Chapter 12

Green Withdrawal

Tommy rattled her fingers on her own skull. She thought that at some point over the course of the day she would forget, and Trini would just get back to her whenever. The problem was she couldn't forget. When she wasn't on her phone directly, she checked it at least once every five minutes.

The morning after their date, she had sent Trini a text. The conversation was stalled at [Hey]. It was days later and Trini still hadn't responded.

The day after, Trini wasn't at school. The next she was there for third period, like nothing had happened. The next day it got worse, Tommy wanted to be cool and give Trini the space she needed, but she kept looking over her shoulder, back at Trini. Three days later, she was practically staring at her. The teacher even called her out and told her to pay attention.

Trini didn't react. She kept a neutral look on her face. She had to have noticed. How could she just act like nothing happened?

At the end of the period, Trini bolted like she always did. This time Tommy followed, but Trini turned a blind corner and disappeared. She wasn't just going to let her walk away without at least an explanation. Tommy looked all over the school for her during lunch and ditched sixth period to get behind the heating units in case she might have gone to their spot again.

Why was Trini ghosting her? They could take back whatever stupid kiss they had and go back to what they were before. Civilians were so dramatic.

Everyone was talking about the rangers, about how the yellow, black, and pink ones almost didn't take down one of Rita's monsters. About how the red ranger couldn't beat Zedd. They desperately needed Tommy. She could have taken Rita's monster down by herself. It was bullshit that she'd never get her coin back.

Why couldn't they just get over it? Why couldn't they just let her in? Why couldn't they see what an asset Tommy would be? She was already the best fighter. She was strong, fast, smart, she might even be the best of all of them. No, definitely the best of all of them. The writing was all over the walls of the pit. She could beat them to a pulp as long as they didn't have their coins, anyway. Her fighting experience dwarfed theirs. She seethed the entire way home.

The house was empty when she got home. There was a portrait in a old wooden frame on a small table in the living room. Tommy's mom had turned it into a shrine with flowers and letters she had written. Her dad would have said it was inappropriate, but he was never around anymore.

Tommy looked into her brother's eyes, hard as steel, banner of red, white, and blue behind him. People were so fragile. Sometimes you lose a fight and you don't get back up. Or you fall and break your neck. Or one day you just get blowed up.

Tommy lit a cigarette in the back yard. Her misery lifted for a while and drifted away with the smoke. It was like she could finally breathe.

Her body felt drained and got weaker every day. It ached, she had to drag it around with her. She was still the same size and weight she was before, but now even 20 pound weights were giving her trouble. She could barely complete a set of bicep curls before her muscles gave out. And they refused to do another set at the same weight.

Tommy missed the tired exhilaration of a good workout, that tired that made her feel like she could do anything. She wondered if she'd ever feel that way again.

"Tommy!"

"What?" She turned her head to catch her dad standing in the doorway in his fatigues.

He marched up to her. "I got a call from your trainer. You haven't been going." This was going to be a thing.

"That was a week ago, pop." Tommy rolled her eyes. He hated that. "Couldn't have been very urgent if you're only getting to it now." She walked past him.

He grabbed her arm and smiled with satisfaction. "Your fighting career is the only reason I haven't shipped you out yet." His grip belied sinister intentions. "If you don't have one, there's no reason you're here."

She shook him off, already sick of his shit. She was sick of everything. Tommy wanted everyone everywhere to die. "I could kick your ass, old man."

He sniffed the air for a few seconds. He must have caught the cigarette smell on her.

Tommy reacted before she saw the hand coming. Her dad went straight for the throat. She sidestepped around him and gave a sharp jab to his lat while his arm was up. The hit felt good, it felt right. Her body may have been feeble, but it remembered the movements.

Tommy's dad winced invisibly. His eyes were practically gleeful. "I'm calling Colonel McKimber. You're serving the rest of high school under him. Then the real fun begins."

Asshole thought he could determine her entire life for her. She wasn't joining the army, she had had more than enough of it. Tommy Oliver didn't take orders anymore. Coin or no coin, Tommy was a Power Ranger.

