Let Me Think - One-Shot

Power Rangers #5


Kim examined herself in the mirror. She'd looped her belt through her Power Morpher, and although she looked faintly ridiculous – she was still wearing her smart work suit – she was actually quite thrilled by the strange item. It helped that merely having it attached to her belt had a physical effect on her body, improving her fitness, strength and stamina to levels she'd never experienced before.

This wasn't a prank. This was real.

+++

Trini knocked on her Uncle Howard's door.

"Come in," came his deep voice from inside. As she walked in, she was greeted by the familiar sight of her uncle tinkering with all manner of gadgets.

"Something new?" she asked.

He looked up, an almost manic grin on his face.

"New processor!" he said. "I'm hoping I can beat the big companies to the next upgrade this time." He turned the world's tiniest screwdriver with remarkable speed. "Love this thing."

This happened every so often. Howard worked for a local company that developed all sorts of processing units. When he brought his work home with him, it was a good sign that he was onto something.

Trini smiled, gave her uncle a hug, and walked back out. She'd hoped to have a word with him, but didn't want to disturb his exciting project.

"Trini!"

Trini nearly collapsed as two arms clamped around her. It was her cousin Sylvia. She rarely spoke without exclamation marks, and had the natural carefree joy of a fifteen-year-old who's always been surrounded by friends and family who love her; who'd never been treated badly.

"Hia," said Trini.

"You're safe!"

For a second, Trini couldn't work out what she meant. Then she remembered – her department of the college had collapsed in an earthquake a few hours ago.

"Oh, yes, sorry," said Trini. "I should've been in touch sooner."

Sylvia let go, and grinned.

"Dad didn't even notice the quake," she said. "Worked right through. I didn't bother telling him – he'd have worried."

Trini laughed. Howard wasn't easily distracted from his work, but if he thought there was even the slightest thing bothering his family, he became distressed and unable to function.

"I'm just going to head out again, Sylv," she said. "Still a bit shakey."

"Of course," said Sylvia. She squeezed her cousin's hand reassuringly, and dashed upstairs.

Trini's smile now faded. She had a lot to talk about. She needed to talk to someone on her wavelength. The others today hadn't understood her at all.

She picked up the phone and dialled Aisha's number.

+++

Angela wiped a tear from her eye. Her sides ached from laughing.

"And then, right, the Red Ranger really winds him up," said Zack. "He calls him a bully, basically, and Killer Cat Giant From Space names him his nemesis. Says he's going to kill his family, friends, casual acquaintances, postman, that kind of thing."

"Oh my God," said Angela, leaning forward.

"And then, right, a few seconds later, he's knocked uncoscious. A single blow. And GUESS who did it!"

"Don't tell me!" grinned Angela. "It was you!"

"As if."

"The Blue Ranger?"

"No," said Zack. "Think the most unlikely person."

"It wasn't the girl who wouldn't fight!"

"It was the girl who wouldn't fight!"

They both started to laugh again, mildly hysterically.

"Anyway, we got back, and that's where we talked about secret identities. Like I said earlier. The Red Ranger was an idiot about it, the girl who wouldn't fight – she's the Yellow Ranger, by the way – she was still worried about fighting and stuff. And I was just, like, wanting to get back and see if you were alright."

"Okay," grinned Angela. She calmed down, breathing deeply. "Right, I've listened to all of this. It all sounds pretty far-fetched ..."

"Killer Cat Giants From Space?"

"Stop it, you'll see me off again." Angela grinned at him. "Right. So. I'll be honest – I believe you. I don't think you're making this up. But just tell me anyway, categorically. Is every single bit of this true?"

Zack's smile faded. He didn't answer. He lifted his left hand for Angela to see.

"Oh," she said. "Oh, God."

"I know."

"Zack. Your finger's grown back."

+++

William sat in the silence. He looked around at the park, embracing the quiet. In front of him, on the grass, was his Power Morpher. He reached out, and touched it.

An explosion of sound. The laughing of children. The barking of dogs. A baby crying. Joggers breathing heavily. Bicycle tyres against the concrete paths. Traffic in the distance.

He took his finger off the morpher again. Not a sound. Silence.

And it didn't even need batteries.

+++

"It's stuck in my head," said Aisha. "And I don't know who sings it. Damned annoying."

"Can't help you out, sorry," said Trini. "Don't recognise it."

Aisha shrugged, and took another sip of her banana smoothie. They'd come to Ernie's Juice Bar for a chat.

"So," she said. "What was so urgent that you had to drag me away from a Mr Eko flashback episode?"

"Morality troubles," said Trini.

"Ah, alright," said Aisha. "What are your symptoms?"

Trini struggled to find the words. "Alright, you're a member of a lot of groups, aren't you?"

"Sure."

"Do you ever worry about them ... being inconsistent?"

"I don't follow."

"Let's say you're a member of an anti-war group," said Trini. "And then you wonder if you should join a group that fights for peace."

"I don't see the inconsistency," said Aisha.

"In the former, you're against fighting," Trini explained. "But in the latter, you fight – I mean, literally fight – to keep the peace. You're against soliders in one, and you ARE a soldier in the other."

"Still don't see it," said Aisha. "You're against war. That doesn't mean you think there shouldn't be armies. And it doesn't stop you being in one."

Trini frowned. She'd always seen Aisha as her most intelligent friend. How could she be this illogical?

"Okay," she said. "You're a vegetarian. Someone comes up to you, and tells you to eat a chicken. If you don't, they'll kill two more chickens."

"That's not a moral dilemma," said Aisha. "That's crap. I'd eat the damned chicken."

"But you're a vegetarian!"

"And WHY am I a vegetarian?" Aisha took another sip of her smoothie. "To maximise the survival and comfort of animals. If I eat this chicken, that's already dead, I save two living chickens."

"So you'd sell out your morals?"

"My morals are that I believe in the survival and comfort of animals. This is generally incompatible with eating them. The scenario you describe is a rare example that changes the rules – as well as something that never happens in real life."

Trini smiled. She checked to see if she had any of her strawberry smoothie left; she didn't.

"I've always struggled with those questions. Would I rather let a hundred bad men go free than imprison one innocent man?"

"I hate those dilemmas," said Aisha. "Because they're dumb. Yes, I would let an innocent man rot in prison before letting a hundred guilty men walk free. Yes, I'd eat a chicken to save two more. Yes, I'd kill ten murderers to save the life of a baby. I'd kill a baby to save a hundred men. Blah blah blah."

Trini looked shocked.

"These questions give us a bad name, Trini," said Aisha. "They're the reason Americans think hippies are filthy, weak-minded idiots. And I'm afraid the world doesn't work like that. It's easy to shout 'save the whale', but how easy is it to actually do something about it? It isn't. It's difficult. The things we campaign against are things that plenty of other people like and enjoy. We see ourselves as the good guys, because it's nice to think so. Being liberal is easy. 'No, I don't believe in the death penalty'. Well, good for you. But some people deserve it."

"The death penalty?" said Trini. "Seriously?"

"I don't mention my opinion on it often," said Aisha. "But we live in a world that contains thousands of people evil enough to deserve it. Humans aren't inherently good, and I'm not going to lose any sleep over the rapists on Death Row."

She finished her smoothie, and grinned.

"But, y'know, I'm not going to become an executioner. I'm still all about the fluffy kittens."

"So," said Trini. "Hypothetically. Do you fight hoards of monsters trying to kill and-or enslave everyone on earth, even though you don't believe in fighting?"

