Saturday, after the half-day of classes and dodging Bakugou again, Izuku approached the antique store. The young man paused outside. In the windows were signs in both English and Japanese. They said 'Retirement Sale', 'Everything Must Go', and 'No Reasonable Offer Refused'. Izuku wondered about that for a moment. Then he went inside.
The man was behind the counter again. He looked over, and recognized Izuku immediately.
"Good morning, young man," he said openly, "Here to do some more shopping? We have some excellent deals."
"Not today," Izuku said cautiously, "Though I might bring back my mom tomorrow. Or early next week."
The man seemed to pick up on the boy's trepidation.
"Sorry, no refunds," he told Izuku firmly.
"No, I definitely don't need a refund," Izuku put his hand protectively over his watch. The man definitely noticed the action.
"But it is related to the Coin," Izuku admitted. He paused, but the man just gave him an inscrutable look.
"Does the name Lord Zedd mean anything to you?" the boy asked quietly.
"Lord Zedd," the man repeated, "Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time..."
"You know him?" Izuku prompted openly.
"Of course I know him," the shopkeeper chuckled, "He's me. Or at least, who I used to be."
"You're Lord Zedd?" Izuku wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited.
"Not anymore," the man countered, "Most people call me Zack. Zachery Edwin Davis Dulles. Though my wife still calls me Zeddy some times."
"Your wife?" Izuku was just excited, now that it was obvious 'Zack' was not offended or going to destroy him, "Rita Rep..."
Zack held up his hand, "Don't call her that. She hates that name. Her name is Rita Fienna Dulles. But yes. And I take it you are the Echo Ranger?"
"In training," Izuku qualified, "And I'm Midoriya Izuku."
"So why are you here, Izuku-kun?" Zack asked, "Or maybe I should ask, why did Tommy send you here?"
"Dr. O has a couple of requests for you and Rita," Izuku said, "He wanted me to see if you had been able to find any more Grid tech since the Echo Coin was created. And we met someone who is badly hurt, and Tommy suggested Rita might be able to heal him."
"That is interesting," Zack said evenly, "Because Tommy knows we are trying to live a quiet life on Earth, blending in and not interfering. Especially with our powers weakened by whatever Demonus did. Of course, if an alien or monster had attacked, we would have done what we could to help. But for Terran affairs and Terran issues, we try to stay out of it."
Izuku's phone beeped. He gestured to it, and Zedd nodded. Izuku read the text, and then showed it to Zedd. The man read it. Then he read it again. Finally, he sighed dramatically.
"Just a minute," Zack said. Then he took out his own cellular, and made a call.
"Hi, honey," the antique seller switched to English, "The young man with the Coin came back to see me. He wants to see you. Our old friend has a request for you. I told him. Okay. Yes. Milky Way Dark, from my secret stash. Okay. See you soon."
Then he disconnected.
"She'll be here in a few minutes," he told Izuku, "In the meantime, lets check on your other request."
Zack put up a closed sign and looked the door. Then he led Izuku into the back of the store.
"Alright, let's give it a try," Zack said. There was a device on the table. Three wires came out of it and were clipped to Izuku's watch. Zack took a fourth cord, a standard electrical cord and plugged it into the wall.
The hexagon shaped machine took up most of the table. It had a glass circle in the center, and the rest was made up of white and blue plastic with steel accents. Under the glass, a light began to spin around. Faster and faster until it began to hum. A figure of light began to form above the device, slowly resolving until it took the form of Tommy Oliver. Only about fifteen centimeters tall and partly see-through.
"It seems to be working," Tommy's voice echoed out of the projector.
"Wow," Izuku said, "I've seen projectors like this before, but they were a lot bigger."
"This is one of the originals," Rita told him.
"Grid tech," Zedd added, "created by Andrew Hartford, and adapted by Haley Ziktor."
"I thought Grid tech wouldn't run on electricity," Izuku glanced at Tommy, not entirely able to keep the accusation out of his voice.
"Most of it won't," Tommy said, "It took Haley three years to get this to work, and she was a genius."
"And when it was powered by the Morphin' Grid," Zack added, "It would have produced a full size and opaque projection of Tommy. Now it would take a dedicated fusion reactor, to do that..."
Izuku's eyes widened.
"He's joking," Rita told him, "A fusion reactor could run two of these with power to spare."
