Poker Night and Power Coins
By: M14Mouse
Summary: A group of power rangers of both old and new have a poker game.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
"Read them and weep, boys. A full house is in your face." Joel said as he lay down his hand of two kings and three fives.
The other men around the poker table threw down their cards and groans.
"You know it is statistically impossible for him to keep winning like that." Ethan said as he tosses his cards to Zack. Zack takes up the cards and starts to shuffle them again.
"Haha…You are just jealous that you cannot beat me, Ethan." Joel said as he gathers the chips into his pile.
"He did win fair and square." Damon said as he lean back in his chair.
"Thank you, Damon." Joel said.
"Only because Zack pat you down before we started." Damon said with an innocent smile on his face. The other guys start to laugh as Joel threw a chip at Demon. Zack pass out five cards to everyone at the table.
"You sure he is going to show up, Zack?" TJ said as he picks up his five cards. He sighs at his hand.
"Of course, he is. I know I have at least peak his curiosity. Red rangers seem has this curiosity nature going for them." Zack said as he looks at his cards.
"Hey, if I wasn't curious, I would have never become a power ranger." TJ said as he toss three cards onto the table.
"True….True." Zack said as he deal TJ three cards.
"We are going to have a problem. If you keep inviting people, we are going to need another game to play, Zack." TJ said.
"Nah…we just throw another deck of cards. Maybe, someone will finally beat Joel." Zack said with a smirk.
"What is this? Pick on Joel night. Gimme two cards, Zack." Joel said as he toss two cards onto the table and Zack deal him two cards.
"Hey, boys. Your friend is here and I am sending him down." A female voice shouts down the stairs.
"Thanks, hone." Joel shouts back up to his wife. Jack walks down the stairs into the basement and blinks in surprise at everyone. His eyes went wide as he recalls the faces of the men.
"Welcome, Jack, former SPD red ranger. He is currently running several shelters around the area. Have a seat and let me introduce you to the guys." Zack said as he brings a chair to the table.
"I think he knows who we are." Ethan said. Zack ignore him as he puts his hand on TJ's shoulder.
"This crazy guy is TJ Johnson, the former Turbo Red Ranger and the former Astro Blue Ranger. He has a much longer name but he hates it when we call him that. He is currently the Commander of SPD Europe. So, you can image how hard it is for him to come to a poker game." Zack said.
"Hey, it isn't my fault that I am always busy." TJ said with protest. The guys chuckle at that.
"Please, you and Doggie never take vacation time unless Cassie or Katherine drags you away." Joel said.
"Remember one of the first poker games TJ miss….I remember it was because he had a meeting on the universal circuits' alignment of wing E-7 through E-11." Ethan said.
"In other words, he had a meeting to makes sure all of the lights come on." Damon said as he saw the confuse look on Jack's face.
"Hey, it was very important to make sure the lunch ladies had their lights on. Personally, I like to see what I am eating." TJ said with a smile.
"Excuses…Excuses." Joel teases.
"You are a brat, Joel. Hello, Jack, it is a pleasure to meet you. You and your team did well against Grumm." TJ said as he gets up and reach over to shake Jack's hand. Jack meets him half way and shakes his hand.
"It is honor, Commander. You are quite legend around SPD. Thank you for sending cadets and other rangers to help rebuild SPD. They really need it." Jack said.
"Please, don't call me that. At the poker table, it is TJ. Besides, all power rangers help each other out even if we had a different name." TJ said.
"This guy is Damon Henderson, the former Minos Green Ranger. This guy can fix anything mechanic. Be careful, he likes to get creative sometimes. I swear the color green doesn't fit him at all. Currently, he is the Head of Engineering and Technology on the colony. He is here because he is giving a speech about Minos's energy plan. " Zack said as he points to Damon.
"Speed isn't a bad thing." Joel said and he throws down some chips.
"It is your fault that you want your car to go faster, Zack. You have been saying that for years. I am proud of being the green ranger." Damon said as Jack shakes Demon's hand.
"From zero to one hundred miles per hours in sixty seconds is a little to faster, Demon. I am going to agree with Zack on that one and still do." TJ said he throws some chips into the pile. Jack smiles a little as if Christmas came early this year.