Tommy cracked her knuckles with a lackadaisical gaze. "And I look forward to breaking his jaw."

"You're a fucking moron." Her dad smiled so wide, he was practically laughing. For anyone else that might as well have meant laughing hysterically. "They're gonna chew you up and spit you out."

A power ranger couldn't be chewed up. They were invincible. Tommy took his challenge and locked eyes with him. She didn't drop the lazy stare and sighed. "Go ahead. Tell me specifically what he's going to do after I rip his car in half."

That sick fucking smile fell off of Tommy's dad's face. He squinted at her.

Tommy decided to solve the mystery for him. "He gonna shoot at me? I'm pretty sure my armor is bulletproof."

Tommy's dad was a stone statue.

"Try and put hands on me again..." Tommy looked at her fingernails trying to look absentminded. They were chewn up. She didn't realize she had been biting them to the nub. "And I'll crush your head in my hand."

He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. "You ain't one of them." A quick strike hit Tommy's shoulder. He called her bluff. "You are nothing."

Tommy put her fists up and got into her stance. A stab shot through her bones, they creaked at being strained against their will. Tommy's body was betraying her. She punched with everything she had, her knuckles panging with the hit.

Tommy's dad brushed it off and came at her again. She tried to dodge, but he wrapped his arm around her.

She tried to redirect his weight, only to be lifted in the air and slammed on the floor.

"They're gonna teach you all about that."

Tommy wanted to crush him. She imagined throwing him through the wall. His body breaking under her boot. The satisfying thump of her proving to him that she was more powerful than the entire force he worshiped like a god.

But she didn't have her coin. And he was bigger, heavier, and stronger. Her hits may as well have been taps.

Tommy's dad grabbed her by the back of the neck and drug her to her room. "Say 'goodbye' to your friends." He threw her in and slammed the door. "You're shipping out tomorrow!"

Tommy couldn't move, all of her joints felt frozen. She shook from the pain.

Silver Priority

Zhane got up early to get a spot at the front of the food line. He waited for five hours before it opened. Karone hadn't had a good meal in a few days. She had been busy maintaining the water systems in the city. She had experience with irrigation systems on her family's farm and had been working pretty much all the time she wasn't sleeping. She finally agreed to take her first day off in months and Zhane wanted her to get as much sleep as possible.

Zhane spent most of his days clearing out the remaining drones on the planet. The tiny squads from all over KO-35 had begun to gather at a few automated factories outside of town. The first time they had attacked, they went for the food supply. A legion of drones managed to burn seven farms before Zhane could stop them. Rationing got tighter. He needed to make sure they couldn't do that again.

He had been so focused on his job, he practically forgot about eating. He had collected whatever scraps of food the line had at the end of the day and gave most of them to Karone. It had been so long since he had eaten, hunger had faded into the background. Or maybe that's just what he told himself.

The crates of food arrived in carts. It was unloaded and the vendors began distributing the food, it looked like bread and roots again, but there were some beans too. That was a good sign. The line started moving quickly.

After the food carts left there was a loud 'clang' 'clang' clang'. "I need everyone's attention!" A guy at the front of the line was hitting something with a pipe. There were four other men, all waving weapons around. It was clearly a gang. "This line is closed today. Load everything back into the crates and get it out of here," The leader ordered.

The gangsters pushed the vendors around. The vendors put their hands up and the people started grumbling and walking away. More people unwilling to do anything to stop injustice, they were used to going hungry. But Karone needed to eat. The Silver Ranger was going to have to do something.

As Zhane was looking for the best place to morph, someone spoke up. "Hey, you're not taking this food," A young man walking up behind Zhane yelled. He marched out into the open so everyone could see him. The crowd stopped what they were doing and watched him. There was a metal disc on his belt, a piece of scrap metal he had found and scraped until it was shiny. It looked a lot like the Silver Ranger's coin. "Leave," he demanded.

"What did you say to me?" the gangster leader asked.

The crowd was totally captivated by the exchange. The guy's vision narrowed and his breath hitched, yet he wasn't backing down. "You heard me."

