Koulagirl -- thanks for the feedback :). I try harder with characterisation, because I do find it difficult. But I love everybody, and Ian in particular is such a great character. Anyway, here's how the decision goes...

Chapter Four

Teresa, Brendan, Scott and Sarah soon defeated the remaining putties and teleported into the Command Centre. I quickly explained why the new recruit had passed out, and after they'd helped me rest him on a stretcher by one of the control panels, Zordon congratulated us for not only fending off the putties but also managing to get Ian safely to the Command Centre, and was about to continue when the six Senior Rangers suddenly materialised around us in six bright flashes of light. After spotting Ian and nodding their approval, they congratulated us on our fight earlier in the week against Barracuda and the putties. But while the rest of the team talked, I sat on the control panel nearest the stretcher and kept an eye on Ian.

Jason finished talking with Teresa and Scott about the camp and grinned as he walked over to Ian and I. "You get an 'a' for effort, but I think your recruiting technique might need a bit of work."

I smiled. "It's good to see you again Jase."

"Who'd have thought a week would go by so fast?" he replied with a smile. "How's Tallebudgera?"

"It's been really great," I said. "I hate to admit it, but I'm having a great time."

Jason nodded. "That's good to hear. We heard all about your skirmish at SeaWorld on the news last night. Good job, that was really excellent." He paused, then added with a sly grin, "it was nice not having to come and, you know, bail you out of trouble for once."

I stuck my tongue out at him and playfully jabbed him in the ribs, and was about to reply when all of a sudden, Ian began to stir.

"Guys," I said, and everybody jogged over, "I think he's waking up."

Slowly, Ian's eyelids fluttered open, and his gaze soon focussed on me.

"Welcome back," I said with a soft smile. "You okay?"

Ian nodded and sat up. "Man, I can't say I've ever passed out before," he said. "Do you know what...?" but even as he began phrasing the question, the last ten minutes came crashing back like a tidal wave. He felt his mind reaching overload, and he turned to me before glancing quickly around the room.

Damn.

Rolling out of the stretcher, a hand on my shoulder for balance, Ian slowly climbed to his feet, and they mercifully held him up. There was a second of silence as he took in his surroundings, but as he looked around, he caught sight of the other Rangers standing together behind me. "You're the..." he began, looking at Teresa and Scott, before turning to Jason and the elder teens. "And that, that means you're the..."

"The Senior Team of Power Rangers," Jason finished. "Hi, I'm Jason. This is Tommy, Zac, Kimberly, Billy and Trini," he said, indicating each Ranger in turn.

"Uh, hi," he said nervously. He wanted desperately to be more eloquent, but he felt flooded with too much information. "Just... hi."

Across the room, Tommy smiled. "That's okay, take your time."

"Ian," boomed Zordon, and everyone in the room immediately looked up to our mentor.

Ian held up his hand, the name drifting to the surface. "Zordon, right?"

Zordon smiled and nodded. "That is correct. I'm sure the world is currently spinning at a phenomenal rate. Please listen, and I'll do my best to help you understand, well, everything happening around you." He paused, and when Ian nodded, he began his story.

"First and foremost, yes, you were brought here because we wish you to become a Power Ranger. However, that's not all there is to this story. Not all Power Coins were created with the intention that their owners would join a pre-existing team of Rangers, and such is the case of the thirteenth Power Coin, which harnesses the power of the Grey Ranger. The Grey Power Ranger was created millennia ago to serve the forces of good as a solitary warrior. As such, all Grey Rangers since have worked as individual champions of justice. Until now."

Zordon paused, taking a breath, and continued. "The Grey Power Coin came into our possession many centuries ago after a great battle, and we have kept it safe ever since. However, with all that has befallen the Junior Team in the previous weeks, Alpha and I had been modifying the power so as to incorporate it into the existing team. Are you following me so far?"

Ian nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I remember seeing on TV that you guys lost a Ranger in a big battle."

