Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own the power rangers.

A/N: This one picks up right where the other left off. Hope you like it.

Zedd looked at Goldar as he arrived back in the moon palace. "What did you find out, Goldar," he asked.

Goldar bowed to Zedd. "Jason is hurt, my lord," he said. "He has bruises on his face and he was favoring his left side. He tried to fight off the pain, but I could tell it was hurting him a great deal."

Zedd turned back around to look at the earth. "This could be something we could use," he said. "Leave me while I come up with a plan to use Jason's injuries against the rangers."

Goldar bowed and left the throne room.

The rangers arrived in the command center, looking up to Zordon as they did so.

Jason shifted his arms, making Billy and Zack let go as he moved over to the control panels and leaned against the counter. He looked up at Zordon, trying to hide the pain he was feeling from the others. "What is going on, Zordon," he asked. "Who is the new ranger? When do we get to meet this person?"

Zordon smiled down at the rangers, and then looked past them. "He is coming now," he said.

The rangers turned to see a figure in a white outfit floating down from the ceiling. The figure was all in white from his neck to his feet. His gold helmet caught the lights in the command center, sparkling in them. He had a gold shield around his chest and back, gold trim around the tops of his boots and his gloves. He lowered his arms to his sides as his feet touched the floor of the command center.

Zordon smiled down at the rangers as the white ranger lifted his hands to remove his helmet. "Rangers," he said. "I want to present the white tiger ranger to you."

The white ranger removed his helmet, slowly lowering it to smile at his friends. "Hi guys," Tommy said.

Broad grins came to the faces of the five rangers, relief filling them as they looked at Tommy standing before them.

"Tommy," Kim whispered, her eyes shining brightly. She rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad it's you."

Tommy wrapped his arms around Kim, pulling her closely to him. "Hi, Beautiful," he said softly. "I missed you."

Kim pulled back to smile up at Tommy as Billy, Zack and Trini came over to greet Tommy.

Tommy smiled at the others, shaking hands with Billy and Zack and giving Trini a small hug.

"Welcome back, Tommy," Billy said. "It's great to see you."

"This is awesome, man," Zack said.

Trini just smiled at Tommy, her eyes showing the pleasure she felt at seeing her friend again.

Jason stayed near the computer consoles, watching his friends welcome Tommy back to the team. He crossed his arms, quietly pressing his right hand against his throbbing ribs. He watched Kim closely, seeing the happiness in her eyes, on her face and felt his heart send a flash of pain through him. He fought down the feelings, smiling as Tommy turned to him. "Welcome back, bro," Jason said as Tommy walked over to him.

Tommy smiled broadly at Jason, setting his helmet down on the counter beside his friend. "It's good to be back, Jase," he said, his smile fading slightly as he saw the bruises on Jason's face. Tommy studied his friend, seeing the pain in his eyes that he was obviously trying to hide from the others and his smiled changed into a frown of concern. He looked at the stiff way Jason was standing and noticed how his right hand was pressed firmly against his left ribs. "What's wrong, Jason," he asked softly as the others slowly walked over to them.

Before Jason could answer him, Zordon looked down at the rangers.

"So, rangers," Zordon said. "I take it you are all pleased with the new leader of the team?"

There was silence for a few seconds as the group of teens listened to Zordon's unexpected announcement.

Jason looked at Tommy, seeing the obvious shock and surprise on his face. He glanced at the others, seeing their shock as well and looked back to Tommy. He knew his response to Zordon's announcement would either make the team stronger or break them apart. He smiled at Tommy, reaching out and putting his left hand on Tommy's shoulder. "It's great to have you back, Tommy," he said quietly, meaning every word. "I know you'll make a great leader."

Tommy looked at Jason, relaxing, as his friend seemed to accept Zordon's decision, but not feeling very good about it. He managed to smile at Jason, respecting his friend even more for not holding this against him. "Thanks, Jason," he said, raising his left hand to place it on Jason's shoulder. "I appreciate that."

Billy, Kim, Trini and Zack seemed to physically relax at the quiet exchange between Tommy and Jason. They smiled broadly, congratulating Tommy quietly.

Jason removed his hand from Tommy's shoulder, shifting his position against the counter. He gasped as fiery pain shot up from his ribs.

Tommy shot out his hand, grabbing Jason's left arm and keeping him from falling to his knees.

Zack moved quickly, grabbing Jason's right arm and helping Tommy to keep Jason on his feet.