"I love you, Trini," said Aisha. "But you really are very foolish."

+++

"I've never even seen it before," said Angela, who was still running her fingers along Zack's new middle finger. "Except in baby photos."

"Novelty hasn't worn off for me either," said Zack. "But don't get too attached to it."

He removed the Power Morpher from his pocket. He placed it on the coffee table in front of him, and slowly, the finger melted back into his hand.

"If I'm not in contact with him, I get no added benefits – digital or otherwise."

Angela stared at the Morpher, still absent-mindedly stroking her boyfriend's hand.

"And I probably have to give it back," said Zack. "Since I told you. It's a breach of warranty."

"Do you have to tell them I know?" asked Angela. "We could keep it between us."

"I'm not going back and telling the Red Ranger my girlfriend doesn't know," said Zack stubbornly. "They take me on these terms, or they don't take me at all."

Angela smiled. She leant across the table and kissed him.

"You gave up your finger for me."

"Oh, shush," said Zack. "It's a lame finger anyway."

+++

Trini examined the Power Morpher. She'd have to swallow her pride to be part of the team. She didn't like that so much. She didn't like being wrong.

Was she wrong, then? Was it wrong not to want to fight? She'd always hated soldiers. If there were no soldiers, there'd be no wars. But then, those putty monsters were soldiers, weren't they? They needed to be cancelled out.

She never felt sorry for soldiers who died in war. Their families, sure, but not the soldiers themselves. They knew what the job entailed. And yet they still chose to do it.

So. This is how it would work. She was going to become the Yellow Power Ranger. And if she died, she'd have no-one to blame but herself. She was choosing herself to become the Evil Soldier Who Deserves To Die, to block the path between the monsters and the Innocent People Who Deserve To Live.

Someone has to do this job. And this way, she could keep an eye on the others.

+++

Angela gripped the mattress tightly, and bit the pillow to stop herself from screaming.

Minutes later, Zack had found a couple of peach yoghurts.

"Alright," said Angela, licking the lid, still out of breath. "You can give it back now, if you want."

Zack looked at the Morpher in mock grief.

"We've had some good times," he said. "But some things aren't meant to be."

He ate a loaded spoonful of yoghurt.

"Wonder how many aliens there are," said Angela. "And whether we're the least scary."

"Least scary?" asked Zack. "Humans are sinister. We wear camouflage and use guns. Give me a Cat Giant From Space with a Big Sword Of Death any day of the week." He paused. "Except Tuesdays. I have rehearsals."

Angela looked at the Morpher.

"Mind if I try it out?" she asked. "Just touch it, I mean."

Zack handed it to her. Angela felt every muscle in her body tense and stiffen, and looking down at her naked body, could even see her bones shifting slightly, the connecting tissue changing appropriately.

"Wow."

"Sexy," said Zack. He ran a hand along her newly-developed abs. "Oh, did I mention the robot? There was a robot!"

"Seriously?"

And the conversation continued.

+++

"Alright, guys," said Jason. "Keep up the good work. Nice work there, Tom."

He let his class rehearse the moves he'd just showed them, grabbed a towel, and entered the reception area.

"Sorry," he said, noticing that someone was waiting. "We're a bit understaffed today. Couple of our guys were injured in the quake."

He suddenly realised who it was.

"William."

"Hi," said William. "I want to learn to fight."

Day of the Dumpster - Part Four of Four

It seemed to William Cranston that there was a natural pecking order to the world, and that he was chosen specifically to be at the bottom. In elementary school, he'd always been pushed around by his classmates, and was left friendless and alone by the boys who chose to play soccer and baseball during recess. In middle school, even though he managed to make some friends, he was still a figure of fun for the rest of his grade, and a target for bullies, who often stole his rucksack and hid his possessions around the school building.

High school had been even worse, as even his friends turned against him. It had taken years for him to realise that they'd been making fun of him behind his back, until they eventually started to ignore him completely, moving on to a larger group of friends.

Upon arriving in college, William had innocently thought his days of being bullied were over. But even college was full of the same old thing. Football teams and fraternities ruled society, and if they weren't bad enough, one guy in particular had chosen William as his favourite victim.

Farkas Bulkmeier. A party animal, and twenty stone of pure muscle. He never got physical, but he made William's life hell. He'd invite him to parties, and never failed to embarass him. Mind games were his favourite; he'd managed to get William to turn up to three separate parties in costume, none of which were costume parties. Twice, he'd managed to get him drunk by spiking his drinks with spirits. And once, he'd pantsed him in front of hundreds of guests. There had been photos.

And then William Cranston received a Power Coin. A magical item that transformed his body to its physical peak. And to restore the balance, hideously strong putty soldiers from hell had turned up to give him concussion.

But that hadn't been a problem. The Power Coin had another property. It could power a morpher – a bulky grey device that created an advanced suit for William and four others he'd met barely an hour ago. The suit didn't look like much – mostly blue, with a white diamond pattern around the torso, a helmet with a stylised triceratops design, with white boots and gloves.

However, the suit had secrets of its own. It was remarkably strong – far stronger than any of the five of them, even at the peak of their potential strength. Unlike the coin itself, the suit even gave the wearers fighting skills they previously didn't possess. William was able to move gracefully and purposefully, as well as focus his superhuman strength and fight with great dexterity.

And with a tragic inevitability, an eight-foot tall humanoid feline had appeared, clad in a tough golden suit of armour, and challenged the five of them to a battle. His name was Goldar.

It didn't take long for William to realise that Goldar was more than a match for his new-found abilities. He'd performed a tornado kick, hitting Goldar's midriff twice. The giant didn't even flinch – he merely swiped at William with a paw the size of a breeze block, knocking the wind from William's lungs, even through the suit.

It took a moment for William to recover sufficiently to even check what the others were doing. Trini wasn't wearing her suit, having handed her morpher to Jason, and was standing defiantly to one side. The others were all battle ready.

In his red suit, Jason was doing his best to surprise Goldar with a variety of different moves, capitalising on his diverse knowledge of martial arts. He was doing a good job of avoiding Goldar's own attacks, but was hardly leaving a mark in return either.

Zack, like William, had no martial arts training at all, and was a reluctant fighter. He nervously tried using his artificially-developed skills to distract the creature from Jason.

Finally, Kimberly was going nuts. She'd found her way between Goldar's legs, where he struggled to hit her. She was clinging to his hip with her legs, and hitting him at crotch lever with all her enhanced strength.

"This is a joke," growled Goldar, lifting an enormous foot, and pushing Zack forcefully onto his back. "You are the Power Rangers? You are children." He tried to push Kim down his leg, but decided it wasn't worth the effort, and aimed a punch at Jason's head, which he managed to duck.

William stood up again. He was feeling much better already – the Power Coin also healed its owner rapidly. He ran behind Goldar, managing a suit-enhanced cartwheel to avoid being hit along the way, and jumped to hit the back of Goldar's helmet.

"This armour is a titanium alloy from my home planet," said Goldar boastfully. "The strongest alloy in this entire galaxy. And you think you can hurt me with a tap to the head?"

He turned around, the ground shaking with each enormous footsetp. He was now facing William.

"You are a fool, Blue Ranger. I was told you would be the clever one."

And a huge paw connected with the side of William's head. For the third or fourth time that day, William collapsed to the ground.

Jason launched himslf at the golden warrior, hoping he'd remain distracted. Goldar moved his head a fraction, and struck Jason with one colossal wing. Jason fell to the ground, dropping Trini's morpher.