Izuku looked Tommy, who nodded. Somehow, the boy didn't seem particularly reassured.
"The projectors you are familiar with were from Haley reverse engineering these," Tommy said, "And that took her another five years. From what I can tell, they haven't been able to improve them much in the last two centuries."
"They haven't improved at all," Zack said, "To be fair, that is largely due to the Troubles. They were a lost technology. We had to leak Haley's original plans about sixty years ago, to get them back in production."
"So, why did you want to talk to us?" Rita got them back on track. Izuku and Zack had already been working when she arrived. Zack hadn't told her what Tommy requested. And Izuku was too star-struck (and honestly smitten) to talk to her at first.
"Umm, this was actually the first thing?" Izuku gestured at the device.
"I was wondering if you had found anymore leftover Grid tech," Tommy said, "So I could figure out if there is anything else we need to worry about. Anything dangerous that might still be out there. Or anything we might try to find in an emergency."
"We have a few odds and ends," Zack smiled, "I suppose we can leave some of them with you."
Then his smile faded, and he glanced at his wife, worried. Rita had a thoughtful look on her face.
"And the other reason?" Zack pressed on.
Izuku bit his lip pensively, so Tommy answered.
"Izuku met All Might," the former Ranger said. Then he paused, and clarified, "You know who that is, right?"
"We stay out of world affairs," Zedd rolled his eyes, "We aren't hermits."
"All Might is dying," Izuku said whispered, and the amused annoyance slid off Zack's face.
"Izuku shook his hand," Tommy explained, "The Morpher is designed to monitor Izuku's vitals, but I brushed All Might's hand in the process and got a partial read off of him. And frankly, he's a mess."
"Show me," Rita demanded softly.
Tommy disappeared, and instead the projector showed a bunch of medical terms numbers. While Izuku knew what things like 'pulse' and 'blood chemistry' were in basic terms, the values and specifics meant nothing to him. But they did mean something to Rita, who inhaled sharply.
"I would give him five years," Tommy's voice emerged even though he wasn't projected, "at the most. And I'm surprised he can still operate as a Hero. Chances are, if he keeps on like this, he'll get killed before his time runs out."
"The scan is not complete or conclusive," Rita countered, "But, yes, he is in bad shape. I would say more like three years than five. I wonder what did this?"
"That was part of why we came to you," Tommy explained, "I'm hoping you can figure out at least a part of it. Because if something like this could happen to the Symbol of Peace, and neither medical technology or healing Quirks can fix it, it could be a serious danger to Izuku."
"I would find out more if I healed him," Rita agreed. Then qualified firmly, "If."
Izuku wilted, and the sorceress felt bad.
"I'm not saying I won't," she told the boy, "In fact, given these readings and the threat this might pose, I'm more inclined to help. But I want to hear Tommy's other reasons, first."
"All Might is the Symbol of Peace," Tommy answered, reappearing, "During and after his rise to number one, crime rates around the world are down and the number of Heroes has increased. It is most noticeable here in Japan, and to a lesser extent the US, but it is happening everywhere. If he were to suddenly die, or worse, be taken down by a Villain, it would be bad. If you can heal him, All Might will be less likely to lose. And if he lives long enough to back off, slow down, and have a new number one take his place, the upward trend may slow but it should continue."
"You want Izuku to be the new number one," Zedd mused.
"I think he has a better chance than most of the currently active Heroes or Hero students," Tommy shrugged, "But it is up to him. Though he does want to be a Pro Hero."
"You aren't worried about anyone finding out you are a real Power Ranger?" Rita asked Izuku.
"No," the boy shook his head, "There have been other Ranger-type or Ranger adjacent Hero Quirks before. After the Rhode Island 7, America's next big Hero, chronologically, was Red Steel. He claimed he was a Ranger, but it was discovered he just had a transformation type Quirk that resembled the Rangers. His daughter was the Hero Pink Steel, and she had the same Quirk, just with a different color. There was also Maskierter Rider, a German Hero who looked like one of the characters from the old Kamen Rider shows, and whose Quirk only worked when he rode a motorcycle. And then there are Heroes that wear Ranger style uniforms. So if I say it is just a Quirk, people should believe me. Heck, even if I claimed I was a real Power Ranger, most people would think I was just lying or delusional."
