SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Jeremy Shane: Thanks, here's more.

Gothic-Romantic99 (Chs 1-3): Thanks. Yeah, really, right? I mean, one day Jason's the leader, the next he's not and he's just like, "Yeah, cool, wahoo". I mean, come on. This is a come down. There should've at least been an ep similar to "Gung Ho". Thanks, well, I figured it'd make for some good drama. Yeah, well, I wanted to show that Tommy had been just as surprised as the others at the leadership thing. Keep on reading and see. Thanks, I thought it'd fit. Enjoy. Thanks. Well, read on and see. Thank you, it was the only way that I could think of that would make sense. I'm glad you think so. Hopefully, I can continue to keep the feeling of the story being epic. Enjoy! Thanks. I'm glad you feel that everything has flown smoothly and that everyone is in character. Glad you like how I incorporated Rocky. Thank you. Hopefully, further chaps will live up to your expectations. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Plot is inspired by "The Coins" by KSuzie who gave me permission to run with it. Reference to "Green With Evil Part 1: Out Of Control". And this introduces an idea that I had gotten from one of Jason's lines in "Return Of An Old Friend Part 2".

After the attack, Rocky, Jason, Zack, Trini, Kimberly, Billy, and Tommy had continued their stroll.

"Man, that was some weird welcome," Rocky said again.

"I'm really sorry about that. Angel Grove really is a safe place to live," Kimberly assured.

"Hey, it's fine. At least it was exciting," Rocky responded. He looked at his watch.

"Aw, man. I gotta get home or my parents will flip," he stated.

"You need a ride?" Jason questioned.

"No, but would one of you mind humoring the new kid in town and coming with?" Rocky queried.

"No problem," Jason answered, and the two headed off.

"He makes me miss our Jason," Kimberly admitted.

"I miss him too," Trini agreed. The girls looked at each other and sighed. Tommy ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I know this is hard on you,' he apologized.

"Tommy, don't apologize. This isn't your fault. He made a decision. He's acting like a spoiled brat. We just have to make sure no other civilians are hurt," his girlfriend stated. I can't believe this. Jason, how could you hurt us like this? she wondered. Once Rocky was at his car, the two boys got in and they headed off. As they headed through town, Jason looked around furtively.

"We bein' followed?"

"No, just bein' cautious." Jason fell silent. Man, I don't know what to do here, but something's telling me that Rocky's gotta be protected at all costs, he thought to himself. There was a kinship between them-he could feel it. It was the same type of kinship he had felt when first seen Tommy at the Martial Arts Expo. Then he had become a Ranger. Was that what this was? Was Rocky destined to become a Ranger? If that were the case, he'd have to keep an extra sharp eye on him so that this reality's Jason didn't try to destroy him. Man, is that what's gonna happen to me? Jason wondered. He shuddered. He didn't want it to happen. He'd have to compartmentalize his feelings when he got back to his own dimension. He couldn't place the team in danger. Rocky looked to Jason and saw him shudder.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, just thinking." Rocky didn't buy it, but he didn't press it either. But he did know that there was something about this guy that he knew he could trust and should protect-a strange connection and instinctive pull. Once Rocky was at his house, he stopped and Jason waited until he was inside, and then headed out. Meanwhile, Jaytron had been perusing the Earth via infrared vision, a talent which Zedd had equipped him with. His black and red eyes darkened as he spied on Jason and the Rangers' new friend. Hmmm. So…you still think you can replace me, do you? he thought to himself. He'd show them all. Back on Earth, Jason headed for his house. When he reached the house, he turned the knob and-found it locked.

"What?" he asked. The boy searched around the house, but found no spare. What? They always have a spare around here, he thought in confusion. Then, Aw, man! He must've turned on them too! He ran his fingers through his short hair and then pressed a button on his communicator. Within seconds, he was inside his room. To his surprise, it was completely bare. Oh, man. This is not good, he thought. He must be completely dedicated to Zedd, he thought. If that was the case, there was no saving this Jason. He let out a scoff at the choice of words. This Jason. That was a weird thought. Hearing footsteps, he opened his door to see parents-or rather, this world's version of his parents. He was about to call out to them when he heard his father say something.

"I don't know what to do with him anymore, Christy. He has completely changed."

"We can't just give up on him, Tony. Not after all the time we worked to prove that he could trust us." Jason closed his eyes. Man, why is this happening? he wondered. Even if Zedd had gotten to him, why wasn't this Jason remembering how the Scotts had taken him in? He had gotten lucky with them. Why had he forgotten that? With a sharp inhalation of breath, Jason rubbed the sides of his neck and then, composing himself, he teleported back out.


In his own reality, Kimberly, Billy, Trini, Tommy, and Zack, were in the Command Center, running a diagnostic on the vortex, trying to figure out where it had come from.

"Zack, are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Tommy asked in concern.

"Yeah, maybe you should lie down on the medical chair," Trini added.

"I told you, I'm fine. We've got to figure where that vortex sent Jason," Zack responded. What they didn't know, was that Jason's parents were calling up Jason's friends, trying to find him. Tony hung up the phone and then shook his head.

"The Thompsons haven't seen him either."

"Maybe he ran away. He did have a tendency to do that."

"But that was when he was twelve and he didn't trust anybody."

"Tony, what do we do?" The man sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know, Christy. I just don't know." One thing was for sure though; they weren't going to give up on him. They'd find Jason, and when they did, they'd talk about whatever had brought up his old insecurities. That is: if they did find him. Tony remembered all too well that Jason could make himself scarce when he wanted to-something that he had used often as a kid. Come on, Jase. Please don't lose faith in us, the man thought. His eyes clouded with worry for his son, unaware that he was in another dimension and was worried about them as well.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The line that inspired this twist was "I'm just glad you guys are my parents". I'm aware that it's probably just my imagination running wild, but I found it odd and figured that it could imply that Jason was adopted.