Next, Goldar turned around, grabbed Zack's left arm, and raised him up. He drew him back, and threw him across the park.

Zack landed halfway across the park, landing against the sentinel statue. A sharp pain shot through his back, and he knew that his black power suit was all that had saved him from lifelong paralysis.

Back in the field, Jason was considering his options. He remembered despairingly that the creature had a sword. He'd sheathed it early during the battle. As though he'd decided he wouldn't need it. And with two Rangers down, and a third refusing to fight, it appeared increasingly likely that the creature was correct.

Suddenly, Goldar launched himself into the sky. He flapped his enormous wings forcefully, and surprisingly quickly considering their size. Kim grasped his legs harder, now keeping hold with her arms as well as her legs. And then, Goldar stopped flying. He dropped like a stone, turning as he did so, to land on Kim's arms.

She cried out. She managed to keep hold of his leg with her own legs, but her arms felt numb. She tried to move one, but could barely control it – it felt like the worst pins and needles ever.

Burning with rage, she released Goldar's legs, and dropped to the ground.

"One left," said Goldar, facing Jason. "One on one. My preferred means of battling."

Jason said nothing. He remained standing, prepared to fight to the end.

"You are very funny," said the giant. "I have defeated your friends with ease, and still you stand, as though you alone will pose a greater threat than four of you working together."

"I will fight you," said Jason simply. "You were right – we are children. Children who were chosen to protect the planet from you. I take it you're compensating for something, fighting the kids and all."

Goldar stepped forwards, landing one foot on Jason's. He pressed down, and Jason gritted his teeth to avoid crying out.

"I had forgotten that humans taunt," he said. "You have many traits in common with the honourable warriors of Titan."

"Human soldiers don't taunt," said Jason. "We don't waste our warriors on you. I work in a leisure centre."

Whether or not Goldar knew what a leisure centre was, this taunt certainly hit a nerve. He unsheathed his sword.

"Red Ranger of Earth," he announced. "I name you my nemesis. Once I kill you, I will own all your worldly possessions and blood relations." He grinned and snarled simultaneously. "And now, I will kill you."

He lifted his sword, slowly, with indulgence.

As he did so, Jason felt strange. His fatigue was wearing away, and far more quickly than before. His injuries, already healing thanks to the suit, faded to nothing. He felt stronger than ever before, and somehow elated. Light-headed. Goldar seemed to be moving more slowly than ever.

He examined the sword with curiosity. He saw it swing towards him, so painfully slowly. It seemed laughable that he'd need to move out of its way, but move he did. He smiled behind his helmet. Not a satisfied, smug smile, but the gentle smile of the truly content. He was vaguely aware of the Blue Ranger helping the Pink Ranger to her feet, and of the Black Ranger returning from the opposite side of the field.

The giant seemed confused and angry. Jason giggled. Funny cat man. Cat bird man.

"This is nice," he heard himself say. He realised that the deep hum in the background was Goldar's growling.

"My arms are all work-y again," came Kim's voice. "I think I will hit the big man."

"Can you teach me how?" asked William. "I want to be good at this, like you."

"Oh, shush," said Kim, nudging him playfully.

"I stopped laughing," said Zack, and Jason felt like he hadn't heard his voice in weeks. "But it's funny again now. I like to laugh."

Jason was aware of the funny cat bird man toppling forward. Behind him was a Ranger. A Power Ranger. The Power Ranger who'd knocked him to the ground.

The Yellow Power Ranger.

"Trini," said Jason, and the entire world disappeared.

+++

The world was hard again. Jason's hand shot to his face. He wasn't wearing his helmet any more.

"Well done, Rangers," came the ancient voice of Zordon. "You have defeated Goldar in accordance with his own rules. His pride will not allow him to lay down the same challenge a second time."

"This is probable," agreed Alpha Five, the small red robot.

The Rangers were in the command centre again.

"What happened?" asked Jason. "I tried ... I was going to fight him."

"It was me," said Trini, sounding slightly embarassed – maybe slightly ashamed. "I worked it out. At first, when I morphed, I thought that's what it felt like. Like you can do anything."

"It doesn't," confirmed William. "May I guess?"

Trini nodded.

"When all five of us are wearing our suits, it completes a circuit. Makes all of us stronger still."

"You know," said Zack thoughtfully. "That might have been useful to know."

"There was not enough time to explain everything," said Zordon.

"Okay," said Zack. "For future reference, priority should go to 'morphers make you strong, all five make you stronger, beat monsters or get killed'. We can pick up the origin story down the line."

"Nonetheless, you fared admirably," said Zordon. "You will continue to serve as Power Rangers until the threat of Rita Repulsa is over."

"I'm up for that," said Kim. "But, y'know, try to schedule world-threatening monsters for free periods if you can. I've got kids to teach."

"Now," said Alpha Five. "You must be told the three laws of being a Power Ranger."

"Yeah, sure," said Zack. "We won't injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human to come to harm."

"The first rule is that you may not use your power for personal gain," said Alpha.

"I knew it!" said Kim. "Superpowers suck."

"Secondly, never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you to."

The group looked blankly at him.

"That means no suits unless there are monsters, and use minimum necessary force."

Trini seemed interested in this, but said nothing.

"And finally, keep your identity secret. From everyone."

"No."

Everyone looked around in surprise at Zack.

"No," he repeated. "I'm telling my girlfriend, or I'm off the team."

"You cannot tell anyone," said Alpha.

"Then I'm off the team."

"You were chosen specifically!" insisted the robot. "To turn this down would doom the entire world."

"Then I'm telling my girlfriend," said Zack stubbornly. "No way am I going to be on a secret team without her knowing. We want to get married some day. I've never kept secrets from her, and I'm not starting with super powers."

Alpha seemed fidgety. Jason took Zack to one side.

"Are you sure you can't make an exception here?" he asked.

"Are you in a relationship?" asked Zack.

"No."

"Good."

Jason frowned.

"I don't want to be on a team with anyone who thinks they can balance this with any sort of meaningful relationship," Zack explained. "I'm not changing my mind on this."

Jason nodded. He moved to face the pipe at the edge of the command centre.

"Zordon," he said, feeling strange greeting this being by what sounded so much like a first name. "May we have some time to think about this? To decide whether or not we want to be on this team?"

Several minutes passed. The others looked at one another, but Jason kept looking towards the pipe.

Finally, Zordon spoke.

"You have twenty-four hours to decide."

And the world returned.

+++

"Where have you been, Miss Hart? We've been looking everywhere."

Kim opened her eyes. It was Mr Oliver, her teaching assistant.

He helped her to her feet. She was surprised to find that she still had her enhanced strength. She placed her hand against her pocket, and found that she still had her Power Coin, still in its morpher.

"Are the kids alright?" she asked.

"Yes," said Mr Oliver. "They're all fine."

She smiled. "Good."

+++

William got to his feet shakily. He was several yards from the science block, which was now in ruins. The emergency services were busily searching the area.

He looked around, and saw Trini.

"Do you want to talk about this?" he asked, feeling awkward.

"Yes," she said. "No. Yes." She rubbed her head. "Not now."

She smiled weakly, turned around, and jogged away. William stayed where he was, and for the next few hours, watched the emergency services going about their business.

+++

Jason checked his watch as soon as he arrived back in the leisure centre. Midday. So short a time since he'd been here last, and so much had happened.

Checking he still had his morpher, he walked out through the door, and headed back to his apartment. Alone.