"Frankly," Tommy said, "The way the world is now, being open about his powers is probably safer and better camouflage than trying to hide them."
"But that does bring me to my other reason I wanted you to heal All Might," Tommy looked at Rita and Zack sharply, "One that the two of you just made more important."
"Us?" they asked in unison.
"You said you have some odds and ends you can leave with Izuku," Tommy reminded them, "You two are planning on leaving Earth, aren't you?"
"Well..."
"I get it," Tommy assured them, "It's hard for you two to live here, hiding. Outliving everyone around you, worried what will happen if you are discovered. And you did always joke about wanting to travel. I'm the one who told you if you guarded the Echo Morpher and found the Echo Ranger, any debt or penance you owed to Earth would be paid in full."
Zedd and Rita glanced at each other.
'Tommy told us that after he gave me the coin,' Zack told his wife telepathically.
'How could the double know that?' Rita mused.
"I'm not going to ask you to stay," Tommy continued, unaware of their mental communication, "But I'll be the first to admit I'm limited in this form. I'm also a drain on the Morpher. And most importantly, I'm no Zordon. I'm not even on Gosei's level. Izuku needs an ally, a real person he can turn to and who knows the truth about him."
"And you want that to be All Might," Rita stated.
"Who better than the number one Hero?" Tommy countered, "Especially since he is also a True Believer."
Zedd and Rita both groaned and rolled their eyes.
"You don't like the Power Rangers True Believer site?" Izuku asked, hurt.
"It's not all bad," Zack quickly backpedaled.
"But some of the people there are real nut cases," Rita said, "They'll believe any rumor, no matter how stupid. And some of the... adult fanfics..."
Zedd, Rita, and Tommy all shuddered in varying degrees of disgust.
"So you didn't make a purse monster?" Izuku queried earnestly, "I always though that seemed sill... unlikely."
Tommy looked away. Unfortunately, his translucent face didn't hide his smirk.
"Actually, we both did that," Zedd admitted sheepishly.. And Rita blushed.
"From what I have seen, Izuku and All Might are two of the more intelligent and reasonable members of the forum," Tommy said.
Zack and Rita shared a look. No actual telepathy this time, just the sort of silent communication that comes from a long and caring relationship.
"I'll do it," Rita said, "Though depending on how bad it is, you may need to help me, Zeddy."
"Of course," her husband agreed. Then he looked at the two Rangers again, "When? We were potentially going to leave at the beginning of June. That's when the sale of the shop will be complete."
"I'll contact him on the forum tonight, and see if he will meet me tomorrow," Izuku said, "He... he doesn't actually know about this yet. I'll have to try to convince him."
"Zeddy, are you thinking..." Rita asked her husband tentatively, after Izuku left.
"I know they are your treasures, your remembrances," he hugged her, "And I'm not going to tell them, or ask you to do it. But it you are asking me, you know what you should do, right?"
Rita nodded into his chest.
"Good morning, Midoriya-kun," Toshinori waved as he reached Dagobah Park, "I didn't see you here yesterday."
"Good morning, Yagi-san," Izuku explained, "I normally rest on Saturdays. Let my body recover, and do my homework for the weekend in the afternoon so I have all day Sunday to train."
"That's a good idea," Toshinori agreed, "So what did you want to talk about, that was worth asking on the forum if I would be here today."
"There is something I need to talk to you about," Izuku said, "Arguably a couple of things, but they all link together. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"
Izuku glanced around. The littered beach was deserted, and even the streets around it were empty. Not unexpected for an early Sunday morning. But he still felt too exposed.
"I don't think anyone will overhear us here," Toshinori shrugged. It was part of the reason he had chosen this route.
"Okay," Izuku agreed. It was All Might after all. But they both moved deeper into the junk, where they would not be readily seen.
"The thing is sir," Izuku started hesitantly, switching to English just in case. Then the words just started spilling out, "I know that you are All Might. And I know that you have some sort of injury that is slowly killing you. And I know someone who should be able to heal you. Or at least help. She's willing to try, if you agree. Sir. Please."
For a moment, Yagi-san didn't react. His expression was flat, but mildly skeptical.
"That's very interesting," he chuckled, "I can understand looking at me, how you could think I was hurt or sick. And I'm very flattered that you think I could be All Might. Be really, you couldn't be further from the..."
