I pressed my phone against my ear, smiling slightly as I listened to the ringing. Billy and I had made a habit of checking in on each other regularly. Some days, the calls were quick—just a few minutes to say hi and make sure we were both still standing. Other days, we'd talk for hours about anything and everything. After everything we had been through, those conversations had become a lifeline. The call connected, but instead of his usual greeting, Billy's voice came through hurried and distracted. "Kali, hey—I can't talk right now. I'll call you back, okay?"

I frowned slightly, caught off guard. Billy never brushed me off like that. Before I could say anything, I caught faint voices in the background—one of them was Zack. I hesitated for only a second before replying, keeping my voice even. "Oh—yeah, sure. No problem. If I don't hear from you, I'll call you later."

"Sounds good. Talk soon."

The line went dead before I could respond. I stared at my phone for a moment, a strange feeling stirring in my gut. Billy wasn't the type to cut a call short unless something serious was going on. And Zack? What was he doing with Billy? I knew they were close, but this felt different. Shaking off the feeling, I slipped my phone into my pocket and stepped out of my bedroom. The sight before me instantly softened whatever tension had settled in my chest.

Devon and Raine were sitting on the floor in the living room, crayons scattered around them like the aftermath of a colorful explosion. Devon had his tongue slightly poking out in concentration as he carefully colored inside the lines of a drawing, while Raine, sitting cross-legged beside him, hummed to herself as she switched between crayons. I smiled, pulling out my phone again—but this time, to take a picture. This was the kind of moment I never wanted to forget. Devon, the fearless Red Ranger turned Commander, now completely engrossed in a coloring session with our three-year-old daughter.

At the sound of the camera shutter, Devon looked up and grinned. "Catching me in my artistic element, huh?"

"Absolutely," I teased, walking over to sit beside them. "I gotta document this. For science."

Raine beamed up at me, her bright brown eyes practically glowing with excitement. "Mommy! Look what I made!" She proudly held up two pictures. One was of a sleek black wolf, and the other was a red cheetah, both colored with impressive focus for a three-year-old.

I took the papers, admiring them. "Wow, these are awesome, sweetheart! I love them."

Devon leaned over to take a look. "You've got some serious skills, kiddo."

Raine giggled, clearly pleased with herself. Curious, I tapped a finger against the black wolf. "Why'd you pick these colors, baby? A black wolf and a red cheetah?"

Raine scrunched up her nose in thought before shrugging. "I dunno… it just felt right." Then, without hesitation, she handed me the wolf picture and Devon the cheetah. "This one's for you, Mommy! And this one's for Daddy!"

I blinked, exchanging a quick look with Devon. He smiled at Raine as he accepted the drawing, but I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. She had no way of knowing. No way of knowing that, four years ago, I had been the Black Ranger in Grid Battleforce. That Devon had been the Red Ranger. We had never told her. Never talked about our time as Rangers. And yet, here she was—handing us these drawings like she knew. Like something inside of her just… knew. I forced a smile, ruffling Raine's curly dark hair. "Thank you, baby. I love it."

Devon nodded. "Yeah, this is awesome. You should keep coloring—make more cool animals, okay?"

"Okay!" Raine cheered, already reaching for another crayon.

Devon met my gaze again, and I could tell he was thinking exactly what I was. Without another word, he stood and jerked his head toward the bedroom. "Hey, Mommy and I are gonna go talk real quick, okay?"

"'Kay!" Raine said, completely unbothered, already focused on her next masterpiece.

I followed Devon into our room, and the moment the door clicked shut behind me, I let out a breath. "Okay… tell me I'm not crazy for thinking that was weird."

Devon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're not crazy." He glanced down at the drawing in his hand, his brows furrowed. "Kali, what if she's—"

"Connected to the Morphin Grid?" I finished for him.

He exhaled sharply. "Yeah."

I bit my lip. "It's not impossible. I mean… she's our daughter." I shook my head. "But I don't know what it means, Dev. And I don't want to freak her out if there's nothing to worry about."

Devon nodded slowly, then straightened. "We should take her to Nate."

I hesitated. "Maybe. But let's not jump into it just yet." I crossed my arms, thinking. "Let's talk to Nate first. Just us. See what he thinks before we bring Raine into it."

Devon considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. That's probably the smarter move." He pulled out his phone. "I'll give him a call."

I nodded, but as Devon stepped away to make the call, I found myself looking down at Raine's drawing in my hands again. A black wolf. I had fought in a war. I had stood on battlefields, faced down monsters, and survived things that should have broken me. But nothing—nothing—terrified me more than the thought of my daughter being part of that world. And yet…

Maybe she already was. Devon returned after a couple of minutes, slipping his phone back into his pocket. His expression was calm, but I could see the focused determination in his eyes. "Nate's at the lab," he said, sitting down beside me. "And my dad's on his way over to watch Raine.

I nodded, relieved. "That was fast."

Devon smirked. "Well, when it comes to his granddaughter, Dad doesn't waste time."

I chuckled, knowing how true that was. Devon's dad adored Raine—he'd drop everything just to spend time with her. We stepped back into the living room, where Raine was still coloring, completely lost in her little world. Devon crouched down beside her. "Hey, sweetheart, guess what?"