+++

Zack walked through the door of his building. He dashed up the stairs, and opened the door to his and Angela's apartment.

"Zack." Angela threw her arms around him. "Thank God. I couldn't find you. You weren't answering your phone."

Absent-mindedly, Zack felt the cell-phone in his pocket. He hugged Angela back, and for five minutes, neither of them said a word.

Finally, she let him go, and smiled, giggling emotionally.

"Angela," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Now," he said. "Let's grab a seat. We need to talk about something."

Day of the Dumpster - Part Three of Four

Kimberly Hart couldn't quite believe her eyes. Twenty men that seemed to be made of rock, standing in formation. Putty Patrollers, the pipe voice had called them.

They started to advance, and Kim ignored her doubts. She'd think about this later. For now, it was time to fight.

Not that Kim had ever been in a proper fight. Kicking and hair-pulling with her cousin when she was growing up, but not an actual brutal fight. But then, punching seemed pretty straightforward, didn't it? As the patrollers reached within an arm's length, she formed a fist, and punched the nearest one in the chest.

"Jesus, that hurts!" she cried.

"Are you alright?" came Jason's voice.

"Yeah," said Kim curiously. Her hand had been in tremendous pain, but it was suddenly calming down. The coin, she remembered – the dragon coin that gave her her additional strength.

Remembering this, Kim smiled. And tackled two of the patrollers to the floor, kicking at a third as she did so.

"Good work, Kim," called Jason. Inspired by her display, he attacked another patroller. Kicking and slicing expertly, neatly avoiding the patroller's attempts at fighting back.

"Okay, guys," he said. "They're strong, but not skilled. Let's talk resources."

He looked behind him. Zack, William and Trini were standing back – only Zack seemed anything approaching willing to take on one of the creatures.

"My speciality's Thai Kickboxing," said Jason. "But I've got a fair bit of Taekwondo and Judo, as well as Shenkito and Kenpo."

"Dude," said Zack, sounding panicked. "You know five different martial arts?"

"Fourteen," said Jason, deflecting a patroller's blow. "That's how many I've studied, anyway." Another jab. "I didn't get very far with Hakko Denshin Ryu."

"Mate," said Zack. "I don't know about the others, but I've never even heard of most of those." He backed away as two patrollers approached him. He tried to kick one, but misjudged the angle and mised.

"Really?" Jason kicked his patroller's legs from under him, and aimed a blow at its chest. "I assumed that's why we were chosen for this – because we're all trained in martial arts."

"I'm not," Kim called. Her voice was muted by a pile of patrollers she'd pulled down on top of herself. "Used to be a gymnast. Maybe their notes are out of date."

"I've never done anything," said William. He was backing away, allowing Jason to become a barrier between himself and the patrollers. "Hated sports in school."

"I have a sandan in Shangdong Praying Mantis," said Trini. She was standing stock still, as though frozen in place.

"Wasn't that made up for films?" asked Zack, optimistically kicking one of the patrollers at crotch level. "Not found any weaknesses yet, by the way."

"That'll be great, Trini," said Jason. "Are you in or out."

"I don't fight," she said.

"Mate, if you just stand there, you won't have much of a choice," said Zack. He cried out in pain as a patroller punched him in the head. "And why is it always me who gets crippled by these things?"

"Anyone free to help?" called Kim. Half the patrollers had jumped onto her by now.

"Help her out, William," instructed Jason.

"I've never fought before!" insisted William.

"You'll pick it up," said Kim. "It's mostly about ignoring the pain long enough to kick them in the teeth."

William closed his eyes for a second, and inhaled deeply. Then, he opened them again.

"Alright," he said.

He ran towards Kim, and the mountain of patrollers. As he did so, a new patroller stepped in front of him, and swung at his head. William collapsed, like a dead weight.

"What's happening?" called Kim. Her arms were now visible – she was digging her way out.

"It knocked him out cold!" cried Zack, somewhat hysterically.

And then a patroller reached Trini.

It swung its arm towards her. She suddenly thrusted her hand forward, connecting underneath the patroller's ribs. It slumped forward, and Trini side-stepped to let it fall to the ground.

"This from the girl who won't fight?" said Zack.

"I don't fight," said Trini innocently. "That was self-defense. Which is the whole purpose of my training."

"Right," said Zack. "No chance of you generalising the concept of 'self' to include me, is there?"

"I don't fight."

Jason had managed to knock three patrollers to the ground, and crossed over towards Kim. It was difficult to tell how well she was doing, but she had at least managed to free herself from the knot of patrollers. She was now sitting on them, slamming their heads against each other.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"Might be nice," said Kim thoughtfully. "Don't really know what to do after getting them pinned. Kelly just started crying at this point."

"Sister?"

"Cousin."

"Their chests seem to be a weak point," said Jason. "Hitting their heads doesn't seem to make a difference."

"You could have mentioned that earlier!" said Kim. "Some leader you are."

"Hey, you're the tactician."

"Yes, and I've taken out eight patrollers. That's twice my recommended daily allowance."

William opened his eyes. Sky? Oh, yeah, the field. He stood up, most disappointed that he'd woken up in time to enjoy the pain of the impact to his head.

He looked over at the patrollers. His vision was blurred, and the sunlight gave him a headache. There was a ringing in his ears.

"Guys, I think I'm concussed."

Immediately, Trini ran towards him.

"You lost consciousness," she said. "But it can't have been for more than a minute or two. Are you suffering from amnesia?"

"I can't remember much of what the guy in the pipe said."

"That's not saying much. Do you remember being hit?"

"Yes."

"Good sign." She checked over her shoulder to make sure there were no patrollers near them. "Get plenty of rest."

"And leave the others?"

"Dude, that gives us seven each!" called Zack.

"That's nothing," said Kim. "I've already knocked out four, and I think I've made this one blind."

"Hang on." William removed something from his pocket – the bulky grey device Zordon had called a morpher. "I forgot all about these."

He'd been holding his coin tightly all along. He slotted it into the device with a satisfying click, and held it by the strap, at arm's length. He closed his eyes, and pressed the button on the left.

Trini had to back away as William was engulfed by a bright blue light. Intense heat emanated from him, as well as a sound like the rumbling of thunder.

Suddenly, the light, sound and heat faded away, and William fell to his legs.

"Oh," he said. He looked at his hands. He was wearing tough white gloves. He could feel it all around him – an outfit. A suit, but more than just a suit – it was a part of him. Strengthening him, giving him endurance, and ...

He swung his hand out. He launched himself into the air, aiming at one of Zack's patrollers, and landed, taking the patroller out with his feet.

"Guys, use the morphers," he said. "This is amazing."

Jason looked over his shoulder. William was wearing a tight blue outfit, with white gloves and boots. A blue helmet completed the look – the whole thing looked as though it was from an entirely different culture.

And the change to William's abilities was remarkable. His arms were swinging with greater precision and dexterity than Jason had ever seen.

As Jason reached for his morpher, he felt the air heat up around him. Kim had already used hers.

"Wow!" she said, as she examined her suit. "I get the pink one!"

"Didn't have you pegged as someone who'd like pink," said Jason.

"Hey, it's a colour."

While Jason used his own morpher, Zack examined his own suit.

"I've got a black one?"

"Don't you like black?" asked Kim, enjoying a new-found ability to spin on the spot, kicking up towards the patrollers' faces.

"I'm the black guy!" said Zack. "And I've got the black suit! That's just wrong. If Trini gets a yellow one, I swear I'm off the team."

