Thanks to Falloutboy99 & Theresa Nolan. I loved you guys' reviews. Keep it up!

Okay, Falloutboy99: I made Nick 20 because the Great Battle occurred twenty years ago when he was a baby. At least that's the standard as far as I know. No worries- in a planned future fanfic he'll be seventeen. Maybe Nick did live with his sister in the canon U but I'm having him having rented a cabin or something due to the storyline set up in my 'Billy & Kim Mega Fluff Epic' as all three of my fluff fanfic epics occur in the same timeline. See 'The Tardy Present' for my line of reasoning. Or just keep reading this.

I do not own the Power Rangers. Wish I did, but I don't. I also don't own any part of Chase credit cards, but I think Firass (Nick) is in their latest commercial where the main guy keeps getting money from random people. At least the 3rd person (the guy with the headphones where they're in line for tickets of some sort) looks a lot like him.

4: Quest (Once a Ranger I)

The first thing Madison noticed when she and Vida arrived at the Rock Porium that afternoon for their shift was the absence of Xander. He wasn't off napping in a beanbag, 'supervising', offloading shipments of CDs, chasing Chip around after yet another toilet plunger incident, or any of Xander's other usual activities.

Vida didn't notice, let allow care. She went straight to the DJ platform to get down and rockin'. Chip was lost in a comic book while LeeLee and Phineas were supposedly taking inventory in the back room. So Madison, pulling on her purple Rock Porium shirt, went over to Nick at the cash register. After he finished ringing up a customer's purchases Madison asked, "Nick?"

"Yeah?" he replied, glancing over at the seventeen-year-old.

"Where's Xander?"

Nick felt a stab of jealousy. The Aussie was a charmer, and furthermore only a year older than her. But until now he had thought they were just friends. What if he was wrong? The jealousy wasn't stopped by the fact that he and Xander were best mates or the fact that he knew Madison to be a considerate and caring person so the odd absence of a friend would stress her out.

"Why?"

Madison nearly shied away at Nick's suddenly brisk tone. Eyes wide, she fretted, "Are you mad at me?"

Nick closed his eyes. Turning to face her he cupped her face. Always fragile, Madison seemed to be especially delicate when it came to him. The slightest hint of a dark mood on his part had her stressed. But Nick kept forgetting just how easily she bruised when it came to him. Thankfully as time went on she was becoming easier and easier to heal.

"Never ever."

"Oh. Good," Madison smiled, perking right back up.

She scuffed a foot against the floor, concerned about a return of Nick's dark mood. He could be so unpredictable at times, liable to flare up with seemingly no warning. However Madison knew that Nick always had a reason for flaring up even if it didn't always make sense. Trying to figure what she might have done to annoy Nick it hit Madison. He was jealous of her concern for Xander! Well. Nick kept trying to act as if he viewed her only as he saw the rest of the Rangers but now Madison knew better for sure. Just a friend wouldn't get so jealous so fast. Now all she had to do was get Nick to admit it… which would be difficult considering how he had received a triple dose of stubbornness- one from Udonna, one from Leanbow, and one from his adoptive sister.

Remembering that he still cupped her face Nick hurriedly dropped his hands to his sides. Forcing down a blush Nick explained, "Last night the Sentinel Knight came to Xander to request his aid in defeating a new, powerful foe since this foe has cut off Operation Overdrive from their morphers. He called me before heading out."

"Why not all of us?" Madison frowned. She had heard that the new Blue loved films as much as she did and she knew Vida was keen on meeting the tenth Pink. Plus, Chip had wanted to race the Yellow since they were both fairly speedy- Chip due to his lightening magic and the new Yellow due to her DNA alternation. And besides, usually the previous team of Rangers aided the new team of Rangers. Okay it hadn't worked for Ninja Storm or for their own team but still. Nick smiled lopsidedly, watching with one eye a customer who looked like she might be wrapping up her shopping.

"There's one Ranger from our team- Xander- and then three Rangers from the three teams before ours. Finally there's a Ranger from the First Ten."