Zordon looked down at them, concern filling him as he saw the pain on Jason's face. He looked down at the other rangers. "Billy, Trini," Zordon ordered. "Get a medical bed from the back. Alpha, get a scanner and check Jason's injuries."

Billy and Trini ran towards the back room as Alpha picked up a scanner and moved towards Jason.

Kim stood back, watching Jason with deep concern in her eyes. She realized that Jason had been trying to hide his pain from them, not wanting to draw attention away from Tommy's return. She stepped back as Tommy and Zack helped Jason over to the medical bed, watching her friend grimace in pain as he lay back on the bed. Kim moved to his side, grabbing his right hand as Tommy and Zack moved back to let Alpha work.

Alpha ran the scanner over Jason, concentrating on his left side.

Jason lay there, trying to relax as Alpha checked his ribs. He glanced over at Kim, seeing the worry in her eyes and managed to give her a small smile. "I'll be okay," he said softly. "Stop worrying."

Kim managed to give him a small smile, gripping his hand a little tighter. "You just lie still and let Alpha work," she ordered. "And don't tell me not to worry. You are my best friend, Jason. I'll always worry about you."

Before Jason could respond, the alarms in the command center started going off.

Kim looked down at Jason as the others turned to look at the viewing globe.

Jason nodded at her. "Go," he said. "They'll need you."

Kim gave him a small smile, squeezing his hand before going over to join the others.

Zordon looked down at the rangers as a monster appeared in Angel Grove Park. "Zedd has sent a new monster to attack the city," he said. "You will have to get to the park and stop it."

Tommy nodded, glancing over his shoulder to look at Jason briefly. He turned back to the others. "All right guys," he said. "It's morphin' time!"

Trini, Billy, Zack and Kim moved to stand behind Tommy, pulling their morphers from behind their backs.

"White Tiger!"

"Mastadon!"

"Teradactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

Jason lay on the medical bed, listening to his friends morph and teleport out of the command center. He let a little sigh escape his lips and closed his eyes, trying to relax as Alpha hooked him up to a machine to try to heal his ribs.

Alpha turned on the machine, making sure that Jason was comfortable, and then turned and walked over to Zordon. "His ribs are bruised, Zordon," he said. "But, he should be all right once the machine does its job."

Zordon nodded, looking over to Jason and then back to Alpha. "Thank you, Alpha," he said. "How long will it take?"

"Just about half an hour, Zordon," Alpha said. He turned away from Zordon, going back over to make sure that Jason was not in any great pain.

Zordon turned his attention to the viewing globe, watching his rangers fight Zedd's latest monster, not wanting Jason to see his concern.

Michael Scott walked into the police station, wanting to do some paperwork while he had the chance.

Chief Smith came to the door of his office, looking at Michael as he headed for his desk. "Scott," he said. "I need to see you in my office."

Michael nodded, setting his hat down on his desk and heading for Smith's office.

Smith looked up from his desk as Michael entered the office. "Close the door and have a seat, Scott," he said.

Michael closed the door, making his way over to the chair in front of his chief's desk. He looked at the grim expression on Smith's face and a bad feeling came over him. "What's wrong, chief," he asked.

Smith looked at Michael, not liking what he was about to tell his best officer. "We just got a call from the hospital, Mike," he said. "Derek Thompson was removed from life support earlier this afternoon. He passed away just a little while ago."

Michael sat back in his chair, shock running through him. He looked at his boss. "Does anyone else know about this," he asked softly.

"Only the DA," Smith said. "He's all ready upped the charges against the three boys to involuntary manslaughter. He's contacting their attorneys as we speak."

Michael shook his head, unable to say anything at the moment. His mind went to his son and he looked up at Smith. "Chief," he said. "Would it be all right if I head for the youth center? My son Jason is there with his friends. He was really close to Derek Thompson and I don't want him to hear this from someone else."

Chief Smith sat back in his chair, thinking this over before responding. He looked at Michael and slowly nodded. "All right, Mike," he said. "Go take care of that. In fact, take the rest of the shift off, your son might need you right now. Let me know if you need tomorrow off as well."

Michael came to his feet, smiling at Smith. "Thanks, chief," he said. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything." He headed out the door, hurrying to his car so that he could get to the youth center.

Zedd stood in the throne room on the moon palace, watching the rangers as they fought his monster. He studied the white ranger, sensing that something was familiar about him, but not able to place him. "Finster," he yelled as he continued to watch the fight.

Finster ran into the throne room, bowing to Zedd. "Yes, my lord," he said. "What can I do for you?"