Trini, however, was stubbornly standing where she was, making no movement to take her morpher.

"This is amazing!" said Jason. His own physical abilities were magnified by the suit, and he managed to take out several of the patrollers with ease. "I can't help but think we should have done this before leaving."

"Pipe guy's an idiot," confirmed Kim, who was endeavouring to beat down her opponents in the most flashy way possible. She grabbed one by the arm and somersaulted backwards, causing it to fall to the ground.

"I have to admit," said Zack. "These suits know what they're doing. Which is good, because I really don't."

One of the patrollers broke away from the empowered crew, and tried its luck with Trini. As before, she struck it with a single blow, and it fell.

"You really ought to try this," said William. "It's amazing."

Trini smiled. "I really don't fight."

"Okay, but you could still stand there with a bit more power."

"No," she said simply. "These aren't clothes – they're weapons. Their only purpose is to better your ability to hurt people."

"Big killer rock-stroke-putty monsters!" said Zack. "Which you have to admit is a fair counter-argument."

"And I'll tackle them if they come near me," said Trini earnestly. "But you can play at being superheroes if you like. Fact is, it comes down to the same thing. You're not superheroes. You're soldiers."

Zack chose not to reply, focusing instead on trying to emulate Trini's own jab to take out a patroller.

"The fact that there are aliens and robots doesn't change the fact that this isn't a fight," Trini continued. "It's an invasion. A war. And maybe five of us, with our magic suits, can take out the invaders. But that doesn't mean we should. I will fight in self-defense, but otherwise, I won't."

"You get that these guys will probably take over the planet or something, right?" said Zack.

"Yeah, because we know all the facts," said Trini irascibly.

During the conversation, Jason had manouvered himself around to Zack's side.

"This is a bit intense for everyone," he said quietly. "Don't pressure her."

"I don't think she needs much support," said Zack. "Didn't you see what she can do to John Q Putty?"

"Yeah, well, remember she's the only one of us who's still standing there unprotected," said Jason. "She doesn't need us gloating about how strong and cool we are."

"I wasn't!"

And suddenly, there was a calm. Kim had knocked the last of the patrollers out with an uppercut.

The adrenaline still pumping, the four in the suits looked around them, counting the grey bodies to make sure there were still twenty.

"We need to tell someone," said William. "Get the authorities here. They can study them – find weaknesses in case there are more."

"There are more," said Zack. "Endless legion, remember?"

But suddenly, all around them, the bodies started to crumble. eventually, all of them became mounds of dust, looking like unmixed concrete.

"You killed them," said Trini quietly.

"I see your point," said Zack. "But I think you have to concede that they were, after all, big killer rock-stroke-putty monsters."

William was bending over one of the piles, searching through the dust.

"Nothing left but the dust," he confirmed. "Which implies that they aren't organic in the way we understand the term. Wonder what kept them alive."

"Right," said Zack. "Enough of this. How do you get these suits off."

He checked his suit, and found that the morpher had been secured into the belt. He removed it.

"Hang on," said Jason. "Shouldn't we wait in case more turn up."

"I have to find my girlfriend," said Zack. "And I'm not waiting to hang around a monster murder scene in my monster killing suit."

"Me too," said Trini. "I'm going, I mean. Not to find a girlfriend."

"Did you just make a joke?" asked Zack, whose grin could be heard in his voice.

"I make jokes!" said Trini. "You don't know me."

Zack's suit vanished as he pressed the button on his morpher.

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry. Lovely meeting you."

"Yes," said Trini. She approached Jason, and retrieved her own morpher from her pocket. "Here's my thing. The coin, too."

"Why are you giving me these?"

"I won't ever use them," she said. "I don't want them. Find someone else to give you your damned spirituality or whatever it was I was meant to do."

She turned to leave.

"Pleasure meeting you," said Jason, wincing immediately when she didn't reply.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble again. The five of them froze in place, preparing themselves for a repeat of the earlier quake, but it stopped soon enough.

"I won't be able to sleep for a week," moaned Kim. "I'll have to take up boxing or something to work off the adrenaline."

"I don't think you'll need to," said William. "If the earth quakes whenever ..."

He didn't need to finish his sentence. A figure had arrived in the field.

He was enormous – easily eight feet tall – and clad in tough, golden armour. All they could see of him was his face, which resembled a puma's, and covered in scars. Each footstep he took towards them caused him to sink into the ground. He carried a brutal-looking sword, and behind him were two enormous wings, the armour extending over the topmost edges.

Zack wasted no time in using his morpher to return to his suit.

"Power Rangers," snorted the golden giant. His voice was gruff, and the shape of his lips gave it an odd quality, as though he was spitting. "You stand as the defenders of this planet, and the enforcers of its law?"

For a second, none of them responded. Jason wondered how to respond, but before he got the chance, Kim called out, "Yeah, that's us. Power Rangers." She paused. "I'm the pink one!"

"We will battle," said the giant.

"Aw, we've only just met," said Zack. "That's bad xenia."

"We will battle according to the ancient laws of combat as established on Titan," he replied. "I will announce the combat. This is battle G-seventy-four dot four-nine-two, the Five Power Ranger of Earth versus Goldar, First Henchman to Queen Rita Repulsa. We begin."

Day of the Dumpster - Part Two of Four

It took some time for the five strangers to grow used to their surroundings and calm down sufficiently to listen to the voice in the pipe. This was understandable, as the adrenaline was pumping in each of them, having been lifted from a tremendous earthquake.

But now, they were calm. William Cranston was leaning against a console at the side of the room, examining the battered buttons and crooked panels. Kim Hart was standing in the middle of the room, her arms crossed, tapping her foot. Zack Taylor had sat down on the floor, and was toying with his shoelace. Trini Kwan was staring all around her, wide-eyed with wonder, and had yet to say a word.

Finally, Jason Scott was pacing calmly, examining the details of the room curiously. He seemed calm, but his mind was racing. So many questions, and no means of guessing at their answers.

But finally, the voice spoke – the voice in the pipe, that had introduced itself as Zordon.

"I am about to reveal a great deal of information to you that is secret from the rest of your planet," he said, speaking slowly, as though each word was a struggle. "It will be a lot to take in, and I imagine that you will have your doubts. But you must listen well to every detail."

"Fine," said Zack. "No talking during the exposition."

"Ten thousand years ago, on my home planet, I was attacked by Rita Repula, an intergalactic sorceress from Gamma Vile in the M-fifty-one galaxy."

"Dude, I was surprised to find out there was more than one continent," said Zack. "You can spare us the geography."

"Speak for yourself," said Miss Hart.

"Her intention was to destroy my planet, Eltar," Zordon continued, ignoring another look from Zack for name-dropping. "I fought to the best of my abilities, but was crippled, and trapped in a time warp."

"You mean that pipe you're in?" asked William, speaking rather too quietly in the large room.

"This vessel was built for me by my assistant," explained Zordon. "Meanwhile, the Sentinels of my home imprisoned Repulsa, with the aid of their secret weapons."

"Sentinels," said Jason. "These would be the police?"

"The premise is similar," confirmed Zordon. "They placed Rita in a space dumpster ..."

"Wait," said Miss Hart. "A what?"

"A space dumpster."

"A space dumpster," Miss Hart repeated. "You binned her?"

"The metaphor stands."

"You BINNED her."

"Dude," said Zack. "This guy claims he's over ten thousand years old, and you're bothered by an unusual justice system?"

