Angel Grove, four years prior to Sledge's arrival

The Californian heat was unrelenting. A dry, all-encompassing force that left Kimberly Hart downing a whole water bottle in a single gulp.

Although, she realized belatedly, some of her condition was undoubtedly due to the hot soup she stirred with a metal spoon.

With that being the case, the heat was something she'd endure. Especially after she caught the face of a young boy after she'd filled his bowl.

A slight breeze hit the back of her neck, granting her a few brief seconds of bliss. For a moment she just closed her eyes and enjoyed it.

When she'd heard about the earthquake that devastated Angel Grove she'd been hundreds of miles away, drinking a margarita on a cruise ship. Ever since retiring from pan-global gymnastics, she'd, more or less, been trying to make up for lost time by turning her life into a giant party.

Somehow it had taken staring at the devastation from her cell phone to realize she'd spent the last two years doing everything she could to distract herself from her own mediocrity. Her life had lost meaning, and while that might be freeing it was also caustic and had been silently eroding her well-being.

So Kim decided she was going to go home and actually do something. She was going to make a difference in other people's lives and hopefully make the world a better place.

As the line dragged on her body was beginning to ache. A dull pain radiated from her ACL, the tearing of which had ended her career. She knew she could tap out at any moment and let one of the younger crew members take over, but she was determined to hold on as long as possible.

"When I saw your name on the sign up I was so surprised, my first thought was that it was somebody else."

Kim froze, her spoon hung midair, leaking soup back into the pot.

She knew the man that stood beside her, adjacent to the slowly thinning line, but still couldn't wrap her head around the fact it was really him.

He offered a far too earnest smile from

someone in a Brioni suit. A suit that cost more than the quarterly household income of anyone around him.

"Billy?" Kimberly asked. Of course, she knew it was him, but a part of her needed him to say it.

"You know, most people call me William now," he said with a wink. "But Billy is fine."

Kim snorted. "No, they don't."

Billy laughed. "Yeah, you're right." His eyes carried a familiar, unmistakable glow, something that was equally brilliant and caring. "God. I missed you, Kim."

" I missed you too," Kimberly said. She stepped over to Billy and wrapped him in a tight hug.

She expected him to go rigid like he would in the old days. But instead, he pulled her tighter.

"I'm sorry…" Billy said softly. "I've been so distant for years. First Cestra, then Zordon. I didn't know how to cope."

Kimberly stepped back. No longer was he the awkward boy who often struggled to articulate his words without the recipient brandishing a thesaurus.

Now he was a wizened man with eyes full of pain.

"It's okay," Kimberly said. "Everyone handles grief differently…"

For a moment she couldn't help but think about how much Zack had cried at the funeral, or how Adam had downed drink after drink while Jason just sat silently in the corner.

Billy just gave her a knowing nod. "It was grief that eventually put me on this path." He said.

"And what path would that be?" She asked him with a perplexed look.

"Coming back to Earth, starting Cranston Industries, and doing whatever I could to make the world a better place. You see, when I left for Aquatar I was ready to live the rest of my life there. Earth can be such an awful, unforgiving place. I felt like the best thing I could do was leave it behind." He put his hands in his pockets and offered a more subdued, shyer, smile that seemed ripped straight from the Billy of their teenage years. "Even after Cestra died I still planned on staying. But when I heard about Zordon something broke inside of me. It was like a part of me, a part I didn't know existed, had died with him. And for a while I sat around, just broken…"

He trailed off for a moment, his eyes giving the spot just past Kim's head a lost look. Like he was watching his past on-screen playing behind her.

"I know what you mean," Kimberly said. In a lot of ways, she understood what he meant more than she'd ever admit. She felt like Zordon's passing had shattered her. Still felt that way, like some intrinsic part of her had withered away. And she'd been lost ever since.

"But at my lowest," Billy continued, "I came to a realization. Zordon isn't gone, not entirely. You see, he left a bit of himself, his philosophy, his knowledge, his wisdom, inside of me. Inside all of us. And if we're all that's left, then we can't let him down…"

Kimberly felt an icy pang as Billy trailed off for a moment. She knew he was right.

And if he was right she couldn't help but wonder what Zordon would think of what she'd been doing with her life.

"So," she said in an attempt to talk about anything other than the previous topic. "Why do I get the feeling this wasn't meant to be a social visit?"

Billy offered a short chuckle. "Probably because I'm not very partial to those. But you're right, this isn't a social visit."

"Then what is it?" She asked.

"Are you familiar with Morph-X?" He replied with a question of his own.

"I can't say I am."

"It's an experimental fuel source siphoned straight from the morphing grid," he explained with a tiny glimmer of excitement. "It's infinitely sustainable and 100% clean. Just imagine it, entire cities powered by the Morphing Grid."