"It's Morphin' time," Izuku declared, and placed the tips of his right pointer and middle fingers on the face of his watch.
Motes of green energy, with specks of white and black shot out of the Morpher. They wrapped around Izuku's arms, up to his shoulders. His head and torso were engulfed. The power covered his legs. For a moment, the boy was only a vaguely humanoid blob of green, white, and black mist. Then it started to collapse in. Solidified around his body.
Toshinori was gaping in spite of himself. Naturally he had watched the video of Tommy, Carter, and Casey morphing for the press. Watched it many times, in fact. Anyone on PRTB who hadn't seen the video would silently pitied, at best. And at worst, mocked as a poser. He had also seen videos of the Steel father and daughter activating their Quirks, back when he lived in America. Izuku's transformation was far more like the former than the latter.
And it took less than a second.
Now Izuku looked like a Ranger. Like an altered version of the first Green Ranger, with heavier armor and strong white and black accents on the green.
The instruments in Melissa's Coin case went nuts. And the young woman decided, father or no, Uncle Might or no, she was going to Japan after the Expo.
Izuku looked through the helmet. The faceplate was fully transparent, but had a heads up display with his vitals and a targeting reticle over whatever his eyes focused on. And despite being solidly opaque from the outside, the rest of the helmet was translucent from the inside, so it didn't obstruct his vision. The helmet also had more advanced scanners than when the Morpher was in watch mode. When Izuku looked at Yagi-san, the HUD showed him a bunch of numbers he didn't understand. It also outlined a large divot in the man's chest, under his jacket and t-shirt.
Then Izuku reached up and unclipped the helmet. He removed it and handed it to the still stunned Toshinori. The boy exhaled sharply and looked at the expanded and more complex watch on his wrist.
"You were right about that, Dr. O," he addressed device, "If anything, you might have undersold it. But since I Morphed, I might as well..."
He darted away from Toshinori, drawing the two daggers. He slashed through a large metal plate, one of the side panels of the ship that had accidentally dumped the initial load of trash here. The panel, taller than either of them, and twice as long, fell into six smaller pieces.
"That should make it easier," Izuku said, panting slightly. Then glared at the broken down backhoe it the plate had been leaning against.
"Mode White," Izuku announced. The helmet in Toshinori's hands changed shape and color. And the shape of the boy's uniform remained the same, but the colors white and green swapped. The chest insignia also changed. The weapon in his left hand vanished in a flash of light that flew to his right hand. The remaining dagger became a large curved sword. Izuku took it in both hands, and jumped. As he brought the blade down, white fire covered it. The heavy scoop was severed from the arm of the machine, and crashed to the ground, sending a cloud of sand into the air.
"Power down," Izuku said when he landed, breathing harder. The energy swirled back into the watch, leaving it and Izuku back to normal. And the helmet was gone, too.
"Sorry for wasting your time there," Izuku said hoarsely, "I wanted to Morph so you would believe me. But since I did, I thought I would take a second to make few of the larger pieces of junk more manageable."
"What you said before..." Toshinori was still unsteady. He remembered that Pink Steel admitted she and her dad couldn't remove their 'helmets'. They were part of the Heroes' body, not a separate component. That didn't prove anything. Nor did the rest of the display, which All Might admitted to himself he had a hard time pinning to any single Quirk. Unless All for One had discovered who All Might really was. Before he died, the Villain might have started some sort of plot that involved giving a young man with multiple Quirks. An infiltrator who could mimic one of the Rangers Toshinori idolized.
That or the kid was the real thing. It was a fifty-fifty chance in the number one Hero's mind. But Izuku seemed like a good kid. And more than that, Toshinori wanted it to be true.
"Yeah, this was the first time I've transformed," Izuku said sheepishly, "Dr. O told me it would be draining."
"No, I..." Yagi-san started to protest, but paused when he realized what the teen had done. For him.
"I meant Dr. O," the skeletal man continued, "You said that he was your trainer. You don't mean..."
"A copy of Dr. O, of Doctor Tommy Oliver, exists in my Morpher," Izuku said, "An A.I. With his skills and memories. He's been teaching me marital arts, and helping me get in better shape so I can use my Ranger form properly."
"I see," Toshinori mused, "In that case, I want you to tell me something. Something Tommy Oliver would know, that you wouldn't know."
