After the Youth Center, Rocky and Jo sat in Rocky's car in the driveway of Jo's house. "Thanks for inviting me with you and your friends to the Youth Center, Rocky." Jo brushed hair out of her face, smiling shyly. "I'd better get inside. I can see my brother in the window."
Rocky looked up quickly. There was Danny, standing with his arms crossed in the bay window of the living room. Rocky could see all of his tattoos from here, and shivered. "Your brother is huge." He whispered, turning large eyes towards Jo, who laughed at his reaction.
"He's not so bad. He just acts tough. But I better get inside before he comes outside." She grabbed her backpack and moved to open the door. "Thanks again Rocky. For everything today. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. And don't worry about it. Bye Jo." He called as she left the car and headed inside. He couldn't shake the feeling that Danny was still staring at him. A quick glance to the window confirmed that. Rocky shuddered.
"Have fun, princess? It sure looked like it." Danny laughed as Jo threw her backpack at him. "Why didn't the little Blue Ranger come to the door? Was he too afraid of me?" Danny threw his head back and laughed harder.
Jo jumped at him, striking him in the chest with a sharp punch. Danny tried to block her second strike, but failed, doubling over when her hand hit his ribs. He reached out, fighting back. Their impromptu fighting match continued around the living room, until Zedd came around the corner and put an end to it.
"Enough! You idiots. Why are you fighting in the house? And where were you, Jo?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.
Trying to look anywhere but at her dad, Jo leaned side to side. "I was at the Youth Center with some friends. And then I got a ride home."
"What friends? And who? How do I know I can trust these people?"
"Dad, I was with the Power Rangers, and Rocky gave me a ride home."
Zedd frowned. "Rocky….he's the Blue one now, isn't he? He was the second Red, too, right?"
Jo nodded. "Yeah. The blue one. So I wasn't worried about anything happening. Plus, I've still got a little bit of my own power left. But I know you said that I wasn't allowed to use the last of my power unless I'm really in trouble." Jovie trailed off, grabbing her backpack and moving towards the stairs.
Zedd and Danny watched her head upstairs, before facing each other and bursting into giggles. "Tell me, did he even get out of the car?"
Danny giggled harder. "I just stood here and he freaked out. You could see him twitching from the driver's seat."
The two former evil laughed even harder at the thought of Zeo Ranger 3 being too afraid to walk into the house.
The next few weeks went by in a similar fashion. Jo got used to school and the homework, and would hang out with the Power Rangers after school. Rocky would drive her home every day, or Tommy, and she was starting to develop a crush on the blue-wearing teen.
Danny would still pick on Rocky, but at least he had gotten over the fear of Danny and Zedd. Now, every once in a while, Rocky would hang out with Jo at her house after bringing her home. Danny still didn't really approve, but he didn't say anything either.
Rita and Zedd secretly liked that the Blue Ranger had a crush on their daughter. Being accepted into the friend group of the other Rangers was also a good thing.
It was after school one day that Jo couldn't hang out with the rest of the group. She said goodbye to Rocky after school and left, leaving him standing in the hallway alone. It was the first day after they'd met that he'd gone to the Youth Center by himself. It was a weird feeling.
Jovie strapped her helmet on as she left the building, seeing Danny waiting at the front of the pick-up line on his motorcycle. He nodded at seeing her and started up his bike. Jo could feel more eyes on her again, and tried to ignore it. Something just felt off today.
Back at home, Jo looked around for her parents. Rita came up from the basement, the one place that Jo wasn't allowed to go. "Mom? What are you doing in the basement?" Jo questioned, standing by the front door, too confused to walk away.
Rita sighed. 'Well, it's almost time to tell her. Might as well just get it over with.' "Jovie, we need to talk. All four of us." Danny had appeared behind Rita, the same grim look in his eyes that she had.
"What's going on?" Jo hesitantly took a step back, a habit she had whenever she was caught in a situation. She slowly dropped her backpack, raising her arms slightly, ready to drop into a fighting stance.
Danny rolled his eyes, shoulders still tense. "Zedd has more answers. We aren't going to do anything, but now it's time for you to make some decisions." 'Wow, cryptic much, Goldar?' Jo thought as she followed behind Rita and Danny into the basement.
The basement had been converted into a base of sorts, looking identical to Zedd's office in the palace on the moon. Dark concrete walls, a slight fog rolling across the floor, and a familiar smell to the air that made Jovie straightened up. She could smell the metal on Zedd.
He was in his full battle armor, his Z staff waiting for him in the corner next to the massive bank of monitors. His visor was blazing red. He cursed under his breath. "Jovie, daughter. The time has come. The Power Rangers are close to being defeated by the Machine Empire, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen."
"So what do you want me to go do? Act as a cheerleader?" She replied, still edgy.
Rita sat down at her chair, her massive dress in place and her wand in her hand. Jo looked over to see Danny once again looking like Goldar always did, his golden armor glinting dangerously in the dark light.
"Daughter, we have a power source. You are the only one without a dark energy who is capable of holding the power successfully. If you are willing, we'd like you to carry the powers into battle and assist the Rangers from time to time." Rita stood again, a small black box in her hand. It was opened to reveal a Power Coin.
"Is that…-"Jo trailed off, too shocked at seeing the old relic again.