay." Dad said and headed back inside.
Ethan and I finished our food before heading inside. A lot had happened that day that had worn us out so we both headed upstairs leaving the adults downstairs after getting a reminder that tomorrow would be Ranger 101 for the two of us.
I bid Ethan goodnight and walked into the room where I was sleeping. It was odd sleeping in your teacher's house but I guess it was even weirder to find out that 2 of your teachers and your Dad were all ex-Power Rangers and that you were part of the next generation.
Laying on the bed I looked at the coin, turning it over and over in my fingers. I couldn't stop thinking about everything. However my eyes were heavy so I placed the coin next to my bed and forced everything but the thought of sleep from my mind. Soon my eyes slipped closed and I knew no more.
ent here...