Return Of The Great Power
Book 1 - The Return
Epilogue: Ninjor's Return - Two Teams, One Mission
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever
Last Revised: July 30, 2004

Thursday
June 20, 2002
4:00 A.M.
Jason's Parents' House

Jason glared at his wrist, half asleep, as Alpha 5's voice came across it. "Rangers, report to the base immediately." Sighing, the burly young man pushed up out of bed, tossing on a red and green muscle shirt to go with his gold boxers before he slipped on a pair of sandals and teleported out of his room to the new base.

Same Time
Billy's Dad's House

Trini, Aisha and Kimberly groaned when a light knocking was heard on the door to the room they were sharing. "Ladies," Billy muttered, still half asleep himself as he tried to rouse the three females staying with him. He'd simply thrown a blue wife beater on over his blue flannel sweats, especially since he knew the three girls would still be asleep when he went to get them.

"Go away Billy!" Kim groaned. Both Aisha and Trini tossed pillows in Billy's general direction, but missed their target by a mile.

"Guys, it's urgent, let's go," Billy mumbled, watching with satisfaction as the three of them roused themselves from their beds. Billy smiled when he got a look at them.

Trini was wearing a pair of yellow shorts and a blue and turquoise tank top, Aisha was wearing a yellow and red short and t-shirt set, but it was Kim's outfit that really had Billy laughing to himself. Kimberly wore a pair of pink sweats and a white tank top, emblazed with a picture of the Power Rangers just after the White Ranger had joined the team. Billy knew the tank well. Kimberly and Trini had each gotten one as a joke shortly before Trini had left for the peace conference.

"Alpha 5 had better have a good reason for summoning us at four o'clock in the Godforsaken morning!" Kimberly muttered as the girls slipped on their slippers, then grouped together with Billy and teleported out.

Same Time
Zack's Parents' House

Zack tossed on the closest shirt as he staggered out of bed after Alpha's summons. He definitely wasn't caring that the girls would be seeing him in rumpled clothing; he was just too tired to care. 'Not like Kim and Trini haven't seen me in pajamas before' he thought with a wry grin, his mind going back to Kim's eighth birthday party when the girls had seen him in his Spider Man pajamas.

Same Time
Tanya and Adam's Apartment

For the first time since she'd gotten married, Tanya was extremely proud of herself for wearing pajamas to bed. Both she and Adam stumbled out of bed at the sound of their communicators going off. While Adam tossed on a tank top, Tanya fumbled around their darkened room for their flip-flops, which they both promptly put on before teleporting to the base.

Same Time
Kat's Parents' House

Katherine barely had an eye open as she slipped her orange and pink silk robe over her matching pajama set. She muttered to herself, as she slipped her house slippers on, about certain androids getting an earful when she got them alone. Grabbing her communicator off her nightstand, Kat strapped it to her arm, hitting the correct button purely on chance, and teleported out of her bedroom.

Same Time
Rocky's Apartment

Rocky simply rolled from his bed to the floor, heedless of what he was doing. Muttering about annoying robotic friends, he crawled toward his dresser, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a pair of red boxers. Slowly, he slipped them on then used the dresser to pull himself to his feet.

Once he was upright, Rocky grabbed his communicator off of the top of the chest of drawers, slipped it onto his wrist, and then teleported out, completely forgetting about a shirt.

Same Time
Tommy's Parents' House

The only thing Tommy was aware of was the extra presence in his bedroom. Because he knew both of his parents were out of town, he assumed it had to be one of two people - Justin or Kimberly. Cracking one eye open, he gazed up at the looming form. It definitely wasn't Kim. "What you want?" he grumbled to Justin, who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Alpha, summons, base, us, now," Justin mumbled sleepily, watching as Tommy rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Justin yawned and shook his head. There was no way Tommy was getting out of this. "If you don't get up, I'm calling Kim and Kat."

Justin laughed when he heard the low growl, followed by a string of curse words he'd seldom heard out of Tommy's mouth and an utterance about annoying female friends and girlfriends. Justin raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of the white with pink polka dot boxers Tommy was sporting. "Those have to have been a gift from Kim or Kat. I don't think you'd pick them out yourself."

Tommy glared at Justin. "Go wait in the hallway for me while I change," Tommy commanded as Justin snickered and then moved toward the open door. "And your blue boxers with Elmo don't help your image any either." Justin snorted and slammed the door, leaving Tommy to grin as he quickly changed into something suitable to be seen in by his female friends and girlfriend.