"But how does that work?" Izuku asked, confused, "I mean, I could just tell you anything, and how would you know if I am lying or not?"
"Perhaps I should have been more clear," Toshinori said, "I know the identity of one of the Rangers. One that was never made public. I know, because I met their decedents, in America. And they... um... trusted me with their secret. Tommy Oliver would definitely know that Ranger's identity. So if you can tell me that person's name, I will have little choice but to believe you."
"I see," Izuku said, "That makes sense. Which Ranger?"
"You know of the Paris team, the Neo Mighty Morphin' Rangers, right?" Toshinori asked. Izuku didn't even dignify that with a response. Just an annoyed scowl.
"Of course you do," the man said, "I shouldn't have asked. So does Tommy know who the team leader, the Neo Pink Ranger was?"
Izuku's phone beeped. He took it out, and read the text from Dr. O. Whose icon Toshinori glimpsed, was the original Dragonzord.
"The same as the original Mighty Morphin' Pink Ranger," Izuku said for Tommy, "Kimberly. And don't read her last name, Izuku. He has to say at at the same time. Okay, Yagi-san, on three, two, one..."
"Hart."
They both said it in unison. And then All Might drew in a harsh breath.
"Kimberly Ann Hart was my friend, Tommy says," Izuku continued, "She left the team to compete and study gymnastics in Paris."
"And when the monster Verto attacked Paris," All Might told Izuku and confirmed for Tommy, "Kimberly had her powers temporarily restored to fight him, as the other Rangers were busy. As Neo Pink she assembled a new team, and they defeated Verto. She told her children this, but she never told the identities of any of the other Rangers. So it is true."
Melissa had let it slip to her Uncle Might when she was nine. Knowing that her seven times great grandmother was the first Pink Ranger of modern Earth, and the leader of the Neo Mighty Morphin' team fueled young woman's love of and belief in the Rangers. Of course there had never been any proof that Ms Hart had been the Pink Ranger. Though it did explain how David Shield had the shard of the Pterodactyl Power Coin that was the start Melissa's near obsession with collecting the remains of the various Pink Power Coins.
"You really are a Power Ranger," Toshinori stared at the boy in wonder.
"And you really are dying," Izuku turned the conversation around, "While I was Morphed, the scanners in my helmet showed me the injury on your chest. I'm not a doctor, but that injury... You must have lost most of your left lung. At least."
"I suppose there is no point in hiding that," the man sighed. The he fixed Izuku with a canny look, "But you said you can fix it. How? Some piece of Ranger tech?"
"I said I know someone who can probably fix it," Izuku repeated, "And is willing to try. If you are willing to trust me, and them, I will take you there."
Toshinori considered it. If worse came to worse, All Might could probably break out. But he believed and trusted the boy. Just not necessarily these other people yet.
Toshinori Yagi was like a kid in a candy store. Surrounded by Grid tech, even if most was broken and even less worked. A projector showing Tommy Oliver. And the real Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, right here.
Not to mention the potential that the wound that had plagued him for almost five years might be healed.
He honestly could not have said which excited him more.
"What do you need me to do, Mrs Dulles," he asked, "Do I need to take my shirt off? Lie down? Are you going to sedate me?"
"That last one is tempting," Rita slipped back into her villain voice. Then normally, she said, "But no. You can just sit in that recliner. And I started scanning you as soon as you arrived. Technically I could have done everything from back here with you in the front of the store. But this is easier. I just need to figure out what spells to use. You can be awake for the procedure. You can talk to Izuku and Zack, so long as you don't move to much, or get too excited."
Then she glanced to her husband, "Give me a class 7 protected zone, with sterilization, please, Zeddy. And I'll let you know if I need a mana recharge."
"Okay," Zack said. There was a flash of light and a stirring of the air. Then the redeemed villain pulled a chair over. Izuku disconnected from the projector and joined them.
"Well then, Midoriya-kun," Toshinori naturally fell back into Japanese, "I never really asked on the forums, but how did you become a True Believer?"
"Well, the same way most people do, I guess," Izuku said, "I found PRTB, and did some research, until I was convinced the Rangers were real."
"I think what Yagi-san is asking," Zack chuckled, "Is how did you become a Power Rangers fan in the first place."
"Oh," Izuku felt sheepish, "Well... I'm Quirkless."
