November 7, 1998
INVASION DAY

The sun was going down. That was the first thing Tommy noticed when he stirred awake. The pinkish orange glow shone through the window behind him.

The second thing he noticed was how bad everything hurt.

"Rrrrgh," he grunted, reaching down and cupping at his ribs. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Nope," Luke said. "Sorry, dude."

Tommy had never broken his ribs before. But he was pretty sure this was what broken ribs felt like. Power Driller had gotten him on his right side. Breathing hurt. Moving hurt. Everything hurt. And that was just internally. He felt a sharp, raw pain near that same spot, and remembered the drill slicing at his skin, whatever that wound looked like, it probably wasn't pretty.

There was something around his body. A rib wrap of some kind. There was gauze pressing against his skin. Tommy shifted his weight, and was instantly reminded of the wound in his right leg. That had been bandaged as well. It felt hot. Probably because of swelling.

"Wha…how long have I…"

"Five hours," Luke said. "Five and a half, maybe. Dude, you're really heavy. You know that?"

"Where am I?" he grunted.

"Nurse's office."

Glancing around, Tommy saw Luke was right. He was laying on one of three recovery cots. Luke was sitting on a chair next to him, along with an assortment of medical tape, gauze, pill bottles.

The nurse's office meant they were in the administrative building. Not far incredibly far from where the fight had taken place.

Tommy winced, pushing himself on to his elbows. He took quick breaths. His leg throbbed.

"Your leg's not that bad, actually," Luke said. "Probably hurts like a mother. But it's not that deep. Dana says you probably have broken ribs, though."

"What's going on? What are you guys…what are you doing? How did you even find me?"

"Percy said you ran back to find us," Luke replied. "But I mean, we hadn't seen you. So we figured something must have happened."

"So…wait…did you hit that monster with Dana's car?"

"Naw, man. Dana did. You knew she drove a Hummer, right? Military grade. Her dad got it for her. Could mow down a brick wall."

Tommy frowned. "But what about the drill…guy?"

"Dude, the fire department was there! Cops too! They sprayed it with the hose!"

He nodded. That explained the water, of course. "Wait, the fire department? Why? What were they doing there?"

"They got a call," Dana's voice came from across the room. "From somebody important."

Dana plopped down on the bed next to Luke. She put a cell phone down next to her and rustled her pink hair. The product was coming out, and her normally gelled up fauhawk was now falling to one side.

"He says just to stay where we are," she said. "Ugh. I can't believe I had to call him."

Luke draped his arm around her. "You did good, kid. Real good."

Dana nodded. "Percy is using the front desk computer to get on the internet."

"What happened to the monsters? The robots? All of them?"

Dana and Luke exchanged uneasy looks.

"We don't know," Dana said. "It took the cops awhile to take down those robot soldiers. But Percy says they did it. And that big drill thing wound up attacking the fire department. Ripped the whole truck apart. But when the bat monster got up, I guess they retreated. There's been no sign of them since. Though to be fair, it's not like a lot of people are looking."

She fidgeted.

"Dad says everybody's completely overwhelmed. They aren't in Boston. But New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Angel Grove. They've all been taken. And the Power Rangers…."

Dana trailed off, seemingly not sure what to say. Percy picked it up as he walked in.

"Still no sign of the Power Rangers. Everybody's talking like they've either surrendered, or are dead."

Tommy put his head back on the pillow. He rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands. "They're not dead. They can't be. What about here? Do we know anything about casualties? How many people got off campus?"

"Not really," Percy said. "But there were a great many people in Greek Court when I left, and an even greater many getting off campus by foot. I did see a few people taken away in ambulances, though. The one or two that could get through, anyway."

Tommy locked eyes with him. "So there still might be people on campus that are hurt?"

Percy didn't seem to want to answer. "People are scared to go outside, Tommy. We haven't seen any cops around or anything. And we don't know if those monsters are still roaming around. I mean, they were hurt! They might still be holed up around here somewhere."

Tommy shook his head. "No. No way. We've got to get out. We've got to fan out and do a search. Check the residence halls, check the library, the science building, the-"

And then, the stabbing pain in his torso. Luke's hand was back on him, gently pushing him down.

"Dude, no," Luke said. "Hell no. Even if we wanted to go, we can't move you. You can barely walk, man."

"Then you leave without me!" Tommy snapped, loudly. His body instantly hated him for it. "We can't just sit here. Not if there are people out there that need us. Dana! You're pre-med! I bet you're the one who bandaged me up, right?"

Dana stared back at him.

"There are others you can help too. We don't know how long it's going to be until help arrives. So we've got to make due. Go building by building. Luke, you go with her. Stay together. You guys have cell phones, right? We'll use them to keep in contact. You'll call us every…15 minutes? If you see something, you run, you hide, you do whatever you need to do."

"What are you doing?" Dana asked, point blank. She hadn't taken her eyes off Tommy.

