Taking A Chance

Full Summary - [Sequel to Avalon Series and Bailey Series]. Casey Cranston thought her life was normal. Her father's studies had them travel a lot, to distant planets and universes to experience things no other kid has experienced before. Who else can say they learned how to swim on Aquitar? It's too bad Casey doesn't remember it. When her senior year rolls around, Billy leaves his job as a professor at MIT to teach science classes at Harwood County High School and brings Casey and her mother Avalon along. That was alright with Casey, she was used to moving and setting roots in her father's hometown of Angel Grove was bound to be a blast. Until one day she's transported to a mysterious cave off the beach by a tiki head named Gosei and his robot partner Tensou. Now, as the Megaforce White Ranger, she has to keep her ranger powers a secret to protect the ones she loves, not knowing they're keeping the same secret from her. Being a ranger really runs in the family.

Billy prepares himself for his first year of teaching at Harwood County High School. It's a risk to return to Angel Grove when his power ranger past can easily be found out, but a power signature is too hard to ignore. Now if only he could tell his daughter he used to be a ranger.

"All that traveling; seeing different planets, different universes…and we end up back in Angel Grove. I didn't think I'd ever call this place home but…somehow it feels right."

"I'm sure the fact that there aren't any more monsters running around is what's doing it," Billy replied. He sat at his desk in his darkened classroom, arranging the photos and knickknacks so they lined up perfectly with his computer monitor and laptop. He smiled, setting up a picture of his family front and center of his desk. "You hated Angel Grove."

"I didn't hate Angel Grove. I just never thought I'd be there so long, yeah? Besides, I wasn't used to staying in one place for too long. I didn't want that for Casey. Not in her junior year."

"She always loved traveling with us."

"She already likes you better than me, Billy, I don't need you to make it worse."

Billy grinned up at his wife, who smiled back at him, despite her folded arms and the glint in her eye that proved her previous words weren't a lie.

Billy always had been closer to Casey, though Avalon always said it was that she had him wrapped around his finger. As much as Billy denied it, he knew there was a high chance it was true. People didn't want to admit they played favorites; kids and parents. Kids usually preferred their father, who was the 'fun' one, a reprieve from the 'mean mother' who told them what to do and not to do all day. Not able to understand that al the fun activities and outings they went on were with mommy who, statistically, was the one who decided to stay at home during the child's formative years. Parents were more likely to denounce it, but it was obvious in the subtle ways they spoke about their children's achievements or even the activities and interests they shared with their children, who they preferred.

Billy, however, also knew that Avalon wasn't completely surprised by it, considering her relationship with her own parents. It was much better than it had been, but she was closer to her mother while her little sister, Bailey, was closer to her father. Due to that, and a struggle with Post-Partum Depression, Avalon struggled with bonding to Casey when she was an infant, something that may have played a part in their family dynamic.

Casey batted her eyelashes and Billy did whatever she wanted.

Avalon had a firmer hand but usually grinned in an 'I-Told-You-So' sort of way and had Billy deal with handing out the consequences of their daughter's actions, even if they concluded together. As a family they were very close, but Billy and Avalon knew Casey deserved some sort of normalcy in her life, there weren't many people who could say they learned how to swim on Aquitar. Let alone be allowed to even mention it with how close it brought attention to their power ranger past.

Swallowing a hard lump in his throat, Billy leaned back in his office chair and let out a quiet sigh.

"Five minutes into being a new teacher and you're stressed?"

"Teaching kids is a stressful job," Billy reminded her. "You're not only passing on the knowledge that school boards and education systems expect you to teach so they're adequately prepared for further education. But you're also taking on the position of being their mentor, as someone they see the same as, if not more than their own parents, and teach them how life works and how to move through the world to be good people."

He thought of Ms. Appleby, suddenly. How she spent so much of her time with her students. Not just in the classroom, but out. She made sure she knew what was going on in everyone's lives, worked to help them even if they didn't know they needed it. She was more than patient with Bulk and Skull, despite testing her patience daily. She wrote a letter of recommendation for them to get into the police academy without their knowledge and wanted it to stay that way. Even the students that were troublemakers in different ways—like Avalon—Ms. Appleby had helped to the best of her abilities.

Ms. Appleby wasn't just a teacher. She was the rangers' home away from home. She was a person who wanted to bring out the best in people and release it on the world. It was her who had first come to mind when Billy was offered the teaching position at the high school. Why a MIT grad, then professor, would want to 'downgrade' and teach in a high school? His colleagues thought he was crazy. But it made sense to him, was the next step he needed to take.