Toshinori's eyes narrowed. Zack noticed, but Izuku didn't.
"I always wanted to be a Hero, like you All Might," the boy explained.
"Still have not confirmed I am All Might," Toshinori interjected quickly.
"But when I was four, my mom took me to the doctor," Izuku continued, "And he did the toe test on me. I didn't want to believe it. I kept wanting to be a Hero. And then I learned about the Power Rangers. Heroes from before there were Quirks. Heck, of all the Rangers whose identities were known, most did have any special powers before were Rangers. Only Rhodes-san, who was an acolyte of a mystical martial arts temple. Dr. O, Ford-san, and Terran Space Rangers were all normal teenagers. Even Andros and Zane, who were from another planet, were still Human. I guess Rocca-san was a potential sorceress, but she hadn't learned any magic. And Grayson-san was a firefighter. But a normal one."
"That must have been tough," Toshinori said, his voice haunted, "Being Quirkless."
"It was. But the Rangers gave me hope. If they could be normal, but still be Heroes, still be chosen to fight evil, then I might still have a chance. And, I guess, I was right."
"I've even been thinking," Izuku's voice became thoughtful, "Tommy said the Echo Coin rejected other candidates before I found it. All just as worthy as me. Some in better shape than me. But all of them had Quirks. And I didn't. The Coin picked me, who didn't have a Quirk. Tommy thinks Ranger powers might not be compatible with Quirks."
"I tend to agree," Zack said, "I don't know as much about Quirks, as I do about the Grid and Morphers. But there is something about them that doesn't mesh. It maybe just be that the enhancements that come with Ranger powers would dangerously supercharge a Quirk. Or it could be something else."
"So maybe the Echo Coin picked me because I am Quirkless," Izuku nodded, "Or maybe I was born Quirkless, so I could find the Echo Coin."
"That's an interesting theory and outlook," Toshinori said, "I like it."
He was secretly and silently applying the theory to himself. Maybe he had been born Quirkless, specifically so he could inherit One for All.
"And may I ask you a question, Zack-san?" Toshinori said after a moment. The couple had asked him to use their given names, since they shared a surname.
"Of course," Zedd agreed, "Though I may not answer it."
"What do you know about the Mystic Mother?" All Might asked, "The information I have says that Rita-san became the Mystic Mother, and yet, here she is."
"To understand that," Zack smiled nostalgically, "You need to understand what happened when the Z-Wave hit us. You know what the Z-Wave is, I assume?"
"A mass of good magic and Grid energy unleashed by Zordon when he died," Izuku said softly, "It either purified or destroyed all the evil aliens and monsters on Earth."
"Technically, it spread across the local galactic cluster," Zedd said, "But Terrans were always more focused on this little blue planet. Though, to be honest, Earth is far more important than it should be."
"I should have died," Zack took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "Rita was originally Human, and had the potential for good or evil, before her father got his claws into her. But I was born bad. The Z-Wave should have disintegrated me, like it did Rito and Goldar. Instead, a miracle happened. Because I truly loved Rita, and she truly loved me, I was made Human, instead. Zordon's sacrifice gave us... it gave us everything. Free will that I never had and was stolen from Rita. A chance to really be together."
"But it wasn't that simple," Zack continued after a pause to collect himself, "It wasn't just the Rita and I were purified. I lost about eighty-five percent of my power, and Rita about seventy percent of her power in the process. But energy can't be destroyed, and the Z-Wave wasn't perfect. The power that was driven out of me, about half was purified and half was not. Almost all of Rita's power was purified, again, because she was a Human and should have had a choice. Rita's purified magic absorbed my purified monster powers, and became the Mystic Mother. And the still evil power that split off from me consumed the slivers of Rita's power that were still dark, and became Thrax, our self-proclaimed son. Thrax was an incomplete being, and from what Ad... From what someone told me, Thrax seemed to have some of my memories and thought they were his own."
"That makes sense," Toshinori said thoughtfully.
"What happened to the Mystic Mother?" Izuku prompted.
"We never really had contact with her," Zack said, "But after the..."
"Ahh," Toshinori grunted loudly, "Oh.. Ooo.. Ow... Ouch... That... Actually that feels good. I feel better. Better than I have in years. Maybe even better than before this injury."