He stared back at her, his gaze firm.

"No, seriously," she continued. "What are you doing? An army of whatever those things are shows up, and you run at them with a stick? If we hadn't been there, you'd be dead!"

"I'm sorry," Tommy interjected. "I never meant to put you or anyone else in danger. But I didn't ask you to come save me."

She continued, unphased. "Are you serious?! The three of us just risked our lives!. And now you're barking out orders? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Tommy said nothing. Not because he didn't want to. There was simply nothing he could say.

Then Dana stood up. She was angry, but he could tell she was also nervous. "Tommy. I'm going to ask you a question. And you'd better tell us the truth. You owe us that much."

He knew what was coming. So he braced himself for it.

"Are you a Power Ranger?"

Percy's eyes nearly exploded from his skull. "What? What does that even- What do you mean?"

Luke gave Dana a look, clearly wishing he'd been let in on her suspicion. "Whoa. Hey, what the hell are you talking about?"

Tommy shook his head. "Listen, I can-"

"No!" Dana cried. Luke tried to shush her. But she continued. "You listen to me! You're from Angel Grove, but you barely talk about it! You've got this extensive training regimen every morning, right? But what are you training for? And then this happens, and you run out in the middle of it all? You try and take those things on yourself? Even now! You're trying to rally the troops and save everybody!"

He wanted to say she was wrong, and even started to form the words. But they wouldn't come.

"Tell me I'm wrong, Tommy," she challenged him, point blank. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Percy's mouth hung open. Tommy felt hot. Their eyes were all trained on him. Like spotlights. He may as well have been naked under them.

"Alright," Tommy got out, remembering to breathe despite the pain it caused. "Listen. That's…a long story, guys."

"I am the dumbest man alive!" Percy shouted, prompting harsh shushes from Dana and Luke. "I'm going to lose all my cred! How could I have missed it?"

"Percy stop!" Tommy's ribs painfully reminded him not to raise his voice.

He kept going. "He was right here! Right under my nose! In my own dorm!"

"Please, man," Tommy interjected. "Look, Dana's right. You guys deserve to know the truth. You saved my life out there. But right now, there could be people out there that really need help. Help that the Power Rangers can't give them. But we can. You can."

Dana's eyes continued to blaze a hole through Tommy.

"He's right," Luke said. "This is…man, this weird. I don't know if you've been lying to us, or what, Tom. But hey, if there are people out there, then we can help. It's the right thing to do."

Tommy could see the muscles in Dana's jaw clench.

Then came Percy. "It's what the Power Rangers would do."

Luke looked at Dana. "You good?"

She took a step toward Tommy, pointing in his face. "Fine. We'll do this. But when all this is over? You're telling us everything. I mean it. Everything."

The hair behind his neck prickled.

"Okay," he said, the hole in his gut expanding. "Everything."

"…these bonds we have forged are strong. Not just to our own nations, but to one other. So to our friends overseas, our hearts are with you. To those of us stateside, we must remain strong. The night is dark. But dawn will rise."

"Words from the president, broadcasting from an unknown location after the attack on the White House by forces from-"

Tommy waved to Percy. "Can we take a break for a sec?"

Percy turned the volume all the way down. He'd found this boom box in a nearby office, and had brought it in so they could stay updated on the larger conflict. That would be his role, they'd decided. To keep an eye on Tommy, and watch the bigger picture. He'd been using the computer in the next room to check for updates online.

The news was not good. The National Guard had been deployed, and overrun, in Washington DC. Based on reports, contact had been all but lost with the authorities in New York City, Chicago, and Angel Grove. Percy had also found a few photos of energy boxes similar to the one they'd seen in Greek Court. The big strategy had apparently been to cause a distraction with an aerial attack, then use the boxes to transport troops in for surprise ground assault. Obviously, one of the boxes intended for the Boston area had come down in Eagle Ridge with the crashed aircraft.

They'd made up for lost time, though. During Percy's last check, he'd read that monsters, Quantrons, and Pirhanatrons were currently swarming Boston, along with St. Louis and Orlando. None of the monsters sounded like Batarax or Power Driller. But there was no way to be certain. Not yet, at least.

And all of that was just in America. Reports were also coming from Cairo, Osaka, Mexico City, Mumbai, New Dehli, London…

Tommy glanced up at the clock. 12:14 a.m.

On the upside, Dana and Luke had been able to provide a little aid around campus. They were checking in as agreed, and had even circled back once for more supplies. As Tommy had surmised, various groups of people had been tucked away on campus, either hiding or hurt. Dana and Luke had found ways to help almost all of them. She cleaned cuts and performed makeshift stitch jobs. He had been tipping over vending machines and bringing food to those who needed it.

Tommy had been hoping to get word from police, emergency responders, or someone that could provide some real relief. But Dana and the others hadn't seen or heard anything. Percy had put out several calls, either getting busy signals or endless ringing.