No one joined him. The entire crowd could easily overpower four men, but no one wanted to get caught up in violence. This was the problem, people were complacent under the Machine Empire's rule and they had become complacent under the gangs' threats.

Zhane crept out of the crowd and ducked into an alley. His silver armor came out slowly. He was so tired and his hunger sent pangs into his stomach. He forced more energy from the grid into his armor to quicken the process.

"I don't think I did!" The gangster leader grabbed the man. "See, this food is ours." He punched the guy in the stomach. The guy doubled over. "Who do you think you are? Ain't no Silver Ranger gonna come and save you!" He kicked the guy on the ground.

Zhane's rage spiked. "Oh really," he boomed. Everyone in the square turned toward the Silver Ranger striding toward the gangster. He let go of the man and started backing away. After a few steps he backed into a wall. Zhane kept on him, walking right up to him. His friends ran off.

"Hey, this is all just uh... a misunderstanding," the gangster explained.

"No it wasn't." Zhane punched the gangster in the face. A solid 'pop' meant he had broken bone. He slumped to the ground.

Andros' disapproving gaze hung over Zhane. He had acted without considering the rules. That was probably enough escalation for one day. He left the gangster there to check on the other guy.

He was on his knees, holding his stomach. Zhane offered him a hand. "Are you alright?"

The guy took his hand and grunted something that sounded like "Yes".

Zhane signaled for the vendors to continue food distribution while the guy gathered himself. "Why did you do that?"

"I was trying to help."

"You did good. You stood your ground." Zhane put his hand on the man's shoulder. "I wish there were more people like you."

Faith grew over the man's eyes. "Thanks."

"Maybe get a few other guys in advance next time, and some clubs or something."

The guy nodded.

When Zhane got back to his shack, Karone was already dressed. She immediately saw the food he had brought. "You're the best!" She kissed him on the cheek and began preparing a simple stew. She poured it into two bowls.

It wasn't much. Zhane grumbled to himself. He didn't need as much food as Karone. He could always pull power from the Morphing Grid to supplement the food he needed. When Karone's back was turned, he spooned half of his bowl into hers.

"How about a story while we eat?"

"I don't think I have any stories," Zhane said. His life was pretty boring. He could tell her about each individual punch and kick, but he figured he would stick to broad strokes. "I stopped some people from stealing the food today." He resigned himself to patrolling the lines himself from then on.

"That's great, I'm so proud of you." Karone looked into her bowl with her mouth crinkled. She hated hearing about what Zhane did. She was always afraid he wouldn't come home one day. They sat and ate for a few moments before she spoke up again. "When I lived on the farm, our family would tell stories while we ate."

"That sounds nice. Do you know any good ones?"

"I know a sad one..." Karone looked up from her bowl. "But it has a happy ending."

"Let's hear it."

"A long time ago, the Power Rangers protected Eltar."

"What's Eltar?"

"That's the name of the planet. We didn't call it KO-35 you goof, that's what the Machine Empire called it."

"Eltar, huh." Zhane rolled it over in his mouth. It felt strange, as if someone told him his own name was something else. "Eltar."

"So, the Power Rangers were led by Zordon, the Red Ranger. He and the other rangers kept the land fertile and brought a great harvest. One day, the Power Rangers were called to protect a far away world across the galaxy." She brought her spoon to her mouth and chewed on a root. "As he was boarding his space ship, Zordon promised he and the other rangers would return home very soon." She pushed her spoon around her stew. It seemed like she was done, but that couldn't be the end.

"Then what happened?"

She looked at him. "Well, you know." Karone said it as if he should know what she was going to say. "...it's supposed to be a true story."

"They didn't come back."

Karone stared into her soup. "The Machine Empire attacked, and without the Power Rangers..."

"We didn't stand a chance..." Zhane shook his head. "That is a sad story." He had never heard of the Power Rangers before he met Trey. It was so weird to think that KO-35 had its own entire team. "How do you know all this?"