"But now the space dumpster has been opened," Zordon continued. "By astronauts from your world. And Rita's free, and according to her culture's traditions, she must now destroy your planet."

"And her name's Rita," said Miss Hart. "Just to confirm."

"That is correct."

"Look, this is all great," said Zack. "But I need to get back. I've got to find someone out there before she gets hurt."

"No-one will be in danger while we're here," said Zordon. "Our systems will give us fair warning of danger to anyone in Angel Grove."

Jason looked at Zack. "You're from Angel Grove too?"

"Sure," said Zack. "I take it you are as well."

"Me too," said William.

"And me," said Miss Hart.

Jason looked thoughtful.

"You mentioned an assistant," said William, turning to Zordon. "What became of him?"

"He's still around," said Zordon. "This is my automaton, Alpha Five."

A four-foot-tall robot approached them from behind one of the larger consoles. It was humanoid in shape, and painted a metallic red.

"Good day," it said, with a warm, friendly voice that reminded the crew of an automated telephone service.

"Alpha is responsible for the Command Centre," Zordon revealed. "He found the five of you himself."

"Right," said Jason. "And why us? What are we doing here?"

"I mentioned a secret weapon," said Zordon. "Show them, Alpha."

The robot – Alpha Five – crossed over to a long unit that William had assumed was yet another console. The robot's arm slid down with a quiet humming sound, and reached out for a lever. Rather than pulling it downwards, as William had expected, Alpha moved backwards, opening a drawer in the unit.

From within, the robot retrieved a small wooden box.

"This box can only be opened by specific DNA," said the friendly voice. "I have set it to yours, Jason Lee Scott."

"Call me Jason," replied Jason absent-mindedly. He took the box. "So, I just open it?"

"You're the only one who can," revealed Alpha.

"Yeah, I got that," said Jason, opening the box. It was stiff, but there was no hint that it had been locked at any point.

Inside were five large golden coins, around two inches in diameter. Jason was about to pick one out, when Zordon spoke again.

"These coins have unusual properties," he said. "It is a coin such as these that powers this entire Control Centre."

William stood up, and walked closer.

"Really?" he said. "I'd wondered about that. How you keep your robot powered."

Alpha Five opened a panel on his chest to reveal, looking comically like a replacement heart, a matching golden coin.

"The coins offer unlimited power," said Zordon. "As long as it is channelled correctly. Merely holding them will grant you advanced strength and skill, heal wounds more rapidly, and grant you additional stamina."

"Could do with some of that myself," said Zack, whose shoulder and foot were still hurting him. He reached for the box.

"Take the Mastodon Coin," said Alpha hurriedly.

"The what coin?"

"The mastodon," said William. "Similar to mammoths, but died out much sooner."

Zack examined the coins, and saw that each were carved to depict a dinosaur head. He spotted one depicting a mammoth-like creature, and took it.

Immediately, he realised that these coins weren't merely props. He felt his entire body tighten, and his muscles strengthen. Zack was hardly unfit to begin with, but by the time the transformation was complete, he'd never felt better – other than his shoulder and foot, but he could literally feel them healing, the bones straightening and the bruising subsiding.

"Right," he breathed, taken aback. "Great."

"Which one's mine?" asked Miss Hart, marching for the box.

"The pterodactyl," said Alpha. "William Cranston has the triceratops, Trini Kwan has the sabre-toothed tiger, and Jason Lee Scott has the tyrannosaurus."

"I get the coolest one, then," said Jason with a smile, lifting his own coin from the box, and enjoying the sensation of his already muscular body increasing in strength.

"Hey," said Miss Hart. "The pterodactyl's the coolest. It flies!"

"The tyrannosaurus is in more films," insisted Jason.

"The mastodon has character, though," interjected Zack. "I mean, it's too cool to be in films. It lets its lame mammoth cousins get all the glory."

Jason turned to the others, seeing that they hadn't moved to take their coins.

"William, wasn't it?" he said. "Come get your coin."

William moved apprehensively, and picked out the triceratops coin. He was hit harder by the transformation, as hardly-used muscles tightened and grew, and all the excess fat disappeared from his body. It felt strange – not painful, but not pleasant either.

"Sorry," said Jason to the fifth member of the crew. "I didn't catch your name."

"Trini Kwan," she said curtly.

"Would you like your coin?"

"No thank you," she said.

"Right." Jason looked around to the others for support, but they were avoiding eye contact – embarassed by having been carried away by these strange coins. "Why not, Trini?"

"I don't like this," she said. "I don't know if this is some prank, or a TV show, or if, like ... If one of you ..." Her lip started to quiver, and the rest of her face followed. She screwed her eyes shut to hold back the tears.

"Get the others talking," Jason whispered to William, handing him the box.

Next, he walked towards Trini, and placed an arm around her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "This is a bit insane, I know."

"How can you do this?" she whispered. "You're just playing along, taking their magic treasure, and talking to robots and million-year-old aliens, and you're ... it's like you believe it."

"You're right," said Jason. "But today, an enormous earthquake hit my home town. Before I came here, the last thing I saw was the devestation outside. Some guy in a pipe wants to tell me a space witch did this? Fine. That's fine by me."

"How?" asked Trini. "Why?"

"Because the alternative is too hard to think about right now," he explained. "I saw the mess. Looters. Broken windows, probably entire buildings destroyed. Everyone rushing to get out. And then I disappear, and I'm given this coin, and told it's a secret weapon. And you know what? We could do with a secret weapon."

Trini wiped the tears from her eyes.

"And if it's all a prank," said Jason. "Then it's a damned good one. And I for one don't mind falling for it."

"You're very wise," said Trini.

Jason snorted with laughter. "I work in a leisure centre," he said. "I get a lot of thinking time."

Trini smiled.

"So," said Jason. "You ready to try out your magic treasure?"

And Trini laughed. The relieving laughter that comes after a good cry.

She followed Jason back towards the others, who were busy chatting amongst themselves.

"Oh, hi," said Miss Hart, as though she hadn't been expecting them.

Trini smiled at her, and reached for the box. She lifted the coin. She closed her eyes as it took effect, and when it was finished, she examined the coin itself.

"You will also need a device to channel the power appropriately," said Zordon. "Alpha will provide you with devices of this sort."

Alpha handed them each a bulky grey device, the size of a deck of cards. There was a button on two of the narrow sides, and a thin strap on the back.

"These are morphers," said Zordon. "Insert your coins into them, and pressing the button on the left of the devices will morph you into your power suits."

"Power suits," repeated Jason.

"The advanced physical capabilities of these coins are child's play compared to Rita's abilities. To stand a chance against her, you will need protection. These morphers will create a barrier around you, in the form of a suit. They'll be able to absorb a lot more damage, and will make you far stronger than any ordinary human could ever be."

"May I hazard a guess?" asked Zack. "We're forming a team, right? Like superheroes."

"That is correct," confirmed Zordon.

"I have the coolest dinosaur," said Jason. "Does that make me the leader."

"Not as cool as a pterodactyl," insisted Miss Hart.

"Of course you're the leader, Jason Lee Scott," confirmed Alpha. "That is why you were chosen."

"Right, I was joking," said Jason. "I'm twenty-seven and work in a leisure centre."

"So unfair," said Miss Hart. "I'm twenty-eight, and I have a cooler dinosaur. I should well be the leader." She paused. "Sexist," she added.

"You are the team's tactician, Kimberly Ann Hart," said Alpha. "You are resbonsible for planning and executing battles."