"Healing spells at that level are not discriminant," Rita sounded tired, "There are probably a lot of other older scars that you don't have anymore, either. But we're done."
Toshinori unzipped his windbreaker and yanked up his shirt. His chest was unmarked. Still dangerously emaciated, but there was no divot, no scar.
"I can breathe," he said, and then illustrated.
"Your lung and stomach have regrown," Rita said, "The damage to your heart is fixed. Like I said, you are probably healthier than you've been in a decade."
Then she pulled her own chair closer, and gave the three men a pointed look.
"The scar was cursed."
They all blinked. Then Toshinori and Izuku continued to look confused. But Zedd's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"How?" he demanded.
"It wasn't a spell," Rita said, "Too sloppy and uneven. It wasn't that hard to break. It might have been a natural curse, or a Quirk."
The two Terrans looked even more confused.
"Sometimes untrained magic users can produce magical results without casting a formal spell," Rita said, "If whoever hurt you had the potential, and hated you enough, they might have cursed you without knowing or understanding it."
"But a Quirk?" Izuku prompted.
"Some Quirks manipulate magical energy," Zedd shrugged, "They are uncommon, and tend to be the more unusual and inexplicable Quirks. That doesn't mean the Quirk is magical. Like you can kick the ocean and move the water, but that doesn't make your foot a wave or the wind."
Izuku nodded.
"How did you get this injury, All Might?" Rita asked, emphasizing his Hero identity.
"I suppose there is no point in denying it," Toshinori grumbled.
He told them about All for One, the Villain who could steal and bestow Quirks. Zack and Rita agreed that there was a good chance multiple Quirks that used mana had mixed poorly, resulting in the curse. Toshinori told them about the fight. How he was wounded. And how he killed All for One in the process.
He didn't tell them about One for All, or his history with the Villain.
"Maybe we should have been keeping better watch," Zack sighed.
"We did just move to Japan three years ago," Rita reminded him, "After my augury told us to go west. Before that we had been searching in California, for obvious reasons."
"But if this All for One is dead," Izuku said in relief, "Then he's not a threat anymore."
"Perhaps not directly," Toshinori fell into his All Might voice and speech patterns without thinking about it, "But Japan is still suffering from his schemes and minions."
"But the point is, neither you, nor Izuku, have to worry about that sort of cursed injury," Zedd explained.
"Hmm, I suppose not," All Might agreed.
"That's good," Izuku said, "Especially if you two are leaving."
"I saw the signs," Toshinori realized, "Are you going back to California?"
"No, we are leaving Earth," Rita said.
"Part of it is for a vacation," Zack said softly, "Part of it is the trouble living here. Earth Humans don't live terribly long, and seem almost stubbornly and intentionally ignorant about magic and life on other planets."
"But if we are being honest," Rita said, "We also want to see if we can leave. Earth no longer has Morphin' Grid energy. But we don't know why, or the extent. Is it just Earth? The whole galaxy? The entire universe? And why haven't the other contacted us?"
"We'll leave," Zack said, "The RV runs on our magic. In our weakened state, it might take us a a few years to reach Aquitar. But if Aquitar is fine, we can tell them what we know, and hit the beach."
"And if it isn't fine?" All Might asked.
Zedd and Rita's eyes hardened.
The last two weeks of May passed quickly. Toshinori and Izuku visited Rita and Zack a few more times, and Izuku kept his promise to bring his mom to the antique store.
Inko also went back again without her son.
The departing couple piled most of their Grid tech on Toshinori, since Izuku didn't have the space to store it. All Might seemed to be working on something, but was keeping it from Izuku.
All Might also started working out with Izuku. Now healthy, he wanted to get back into shape. It was a long road for both of them. But by June, Izuku could stay in Ranger form for almost an hour, and Toshinori only looked skinny, not undead.
The first Sunday in June, Izuku received a phone call. All Might was off fighting a Villain, but Izuku was still training. And Rita asked if they could stop by. Izuku immediately said yes. Not a half hour later, an old, but clean and well maintained RV rumbled up the street, stopping next to Dagobah park.
"I remember hearing about this," Rita said as she looked over the park, "It was worldwide news when it happened. It is nice that you and Toshinori are cleaning it up."
She was stalling. And Zack had stayed in the RV. They had all said their goodbyes yesterday, and Izuku expected once Rita had said her peace, the couple would be leaving Earth.