Karone gave him a small smile. "It's a story the farming families tell their children. My mother always told me that Zordon would come back one day. He would make the land fertile and bring back the great harvest. My father never believed it. He said it was just a hollow wish."

"I thought it had a happy ending."

"...it does." Karone took Zhane's hands. "Zordon never came back, but recently his spirit returned, not in red, but silver."

"Copper. Andros gave his life for the planet. I'm just trying to live up to him."

A tear began welling up in Karone's eye. "Zordon's spirit must have been split in two then." She squeezed his fingers. "The things you are doing are so amazing." She brought him into a tight hug. "I am so proud of you."

Zhane got up early to get to the food line the next day. He thought they might be able to get her food early if he explained the crucial work she did. He stumbled through a ruined building where several people had gathered. One man was standing on a pile of rubble, addressing the others.

"We want to get three guardians at every food line. We aren't going to let the gangs crush us anymore! The Silver Ranger is with us!"

While the guy spoke, the man closest to Zhane got his attention. "Are you here to join?" It was the line protector from the day before.

"Join?"

"We're here to protect the people while the Silver Ranger's protecting us from the machines." The guy smiled. "We're gonna start by guarding the food lines. But when we get enough people, were taking the fight right to the gangs."

People were actually starting to fight back. They were getting organized, bashing a few heads. It was a good sign. Still, he needed to protect Karone, not to mention his own identity. "I don't think I should get involved."

"Okay. Let us know if you change your mind."

Zhane nodded and walked away. He needed to figure out what was going on with these guys, just not as himself. Then again, people wanted his intervention, Karone said what he did was great. He was helping, and he wanted to help any way he could. He turned back the way he came, quickly found an empty alcove and morphed.

"Hey!"

Zhane turned around to find the guy from the day before had followed him. He was too far behind to actually see Zhane morph, but it was pretty obvious what happened.

"You... you're him." The guy scanned his armor shocked. "I never got to really thank you for yesterday." He put his hands in his pockets and retrieved two packets of cloth. "Take these. I know you have a family to feed and it can't be easy with everything you're doing." He stuffed the packets into Zhane's bag.

Zhane had no idea how he should react. This man had the same generous spirit Andros had. It was a good thing his helmet hid his facial expressions.

"The gangs got organized. Now we are too." The guy's smile was huge. "You come back and we'll tell you all about it." He started walking back to the group. "I'm Wes, by the way."

Zhane didn't say anything more as he followed Wes. He had exposed his identity enough as it was.

All eyes were on them as they returned to the meeting. "Guys, it wasn't a spy. He's the Silver Ranger," Wes said. "And he's not an alien. He's one of us."

The leader approached him and offered a greeting. "Silver Ranger, I'm Eric. I heard what you did yesterday." His voice had filled with confidence. He gestured to the rest of the group. Many of them were cheering. "We're ready to do whatever you need us to do."

Zedd observed the battle, pleased with Delphine's command style. She had engaged a group of 200 Machine Empire drones with her team of five. They were vastly outnumbered, and very close to victory. Of all the rangers he had under his command, she was the best.

She drew the drones in close, forcing them to clump together and giving ground while destroying a few. Aurico and Corcus pushed into the sides while Tideus and Cestro came from behind. Soon, they had wrapped the drones into a tight circle and wiped them out.

The Machine Empire had already taken the planet's Zeo Crystal. Nothing would survive on the desolate rock for long. But Delphine understood what Zedd was trying to do.

Rita was looking at a device in her hand. Every once in a while she would down a drone or two when they got close to her. Then she went right back to her device. Even without a connection to the grid, Rita's power rivaled the greatest rangers in history. But she lacked discipline, much like Earth rangers.

He had broken them. It was so easy. Each had something he could exploit. Isolate Yellow from her family and make her teammates neglect her, she will turn on the others. Reveal Pink's true character and the others will turn on her. Force Blue to make an impossible choice, and watch him wither to nothing. Take the person Black cares for most and the loss will drive him to destroy himself.

They quibbled and abandoned the cause, yet, Red remained.