"Could you fix this motorcycle I have? It seems a little slow to me." Jack said. The guys laugh at the comment.
"I stop by before I leave." Damon said with a grin.
"Next guy in green is Joel Rawlings, the former Light Speed green ranger. He is a test pilot for SPD and several government operations. The only time, he is on the ground is when it is raining or with his family. Once a month, he is a stunt pilot for couple of charities. Some of the stuff he does in that plane makes me glad that I have my two feet on the ground." Zack said.
"Just is because you are chicken, Zack. It doesn't mean everyone else is." Joel said as Jack and Joel shake hands.
"I am not a chicken. I am just a very wise man who likes their body in one piece." Zack said.
"The guy in blue is Ethan James. He is the former Dino Thunder blue ranger…." Zack said.
"No need to introduce us. We already meet." Jack said. A look of confusion passes by Zack and Ethan's face.
"You are famous around SPD. You did design the software." Jack said to cover his traces.
"It is nice to know my work is going for a good cause. Well, then it is nice to meet you anyway." Ethan said as they shake hands.
"Well, then. Shall we continue with our game?" Zack said as he puts down to two cards and get two more.
"Oh, you are not getting away with that easy. TJ, I think is your turn introduce Zack." Damon said.
"Our dealer is Zack Taylor, the original black ranger. He is currently making sure cadets and former rangers are fit to enter the real world. He makes sure the cadets are adjusting to SPD life. In other words, he is a counselor. That is almost tops what he did during his early years." TJ said with a grin on his face.
"That is Doctor Zack Taylor to you, TJ." Zack said with a tease in his voice as he threw a chip at TJ and the chip misses him.
"So, that is how you found me." Jack said.
"Doggie come to me ask me to check up on you. To make sure you were doing well." Zack said.
"He could come and look at me himself." Jack said with a little angry in his voice.
"Doggie has issues. I am going to hate it when he retires. He is going to drive me nuts." Zack said with a look on his face.
"Wait, what did Zack do during his early years?" Ethan said with interest.
"When Zordon disappears, Zack took it upon himself to be a guide for the other black rangers or any other ranger that ask for his help. In way, he still does it but gets pay for it now. There is no better guy for the job." Damon said with a grin.
"Thanks, Damon." Zack said with a smile.
"Okay, Jack. Burning question that everyone but TJ wants to is how the zords are?" Joel said.
"One of the things I am going to miss about that job is the zords. They were great. The ways they handle were a dream. A kid could operate those things. The fire power was amazing. It is like the pack like it has an army in there. It is one thing to watch about it but to be in it. Just is a whole another experience. The motorcycles were wow. SWAT mode is something I couldn't describe in words." Jack said as he sits back and remembers.
"I think I am jealous. My poor mastodon wouldn't have survived against the newer zords. Zords have come a long way since I was a power ranger. Everything about being a ranger has changed. Some things I don't like but others I am glad about. Of course, I have been trying for years to get TJ let me try the new zords. He keeps saying it against some rules." Zack said as he gives TJ a look.
"You are a civilian, Zack. I cannot just let you control a zord. It takes years of training." TJ said.
"I think you afraid that Zack is going to crash it." Ethan said. Everyone starts to laugh.
"I am going have to disagree with both of you. My zord is better than any zord. My zord was a living and breathing creature. Can you image how it feels to its heart beat and its feeling? The zoid is fight with you and you can feel it giving its all." Damon said.
"I think your wife is rubbing off on you, Damon. And I disagree with you. My zord was the best. It could move better than any stunt plane. Man, it almost makes wish that I still had it." Joel said with a smile.
"My zord was the best. That thing could cut through anything in itself path. I notice that after every final battle almost always our zords are destroyed." TJ said.
"I think it is personal opinion which zord is the best. But on personal note, I think my zord is the best." Ethan said. In response, Ethan duck under the table to avoid the pokers chip being throw at him.
"How did you guys come together? It didn't look like it was an easy task." Jack said.
"I think it is luck. We talk to each other enough that we decide to meet up time for our poker games. Besides, it makes our wives happy and they have a nice time getting together. Cassie is happy that I get away from SPD." TJ said.
"Cassie is who? Her name sounds familiar." Jack asked.