When he was finished, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway with Justin then the two of them teleported to the base.

Power Base
Level 1 – Command Chamber

"You'd better have a damn good reason for summoning us at four in the morning," Tommy snarled as the group of twelve stood before Alpha 5.

"It's a good thing you five wear decent pajamas, or we'd have a serious problem," Justin murmured to the girls, who glared at him before turning their attention to Alpha 5.

"I do. You have a visitor, one that could not wait because he cannot stay long," Alpha 5 told them, watching them turn to stare at the double doors of the lift as they opened.

"NINJOR!" Justin, Tanya, Zack, Jason and Trini stared at the large, blue entity in uncertainty. Rocky, Kim, Aisha, Billy, Kat, Adam and Tommy moved forward to hug and greet their old ally.

"Hello Rangers," Ninjor greeted, his gaze taking in each member of the group. "Dulcea informed me that you'd passed your tests. Come, I have some gifts for you to use in your new mission." That said, all fifteen of the group moved to the lift and went down to the ready room.

Level 2 – Ready Room

Slowly, the former Rangers took their color-coded places at the round table in the ready room while Alpha 6 set up the computer for Ninjor's presentation. "Looks like Kim's comfortable," Jason laughed as the others looked over to where Kim was currently sitting, which was on Tommy's lap with her head snuggled into the crook of his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her, instead of in her chair between Billy and Aisha.

"Leave her be, Jason," Aisha murmured. She and Trini had had a rough night with Kimberly, who'd tossed and turned and woke up screaming from several nightmares before Alpha's summons.

"Rangers, observe," Ninjor, told them. The group of twelve turned their attentions to the box the Ninjetti Master held. The lid opened automatically, revealing twelve circular objects. "These are your new power coins."

"But how?" Kat asked, awed.

Kim smiled. "Ninjor's the one who forged the original power coins, the ones Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Tommy and I were first given," Kim informed the group. Ninjor nodded. "And later the ones we had as Ninja Rangers."

"Kimberly is correct. I forged the originals, and now I have made these for you. They will be your link to the Morphin' Grid. Your Zords are also fully functional," Ninjor murmured. "While the original Ninja Zords were destroyed when your powers were lost, Alpha 5 took the schematics Zordon first used and created replicas, as well as new ones for the six new ninjas. Behold your new Ninja Zords."

The computer built into the table came online, displaying the familiar Zords and then the six new ones, performing their respective MegaZord sequences. "The first six will be known from here on out, as the Ninja Mega Falcon Zord, and the new six will simply be the Ninja Mega Zord."

"Very nice," Trini yawned as the others laughed.

"There is more. Zordon asked me to relay a message to you. With twelve Rangers, one huge team is going to cause too much confusion. Adam, Rocky, Aisha, Billy, Kimberly and Tommy will be Team One, with Tommy in command and Adam second in command. Jason, Zack, Trini, Justin, Kat and Tanya will be Team Two, with Tanya in command and Jason second in command."

The group sat silently, digesting the information until Alpha 5 interrupted. "Overall leadership of the teams will fall to Tommy's shoulders."

The White Ranger looked less than thrilled. "Baby, its gonna be ok," Kim whispered in his ear when she felt him tense.

"Why me?" Tommy asked, his hands stroking Kim's back to calm her, and his nerves, down.

"Because. Of the twelve of you, you have the most extensive experience in a uniform and as a leader. You are free to pick you chain of command."

Tommy nodded. "Tanya, Jason and Adam, in that order," he murmured, not wanting to think further of how the chain of command would go. He really wasn't in the mood for this. The others nodded knowing now was not the time to question Tommy on his choices.

"There is one last thing I must tell you before I go," Ninjor started.

"Why do you have to leave so soon?" Justin asked.

"Because with so many members of the Empire active once more, the temple is unsafe left alone for long periods of time," Ninjor informed the young man. "Rangers, because you have once again been touched by the Great Power, and by the force that is the Ninjetti, do not be surprised if you start developing other abilities that can be used outside of your duty."

The group nodded their understanding. "Then it's settled; two teams, one mission. I bid you good luck, and may your animal spirits watch over you."

The Rangers watched as Ninjor disappeared in a cloud of power. "God, what a way to start the day," Rocky muttered. Aisha rolled her eyes at him.

"What time is it?" Trini asked with another yawn.

"Five o'clock," Alpha 6's reply caused the Rangers to groan.

Rocky sighed. "How long before we actually need to be up?"

"We've got four more hours to sleep," Billy told them, checking his watch.