"Yeah, sure," said Miss Hart. "And call me Kim, by the way. Seeing as you're a robot and all."

"Are you not surprised by your designated role?" asked Alpha. "You appear to be taking this in your stride."

"Second I get out of here, I'm headed straight home," said Kim. "See if there are still robots and earthquakes tomorrow."

"You're in denial," Alpha accused. "You will have to conquer this quickly. Your first battle will take place soon."

"Looking forward to it."

"So, who am I?" asked Zack. "On this team. I'm not the Falcon of the team, am I?"

"You are here for morale," said Alpha.

"Morale?" said Zack. "Morale! Leader, tactician ... and morale. Wow, you were really scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"There will come a time when nobody wishes to go on," said Alpha. "You will have to ensure that everyone fulfils their duties."

"Hey, I'm the most likely of us all to run out on all this," said Zack. "I have a girlfriend out there, and she's probably still on the run from rock monsters."

"Putty Patrollers," said Zordon. "Rita's endless legion of brainless soldiers."

"Oh, endless legion," said Zack. "My favourite kind of brainless soldiers."

"Do I have a role?" asked Trini softly.

"You are the spiritualist, Trini Kwan," said Alpha. "Your purpose is to keep the team good and true."

"Whoa, there," said Zack. "Spiritualist and morale? We're here for diversity, aren't we? See how the white guys get all the cool jobs? I bet speccy here's, like, the scientist or something."

"William Cranston is the researcher," said Alpha.

"Same difference," said Zack. "Is there a superhero union we can join? First day on the job, I think I should strike."

"You aren't superheroes," said Zordon. "You are rangers of your planet, protecting it and enforcing its laws upon invaders from other worlds. You are vessels for the power contained within your coins."

"Power Rangers," explained Alpha helpfully.

"What do we do?" asked Jason, who'd now inserted his coin into his morpher, and clipped it onto his belt.

"You don't have much time," said Zordon. "The earthquake in your neighbourhood has subsided while you've been here, but a full brigade of Putty Patrollers have entered it. Soon, they will begin to move out. You must defeat the entire brigade before they harm anyone in Angel Grove."

"How many?" asked Jason.

"Twenty."

"Oh, great," said Zack. "Twenty. That's only four each!"

"Thanks for that," said Kim. "Good job keeping up morale there."

"I'm not fighting," said Trini.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," said Jason.

"Five each!" said Zack. "For anyone keeping count."

In the centre of the room, the white sphere glowed, and an image appeared in it.

"A crystal ball?" asked William, bemused.

"A viewing globe," said Alpha. "It can approximate an image based on the movement of energy throughout the world."

They saw a field. Twenty grey men were stood in four lines of five. As Zack had said, they seemed to be made of rock.

"Those are your opponents," said Alpha. "Prepare to teleport."

"Teleport?" asked William. "Is that how you got us here in the first place?"

By the time he finished his sentence, he and the others were standing in the middle of a field.

The Putty Patrollers spotted them, and began to advance.

Day of the Dumpster - Part One of Four

When Angela opened her eyes that morning, her byfriend was nowhere to be seen.

"Zack?" she called.

And then, he burst in.

"Morning, beautiful!" he said. "Can I pull that off, by the way? Either way – it's time for toast!"

Angela sat up in bed as Zack passed her the tray.

"What on earth have I done to deserve this?" she asked.

"My way of apologising," said Zack. "I know I haven't been available much lately, between rehearsals and touring." He grinned broadly. "But today's different! It's Zack and Angela Day today, all day."

"That's great, Zack," said Angela between bites of toast. "And thanks for my breakfast." She reached over and grabbed his hand. Then, remembering something, she frowned. "Don't you think you should phone Bobby, though? He's been waiting to see you even longer than I have."

"Zack and Bobby Day's tomorrow, beautiful!"

"You really can't pull that off."

"I know," said Zack sadly.

+++

Even though it was early, William Cranston was already studying in the library. He was a hard worker – he wanted to do well in his major, and move away from home. His family hadn't been able to afford to send him anywhere else, so he'd been forced to stay in California.

As he worked, an oriental girl walked past, and William realised how narrow his horizons were. He'd barely left his home town, let alone the state or the country. What an experience it'd be to immerse oneself in a foreign culture, even studying in a foreign language.

But if he didn't stop daydreaming, he'd never get anywhere. He concentrated on his book.

+++

Miss Hart checked her watch. Eight minutes she'd been waiting for Eugene to sort out the television. Thank goodness for Mr Oliver, the teaching assisstant – he was currently taking the kids through the finer points of glaciation, giving her valuable marking time. But still, these kids' STAR exams were on the line, and she couldn't afford to wait around for faulty equipment.

She walked towards Eugene. Keeping her voice low so that she wouldn't be overheard, she said, "Any chance of getting this ready before tectonic plate movement renders the video obsolete, Mr Skullovitch?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Hart," he said. "It's old equipment. Wires are frayed." He jumped suddenly, having received a shock from one of the wires in question. "I'm sure I'll get it done by the next period."

"Alright," sighed Miss Hart. "But please try to get these things done on time in the future. You had over a week's notice."

"I'm sorry," Eugene muttered.

Miss Hart considered going on, but decided she'd had her say. Eugene frustrated her – he was poor at communicating, and unreliable. She found herself tempted to avoid all technology in lessons these days to avoid having to deal with the complications he caused.

She sat back at her desk, continuing her work, looking up every so often to keep an eye on her teaching assistant.

+++

Jason blew on his whistle to stop a man from running. He wasn't too keen on swimming pool duty, but someone had to do it. Weekdays were often like this – quiet, and no classes running.

By his nature, Jason liked to teach, so he much preferred classes. At three, he was scheduled for a fitness class for the over-sixties. That was better than nothing.

He turned his attention to the TV mounted in the gymnasium in the next room. He couldn't hear it through the glass, but he could see it was the news, reporting on the recent moon landing. Even the text scrolling along the bottom was too far away to read, and he quickly lost interest.

It'd be so nice to have something to do, he thought.

+++

Angela and Zack sat in the shade of the sentinel statue in the park. Shaped like a giant fist, it had been the location of their first date.

They ate their picnic, and Angela filled Zack in on what had been going on in the neighbourhood during his time away.

"Bobby still hasn't found work," she said. "Rent's been getting him down, and his housemates aren't happy. He sometimes stays in the spare room to get away from it all."

"Wish he'd find something he's good at," said Zack. "He doesn't seem to be motivated to learn anything new. No wonder he has a hard time finding a job."

"Not everyone has your natural talents," said Angela.

Zack grinned broadly. "I know," he said, jumping on her. "Or my natural charm!"

"Get off," she squealed, laughing.

He managed to pin her to the floor, and sat on her.

"You let me go right now, Mister," she cried. "You're so dumped, I can't even believe it."

"No I'm not," said Zack cheerfully.

"Yes you are! And stop shaking me!"

"I'm not shaking you."

Angela tried to control her breathing, but couldn't stop laughing.

"Alright," she said. "I give up. You win. You can stop now."

"Stop what?" asked Zack innocently. "And stop moving."

Angela stopped laughing. "I have stopped moving."

Zack jumped to his feet. He grabbed Angela's hand and pulled her up. The tea in their thermos flask was quivering. Zack leaned down, and felt the ground with his hand.

"It's vibrating," he said.

+++

Jason suddenly cllimbed down from his chair. The entire surface of the swimming pool was vibrating. Some of the swimmers began to notice, but none made any attempt to leave. Jason presumed they thought it was a wave machine or something.