"Sounds like the perfect hotspot for evil activity," Kimberly replied.

"That's where Grid Battleforce comes in," Billy said. "They'll be a power ranger response team that keeps the cities with Morph-X safe from any nefarious parties."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like something you'd cook up."

"And it's why I'm here Kim."

Kimberly frowned. "Oh no. I'm not suiting up again-" her voice raised a bit with each word before Billy interrupted her.

"I'm not asking you to. I want you to be Grid Battleforce's Director."

"Billy- I'm not really sure that's a good idea," Kimberly said.

"I know it's a tall order but I need someone I can trust," Billy replied. "Someone with a level head and the ability to act appropriately in a high-stress environment."

"I still don't-"

"Kim," Billy said with such firm authority the former pan-global athlete nearly flinched. "I know you're scared, and I know you have doubts. But I know you're the one we need. And when am I ever wrong?"

It was hard to argue with that.

"Can I think about it for a bit and get back to you?" She asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, of course," Billy said and brandished a business card. "Just call me when you've made your decision. I hope to hear from you soon," he added with a curt nod before turning away.

By then another volunteer had taken over and distributed food to the rest of the civilians, leaving Kimberly nothing to do but watch Billy walk out of sight.

Then she looked down at the business card.

Cranston Industries- Where you can always count on the power to protect you!

For a brief moment, she had the impulse to toss the card straight into the trash and pretend the whole conversation never happened…

But instead, she slid it into her pocket and headed back to her hotel.

Kimberly Hart clutched the bottom of her tee shirt as she stared at the command center floor. Her chest felt like it was possessed by an angry metronome and each breath was a daunting labor.

She tried to look up at the blue head floating in the tube. But she didn't have the strength to meet the interdimensional wizard's gaze.

"I just…" she managed to choke out. The silence in the nearly empty room was deafening. Even Alpha had been sent away so that the two could have complete privacy.

She sighed. "I just- I don't think I have what it takes to be a Power Ranger."

The words hung in the thick air.

She didn't know what she expected, but the emotionless look Zordon provided nearly did her in. Panic wracked her core, and she resisted the urge to peddle back. Say something-anything- to avoid continuing the conversation.

Zordon's words were flat but nevertheless rattled around the room. "What makes you feel this way, Kimberly?"

Her hand tightened into a white fist. "The five of us barely beat that monster today. And as it had us on the ropes I couldn't help but think about what would happen if I failed. Who might get hurt… or worse…"

"But you didn't fail," Zordon reminded her.

"Yeah, but that was just dumb luck. A few well-timed hits from my power bow. It was just enough of a distraction for Jason to deliver the final blow." She swallowed. "I… I wasn't even sure if it would work. And if it hadn't it would've been all my fault."

"So you feel that your position should belong to someone more in control? Someone who wouldn't rely on luck.

"I don't know… maybe…" The young gymnast sighed. "I'm not sure what I want."

"Kimberly, what you see as a lucky guess, I see as intuition." Zordon spoke, "And a good intuition is an invaluable skill to have."

"But Zordon," Kimberly said in a small voice. "what if my intuition is wrong… or what if it isn't enough?"

"Kimberly, if you wish to end your tenure as a Ranger I will never stop you. However, if you wish to do so purely because you'd like somebody more capable of the job to take over, then unfortunately that will be impossible. You see, there isn't anybody more capable than you are. I understand the fear of making mistakes, and I wish I could tell you that it wasn't always a possibility, but there is nobody else more capable of keeping your team safe than you."

Kimberly nodded, and a small smile blossomed across her face. She was still scared, still unsure of what the future would bring them.

But if Zordon believed in her then she had no choice but to believe in herself too.

Kimberly awoke with a stir. After a few panicked moments, she remembered where she was and sighed.

That dream… had it been a dream or a memory?

In the first few foggy moments of consciousness, she wasn't entirely sure.

All she knew was that the way she felt when talking to Zordon, whether a dream or a distant memory, left her with a feeling she hadn't experienced in years.

She looked over at her nightstand, where the card Billy had given her sat. Patiently waiting.

Sometimes there are moments in people's lives that feel automatic like the hand of fate twisted its ethereal strings and took hold. Guiding them towards a particular action.

Truth be told Kimberly wasn't sure if that was what she was experiencing, or if she was simply so anxious her entire body had gone numb.

Either way, she found herself lifting the card off the table and dialing the number at the bottom of it.

A/N: This chapter was kind of a spur-of-the-moment choice since so many people were curious about how Kimberly joined Grid Battleforce. Anyway, thank you to everyone who's favorited, followed, reviewed, and most importantly, everyone who's stuck with me!