Madison raised her eyebrows. In terms of Power, the First Ten could hold off even Udonna or Leanbow or Daggeron and were the most senior of Earth's Rangers. Nick's own powers had gone unnoticed by good and evil for so long only because he had been raised in the same house as one of the First Ten- Hidiacs, the First Five.

"Who?"

"Adam," Nick replied, but had to switch his attention to the approaching customer so he could check her out. While he did so Madison reviewed what she knew of the second bearer of the Black Power Coin. Admittedly he had also had two Green morphers (Zeo & Turbo), but the First Ten were thus named because they were the only ten Rangers who had used the Power Coins to power their morphers. Adam, on the few occasions she had met him, had seemed a quiet but strong personality, with a tendency to support rather than lead although he had superior martial arts skills even among the First Ten. So the first thing Madison asked when she had Nick's undivided attention again was:

"He's a good guy in general as well as a good warrior but is he up to leading a team? Because as the most senior Ranger he'll be charge, I'm guessing."

"You're assuming," Nick teased. When Madison blushed, he tapped the end of her nose with a finger. "Luckily you're right otherwise I'd have to turn you into a donkey."

Madison smiled ruefully. When a customer got too annoying Nick had a habit of turning them into pigs, toads, or donkeys depending on how and how much the customer had annoyed him. Since she or Xander always turned them back Toby didn't complain. Especially since if the customer had annoyed Nick to that point the other customers were just as aggravated and often cheered when the transformation occurred.

Knowing the reason for the smile Nick smiled back. Slipping some ink black hair behind her ear Madison asked, "Who are the other Rangers?"

"I don't know but I can find out," Nick promised, and he closed his eyes to focus better. As the Light he had a direct channel not just to the morphing grid but to the Power itself. Less than two minutes later he opened his eyes.

"We already know the most senior and most junior Rangers: Adam Park and our very own Xander Bly. Tori Hanson- your Blue gal pal- is representing Ninja Storm. Kira Ford is representing Dino Thunder while Bridge Carson is representing Space Patrol Delta."

Madison shook her head, bemused.

"A Black and a Green and two Blues to top it off. What a motley team."

Nick corrected her, "Remember? Doggie and Sky got promoted when Birdie retired so Bridge got promoted too. He's a Red now."

"Wow. Three morphers. Never would have thought that Bridge could go that far. Then again, it is Bridge we're talking about."

"Almost a yellow fellow," Nick joked, making Madison giggle.

"Dustin and Chip have been planning to make him an honorary fellow yellow fellow, especially as he had the good taste to fall for a Yellow."

"Hm." Nick's face grew wistful. "I half-wish that I was helping Xander on his new quest to save the world."

"Half-wish?" Madison inquired.

"Yeah well, if I was there I couldn't be here with- with everyone else here."

"True," Madison had to agree. It had to be too much to wish for to think that Nick had almost finished his sentence by saying 'with you'. Right?

"I wonder why the Sentinel Knight chose those five…"

"Hm. Good point. Any of us would have jumped at the chance to truly be back on the quest to save the world, even if it was just for a little bit."

"I guess he had a line of reasoning," shrugged Madison. Nick half-grinned, "For starters, as far as the First Ten go the first Pink and the only Blue Power Rangers are still on their honeymoon practically."

"And Dr. O. had a fifth morpher only a few years ago," Madison added. "Plus he's married now- to the second Pink Power Ranger. So that rules her out too."

"Jason and Zack are both married with families… ditto for Rocky and Aisha. Trini could have worked, but then…"

"Ethan would have been the Blue and Cam would be the Green while Vida got to be the Pink," Madison figured. "Bridge would have been the Red still."

"Hidiacs, I think that's everyone."

"Let me think… all but Adam himself." Madison glanced at her wristwatch. "I'd better get to work. Enough time talking."

"Right," Nick had to agree, even though he would have been content to spend all day talking to Madison. Wistful he watched her leave.