Once again, help wasn't coming. They were on their own.

"Do you think it's true?" Percy asked. His voice had taken a grim tone Tommy had never heard from him before. "You think there are really camps? Like, prisoner camps?"

"I don't know, man," he said, fighting the urge to hide his head under the pillow. "If that is true, then I guess the silver lining is that they are taking prisoners. They're not…doing anything else."

Percy let out a sigh that had an audible whimper in it. His clothes were still torn and dirty after what had happened at Greek Court.

"Do you know where they are?"

He almost answered with, "Who?" A silly question, given who he was talking to. Especially under these circumstances.

"No," he said, gingerly laying down on his back again.

"Really? I mean, you don't know anything?"

"No Percy! I don't know anything," Tommy snapped. He didn't want to. But he did. Because it was true. He was completely in the dark. Not just about TJ and the current Ranger team. But about his own family. He'd used Percy's phone to call home, but no one was answering. He was trying to push the various possibilities out of his mind.

And then there were Katherine, Jason, Adam, and the others. Where were they now? Were they safe? Had any of them tried to do what he'd done here?

He winced as he shifted his weight. Percy had found him some medication for the pain. But that was it. Tommy wasn't one to lean on drugs. But he couldn't even take a full breath. He needed something.

Percy was looking up at the window. Like he was searching for a sign.

"You know what's funny?" he asked.

Tommy frowned. "Funny? No, I don't."

He actually smiled a bit. "I always wanted to meet a Power Ranger. That's probably not a surprise, is it? But I actually had questions written down. About how the suits work. The different weapons, zords, monsters. All that stuff. I even wanted to know how you breathe in those helmets. I mean, there aren't any airholes. So how do you do it?"

Tommy wanted to object to Percy's line of thinking. This was not the time for an interview. If Dana was as serious as she'd seemed, he'd be spilling his guts plenty when the time came.

"I didn't want to go away to school," he continued. "I'm not really a people person. I'm usually happier talking to people online. Or reading. Or learning about the Power Rangers, and all the extraterrestrial presence on Earth. But my parents, my dad really, wanted me to have the college experience. So I ended up here."

Percy let out a chuckle. "Low and behold, I end up rooming with a Power Ranger. But I don't find out about it until the world ends."

Despite himself, Tommy smiled a bit.

"So anyway, thank you."

"What?"

"Thank you. I don't know what you did, or what Ranger you were or anything. I think I might be able to guess. But anyway, thank you for…your service? Is that how I'm supposed to put it? Thank you for being a Power Ranger."

Tommy wasn't sure how to respond. He'd never been in a situation quite like this before.

"Uh, your welcome Percy," he answered.

"I bet you were a really good one."

"I guess so," he answered, letting his gaze drift up at the ceiling.

"You probably miss it. Especially right now."

Tommy shut his eyes.

"I mean, why else would you have gone out there and done what you did? You fought those monsters without your helmet or your zord or anything. I sure as heck couldn't have done that."

He clenched his eyelids tightly.

"Man, if I'd been a Power Ranger, or if I could have been one…"

Percy's sentence trailed off.

"What?" Tommy felt the word burst from his body.

"Huh?"

Tommy opened his eyes and craned his neck toward Percy. "If you had been a Power Ranger, what would you do? What would you be doing right now?"

Percy stammered. "I, I don't know. I guess I would have done what you did. Gone out and done my best. Tried to help."

"It's not always that simple," he muttered, letting his head drop back on the pillow.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you do after you're a Power Ranger, Percy? You were part of this amazing thing. Your life was changed. The whole world was changed. But then it just ends. And you're supposed to go back to your normal life."

Tommy perched himself back up on his elbows, wincing at the nagging pain. "But how do you even have a normal life after that? You can't. So even if all of this turns out okay and the good guys win, what am I supposed to do? What do you become after you're a Power Ranger?"

Percy seemed genuinely stunned. So was Tommy. He'd asked himself those questions over and over for months. When they hadn't gotten him anywhere, he'd simply stopped asking, opting to bury them away instead. Baldwin had been his way of plowing forward. Leaving his old life behind in favor of this new one, wherever it might take him. But there were still no clear answers. Deep down, he worried there might never be.

"I dunno Tommy," he finally replied. "What do you want to do?"

"I said I-"

"No, I mean, you were a Power Ranger, right? You fought Rita Repulsa, and Lord Zedd, and the Machine King, and whoever else you fought against. You probably had feasts with alien dukes and duchesses. You got to drive a zord and see other planets and places that we on Earth aren't even aware of yet. You got to save the world! Maybe the whole galaxy! Or the whole universe! It seems like if you could do all that, you could do just about anything! Be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a racecar driver, or whatever. Granted, I guess I can see how anything else would seem small by comparison…"

Percy's words landed like kicks to Tommy's chest.

"But I mean, what are you supposed to do? I think the answer is, anything you want!"