Her funeral had hit him harder than he thought it would, all the same it hit him exactly as hard as it should have. Ms. Appleby was one of the few people who didn't make fun of him for his intelligence, or think it was weird. She had listened patiently and carefully to his explanations of his experiments during his science competitions—often competing against students much older than him. And when he got to the high school, Ms. Appleby sought him out to formally introduce him to the science clubs.

It was nice to see so many former students return for her funeral, even Bulk and Skull had made an appearance, sobbing loudly when she was laid to rest. She worked hard for all her students and he vowed to do the same.

"All that and you're only getting paid—"

"—It's common knowledge that teachers are underpaid, Ava, no need to point it out." Billy turned a wry smile her way.

Avalon smiled back and walked to her husband, perching on his lap, draping an arm around his neck. Billy reached up his hand and pressed it to her waist. What a sight to see, if anyone were to walk in. There was nothing scandalous about a husband and wife enjoying each other's company in the privacy of his office, but it was something that'd been drilled into his head when he was a professor at MIT. Don't bring any outward attention to yourself other than your studies. There were enough of his colleagues he'd seen quietly or loudly leave academia amongst scandal due to the belief they were smart enough to get away with murder.

"Are you thinking about the money or about doing a good job?" Avalon asked, studying his face. "You're one of the smartest people on the planet, no matter what, you're going to leave a lasting impact on these guys."

"That's what Mr. Burley said," Billy replied. For a moment, he felt silly for referring to his colleague as 'Mr. Burley' especially when they'd remotely worked on academic papers together across campuses. "But I don't know…it's one thing to teach college students and another to teach teenagers."

"Especially when one of those teenagers is going to be your daughter?" Avalon pressed. She rapped his temple. "How is that any different from the 'homeschooling' we've been giving her?" She used air quotes around the words.

Billy ignored her question. Not wanting to get into that conversation again, knowing it'd be one that he'd lose. Casey had been flourishing well with the schooling they'd given her, but without JJ, Eva, or her cousin Delilah around...she needed to be in a normal setting. Billy picked up a folder that'd been left on his desk with his teaching contract and flipped it open. Just as he requested from Mr. Burley, there was a list of his students inside as well as a little bit of information about each of them.

He looked at the first name and smiled to himself. He'd already heard of Noah; keeping up with as new in STEM as he could. Noah had always stuck out to him. Reminding Billy of himself in some ways. Noah had some of the most interesting ideas and projects that not even Billy had come up with when he was at Angel Grove High. But it was one of the things that drew him to Harwood County High, the school had a great STEM program that he was proud to have the opportunity to cultivate.

Billy mused over the names at the top of the page, he deduced they were special to Mr. Burley in some way—just as they were to Ms. Appleby—or may have had the top grades in the class. He was glad Harwood County High didn't have class rankings, the competition made things difficult for the students who were more academically inclined, especially with those who made their grades their whole identity.

Noah Carver - Noah has a brilliant mind. Others may call him a geek of some sorts, but he is brilliant with technology. He may not be the first person that people would choose to join their sports teams, apart from his best friend Jake, but what he lacks in physical coordination he more than makes up for in brainpower. Noah doesn't care whether he may or may not become Prom King, he's much more interested in using his blockbuster brain to change the world.

Gia Moran – Gia has been labeled as 'Miss Perfect' amongst her peers. However, it is unknown if this is due to jealousy or if it is something that's been put upon her for the image she upholds. Many times, she's been voted in the yearbooks as 'Most Popular' despite not having close friends, other than her best friend Emma. Gia is as intelligent as she is confident but isn't a braggart about her achievements.

Emma Goodall - Emma is in tune with nature and is always on the lookout to protect the environment. She's a little more soft-spoken, but she participates in class, isn't afraid to give a wrong answer, and wants to learn as much as she can about the topic at hand. She's very sweet, but don't let her looks fool you, she's very into BMX bike riding, her ruthless determination in races is what motives her in l areas of her life. She's very easy-going and positive. She always tries to block out negative vibes with positive ones and is quick to keep the peace within debates and arguments.

Jake Holling - Jake is outgoing, optimistic, fun-loving, proud and fearless when it comes to everything in his life. He seems like he'd be a class clown, but he has a talent for bringing people together rwith a laugh and always has an eye on the bright side. Despite his joking nature, he is very intelligent, often asking for help when things aren't as clear to him. His analytical translates to the soccer field where he is the start of the team, but he doesn't let it go to his head.

There was more information on the students as he flipped the pages; their achievements, sports teams they played on, GPA, extracurricular activities they were part of, clubs, everything that made up the profile of a student.