"Then I say we should all head home and back to bed," Rocky muttered, Justin nodding whole-heartedly in agreement.

The others nodded as well, all of them moving to teleport out of the room until only Trini, Aisha, Justin, Kim and Tommy remained. The two females waited with the youngest Ranger as Tommy continued to sit with Kimberly cradled in his lap. "Tommy?" Justin asked.

"Yeah?"

"You coming?"

Tommy sighed. He was pretty comfortable with Kim tucked in his arms, but he knew he had to take Justin back to his house. "Kim," Tommy murmured.

"Yeah, I know," Kim mumbled sleepily. "You gonna come pick me up?"

Tommy chuckled. "Yeah. Am I going to have to wake you up?"

Kim yawned. "Probably. What time are you coming over?"

"Ten." Kim nodded, pecked a kiss to his lips and then moved to stand with Trini and Aisha. Tommy smiled and watched the trio teleport back to Billy's before he moved over and joined Justin in a teleport back to his house.

Billy's Dad's House
5:15 A.M.

"You ok?" Aisha asked as the three girls climbed back into their beds. Trini was on the guest bed while Aisha and Kim had taken up residence on the air mattress on the floor.

"I'm fine," Kim replied. She knew she wasn't going to get much sleep; thoughts of Tommy and nightmares would prevent her from it.

"Just concentrate on Tommy," Trini whispered from the bed before dozing off.

Kim sighed, then did as Trini instructed. Before long, the image of Tommy sound asleep on his bed appeared in her mind's eye. She could hear his breathing, feel his warmth even though she was across the room from him. 'Tommy' she thought longingly. Kim watched in shock as his eyes opened.

'Kim?'

Kimberly blinked in surprise when Tommy got out of bed and made his way to where she stood. 'What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Billy's?'

'Tommy, I am at Billy's. I just went to sleep.'

'If you're at Billy's, then how did you end up here?'

'Good question. Trini was just telling me to concentrate on you as I went to sleep and the next think I know, I'm here' Kim explained to him, watching in wonder as they both realized her lips weren't moving.

Tommy didn't have a chance to respond as Kim suddenly disappeared. Kim woke up in the room she was sharing with Aisha and Trini.

10:00 A.M.

"Kim, you ok?" Aisha softly asked as she ran a soothing hand in circles on Kim's back. Kim had sat up screaming moments before, waking both Trini and Aisha, from their deep sleeps.

"KIM!" Tommy's frantic voice could be heard from the stairs. The door was thrown open as Rocky, Billy, and Tommy came flying in. Kim swiftly moved from her place on the floor to Tommy's arms, trembling uncontrollably as he held her to him. "Beautiful?"

"One minute I'm going to sleep, the next I'm in your room, and then I'm back here," Kim told them.

"Kim, that was more than a dream," Tommy started. "I know I experienced whatever you just did."

"I hate to point this out, but Kim's glowing pink," Aisha said, in awe of what was happening to her friend.

"Billy?" Trini questioned her boyfriend for answers.

"It would seem Kim's experience has to do with her powers." Billy's words caused Tommy to hold Kimberly a little tighter.

"Tommy, take Rocky and Billy downstairs," Kim commanded softly. "We'll get dressed and come down."

Rocky touched a hand to Tommy's arm as Tommy nodded. Pecking a kiss to Kim's forehead, Tommy let her go then left the room with Billy and Rocky.

Aisha shut the door then turned to stare at Kim. "Why is it all the cool stuff happens to you?" Trini laughed while Kim shrugged, then all three girls burst into giggles.

Angel Grove Youth Center, Gym and Juice Bar
10:45 A.M.

Ernie smiled from behind the counter as twelve familiar forms trudged into the Youth Center and stopped out on the mats, each wearing their workout clothes. The same twelve kids, the familiar faces he'd been seeing for as long as the Youth Center had been open. Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy and Kimberly had been coming to his establishment since he'd first opened, which had been about seventh grade for them. Then Tommy had moved to Angel Grove during their freshman year, followed the next year by Rocky, Adam and Aisha. Last but not least had been Kat, Tanya and Justin. The kids had been gone sporadically over the years, just as Ernie had sold and re-bought the building, but the one thing he'd learned about them was that they always came back. Knowing his business was in good hands with the familiar young adults on the floor, he turned his attention to the customers at the Juice Bar.

"What exactly are we doing?" Kimberly asked with a pout as the group she'd come with joined the others.

