Three days after her first date, well first official date, with Nolan. Amanda joined Jason in his command center for her first day of work. Tommy hadn't been happy about it but Amanda had insisted and, feeling guilty about saying 'no' in such a manner with Nolan he had given in. It had helped that both Jason and Nolan had assured him, separately and well away from Amanda, that they would do their best to keep her in the command center and as far from the fighting as they could. And Kim had been on their side as well. So, highly outnumbered, he had given.
Jason had decided to start her on grunt work, he was still feeling bitter over his broken ribs attained on her behalf even though she'd apologized, thanked him, and in general made a big fuss over it. So he pointed to the stack of sketches, info, diagrams and what have you that needed filing. The stack was actually more of a mound that was as high as the desk. And it actually needed more work then just plain filing. "That," he said, "needs organizing. It needs to be scanned and filed on the computer and then the paper copies have to filed."
Amanda blanched when she saw the size of the stack. "All of it?"
"Yeah. I've gotten a little behind."
"A little behind? Uncle Jason I don't think you've filed anything in months."
Jason grinned. "It's possible. I got distracted by other stuff. If you need me I'll be over there." He pointed to the far end where several motorbikes sat. "If that," he pointed at the control screen and panel, "starts beeping and I don't hear it, yell for me."
"Okay." She looked at the pile again. "I feel like I'm being punished," she muttered as she started to sort through the mess in front of her.
The two fell swiftly in a rhythm. It took her nearly a month to get through the entire pile. She'd had the whole thing sorted and was just starting the scanning when Ashton, the teams Blue, went skidding across the floor during a sparring session with Nolan and sent all of her carefully organized papers flying. Once she finished with that Jason began assigning her odd jobs around the command center and she learned how to operate the teams communications system. All in all it was a very satisfactory arrangement and Jason was able to start spending parts of his afternoons at his dojo again since he knew things would be fine with Amanda in charge.
If Tommy realized how deeply Amanda had become embedded in the new team he gave no indication of it. And he didn't stand in the way of her blossoming relationship with Nolan. He'd even aided the pair a few times by assuring Nolan's mother that he was safely at Tommy's house when she called looking for him during a couple different battles. Those calls had made him wonder just how he and his friends had managed to hide it successfully for as long as they had, he for one had been horrible at lying and yet if his parents ever had any suspicions they'd never said a thing.
About 2½ months after Amanda started working with Jason something happened, a very innocuous something that would change her life. It happened during a battle. Jason was actually in the command center so he was keeping an eye on the battle and offering advice to the team through the Comm link while Amanda did small stuff around the room. She came across a small metal box sitting on the floor near the currently under repair motorbikes. It was plain, silvery metal with an unfastened latch but she'd never seen it before. So she opened it. And picked up the green stone nestled in black velvet in the top. The moment her fingers made contact with it both she and the stone began to emit a green glow.
"Uncle Jason," she hollered, her confusion and panic clear in her voice.
He turned, his question dying in his throat as he saw the last vestiges of the glow fading. "Damn it all to hell," he cursed instead. "Amanda Trini Oliver do you have any idea what you just did?"
"Something stupid."
"Yes! Your father will have my head for this. I promised him you'd be safe and as uninvolved as possible if he let you work down here. He's going to kill me."
"Umm, uncle Jason," Amanda was still really confused. "Can you tell me what just happened? I don't really understand."
Jason sighed. "The green elemental stone chose you. You are now the Green Elemental Ranger."
Amanda just gaped at him. "I'm the what?" Then it sank in. "Oh God, dad is gonna kill me! There is absolutely no way I'll be able to keep this from him." She looked at Jason completely panicked. "What do we do?"
Before Jason could answer Ashton's panicked voice came over the comm link. "Jason! You gotta tell us what to do. Quick!" Both of them spun to look at the screen and simultaneously cursed. Nolan lay in an unmoving heap against the wall of one of the warehouses and it looked like Ashton, and Myra would be joining him shortly if they didn't find a weakness in the monster they were fighting and quickly.
Jason turned back to Amanda. "There's not time to worry about your dad. They need your help."
Amanda nodded, resolute. Accepting the morpher from him silently she fit the stone into its resting place and waited for Jason to teleport her to the battle site. As she materialized beside Ashton and Myra she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he had teleported Nolan out. Hopefully they would be in time. Nodding to her new teammates she morphed for the first time.