"Cassie is the former Asto pink ranger and TJ's wife. She is a doctor at the SPD hospital. You think they would be total opposites but they get along really great. They didn't get together until after our meeting. If I remember correctly, Carlos got them together even if he didn't realize it." Damon said with a smile.
"You weren't better, Damon." TJ said.
"I and Maya are totally different. I didn't think I would have a chance at her. I didn't even think of her that way until we had to work together to make sure the colonists and the natives got along." Damon said.
"Let me guess, she was pink too." Jack asked.
"Nope, she was the yellow ranger." Damon said.
"I am a single at the moment which isn't a bad thing. It is hard to find time to date when you are jumping on a jet to fix a glitch in a program." Ethan said.
"You really should let me set you up. I know some chicks that would love you, Ethan." Joel said.
"No, thank you. I like my body parts where they are." Ethan said.
"Hey, Gloria isn't that bad." Joel said.
"To you, maybe…but to me, I think not." Ethan said.
"I meet your wife upstairs. How in the world did you get her?" Jack said.
"My good looks and my charm won her over." Joel said. The guys start to laugh.
"I love her the first moment. I know I sound sappy that it was love at first sight. It wasn't quite that way for her. Later, she told me that she thought I was a player. Once she got to know me. She started to like me. After the war, we were out on our first date. The rest was history." Joel said with a silly grin on his face.
"He is so whipped." Ethan said as he whispers over at Jack.
"I heard that." Joel said. Ethan just smiles innocently at him.
"So, what about you, man? Have any girlfriend?" TJ asked.
"Not at the moment. I just recently broke up with a girl. Besides, most of my time, is spent on getting the shelters up and running. What about you, Zack?" Jack said.
"My wife has been dead for 15 years now." Zack said softly.
"I am sorry, man." Jack said as he looks down.
"You didn't know, Jack. For the record, she was the original yellow ranger. She was the light to my life. My daughter and my friends keep me going. She would kick my butt if I get depress." Zack said with a smile. An odd silent full the room.
"How did you guys do it? Step away from being a power ranger? The others still visit me at the shelter. Every time, I watch the news. A part of me wants to go back and another part of me knows I am where I am supposed to be." Jack asks.
"It isn't easy. Some people can just away and never look back on those days. Some people, it like a piece of you is missing. I couldn't forget that I was a power ranger. The public wouldn't let me. I had a hard time to adjust but I got through with help of family and friends." TJ said.
"For me, it was easy because my attention was focus on getting the colony up and running. Every once in a while, I realize that was thankfully for experience. I would never meet these wonderful people and my wife. Unlike everyone else here, I am still technically power ranger. I am still the bearer of the green Quasar saber. Until my death, the saber passes down to one of my children." Damon said.
"Only probably a fellow ranger understands what you going through. Even when you are miles away from them, you can always call them up with the good times and the bad times. It like you has a family for life." Ethan said.
"A part of you misses the action and the power. Another part is glad because you don't have to hide anymore. Ethan is right. You may no longer be a ranger, you are marked. You are part of select group of people. Once a ranger, you are always a ranger. As you watch on TV, you understand where they have been and you know what they are up against. Trust me you are cheering with everyone else because you know that the power rangers are protecting this planet. " Zack said.
"You are good." Jack said with grin.
"So, I have been told." Zack said.
"Damon, your wife called. It is time to pick her up." A voice shouts down the stairs.
"I got to be going. You want me to drop you off at the airport, TJ?" Damon said as he picks up his jacket.
"Sure. It is nice meeting, Jack. You are going to be at our next poker game, right?" TJ said.
"I wouldn't miss for the world." Jack said. Damon and TJ waves good bye as they head up the stairs.
"I guess I will be going as well. Thanks again for the invitation, Zack. I really need this." Jack said.
"I call you when the next poker game is coming up." Zack said shouts as Jack disappears up the stairs.
"He is quite a guy." Joel said.
"That he is." Zack said.
"You know that we never finish our poker game." Joel said.
"You just disappoint that you didn't win more chips." Zack said.
They just laugh as they went upstairs.
The End
A/N: I haven't done third person view in forever. It took a lot out of me. I hope you happy B. Now, you own me a fic! Read and Review if you wish.
