Chapter 13

The hat called out, "Slytherin!" Amidst the usual clapping, Billy removed the hat and walked back over to the Slytherin table where the Rangers were still gathered.

"Hillard, Katherine," Professor McGonagall called and the new Pink Ranger hesitantly approached.

Tommy smirked. "That was surprising. I would've bet on Ravenclaw. They're supposed to be the ones that strive for knowledge."

"The hat said something about that," Billy said. "It also said I'm cunning, brave and loyal, leading one to the assumption those are the primary aspects of the other three houses."

"Cunning to Slytherin, brave to Gryffindor and loyal to Hufflepuff. Though if society is so easily divided between those four aspects, this world's got bigger problems than 50' monsters rampaging down it's streets," Tommy said.

The hat barely touched Kat's head when it called out, "Hufflepuff!"

"Some are more easily placed that others," Billy commented as Kat rejoined them. She completely ignored the professor and the students trying to convince her to go to the Hufflepuff table. He smiled at Kat. "It is good to know that loyalty is a prime factor to our new teammate that we know next to nothing about."

Professor McGonagall huffed in annoyance but called the next name, "Kwan, Trini."

Kat smiled sweetly. "I know everything about you guys that's ever been on the news or printed."

Tommy laughed. "So you know the full scoop of slander and libel along with every crazy theory out there."

"Exactly," Kat agreed, laughing. "We all need to get to know each other."

The hat called out, "Ravenclaw!" Trini removed the hat and walked back to the Slytherin table.

"Scot, Jason."

"Gryffindor!"

"Taylor, Zachary."

"Gryffindor!"

As Jason and Zack also simply returned to the Slytherin table, Severus asked of them, "Have we wasted our time with this sorting? You all mean to stay within my house?"

"Uainedragan, Thomas."

"To a point," Jason said. "We stay where Tommy stays."

Tommy ignored as McGonagall called his name again. He told his uncle, "We're a team, a family. We stick together and watch out for each other." He turned to Jason. "To the exclusion of all others sometimes. What Kat said really points it out, we all met her and she's known about us being the Rangers almost since that first day. We should know her well by now. If we're all staying here we should take advantage of that and stop being so … distant. We will all stay in our individual houses, interact with and get to know the people around us." He started towards the sorting hat but stopped when Jason spoke.

"Our exclusivity is part of what makes us an unbreakable team," Jason argued, not wanting to touch on the real reason they'd all distanced themselves from everyone else.

"Mr. Uainedragan," McGonagall called again, clearly annoyed. "Will you get up here?"

Tommy turned back towards Jason. "The Command Centre's destroyed. Alpha's gone. Zordon's missing and most likely dead. Even if he's still alive somewhere, he's outside our ability to reach him. Kim…" he choked on her name, tried again. "Kimberly's dead. You all came the closest you've ever been to dying yourselves. We're not unbreakable Jason. We were shattered this week."

Tommy finally made his way to the sorting hat. Jason motioned to Zack and the two made their way to the Gryffindor table while Trini joined Ravenclaw. Kat frowned in confusion. "Billy?"

"We're doing what Tommy said," Billy explained.

"I don't get it. Jason's the leader, right?" she asked.

Billy smiled. "Officially and traditionally, the holder of the Red Tyrannosaurus Dino Power leads the Dino Rangers. We follow that to a point. The Red Ranger deals with the media, the police, hospitals, that type of thing. The Red Ranger often appears to be in command through battles but that's more because Jason's heads on style of fighting while Tommy stays in the shadows. More often than not, whatever plan we're fighting by is Tommy's. Training is Tommy's end. Most the time it at least appears that Tommy and Jason agree on ideas. If you ever hear them disagree, it's a safe bet we'll end up following Tommy's words."

Kat grinned. "So Tommy's our unofficial leader."

"Exactly," Billy agreed. "You should go to your table, Kat, grab a bite. There's no telling how long that hat of theirs will take to decide which of four major points in Tommy's personality it thinks strongest."

"Slytherin!"

"Or it could be done before you know it," Billy added.