Zedd had recognized that Jason was different during his first lesson. To save his team, he needed to teleport, so he taught himself to teleport out of sheer force of will. All it took was Zedd giving him his coin back.

During their second session, Zedd had demonstrated their team's powerlessness, so Jason took it upon himself to became stronger to defend them. He did not require Zedd to enhance his coin. He would do it himself. That was true power. Jason was already coming to understand, just as Zedd had.

Finally, when Zedd had him utterly defenseless, ready to break him completely, Jason had found a way to save that little girl. The fire in his heart only burned brighter the more Zedd tried to stamp it out. The red ranger was willing to do whatever was necessary to win. He was perfect.

Tommy had shown such promise. She was hungry for power and capable of wielding it to maximum effectiveness. And yet, a single failure had destroyed her. Her fight wasn't over. The green coin was still out there. Tommy would either complete her mission or let herself atrophy into nothing.

As Delphine and her team finished their work, a colossal drone stomped between the buildings of a devastated city. The Machine Empire had prioritized the construction of battle borgs, mobile command centers that led the their ground assaults. It weapons charged and brought them to bear on Delphine and her team.

As powerful as they were, they couldn't possibly defeat it without a zord, though they would try.

"Rita, destroy it," Zedd commanded.

Rita huffed. "This world is dead," she said, not looking up from her device. "Move on."

"You will do as I command!"

"Watch your tone, Zedd." Rita glared at him. "You still owe me."

Zedd glared back. He owed her nothing. "Delphine, return to Aquatar and await my orders."

"Yes, Lord Zedd." Delphine bowed slightly. "Rangers, teleport now." She and her team teleported back to their ship. That was how Zedd expected his soldiers to follow his orders, immediately and without question. He would not allow Rita's insubordination.

Zedd called his zord, Serpentera, with a thought. It came screaming down to the surface of the planet. The impact covered the area in a dust storm. It was twice the size of the battle borg.

The borg opened fire, unleashing a storm of plasma at Serpentera.

Serpentera clutched the borg in a claw. The shield collapsed and the dragon tore its prey in half.

Another borg appeared, taking cover in the city and opened fire on Serpentera. Three more fell from the sky and readied their weapons. An ambush.

Serpentera projected its own shield to block the incoming fire while it whipped its tail, knocking over one of the borgs. It raised up into the sky and crashed down on another.

The borg taking cover in the city peppered it with long streams of light. Serpentera unleashed a column of super-heated plasma from its mouth. It blasted the city apart, burst through the borg's shield and melted its armor.

The final borg collected all of its power into its main gun and fired one last shot. The blue ball of energy exploded on Serpentera's shoulder, sending a shock-wave through the ground.

Serpentera roared and sliced through the borg effortlessly.

Rita smiled. "Now why couldn't you just do that from the beginning?"

She didn't understand. It was about sharpening a new ranger's skills. Giving them obstacles and goals, ones difficult, but not impossible, to overcome. Those worthy will rise to new heights of power. That was who Zedd needed.

Zedd teleported them to Earth. Rita had a semi-permanent residence there.

"I'll be out for a while, don't wait up," Rita said, walking toward the shower. "And you can count me out of any of these stupid field trips."

Rita could never understand. She became a ranger eons before the Machine Empire began to subjugate the galaxy.

"You're right. I don't need you." Zedd turned away from her.

Rita eyed him indignantly. "What did you say."

"You will live out the rest of your days and die here on this planet."

Rita grimaced, not satisfied with her fate. She gripped her staff and swung it at him.

Zedd caught it and shattered the head. Rita was powerful, but Zedd was infinite.

Rita screamed and clutched at the stub that was left, reconstituting her weapon from the broken pieces on the floor. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill everyone!" Blades grew out of her staff in liquid waves.

She only confirmed that Zedd had made the right decision.

"I'll take this pathetic planet's Zeo Crystal!" she snarled. Golden armor flowed over her body. "You think I can't!?" She charged her staff with energy and swung it at him uselessly in her anger.

Zedd couldn't use her, he waved her off in disgust. Jason would surpass her power. His next lesson was the most important. He needed to see the true enemy.