"Training," Rocky grinned, watching the smile fade from Kim's face. He, Justin, and Adam had remained the only three to continue to practice martial arts since their original Ranger days; he knew it was going to take the others some time to get use to training again.

Silently, Adam, Jason, Tommy and Rocky broke the group into trios to begin the process of rebuilding the skills they'd all had. Rocky took Billy and Justin, the three former and current Blue Rangers finding an easy rhythm with one another. Adam took Trini and Kat, both girls stretching with him before they began work on a familiar kata they'd learned. Tommy took Zack and Aisha, smiling faintly as both of them easily got the groove of what he was doing. Finally, Jason took Kim and Tanya, hoping to ease the two lesser-experienced martial artists back into the routine he'd helped ingrain in their memories.

"Your form's sloppy, Aisha," Tommy teased, receiving an elbow to the stomach in response. Zack snickered.

"Watch it, Zack," Aisha hissed as she moved to face him. "You aren't one to talk; you've been living in the land of peace a little too long."

Tommy laughed at both of them, until Jason's loud yell of surprise gained everyone in the Youth Center's attention. Turning, the three of them saw Kim and Tanya doubled over laughing at Jason, who was laid out flat on his back at their feet.

"That'll teach ya to tease a pink and former yellow," Tanya taunted to Jason, who simply grinned up at them.

"Adam obviously has kept you well trained, Tanya," Jason started, and then switched his gaze to the white and pink glad brunette next to her. "Kim, where in the hell did you learn to do that? I know none of us taught you."

Kim grinned. "A friend." Leaving it at that, Kim leaned down and helped Jason to his feet.

"Ouch," Adam winced when Aisha suddenly laid Zack out on his back after they'd resumed their sparring.

"Dang Sha!" Zack whined. "That's not fair!"

Aisha raised an eyebrow, smirking at him. "That will teach you about not having your full attention on what you're doing, won't it?"

Turning from the scene, the others went back to what they'd been doing. For the next four hours, they sparred, switching teams until everyone had worked with everyone else. At two o'clock they broke for lunch, which Ernie had sitting on their tables for them as they trudged over. "So, what's up with you guys making use of the facilities?" Ernie laughed as each of them dropped into a chair. "Not that I mind, but it's been a while."

"Ernie, it's a long story," Jason sighed, gulping down his water before refilling his glass from the pitcher on the table before him.

"Well, if you guys need to talk, let me know. You know I'm here for you," Ernie smiled. The look on his face had several of the original Rangers wondering for the millionth time if he didn't have some clue as to their extracurricular activities.

"There is something I would like to bring up," Billy started as the group started in on their lunches. "Now that we're all back in uniform, how are we going to get along with half of the team living outside of Angel Grove?"

The Rangers hemmed and hawed over that tidbit of information. "We have no choice but to move back," Kim was the first to speak up. "We have a job to do, and it means our personal lives are going to have to work around it, because frankly, we're the last line in Earth's defense. The Space Rangers have other duties now."

Several of the others nodded in agreement. "So who all has to make arrangements?" Rocky asked. Katherine, Kimberly, Aisha, Jason, Zack and Trini all raised their hands. "How long will it take you guys to get back here?"

"I'm already packed," Jason informed them. "I put in for a transfer to Angel Grove P.D. a few months back. I got a call while we were gone to inform me that my request had been granted. I'll be the new Interpol affiliate in Angel Grove."

"That's nice," Adam agreed with Jason's excitement.

"Zack and I left the Peace Conference two years ago and we've both just been traveling since. All of our things are in Seattle at the moment, so it won't take us long to pack and come back," Trini informed them with a smile.

"I have to go back to London, it could take me close to two weeks to pack up, and I have to find a Dance school here for me to finish my degree at," Kat whispered. Suddenly, all eyes were on Kimberly.

"All I've been doing is training girls for the next Pan Globals and Olympics. With the experience I've got, as well as my degree in physical education, I can get a job at one of the clubs here in town. But like Kat, I've got an apartment full of stuff that will have to be packed up and sent back. It could take me a while."

"Well, all my stuff is in Stone Canyon, so I can just go over to my parents' house and get it after I get an apartment around here," Aisha laughed.

"Then you guys should head back as soon as you can so you can get back here before trouble starts," Tanya pointed out, each of the six nodding in agreement.

"I have a question," Justin started, all eyes turning to him. "What are we gonna do when I have to go back to my house in the fall? I'm supposed to be starting college this year, as I graduated last year."

Tommy patted Justin on the back. "Don't worry, man, we'll think of something."