"That's not entirely accurate," replied Zordon, "but close enough. Anyway, the previous battle which I mentioned placed more of a strain on the grey power than we'd first thought. Several days ago, the Grey Power Coin began losing power at a fantastic rate, fading away back into the reaches of the Morphin' Grid. I had no choice but to alert the other Rangers. Alpha and I discovered that the only way to save the grey power was to find somebody to use it, which would effectively draw the power back out of the Grid. And through good fortune and observation, the Junior Team has found a brave and noble defender, a person they trust and wish to become a part of our team. And that person, Ian Thompson of Goondiwindi, is you."

Zordon paused, and there was silence as Ian took in everything he'd just heard. Finally, he looked up and asked, "But why me?"

"You forget," replied the sage. "Your noble actions yesterday during the attack brought you to our attention. Your selfless bravery combined with your extraordinary skills make you an ideal candidate."

"But me? I mean, you said before you'd already lost a Ranger in a fight. Why didn't you just use this extra coin then?"

Zordon shook his head. "The grey power is, well, unique in terms of the other coins. It cannot be used by someone already bonded to a power from the Grid."

Ian turned to the rest of us, and shook his head in disbelief. "But you can't be serious, I'm just a kid! How am I supposed to fight demons and monsters and...?"

"We wouldn't have asked you if we didn't think you could do it," I said.

"Yeah," agreed Sarah. "We're the same age as you, and it's not like we don't spend time training. Besides, morphing does more for us than just the nifty outfits."

Ian looked away for a second. He couldn't make the decision without hearing every angle. "What happens if I say no?" he asked timidly.

Without missing a beat, Brendan spoke up. "We kill you," he said, deadpan.

To our surprise, Ian laughed and turned to the Aqua Ranger with a grin, as Kimberly exclaimed, "Brendan!" and whacked the Aqua Ranger over the back of the head. Ian shook his head, still laughing. Man, Brendan would do even Lochlan proud...

"Ignore him," I said. "You get used to him after a while, if it's any consolation."

"Well that's not true," said Teresa. "I mean, heck, we're still not used to him."

"Hey!" Brendan replied, with mock-indignation.

"Well, it's true..."

Zordon had seen enough of Teresa and Brendan's playful arguments to know that if he didn't interrupt, they'd be there for hours. "If we can get back on track," he boomed, smiling and catching everyone's attention, "if you decide not to harness the power, we will simply perform a technique that buries the memories of the evening deep into your subconscious. It's completely harmless, and in essence you'll forget this place, and think you were sleeping off a bad cold all afternoon."

Ian nodded slowly and stepped back. This was crazy, this was just crazy. One minute he'd been a student on camp playing soccer with his friends, and the next? Somebody was offering him a golden coin and the chance to be a superhero.

Not just a superhero. A Power Ranger.

Everyone was silent for the next few minutes as we all stood there and tried to guess what Ian was thinking. Finally, he looked up to us.

"I, uh, I just need more time to think," he said. "There isn't like an outdoors around here, is there?"

Billy stepped forward. "Just through the doors," he said, pointing to the sliding doors beside the viewing screen. "Turn right, navigate around the corner and out through the exterior doors. We'll keep them open, but given the Command Centre's safety protocols, you'll require our assistance to re-enter the building."

He nodded. "Thanks," he said, before turning and heading out through the doors and disappearing from sight.

Everybody glanced around the room, and Trini was first to break the silence. "Think he'll do it?"

Kim shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said. "He seems like a really nice kid."

"Yeah, it'd be good to have him on the team," said Scott.

Jason turned to me. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I can't remember what I was thinking, I couldn't even guess what's going through his mind."

"Maybe you should go talk to him," Jason said. "See if you can help him."

I nodded, remembering the conversations I'd had with the Red Ranger after I'd received my own Power Coin. "You're right," I said, and looked up to Zordon. "I'll go talk to him. He probably needs someone right now anyway..."