As spandex coated her body and a helmet clicked into place she wondered that anyone could ever give this up. No wonder her dad and uncle Jason jumped at special missions like a dog at a bone. The rush of power was incredible. Laughing internally at the stunned posture and noises from Ashton and Myra she turned to the monster.
"Does it have any weaknesses uncle Jason?" she asked as she started to slowly circle it. Ashton and Myra took their cue from her and returned their attention to it as well.
"Its armor is weak at the neck. And after it shoots from that laser on its stomach there is a hole in its armor there for about 30 seconds."
"And Nolan?" Ashton asked, joining their little conference.
"He'll be fine. He took a knock to the back of the head it knocked him out. He's already conscious and demanding to be returned. And Amanda, I don't think your dads the only one you have to watch out for."
"Great" she muttered, breaking the connection. Focusing all of her attention on the thing before her she waited for an opening. Calling on the Sword of the Trees she stalked the monster, trading blows with it and waiting. After a few moments her opportunity came. Myra had been swiping at it with her Air Daggers and when it had turned all of its attention to her Amanda struck. Vaulting over Ashton and twisting in mid-air she brought the sword down right into the weak spot at its neck.
Unfortunately this did not have the effect she had intended. It did not incapacitate the monster, though it did weaken him a bit, but it also pissed him off, a lot. With a sweep of his arm he knocked her out of the air and to the ground. At that moment a battered but obviously living and raring to go Red Ranger arrived. The four quickly combined their weapons at Jason's instructions and taunted the thing until it finally blasted its laser cannon at them. The group rolled in unison out of harms way and came up firing. This was effective and blew the thing to a million little bits. But before they could celebrate, of course, the pieces recombined and grew.
The team wasted no time in calling on their Zords and Amanda got another thrill. Guiding one of the huge machines was incredible and she was inwardly reluctant to lock it into place with the others, but she had a job to do so she did it. Arriving in the control room with the others they wasted no time in blasting the larger version to pieces again, this time for good. The monster that had caused them so much trouble on the ground was much easier to destroy the second time and it didn't take long at all. Before she knew it Amanda's first battle as a Ranger was over.
But the battle to stay a Ranger, and alive and in one piece, had just begun. She still had to deal with Nolan who, as Jason had indicated, was not at all enthused with the idea. And she had to tell her dad. She knew her parents. They would figure it out; they were former Rangers after all. It would be better if she was up front with them about it. That way they couldn't accuse her of hiding anything.
No sooner had they arrived back at the command center then Nolan turned to her, anger tightening his handsome face. "What in the hell were you thinking? You could be hurt. You had to pick it up didn't you? Why do you always have to appease your damn curiosity?"
Amanda recognized the source of his anger as very real fear for her safety and stayed silent while he continued to rant. The rest of the team, Jason included, found themselves other things to do. For now this was an argument between the couple and they'd stay out of it. Eventually Nolan ran out of steam and fell silent. Amanda took that opportunity to speak up.
"It was an accident okay. I'm sorry but then I'm not, not really. Do you know how jealous I've been the last couple of months? Here I am, daughter of 2 originals, and I'm the one stuck in here while you guys are out battling evil and I've been tempted to join you a million times. It's in my blood dammit. And I can take care of myself. Uncle Jason started teaching me martial arts when I was five. I'll be more then fine. Even the best Rangers get hurt. You did today, my dad got hurt a few times, uncle Jason did, it happens. If that happens to me I'll deal with it, but I can't live my life hampered by the fear that I might get hurt. But," she said slowly, "if you don't want me on the team I'll relinquinish my place."
Three other heads snapped in their direction, proving that the rest of the team had at least been paying attention to the last bit. Nolan ignored all of them as he stared unseeing at the wall above her head for a moment before looking her in the face with a sigh. "Part of me wants to say I don't want you on the team, but that's the civilian part, the primitive part that demands that I protect you because you're my girlfriend. But that voice is drowned out by the Red, by the leader, who knows that our asses could all be grass right now if you hadn't found that stone, joined the battle and taken over when I was hurt. That part of me knows how much of an asset you'll be to the team." He looked at Jason, Ashton, and Myra. "And the decision isn't all mine. But if the rest of them are okay with it I am to."
Ashton and Myra were quick to chime in with their consent. They knew she was better then they were, even though she had only one actual battle at this point that fact had been rather obvious, and they knew her addition to the team would be a great help. Myra also liked the symmetry her presence would bring to the team. Jason was slower to answer, but then he, like Nolan, had other issues to work through. Amanda could see the anguish in his eyes, the battle between the uncle who had raised her and the mentor of the team, and crossing the room she grabbed his hands.
