A warm breeze was blowing through the open door of the Zord hangar was I entered through the doorway. Standing on the platform overlooking the Zords, I found Billy and Adam. Aisha and Rocky had left already with most of the detonators to set up near the hotel to start the 'earthquake.' Billy had stayed behind to show us how to operate the Megazord. The controls were different with some of Rocky's Zord missing so he wanted to make sure we could handle it with no issues. It would just be Adam and I inside of it, Tommy calling the Dragonzord when the time came for it. He would just be along for the ride until then.
"Hey, Kim." Adam said, seeing me walk towards them. I gave him a small smile, seeing that they were both already dressed in their respective uniforms. Their helmets were resting on the control panel next to them.
"Hey. We almost ready?"
"Affirmative." Billy replied, pressing a few more buttons on the controls. "I've switched the mainframe of the Megazord to be controlled by your stations. Once the rest of us get back to the Megazord, I will be able to switch them back." I noticed his detonators were positioned on the floor next to him, the rods sticking up at odd angles. He had invented them himself, something he found in storage while we were trying to figure something out. He was such a bright man. I prayed we would all get out of this safe and sound. This had to work.
"You guys just make sure these things go off." Adam said, motioning towards the rods. "Kim and I can get the Megazord there. We'll radio once we are in position."
"Good luck." Billy said, reaching out for his helmet. When he picked it up, I wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a quick hug.
"You too." I whispered in his ear. Pulling back, he smiled down at me. He clasped his helmet on and grabbed the detonators before teleporting from the hangar, leaving Adam and I standing here.
"Hard to believe we are up to this again." Adam muttered, scowling at the Mastodon that was parked near us. "Thought for sure this part of my life was over for good."
"We'll always be rangers, Adam." I said, walking over to the railing. Leaning on it, I saw all of the Zords lined up. The Tyrannosaurus was there but in rough shape. "It's something we agreed to."
"When we were kids." He replied, sighing. "Who the hell thought we were responsible enough to agree to that?" Crossing his arms, he leaned against the control panel. My mind thought back to his arrival and the tension between him and Rocky.
"What's up between you and Rocky?" I asked, glancing over at him. He stiffened, not meeting my gaze. "Did you two have a fight or something?'
"It nothing." He mumbled, the old Adam poking through that I remembered from school. Scoffing, I walked over to him.
"You do know who you are talking to, right?" I asked, giving him a playful nudge. Slowly, he raised his eyes and looked at me.
"I wasn't going to come back." He said softly, shame filling his features. "When Rocky called me, I told him I didn't want to come back and fight. He's pissed because he thinks I was just trying to flake on saving the world."
"Well, was it?" I asked, a little shocked by his answer. I had never pictured Adam as a coward before. Why would he refuse to come back?
"No! After the Operation Overdrive mission, I went back home and found myself missing being back in action. I thought it was the karate and stuff so I reconnected with my sensei when I was a kid and started training again. That's when it kinda happened."
"It? What it?"
"I met Michael." He whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was there. "He was working as the assistant at the dojo and things kinda happened." It took a second for what Adam was saying to register in my mind.
"You're gay." I said simply, linking my fingers in front of me. A red tint filled his cheeks as he casted a look at his feet. "Adam, it's okay."
"Mike and I have only been together for a few years now and I was afraid if I came back, something might happen and I might not make it back to him."
"That doesn't make you a bad person. Believe me. Not wanting to fight for that reason isn't selfish. I'm glad you're here though. And I'm glad you have someone in your life that makes you happy. Why did you come though? We would have understood if you didn't." Putting his hands on his hips, he shrugged.
"I couldn't live with the idea of letting you guys fight without me. If something happened when I could have been there to help, I never would have been able to look myself in the mirror again. Jason lost Trini and was still trying to fight with you. I would have been a coward if I didn't." Frowning, he glanced at me. "What if we don't defeat this thing, Kim? What's going to happen to the world?"