Zordon nodded. "I'd venture to suggest he needs a friend more than anything else in the world," the sage replied. "We'll be here waiting. Take your time." And with that, the others wished me luck, and I turned and left the room.

The sun had slipped down between two triangular peaks on the horizon, framing the mountain range in a golden glow and setting the afternoon sky aflame. He shut his eyes then, basking in the golden rays and feeling the sun's warmth on his skin, and tried his best to get some sort of coherent mental grip on the whirlwind of thoughts in his head.

Up until exactly twenty-four minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago, the world had been a nice, safe little place to live. Comfortable, even.

Well, he thought, perhaps 'safe' wasn't quite the best word to use. After all, in the previous six months, the entire planet had come under attack from some pretty strange forces, monsters, witches and supervillains, comic book characters alive and walking the Earth. But of course, where you had evil villains, you had heroes. There was always the balance, and the good guys always won. That's just how Ian understood the Universe to work. But he'd never in his wildest dreams imagine that one day he'd not only meet those heroes, but they would ask him to join them.

Ian Thompson gazed out over the mountains, and regretted ever thinking that life was complicated. Going to school, getting into trouble with your friends, working out on one of the cattle properties his grandparents owned, that was easy. It all seemed so ordinary. People thought that being a hero was putting on spandex, beating up monsters and leaping off tall buildings. And sure, maybe it was just that, but right now, it seemed like a lot more.

Superpowers or not, when you stand on the ledge of a tall building, it's a long way down. But just maybe, he had the opportunity to fly.

Or at the very least, teleport.

He heard the gravel crunch behind him, and quickly turned back to look into the shadow of the great building.

"Hi," I said quietly, walking over to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, that's okay," he replied, "I was just, uh, never mind. C'mon over, sit down."

I sat down beside him on the comfiest rock I could see. The warm rays of sunshine almost immediately hit me, and I turned towards the golden sunset. Ian smiled.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I bet you get a lot of these out west."

Ian nodded. "Almost makes the nights at camp seem bearable."

I turned to him. "Seriously, I live like ten minutes from the beach, and I had no idea it could possibly get so cold. I guess you learn something new every day."

He smiled. "Just out of curiosity, Brendan, is he like that...?"

"Pretty much all the time," I nodded. "He's at his best in front of an audience, but I don't think we could get by without him."

"I kinda figured."

There was a contented silence as we sat together, almost like a conversation in itself. Finally, he turned to me and said, "Can I ask you, what's it like?"

"Being a Ranger?"

"Yeah."

"It's not that different to being a regular kid," I replied. "Homework, chores, school, find whatever's eating downtown this week and kill it. You know, the usual."

Ian smiled. "Is it, I don't know how else to say it, complicated?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't make life any easier, but you do see things differently," I replied. "Life just gets bigger, I guess. I'd be lying if I said it didn't change you."

He nodded. "Like being able to crack through stone with your fists?"

"You know, I've busted my communicator so many times that way."

We both smiled and laughed at that, and turned back to watch the sunset. After a short while, though, he turned back to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"This is probably going to sound like a stupid question," he began, "but is it dangerous?"

I didn't reply at first, unable to think of anything that wouldn't sound either callous or frightening. Finally, remembering what Teresa had said earlier, I turned to him and nodded. "I'm gonna be honest - it can be pretty scary," I said. "Every time you put on that uniform, and even when you don't, there's a good chance you might get hurt."

Ian sat back. That made sense, after all, but he was ashamed to admit that he hadn't really thought about that at all.

"So," he began, "if there's that much risk, then why do it?"

I turned to him and spoke levelly. "Because somebody has to. And apparently," I added with a smile, "I have a knack for it."

