Author's Note: This is a Power Rangers fanfic work-in-progress. The story takes place during the Zeo period; characters include: Tommy, Kat, Rocky, Adam, Tanya, and my new character, Elizabeth Watson, who will act as the Green Zeo Ranger, and thus, Adam will serve as the Black Zeo Ranger. For the sake of this story, Elizabethwas friends with Rocky, Adam, and Aisha since they were kids living in Stone Canyon, so we presume that she starts Rangering with them before Zeo. Aisha has left for Africa, of course, and at the beginning, Zedd and Rita practically demolish Angel Grove and Stone Canyon. I hope you enjoy this!

The Green Files

At the Youth Center…

"Holy shit," Rocky DeSantos breathed in a heavy sigh as he surveyed what was once his favorite hangout spot, the Youth Center. Now, it lay in a heap of debris, bricks and tiles strewn over the ground, covered with an overwhelming gray mist that seemed to loom over the entire town. Angel Grove had been struck viciously by monsters over the last two weeks, and though the Power Rangers had done their best to alleviate the destruction, the monsters had satisfied themselves with destroying most of Angel Grove and nearby Stone Canyon.

"You can say that again," a familiar voice replied from behind Rocky. He spun around and was greeted by the sight of one of his best friends since preschool, Elizabeth Watson, the present Green Ranger. Elizabeth was standing behind him with the aura of a casual observer, wearing blue shorts and a green tank top, arms folded with an expression of curiosity and surprise. However, Rocky knew that the destruction of Angel Grove had hit her the hardest. Along with the ruins of their old home town, Stone Canyon, and their present town, Angel Grove, Elizabeth had also lost her parents in the destruction. Luckily, her godparents, both very kind and open-minded souls, had moved from London to Angel Grove to be with her during this time of grief. Her godparents had been her parents' best friends since they were all children, so naturally, their deaths impacted Elizabeth's godparents just as much as they had on her.

Rocky remembered seeing the expression on Elizabeth's face when she learned of her parents' deaths. It was a look that he hoped he would never have to see again. The look of melancholy, depression, anger, and hurt had been etched on her face for days. She had refused meals and refused outings with her friends, preferring to wander near the beach or the park to have time to think. Rocky had never seen Elizabeth so detached and isolated before.

A usually optimistic and compassionate girl, Elizabeth had sulked around like a wounded cat, afraid to be handled by anyone. After a few days however, she was back to her somewhat usual vivacious self, after she had avenged her parents' deaths by defeating Apocalypse, the monster that had killed her parents and hundreds of other people that lived in the area. She told Rocky afterwards, when he found her walking in the surf, that she knew she couldn't mope around forever, wondering whether she could or couldn't have saved her parents from their ultimate deaths. She told him that she knew they would want her to continue to live and that no matter where they were now, they would always love her and know that she loved them too. It brought tears to Rocky's eyes whenever he thought of what she had said: to think about what Zedd and Rita had done to an innocent girl like Elizabeth and many others like her who had lost loved ones.

"Hey," Rocky smiled at his best friend, sticking his hands into the pockets of his shorts. The one thing that could arguably be better was the change in weather. Summer was fast approaching, he could tell, from the sudden heat wave that had hit Angel Grove about a week ago.

"Taking a look at what's left of the Youth Center?" Elizabeth smiled lightly, joining him on his left side. She surveyed the Youth Center with a troubled expression, and sighed heavily.

"It was the greatest place to hangout, and now it's gone." Rocky stated.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, "It was like a second home, where we could spar and do our homework and just be teenagers. We didn't have to carry around the identity of being Power Rangers trying to save the world while upholding a perfect GPA or winning the next martial arts competition or dance recital. We could just be ourselves, without any attachments."

Rocky closed his eyes and smiled, "Be ourselves," he repeated. "I don't know if we could ever be ourselves when we're the Power Rangers."

"But we are," Elizabeth argued passionately, "Despite the fact that we have to protect this town and the rest of the world, we're still growing. We're still learning and having fun and being teenagers. We still have a year left of high school, and we're still trying to be adults."

Rocky smiled and swung an arm around his friend, "You were always the most optimistic out of all of us."

"I try to be," she replied very softly. "But it's hard sometimes."

Rocky nodded, "You don't always have to be brave. Sometimes, it's better just to be afraid. It's easier."

"It's easier, yes, but not helpful. Sometimes, I do want to just be afraid, curl up in my bed and sleep my worries away. But you and I both know that that's not how the world works. Sometimes, you have to be brave, even if you don't want to be." Elizabeth replied.

Rocky sighed, "Why do we have to be the ones who have to be brave?"

Elizabeth regarded with a superior smile. "Because that's who we are. We're the Power Rangers."