Summary: What if something happened to Conner, and the Rangers needed another teammate, and fast? Can Eric McKnight finally step out of his twin brother's shadow?
Eric discovered, much like his new friends said he would, that Rangering was not all it was cracked up to be.
It was so much more.
Eric loved it. He loved the battle, and finally getting an excuse to put his ninja skills to use, to real use...he loved training at the Academy, and he loved daily sparring, particularly on the occasions when he got to go one-on-one with Sensei Brooks (though he got eventually trounced every time), but it always seemed superficial. Martial arts were good for self-defense, but when did a tall, muscular, well-built boy that oozed confidence and pride ever get into a position where self-defense was required? Eric was popular at school, and not popular like some of the girls were, through a system of fear and respect, but he was actually well-liked. No one had beef with Eric McKnight, and no one ever would. So as much as he loved his training, and to a degree felt like it was a calling, it had never come in handy. Until now.
Tally and Kyle always made fun of him for being an earth ninja when he was obviously an airhead. But he very solid, and there was a certain weight to his motions and character, which had led to his earth classification. He was flaky, to be sure, but when Eric took something seriously, he took it very seriously. And he took his new role seriously.
The others were adjusting to his presence fairly easily. He was, in a lot of respects, just like Conner. The fact that he looked just like Conner didn't hurt, either. When they were hanging out at the Cyberspace, as they were wont to do, it was quite easy to forget that Eric hadn't just spent the day in school with them, so much like Conner he was. Like his brother, he was quick to say the first thing that jumped to his head without much regard for the consequences.
But he was a lot more pleasant and easy-going to be around than his twin. He had an affinity for video games that he chatted with Ethan over, and Ethan and Trent were attempting to get him into comics. Kira took it upon herself to act as the liaison between Eric and the Rangers, showing him the ropes. During the day, when the others were in school, and he wasn't annoying his brother, or trying to help his mom, he was usually hanging around Hayley.
Things were starting to get edgy when Mesogog hadn't attacked since Eric's arrival, and the practiced Rangers, while enjoying the time off, got inexplicably tense with anticipation—for what, they didn't know.
The four of them were all more or less settled into their new routines that they finally no longer felt the need to constantly be a group. Ethan was at computer club, and Eric was running errands, leaving Kira and Trent alone for the first time since Conner had gotten sick, spread out on the couch at Hayley's, attempting to do schoolwork.
"Kira, I have to ask," said Trent, tapping at the edge of his book in a nervous, jarring rhythm that he used whenever he had something to say that he didn't want to say.
"Hmm?" she said, not quite looking up from the notebook in her lap.
"What's the deal with you and Eric?"
She chewed slightly at her bottom lip, plugging through the equation before triumphantly scribbling down the answer. "What about Eric?" she asked, finally giving her boyfriend her full intention.
"Are you..." That was apparently not what he wanted to say. "You two seem to be getting along really well."
"He's...different. It's like he's Conner, but at the same time, he's so not Conner that it's fascinating. It's like this weird Twilight Zone thing, hanging around him. You know?"
"That's not what I meant."
Kira cocked her head as she stared at him. "What did you mean, then?"
"I mean, are you...are you interested in him?"
"In Eric?" she laughed. "Eric McKnight? You're kidding, right?"
"Should I be concerned?" he asked in the same, quiet serious tone he'd used when first telling her he was the White Ranger. The two situations were markedly different.
Kira kissed his forehead. "Don't be a moron. That's Eric and Conner's department. And I don't date morons." She smirked. "You're cute when you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous."
"And I'm the Pink Ranger."
"You'd look good in pink," he teased, poking her arm.
"Oh, those are fighting words," she said, bumping her shoulder into his. "Do you think you could take me on, Trent?"
"I could," he said, tickling her side until she laughed. The alarm went off sharply on their wrists, and immediately they straightened. Kira sighed. "Isn't that always the case," she said, and answered her communicator. "You've got Kira and Trent here."