The sliding doors opened with a dramatic 'swoosh', and everyone in the Central Chamber turned to see Ian and I striding into the room. I quickly stepped over to the side of the room, while Ian continued on towards Zordon's plasma tube. Jason turned to me with a raised brow, and I nodded. Suspicions confirmed, he smiled and looked back to Ian.

Stopping in the centre of the room, Ian glanced around the group, and spoke. "I want to do this," he said, and we all let out the breath we'd been holding in. "I know it's dangerous, and I know that I might, well, suck at it. But c'mon, you're the Power Rangers," and he grinned. "How on Earth can I say no?"

Zordon fairly beamed. "Excellent," he said. "That was a brave decision, and I commend you for it. Alpha," and here Alpha stepped forward, holding a small silver box, "please present Ian with the Grey Power Coin."

Alpha nodded and set the box down. Flipping open the lid, Alpha picked up the glowing coin and dropped it lightly into Ian's waiting hands. Almost immediately the glare from the coin began to soften, and Ian held it up wonderingly. The light suggested incredible heat, but the coin was cool to touch.

"Just as I suspected," nodded Zordon. "The power, Ian, is yours to command. Alpha, a morpher if you will?"

Ian felt somebody tapping him on the shoulder, and turned around. Alpha stood behind him, a small circular device in his hand. "This is your morpher," explained the robot. He took the coin with one hand and placed it carefully into the device. "With it, you'll be able to morph into the Grey Ranger."

Ian smiled, never taking his eyes off the golden coin. "How do I use it?"

"Just hold it out, and call the name of your chosen dinosaur," Alpha replied.

Billy stepped forward, handing Ian a familiar metallic arm bracelet. "Your communicator," he said, strapping the band around Ian's right wrist. "It will allow you instantaneous teleportation to any location you wish, as well as enabling you to stay in contact with the other Rangers and the Command Centre itself."

Ian nodded. "Thanks," he said, then looked back to his Power Coin. The light had by now faded significantly, and he was able to make out the design carved on the coin. Three small wedge-shaped triangles faced away from a fourth triangle, the fourth twice as large as the other three.

"Zordon?" he asked. "What does the symbol on my coin mean?"

"It is the symbol of your dinosaur," Zordon replied, "the handprint of the Iguanodon. The large triangle is the dinosaur's thumb-claw, a feature for which the Iguanodon is famous. And that brings me to my next point..."

A tall hologram suddenly appeared in the air before Ian, the image of a grey dinosaurian-shaped robot. My zord...

"This is your zord, the Iguanodon," confirmed Zordon. "Even as we speak, the zord is being modified to be compatible with the other dinozords. The Iguanodon is a powerful fighting machine, and will serve you well. Finally," and the hologram disappeared, replaced by an image of two hand guns that looked very familiar to the rest of us. "Your Power Blasters. They are your personal weapons, to be summoned at will."

"Whoa," Ian murmured. He reached out to touch the holograms but they disappeared, and he looked back up to Zordon. "Is that all? Is there anything else I need to know?"

Zordon smiled. "Just take your lead from the other Rangers, and you'll be fine."

With that, Jason and I came forward, and put our arms around Ian's shoulders. He quickly turned around and faced the rest of the team.

"Welcome to the team," I said. "It's good to have you."

"You'll do fine," nodded Jason with a warm smile.

"Thanks," Ian replied. "I'm still not sure this is all really happened yet, though."

Sarah smiled. "Whenever your brain catches up with the rest of you, we'll be here."

"My Rangers," began Zordon, and all twelve of us looked up to him. "You have no idea what it means seeing you twelve standing here before me. What more can I say? At long last the team is complete. You twelve will stand against evil wherever it may lurk, and protect the innocent from the forces of shadow across the galaxy. Your exploits will become legend. I cannot predict the future, but I know destiny when I see it." He paused impressively, and glanced around the room. "This is indeed a great day Power Rangers, for you and for the world."

There was a second of awed silence, as we all took in what Zordon had said. Finally, the sage said quietly, "Rangers, I'm afraid it's getting quite late. I think now would be a good time to return."