He walked to the other side of the room, and opened the door that led to the front desk.

"Amy," he called. "Have you noticed anything weird-"

He was suddenly cut off as the ground beneaeth him shook violently, knocking him to the ground.

A second later, Jason was back on his feet, and facing the pool.

He blew on his whistle.

"Everyone, if I could ask you to step out of the pool until further notice."

And then the earthquake started properly.

+++

"Everyone stay calm," said Miss Hart loudly. "Follow Mr Skullovitch out of the building."

Eugene walked shakily towards the door, followed by the pupils.

"Make sure they're safe," said Miss Hart as they passed her.

Mr Oliver waited until they were all gone, and then asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"We'll check the rest of this building," said Miss Hart. "Make sure everyone's out."

"Dangerous," said Mr Oliver. "We ought to get right out of here."

"Do that, then," said Miss Hart. She turned on her heel, and headed through the door.

+++

William cowered under the table as books flew past him in all directions, knocked from the shelves by the quake. After a few minutes, he decided that all the heavy books were on the floor by now, and crawled out from his hiding place.

Everyone else had left the library already. Everyone except ...

"Are you alright?" she called. It was the oriental girl he'd seen earlier. Hearing her Texan accent, William was momentarily embarassed by having assumed she was an exchange student.

"I'm okay, yeah," he replied.

"There's a hole in the stairs," said the girl. "We can't get down."

"We'll head up, then," replied William. "This building connects to the math department on the top floor."

"Is climbing to the top floor a good idea during an earthquake?"

"Better than jumping from the fifth," William pointed out.

"Fair point."

+++

Zack ran through the park, clutching tightly to Angela's hand. Get out of the way of anything that can fall, his instincts told him.

They ran deeper into the park, finally reaching a clearing. This part of the park was kept clear of trees and statues, and was traditionally used by families playing baseball and sunbathers in the summer.

It was currently entirely empty, apart from a man dressed in grey in the distance.

The ground was shaking so fiercely by now that it was becoming difficult to stand.

"This is ridiculous," said Zack, struggling to maintain his balance. He felt Angela's hand slip from his, and turned around to check that she was alright.

"Zack," she breathed. "Can't ... keep ... running."

"Alright," he said. "We'll stay here. No problem."

"Look out!" screamed Angela suddenly.

Zack turned around, and the man in grey punched him in the shoulder. The force was tremendous – his shoulder felt as though it had broken on impact.

"What are you doing, man?" he cried. "We're all in the same boat here ..."

The man stepped towards him again, and aimed a powerful kick at his stomach. Zack managed to back away in time, but the shaking ground caused him to fall on his back.

He could now see that this wasn't an ordinary man. He wasn't wearing grey – he was himself entirely grey. He looked like he was made of rock, but far smoother. Rough features were carved into his face, and all over, the grey surface of the man was streaked with thin black lines.

The man also seemed to be entirely unaffected by the quaking ground.

Zack managed to get to his feet, and dashed backwards, keeping an eye on the man in case he turned on Angela. On the contrary, the man followed Zack, calmly and slowly. His hands – larger than normal human hands – were balled into fists. He stamped his way towards Zack, who now turned around to run properly.

+++

Jason reached the gym, and a quick check confirmed that no-one was left inside. He struggled to reach the television, taking care around the equipment, and checked all the news channels. None were reporting on the earthquake, so he assumed this must be reasonably local.

As he headed back outside, the ground lurched, and an exercise bike slid towards the entrance. Jason sighed, and started to move it. Last thing he needed now was to be killed by an exercise bike.

+++

Miss Hart was impressed by the resilience of the old school building. The entire structure seemed sound, and nobody seemed to be trapped. Finally arriving outside, she smiled at Mr Oliver.

"Great," he said. "Let's go see the others."

Miss Hart frowned.

"No, actually," she said. "There are more buildings to check."

"You can't," said Mr Oliver, looking horrified. "There are dozens."

"I've got to make sure nobody's trapped."

"Any one of those buildings could collapse!"

"Not coming with me then?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh," said Miss Hart, suddenly disappointed. "Right. Run along, then."

"You're coming with me," insisted Mr Oliver.

"No, I'm not," said Miss Hart. She gave him a final look, and headed for the art department.

"Psycho," muttered Mr Oliver.

+++

William clutched his side as he arrived the top floor. He had a stitch.

His companion, by contrast, seemed to be absolutely fine. She glanced around, spotted signs on the walls, and headed in the direction of the maths block.

"Hope the stairs are okay in here," she said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Yeah," agreed William, trying to force his legs to keep going.

The girl entered the building first, and William followed. When he entered the building, the girl wasn't there.

"Hey," he said. "Hello?"

And then he also vanished.

+++

Jason reached the main entrance to the leisure centre. The building itself was fine, but outside, he could see that the neighbourhood was going insane. Looters got in the way of the hysterical, and the ground was littered with glass from broken windows.

He was about to leave when he simply disappeared.

A mile down the road, Miss Hart arrived at the art department, and did the same.

+++

Zack couldn't see Angela anymore – he hoped she'd find a safe place. But who knew what was going on?

"What are you, then?" he asked the grey man. "Rock monster? Or ... is that super-skin?"

He ducked a left hook, running faster out of the creature's grasp.

"Are you one of the Hulk's villains?" he asked. "I never read much of his stuff."

The creature launched itself forward, and landed on Zack's left foot. Once again, the pain was unbearable. Zack screamed, and fell to the ground. He rolled onto his back, and saw that a second rock creature had joined the first.

"Well," he said. "Since you ask – I'm an Avengers fan."

And then he vanished.

+++

Jason was the first to get up. When he saw where was, he nearly collapsed again. He was in an oval room, with computer consoles and desks strategically placed. It looked like a submarine control centre, complete with screens showing readings.

In the centre of the room was a large, white sphere, with no apparent connection to the computers surrounding it. Against the furthest wall was a large, steel door. A pit was in front of it, blocking access. On the opposite wall stood a thick, transparent cylinder, that seemed to be full of water.

One of the others stood up – a blonde guy with glasses.

"Where is this?" he asked, in a daze.

"No idea," said Jason. "Who are you?"

"William Cranston."

"Jason Scott," said Jason.

"Take me back," came an angry voice from opposite them. A blonde woman of Jason's age in a smart suit. "The kids need me. Take me back."

She marched towards Jason.

"I don't know where we are," he said. "Can't help you."

She looked towards William, who looked terrified. She calmed down slightly.

"Right," she said. "We're all prisoners, then?"

"No idea," said Jason.

William crossed over to help one of the remaining two visitors – an oriental girl of around the same age. Jason examined the final guest – a short, muscular black guy.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

"Earthquake, rock monsters ..." he said. "Weird sci-fi building. The logical next step."

"Are you alright?" asked Jason.

"My foot's killing me, and I think my shoulder's broken," confirmed the man. "I'm Zack Taylor, by the way. Are you from the IRS? 'Cause I swear my printer was broken, and my dog ate it."

And then, they heard a voice.

"Welcome." Ancient and pained. "My name is Zordon."

The three standing stepped forward. Zack craned his neck to see over a table, and saw a girl nearby stand up.

"Today is a grim day indeed," continued the voice, which seemed to be coming from the pipe. "The evil sorceress Rita Repulsa has been freed from her space dumpster, and has started her plot to destroy the world."

"Okay, guys," said Zack. "I think I speak for all of us when I say – what the crap is going on?"