She looked up at him, eyes bright with curiosity. "What?"

"Papa's coming over to see you!"

Raine gasped dramatically before breaking into a wide grin. "Yay! When?"

I smiled at her excitement. "He's on his way now. He's gonna hang out with you while Mommy and Daddy go out for a little bit, okay?"

"Okay!" she chirped, clearly having no issue with this arrangement.

About fifteen minutes later, Devon's dad arrived. The moment the door opened, Raine launched herself at him. "Papa!"

He caught her effortlessly, laughing as he spun her around. "There's my girl!"

Devon and I greeted him warmly, and after a brief rundown of her usual bedtime routine—not that he didn't already know it—we told Raine to be good and promised we'd be back soon. "Have fun with Papa, baby," I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her curly head.

"I will! Love you, Mommy!"

Devon ruffled her hair. "Be good, okay?"

"I always am!" she declared proudly, making all three of us chuckle. With that, Devon and I headed out to Grid Battleforce, my mind still swirling with unease.

The lab was quiet when we arrived, filled with the soft hum of computers and the faint beeping of various machines. Nate was standing over a console, analyzing data when we walked in. He glanced up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Hey, you two. What's going on?"

Devon and I exchanged a brief look before stepping forward. "It's Raine," Devon started.

Nate frowned slightly. "What about her?"

I exhaled, folding my arms. "She was coloring today… and she gave us pictures that match our Ranger colors. A black wolf for me. A red cheetah for Devon."

Nate's brows lifted. "That's… interesting."

"That's not all," Devon added. "When Kali asked her why she picked those colors, she just said it 'felt right.'"

Nate's eyes sharpened with understanding. He was silent for a moment, thinking, before he finally said, "It's possible."

I tensed slightly. "Possible?"

Nate sighed. "Look, we still know very little about the Morphin Grid. It's not exactly something we can study easily. But what we do know is that it's a powerful energy source that affects people in ways we don't fully understand."

He turned toward the console, typing rapidly. "Both of your DNA was altered when you became Rangers. And in your case, Kali, maybe even more so since you were sent through the Grid as a baby. There's a chance that connection was passed down to Raine."

I felt my stomach twist. "You're saying she's… connected to the Grid? Just because of us?"

Nate glanced at me. "I can't say for sure, but it's possible. And now that I think about it… if that's true, then Zoey and I might be dealing with the same thing."

Devon and I both looked at him. Nate rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Zoey and I had our DNA altered too when we became Rangers. If your daughter has a connection to the Grid, then there's a chance our son, Daylen, does too."

I swallowed hard. "And what does that mean for them?"

Nate exhaled. "I don't know. But if there is a connection, it's likely harmless. It might just mean they're more attuned to the Grid than most people. We'd have to keep an eye on it, but I don't think there's anything to worry about."

I wanted to believe him—I really did. But I still felt uneasy. The Morphin Grid wasn't something to take lightly. I had nearly lost my life to it once. I didn't want my daughter tangled up in it in any way, harmless or not. Before I could voice my concerns, my phone rang.

Billy. I took a deep breath and stepped away to answer. "Hey, Billy."

"Hey," he said, his tone immediately apologetic. "Sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to brush you off."

"It's okay," I assured him. "Is everything all right?"

There was a slight hesitation on the other end. "Yes."

Too quick. Too forced. I frowned. "Billy…"

He sighed heavily, and I could hear the exhaustion in his voice. "Kali, I… I need to tell you something. But you have to promise me you won't freak out."

That was never a good way to start a conversation. My grip on the phone tightened. "Just tell me."

Billy took a deep breath. "Rita's back."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"Not… exactly her," he clarified. "A year ago, I tried to bring Zordon back. I found remnants of the energy from the Z-Wave and thought I could reconstitute him." He hesitated. "But I didn't bring back the good. I accidentally pulled in the evil particles too. And those particles took over Alpha 8."

I felt cold. "Billy…"

He continued, voice heavy with guilt. "She's a robot now. She's been back for a year, Kali. And she… she killed Trini."

I gasped, my free hand covering my mouth. "Zack's been taking care of her daughter, Minh." Billy's voice cracked slightly. "She's strong, Kali. Just like Trini was. But it's been hard."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "Billy, this isn't your fault."

"It is." His voice was barely above a whisper. "If I hadn't—"

"No," I interrupted firmly. "You didn't do this. You were trying to help. That's what you do."

Billy didn't respond right away. I let out a shaky breath. "I wish you'd told me sooner."

"I didn't want to drag you into this," he admitted. "You've already been through so much."

I closed my eyes for a moment. "Billy… you're family. You don't have to protect me from this."

He sighed again. "I know."

There was a pause before I spoke again. "I'm coming over."

"Kali—"

"I'm coming," I repeated firmly. "I'm gonna talk to Devon, but I'll be there soon."

"Kali, you don't have to—"

"We've been needing to catch up anyway," I cut in. "I'll see you soon."

Billy exhaled but didn't argue further. "All right."

As I ended the call, I turned to find Devon watching me, concern written all over his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "We need to talk."