"Hey." I said, putting a hand on his arm. "We are the Power Rangers. Beating up bad guys is what we do best. All we can do is try our best and keep fighting until we can't fight anymore. We're gonna beat this, you're gonna go home to Mike and eventually, I'm going to get to meet the man who stole your heart." He blushed again, smiling.
"Okay." He responded, believing me. The door of the hangar opened and Tommy walked out, talking into his cell phone.
"Connor, we're heading out with the Zords now. Rocky and Billy will contact me when they are about to set off the earthquake. Just make sure you don't head to the hotel until after it starts." He said into the speaker. He wasn't morphed yet, his street clothes standing out against Adam's spandex. I was also in my regular clothes, not changing over yet. My morpher hung from the back of my belt and I ran a hand over it, thinking of a time where we wouldn't need these again. "Good luck, guys." Hanging up his phone, Tommy looked over at Adam and me.
"The kids all set up?" Adam asked. Tommy nodded.
"Yeah. They are waiting at the coffee shop around the corner from the hotel. Rocky, Aisha and Billy are getting into place now. We should head out." He replied, pulling his morpher from his belt loop. "Dragonzord!" He exclaimed, a green flash of light filling the small area. I did the same, calling out the all too familiar cry. Warm energy filled me as I morphed into my uniform. Adam popped his helmet on, clasping it on the sides.
"I'll form the Megazord." Adam said, pushing some buttons on the console. The Zords began to move and they assembled the repaired Megazord within the area of the hanger. It not stood at a different angle as the fully restored Megazord but it would work for now. Billy and Trini had done a good job in repairing this. My heart stung at the thought of Trini but I shook the feeling away. I needed to have my head in the game right now.
Once the Megazord was formed, the three of us climbed into the control room of the mech. I took my usual place, pulling my seat belt on tightly. Adam sat next to me, gaining the main controls. He had more of a view from his seat than I did, giving him a better advantage of using the operating system. Tommy sat in Billy's seat, not having any control in here. His powers couldn't be used in here, his Dragon coin not compatible with the Megazord. His dagger was tucked into it's sheath at his hip, the sun shining brightly off the chrome and gold embellishments on it.
Adam pulled the Zord forward, slowly walking it out of the building. We stood towering above the ground, the desert horizon giving the sand an orangish glow. It would be a beautiful picture if we weren't about to head off to battle. Adam continued forward, heading towards the edge of town where we thought would be best. It was the same area we had faced Goldar and Tommy. So much had happened since then. It was hard to believe we had semi-normal lives that that point. To think that I had been a regular substitute teacher just a few weeks ago, teaching students about music. They would never believe I was sitting with the Power Rangers and fighting evil sorceress on Spring Break. Pulling the Megazord to a stoop, Adam placed everything in standby mood as he turned to look at Tommy.
"Dragonzord time." Tommy said, standing. Opening the door of the control room, he climbed out and onto the top of the Megazord. I heard the musical melody from the dagger as he called the Zord. He climbed back in after a few moments, out of breath. "It should be coming."
"Tommy!" Rocky's voice called over the speakers in our helmets. "Everything is set. Just waiting on your word."
"We're set. Whenever you're ready." He replied. We would need the tremors of the fake earthquake to mask the Dragonzord's movements. It would be just enough to cover it to get into place. Tommy pulled his cell from the front of his uniform. The kids did not have a communicator like he did. Billy had tried to equip them with one but without the power of the morphing grid or dino gem, it wouldn't work. He called Connor, putting the phone on speaker due to the helmet. He answered on the second ring.
"What's up, Dr. O?" His voice said. I could picture him looking serious as the four of them sat around a table in the coffee shop. My mind drifted to the Youth Center from our childhood.
"Get ready. All hell is about to break loose." Tommy said.
"We read you. Thanks, Dr. O." The phone cut off and he shoved it back into his suit. Off in the distance, I could see the outline of the Dragonzord in the heat coming off the earth. Far underneath us, the ground started to shake.