"There is one more thing I want you to have, Izuku," Rita said. She handed him an old and polished wooden box.
"May I?" he asked.
"Go ahead."
He opened it. Izuku immediately recognized one of the items inside, and quickly figured out what the second one was.
The first was a Morpher. A grey steel octagon, with black and red accents on the face. There was no Coin in it. There was a large crack running through the surface, so that the 'O' in Power was missing, and the 'E' in Rangers was more like an 'L'.
The second object was a Coin. It was broken, less than half of the original bronze remained. It had a car embossed on the face, and was caked in pink tarnish.
"The original Pink Ranger's Morpher," Rita said fondly, "And Turbo Pink's Power Coin, or at least the two pieces I found and was able to rejoin. My memento's of Kat."
She paused and there were tears in her eyes.
"She never forgave me," Rita said, "At best she tolerated my presence. Not that I blame her, after everything I did to her. But I always cared for her, even when I was evil. I saw her as the little sister I never had. That was why I kept trying to turn her bad again, after she broke free. The Coin has a stronger bond with Cassie, and Kimberly used the Morpher before and after Kat. But Kat still used them both, had a connection to them. And... and these should stay on Earth. Who knows, maybe they'll come in handy."
Izuku closed the box and gave her a loose hug. He also filed away that Katherine Hillard-Oliver was one of the Pink Rangers, and that the same Cassie Chen who was revealed as a Space Ranger was also the Pink Turbo Ranger. Unless there were two Rangers with the same name. Something to ask Tommy about tonight.
"Thank you," he told her gently.
"You're welcome," she said. Then she broke away.
"The Earth is yours now, Izuku," Zack called out from the window, "Take care of it, and may the Power protect you."
Then the RV rolled away. It didn't even seem to particularly speed up, as its tires lifted off the road. It flew into the sky and out of sight.
June grew hotter, but the two men continued their cleaning workout. Both were able to lift ovens and dryers in their base forms, so things were moving faster. Toshinori dropped hints about Izuku's upcoming birthday, and the teen was getting excited.
Then, on Thursday July 6th, Toshinori missed their morning training. It wasn't uncommon, as the duration he could maintain his All Might form had reached almost a full day. So he was fighting more crime again.
Only at lunch, Izuku received a mysterious text from his friend, teacher, and training partner, requesting he come to Dagobah as soon as Aldera's classes let out.
Curious and nervous, Izuku went over Aldera's fence to avoid Bakugou's latest attempt to teach him a lesson. The two boys traded second and third place in Aldera's standings with every other test now, and it annoyed the explosive blonde to no end.
When Izuku reached Dagobah, he saw the imposing figure of All Might, rather than the skinnier but increasingly buff form of Yagi Toshinori. And he wasn't alone.
She was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was taller than Izuku, but still much shorter than All Might. She had shining golden hair down to the middle of her back. Piercing, clear blue eyes that sparked with intelligence even at this distance. A straight nose, high cheeks. Plump, rose colored lips. Her figure was amazing; thought she didn't have the curves or raw sex appeal of someone like Midnight. Yet. But there was a purity that combined with her intellect made her even more appealing to Izuku.
It certainly helped that the young woman seemed to be only a couple of years older than him, and thus was much more attainable.
She was wearing a plain, cyan t-shirt; black, denim shorts, and white sneakers. She also had an unusually large backpack weighing on her shoulders, pulling her shirt up and away from her shorts and tighter across her chest.
"Izuku," All Might called out, "I would like you to meet ForeverPink, better known as Mel..."
He was cut off as the girl's pack began to glow and blare our alarms. Seemingly in response to Izuku's approach. She yanked her phone off her belt, and punched some buttons on the touchscreen. Then she glared at Izuku and pointed at him.
"You're a Power Ranger!' she shouted, annoyed and overjoyed at the same time.
Izuku's jaw dropped.
Author's Note/Tip of the Iceberg: David and Melissa Shield moved to I Island about three years ago (at least in this story). And you can't spell coincidence without Coin (or so my autocomplete keeps reminding me).
Also, the whole Human Rita & Zedd/Mystic Mother/Thrax thing is my personal headcanon. Only here it is actually canon. Thrax having Zedd's memories is why he claims he fought the Sentinel Knight despite being only a few years old; that was actually Zedd a long time ago.