Zedd turned to Finster, anger filling him as the rangers seemed to be winning. "Find out who the new ranger is," Zedd ordered. "I want to know everything about him."

Finster nodded, getting up and hurrying from the throne room without saying a word.

Zedd turned his attention back to the fight, his body glowing red with anger as the rangers slowly took control of the fight. He looked closer and his anger began to fade as he noticed that the red ranger was absent from the fight. He actually began to chuckle evilly as he noticed the white ranger seemed to be leading the fight. An idea began to form in his mind, one that would take some time and careful planning if he was to pull it off. He turned back around as Finster came back into the throne room.

Finster bowed to Zedd. "It would seem that Tommy has returned, my lord," he said. "According to the scan I made, he now has these new powers. What's more, they were created by Zordon and cannot be stolen from him. Nor can these powers be corrupted."

Zedd turned back to the fight, watching with surprising calmness as the rangers defeated his monster. He turned back to Finster as the rangers teleported back to the command center. "Forget about Tommy," he said. "I have another plan in mind for the rangers." He walked over to Finster, an evil chuckle coming from him. "I want you to find out everything you can about the red ranger," he ordered. "I want every detail you can come up with on him, everything no matter how trivial it may seem, understand?"

Finster looked at him in puzzlement, but did not argue with him. He bowed to Zedd once more. "As you wish, my lord," he said. "I will do as you ask." He turned and left the throne room, feeling puzzled and confused by Zedd's request.

Zedd turned back to the earth, chuckling once again. "Enjoy the victory while you can, rangers," he said, watching earth through his visor. "If my plan works, your time as heroes will not last much longer." He turned away from the earth and stalked out of the throne room, wanting to set his plan in motion as soon as possible.

Jason sat at their table in the youth center, feeling better physically than he had in a few days. Alpha had healed him in time for him to watch his friends defeat Zedd's monster. He had joined them as Zordon told them that Rita's space capsule had been the thing that landed in the park, and Bulk and Skull had been the ones to find it. They had gotten to Bulk's garage in time to prevent Rita from getting too far and had placed her back in the capsule.

Zordon had had Alpha send Rita away once more, removing that worry from them. Then he had told the rangers to return to the youth center, wanting them to relax after their trying day.

Jason now sat back and listened to the others tell Tommy about his fight with Gary, Todd and Will.

Tommy looked at Jason as Zack finished telling him about the fight. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he saw someone enter the youth center over Jason's shoulder. He looked at Jason. "Your dad just walked in, Jase," he said quietly.

Jason turned, seeing his father searching the room for him. He looked back to the others as he stood up. "I'll be back, guys," he said, leaving the table and walking over to his father.

Michael saw Jason heading for him and took a deep breath, not looking forward to what he had to say to his son.

Jason saw the look in Michael's eyes and knew right away that something was wrong. He stopped a few feet from his father, taking a deep breath before speaking. "What's wrong, dad," he asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Michael put his hand on Jason's shoulder, hesitating before speaking.

Jason felt the uneasy feeling grow and met his father's gaze. "Dad," he said his voice soft. "What is it?"

"It's Derek, Jason," Michael said softly, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm sorry, son. They removed him from the life support earlier this afternoon. He passed away a little over an hour ago."

Jason took a step back, looking at his father in disbelief and shaking his head. "No," he whispered. "No, dad. There has to be some mistake. He's only twelve, he can't be dead."

Michael gripped Jason's shoulders, keeping him from moving back anymore. "I'm sorry, Jason," he said. "I wish it wasn't true, but it is. He's gone, son."

Jason stood in stony silence, his emotions churning inside of him. A slow anger began to build in him, as the events of the past few days seemed to come rushing at him in waves. He shrugged his dad's hands off his shoulders and pushed past Michael, needing to get out of the youth center and away from everyone.

Michael turned quickly, grabbing Jason's arm before he could leave. "Jason, wait," he said.

Jason turned on his father, the emotions in his eyes stopping Michael from saying anything else. "Not now, dad," he said his voice low and hard. "Just leave me alone." He jerked his arm free and stormed from the youth center.

Michael felt his own emotions churning as he watched his son leave the youth center. He started to go after him, but stopped as he heard a voice behind him. He turned to see Jason's friends standing behind him.

"What's wrong, Mr. Scott," Billy asked him. "Why did Jason just leave?"

Michael took a deep breath, looking at his son's friends. "Maybe we should sit down," he said, glancing over his shoulder towards the doors. He looked back to Jason's friends. "The news is not good."

A/N: Next chapter up as soon as I can. Let me know what you think.