Teresa looked at her watch and nodded. "Yeah, we'd better get back before we're missed."

We all turned and said our goodbyes. "I'll see you in a couple of days," I said to Jason.

"You'll be all right," he said, then grinned and playfully messed up my hair. "Just try to enjoy yourself, you might be surprised. And take care of Ian."

I nodded, and stepped back to where the other Rangers were standing. Ian was still looking around the room in wonder, but everyone else waved goodbye to Alpha, Zordon and the older teens, before lightly tapping the top button on our communicators and disappearing in six bright flashes of light.

We made it back to camp and found everyone still enjoying the afternoon's free time, so for the most part, we hadn't been missed. We all headed over to the soccer field where a still shell-shocked Ian explained to Lochlan that one of the camp staff had sent him on an errand for the last hour. Lochlan nodded and welcomed his friend back into the game, and the rest of us joined the Currimundi side, making me the goal keeper since I tended to be dangerous on any field of play.

Dinner was served in the food hall about an hour later, and it was some unremarkable glob that was supposed to be spaghetti and meatballs. Everybody sat around the table in silence, watching as Ian slowly ate his meal, his eyes distant and unfocussed. After sculpting his meal into a miniature Gluk, Brendan grinned and subtly pitched one of his meatballs at Ian, using his fork as a catapult. Looking up suddenly and seeing our concern, the new Grey Ranger smiled and laughed, and from that point on, we were okay.

After dinner, everyone was told to gather in the main hall for Games Night. From my memory of the night, I recall that the games involved loud music from the stereo system and a lot of running around and tackling people whenever they got out. We were never actually sure what you did in order to get out, but whatever it was, it was loud and violent and, obviously, fun. About halfway through the night, I got involved in a friendly rivalry with Mr Potter, so when I did whatever it was that got me out, naturally, Mr Potter charged towards me with a gleeful grin, arms outstretched.

Have you ever stood by a railway crossing and watched as a twenty-tonne freight train comes thundering straight towards you, like some kind of unstoppable juggernaut? In that brief slice of time, it felt like I was right there on the tracks - and it was then that Mr Potter smashed into me, lifting me off my feet and crashing to the ground on top of me. I lay there on the floor panting and dazed, certain all my ribs had snapped like match-sticks, but the jovial teacher soon pulled me to my feet.

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Fine. Who needs a rib cage, anyway?"

He grinned and dived back into the crowd, searching out new victims. Really not wanting to be one, I decided to sit the game out, and turned to the mural wall. Seeing Ian alone in the corner, I walked over and sat down beside him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked quietly, as he turned to me. "I mean, big day and all."

He nodded. "Yeah, you know what? I really am," he replied. "I just keep getting tangled in my thoughts. Like, what if I'm terrible at it, you know? How can you prepare yourself for something you won't know until it's trying to stand on your head?"

I smiled. "Trust me, you're not going to be any worse than we were. I've honestly lost count of the number of times the Seniors had to bail us out of trouble. In fact the worst thing I could probably do would be to try and give you advice."

"Really?"

"Heck yeah. But Tommy seems to like you, and that's the first step." I paused, and smiled. "You're gonna be fine. We all look out for each other, and c'mon. I saw you yesterday at SeaWorld. You're already halfway there."

"Thanks," he replied. "It's just that there's more to it than I always thought. This morning I woke up as a regular eleven-year-old kid, and tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'll be a Power Ranger. It's just a big jump, that's all."

I could remember the feeling well. "Jason said something to me once," I said, "that no matter how hard we try, we always end up where we're supposed to be regardless. Now c'mon," and I stood up, "we're going and getting something that will make all this seem downright frivolous."

"And that would be...?" he asked, climbing to his feet.

"Two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Four, in fact. I'm feeling thirsty."

He laughed. "You know what? That's the best thing I've heard all day."