Billy mused over each page silently, taking in the profiles of each of his students. They made him smile, becoming more and more reminiscent as

Troy Burrows – New Student. Father is in the military. Has moved around a lot. This is his first stable home. I've been told he's very serious, keeps to himself. Is vvery involved in martial arts.

Amber 'Casey' Cranston – New Student.

"What's worrying you?"

Avalon's question knocked Billy out of his thoughts. His blonde lashes fluttered as he blinked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"You only get pensive like that when you're really thinking about something and I know it's not these kids." Billy shrugged in response, still thinking. He wondered if Avalon could read his mind, with how quickly she sensed the shift in his thoughts. To the more important thing they weren't talking about. "You sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the power signature that we've come across?" Avalon replied with a raised eyebrow. Billy smiled in a 'maybe' sort of way. "You know Tommy would've done it, but he and Kat didn't want to rip JJ away from his friends. And same with Jason and Trini, Eva was starting to get acclimated in Stone Canyon…"

"I don't mind coming here to find the power signature," Billy interrupted. He stopped smiling. "I'm just saying…" he let out a low breath. "If this is what we think it is…maybe it's time we tell Casey about being rangers." Avalon lifted her eyebrows. "She's old enough now."

"You know it wasn't my idea to not tell her."

"I know."

"It was yours."

"I know."

"So why are you changing your mind now?"

"In case this power signature is something else entirely," Billy pointed out. "We've seen many things over the years while being a ranger and not. I never thought it was possible to be able to morph again until Tommy started to work on the Master Morpher, or even that we were going to face Rita and Zedd again like we had. But if there's something here, then maybe it'd be best if we told her. She's old enough now."

"Billy," Avalon said firmly, quickly adapting the part of her that was evident to Billy since they first met. She was very stubborn, determined, and hard to have her mind changed. "We already said that we weren't going to tell her unless we absolutely had to, because it's not safe. It's not safe for anyone to figure out who we were or what we did. That's why we stopped taking her around the different planets and universes when she started to actually remember things." She ran a hand through her hair. "We'll tell her when she's ready, but right now, she's not. And we're not if we still have to have this bloody conversation. If we were ready, we wouldn't question it or hesitate at all."

Billy nodded. He knew she was right. Always knew she was right; they'd had the conversation a lot. Even more as they'd watched Casey get older and older and found her way through life. Every time there was a news report of monsters attacking some new city, they'd keep tabs on what was going on, start speaking to former rangers, and then decide, once more, they wouldn't tell their daughter. There were other rangers who'd told their kids and they were now supposed to keep a secret from Casey, that made things harder.

But it was still a decision they stood by.

Just as they wouldn't tell her about Avalon's past in the Vipers unless they absolutely had to. Avalon alluded to it every now and then with a comment that drew one of Billy's famous 'disapproving' looks. She side-stepped questions about the 'V' tattooed on the inside of her wrist when Casey used to climb onto her lap and trace her fingers around the intricately drawn letter as well as the lightning bolt tattooed on the other, the symbol of the power rangers.

Now he was going to be around other teenagers who…surprisingly, felt very familiar to him. Avalon must've felt the same for she reached out her hand and plucked the pages from his hand. She flipped it to Gia's page and hummed to herself. "Why does this sound so familiar?" She asked.

Billy chuckled. "Maybe because she reminds you of you?"

"Unless she's got a snake tattooed somewhere, I doubt it." She tossed the papers back to his desk and let out a sigh. "Pay isn't bad, your dad's still here, we're living in a place we're used to, we can actually settle down somewhere. And there might be a power source here that could be anything but….is more likely to be exactly what we think it is." She shook her head. "And I thought Common Core Math is hard."

"It's not hard, Ava—"

"—It's not if you have a super brain like yours." Avalon reached out and gently rapped her knuckles on the side of his head before pressing a kiss to the spot. "So do you want everyone to call you Mr. Cranston, Dr. Cranston, or be one of those 'cool' teachers where you let them call you by name?"

Billy made a face. "I don't think I'd be able to handle my students calling me 'Billy' all the time," he replied slowly.

But Avalon wasn't done with her jokes. "Should I call you William now?"

"Only if you let me call you Cadence."

Avalon winced, hearing her rarely used first name come from her husband's mouth. "Touché."

THE END

A/N: I've always had this idea to write for Megaforce when I saw that they'd thought of Billy being the one to be the teacher for them and to be a mentor to Noah. So I thought I'd try my hand at it. I hope you guys enjoyed.

~Avalon