"Tyrannodrone attack at the downtown plaza," said Hayley. "Eric's defending them by himself."
"He's never done a solo run before," said Kira, casting Trent a worried glance. "We're on our way."
But as Kira and Trent arrived on the scene to see Eric nailing down three drones with one blow. They rushed in to share his burden, and when the attack dissipated, Eric brushed his hair off his forehead with a tired grin.
"That was crazy," said Kira.
"Drones are a little heavier than Kelzacks. Wipes you out."
"What are Kelzacks?" asked Trent.
"Lothor's minion of choice," said Dr. O., as he and Ethan ran up. "Sorry we're late." They'd come from the school.
"No problem," said Kira. "Eric did fine by himself."
"When did you fight Kelzacks, Eric?" asked Dr. O.
"Last year. Me and Kyle and Tally. We did okay. Sensei Watanabe asked us to join the Academy because of it. That's not it, is it?" he asked. "I mean, the attack. They wouldn't just send Tyrannodrones without reason, would they?"
"He's getting good," said Ethan with an impressed look.
"Too good," said Hayley over the communicators. "We've got a big one, kids. Morph and Zord it up."
"Roger that, el capitano," said Eric. There was a long pause, as he realized everyone was staring at him expectantly. "What?"
"Oh, sorry," said Kira, blinking. "Conner usually calls the morph, is all..."
"Right," said Eric.
"I'll take care of it this time," said Dr. O. gently. "Ready," he commanded, and they answered in turn. Eric felt a little tense—fighting Tyrannodrones was no big, but this was the first time he'd be using the morpher, the first time he'd be going into battle as the Red Ranger, and not as a ninja student. "Dino Thunder, power up!" he called.
It was weird being in morph. It felt lighter, maybe that was the spandex. But it wasn't so much the costume as it was what came with the uniform. He felt stronger, faster, less—all right, not less scared, but there was this odd sensation, a certain confidence that didn't take away the fear, just made it seem less important. It was like having some noise in the background, then turning up the radio just loud enough to drown it out. The noise was still there, but Eric couldn't hear it.
He knew they were looking to him to lead. Some pretenses needed to be kept, because Mesogog and friends would notice if the Red Ranger was no longer leading. They had discussed this at length during one of the many meetings that had come with Dr. O.'s acceptance of the situation.
Too bad that Eric didn't have a clue what he was doing.
Fortunately, the Zords could only be accessed from the Brachio Zord, and since Dr. O. commanded the Brachio Zord, it was logical for him to call it out, and save Eric the trouble of figuring out how. Conner had said that any one of them could do it, but Dr. O. did it the most often. So Eric just had to kick back, and then get absorbed into the Tyranno Zord.
"The best you can give me is that tired old toy?" the monster sneered.
"I was feeling old school," said Eric in response, charging the Megazord into battle. They bashed arms against each other for a bit, as the Megazord ducked an energy blast, and finally Eric had had enough. "Ankylo Zord!" he commanded, and it switched arms. "Double Drill Attack!"
One drill, then two, sliced through their opponent, rendering him nothing but ooze and ash and very little threat. Eric beamed beneath his helmet. He had morphed. He had piloted a Zord. He had lead his team through a successful battle. He was the baddest badass ever. Woo!
"Um, Eric..." said Ethan, and Eric looked to see the Blue Ranger staring at him. On the other side, the Yellow Ranger was also staring. Eric realized he'd said the last part aloud. "Uh..." he said with a nervous laugh.
"Guys, can we put the Zords away now?" came Hayley's voice over Eric's morpher. "Unless you want to start decorating for Christmas early."
"Right, Hayley," said Ethan, and the three teens disembarked, powered down, and met up with Dr. O.
"How'd I do, chief?" asked Eric eagerly. "Was I okay?"
Dr. O. smiled, looking disbelieving and impressed all at once. "Like a real Red Ranger."