"You know I can do it uncle Jason, you trained me yourself. And you can keep an eye on me." She motioned at the command console. "Please, let me do this."
He let out a shuddering breath. "Yes." He waited through the tight hug she gave him. "I feel like I have to. It's like I've always know this day would come, the day you would pick up your Ranger heritage. It never occurred to me to think Taylor might do so, but I always figured you would. And I know I locked that stone away. So if you found it you were meant to have it, you wouldn't have found it otherwise. The Grid has always had a sense of humor when it comes to the Olivers. But your dad is going to kill me."
Nolan blanched as that occurred to him, he hadn't thought through all the ramifications yet, but as soon as Jason said it he saw it. "Oh no," he moaned. "He'll kill me too." Jason and Amanda looked at him curiously and he elaborated. "He made me promise to keep you as uninvolved as possible. There were some very specific threats to my continued health if anything happens to you and I'm pretty sure letting you onto the team will qualify."
"Probably." Jason and Amanda said simultaneously. Amanda looked at her morpher, which had resumed its usual inactive state of a very attractive pewter cuff set with the green stone that contained the Power, and then at Jason.
"I can't hide it so I won't. I at least have to tell dad."
"What? You can't tell anyone." Myra objected.
"She can tell her father, and her mother." Jason said firmly. "Remember the video? The rule about maintaining your identity does not include other Rangers. And once a Ranger, always a Ranger." Amanda finished in unison with him and they shared a grin before turning back to the astonished Yellow Ranger. "Her parents are Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Hart, original Rangers. She can tell them."
"Oh My God," Myra whispered while Ashton just stared. "No wonder you knew exactly what to do."
Amanda gave a self-conscious shrug. "I've been watching Nolan for two months. I just did what he would have done."
"Nonsense," Ashton said. "You exhibited tendencies that are unique and I must assume, given the lack of other evidence, that they are unique to you. Those tendencies cannot be learned and must be instinctual or based in your heritage. It will be interesting to watch the development of the offspring and protégé of such formidable Rangers."
Amanda stared for a minute and then nodded. "Just remember I'm not a science experiment, but observe all you like. I'd be interested in hearing your conclusions once you draw them." Ashton looked pleased that she'd understood him and nodded his agreement. Amanda decided at that point to change the subject. She didn't want the identity of her parents to shade her position on the team. She wanted to be accepted on her own merits, not those of the people she was related to.
Eventually Ashton and Myra got deeply involved in a conversation with Jason about an assignment for their business class and Amanda took advantage of their distraction to drag Nolan outside. "Are you really okay with this?" She demanded as soon as the door shut behind them. "Because if you aren't its not going to work."
"I'm sure. It's just . . ." He paused and raked a hair through his curls. "I was sacred today because I wasn't expecting it. But I do know you can take care of yourself. Hell, you've handed me my ass on a platter several times. And besides, I'll be around to watch your back, so I'm okay with it. Really. Besides, I need a second-in-command. I guess you'll do." He smiled impishly at her.
"You guess?!" Amanda growled in mock outrage. She lifted her hands. "Take back that uncertainty or I'll tickle you."
"Never." She moved her hands closer to his sides and with a laugh he turned and dashed for the woods at the edge of the property. With a laugh of her own Amanda chased after him. Nolan had longer legs but Amanda knew the property and was pretty quick so eventually she caught up with him. Launching herself at him she managed to tackle him and proceeded to tickle his ribs mercilessly.
"I give, mercy." Nolan finally gasped out. "You'll be a great second, I swear."
The minute she stopped he rolled and pinned her. "You're one evil little wench," he said. "You should be nicer."
"Bah. Not a chance." Amanda tried only half-heartedly to get away but really she just wanted to stay where she was, pinned to the ground by his body.
Nolan grinned. "I knew you'd say that." He lowered his head and kissed her. "I really am sorry about earlier." He said when he lifted his head a few minutes later.
"It's okay." She was about to say more but their communicators beeped, interrupting her. It was Jason telling her she had to be getting home. After assuring him they were on their way Amanda sighed. "Now I get to tell my dad, joy."
Nolan kissed her again and then they headed back to the command center hand-in-hand, now matter what the future may bring for now they were together and strong.