Chapter Text
Billy, fresh from a shower, is more than ready for bed. His tired eyes cut to the alarm clock before setting his glasses down beside it. "2:06 A.M. Damn."
His late night IM with Trini went longer than intended, which turned into a phone call halfway through because paying for extra dial-up hours is in neither of their budgets.
So... she knows. Trini now knows I kinda have a thing for Kiba. Crap... Why did I... Crap!
Billy, his back flat against the bed, stares at the slow-spinning ceiling fan above, his mind combing over everything he confessed to his best friend and greatest confidant. Trini's ability to listen with zero interjection is something he's always admired about her. Since the day they met in the fifth grade, Trini's been a nurturer, always there to calm the storm by offering an ear—especially when Billy revealed his first guy crush a year earlier: Nightwing. Yes, Nightwing, the fictional superhero.
"Are you sure you even like Kiba like that? Or are you simply infatuated with an avatar of all the worlds you're dying to explore?"
"That, um... wow. That's a fair question, Trini." (A stupidly attractive avatar, but a fair question nonetheless.)
Billy turns on his side while replaying the rest of the conversation in his head, all while staring out his bedroom window. The stars dotting the night sky represent all the possibilities and mysteries of the universe, which he has barely scratched the surface of, even as a Power Ranger.
Desire for intimacy versus desire for knowledge—two completely separate things that feel confusingly the same.
A rare shooting star catches Billy's eye, causing him to sit up on his right forearm. He can't help but to smile, even at this late hour. Signs have never been a thing for Billy—a borderline atheist—but in a vulnerable headspace, it's easier to give himself permission to believe in something. Perhaps, a big perhaps, Kiba is that something, a key to unlock the door to the great unknown—and whatever's inside Billy yearning to be free.
Tonight's journal entry is next to replay as the Blue Ranger drifts to sleep, specifically the next battle he started to chronicle after his call with Trini: the battle to stop Magnet Brain and its plan to destroy the planet's polarity.
Eleven Days Ago
The expansive forest capping Angel Grove sits between the city and the mountains where the Command Center stands tucked away. The greenery is perfectly pristine and untouched by man, and at seven in the morning, it's the kind of place where only conversations between owls and robins can be heard—and shortly, two Power Rangers.
Billy materializes in a streak of blue atop a log, his breath already pluming into the morning chill. He adjusts his backpack first, then his glasses, while his free hand grips a small rectangular gift box. The nerves felt earlier continue to rage as he hops down, his feet crunching a bed of leaves and scaring a rabbit.
"Sorry," Billy whispers as it flees.
These were the coordinates Alpha supplied him last night, and Alpha's data is always right, so... where's Kiba? Before bed, Billy had researched the coordinates to see where exactly he was headed. He imagined finding the White Ranger running early-morning katas with Saba and swiping at bushes, like some artsy martial arts film.
Not even close. What the...
Maybe thirty yards ahead, situated among the redwoods, a familiar column of light pours through the canopy. Suspended several feet off the ground, positioned center of the celestial White Light, floats Kiba.
A stunned Billy stops dead in his tracks. Kiba's legs appear folded in lotus position, his hands resting palms-up on his knees and body draped in the flowing Eltarian robes he first arrived in. His eyes are closed in meditation, appearing less like a teenager with attitude and more like a monk who's achieved nirvana.
Less staring, more walking. You have school soon. Go! Go!
Billy steps forward and clears his throat, causing the White Light to pulse and inform Kiba he is no longer alone. A sleepy smile forms when his half-open eyes identifies the visitor.
"Greetings, Billy."
Billy sends a shy little wave as the light dissolves into a shower of white-and-gold motes, sending Kiba down onto his feet.
"To what do I owe this visit?" he asks, his voice heavy, not unlike any human who's just awaken. "Has Zedd attacked?"
Billy shakes his head. "Negative. Just, um... a special delivery, something I've been working on," he says, moving closer. "But first, if you don't mind my asking, what were you... I mean... do you charge like a solar battery, orrrr...?"
Kiba wipes the sleep from his eyes, then looks up at the canopy from which the light poured. A cluster of motes continue to swirl, with some landing on his face like illuminated freckles. "Nothing of the sort," he answers. "As necessary, I enter a form of stasis while inside the White Light. It helps repair cellular fatigue and gives me time to center my spirit."
"Oh... So sleep then."
"Sure. Sleep." Kiba crosses and tucks his arms into his wide-flowing sleeves, hiding the faint tremor in his fingers that Billy clocks but doesn't pursue. But he has another concern to address.
"Wait," Billy says, scanning the clearing. "Not seeing a tent or anything. Are you... sleeping out here?"
Seemingly amused by the question, Kiba shrugs. "As you know, the Command Center has inner quarters, but I need to be outside to channel my White Light—which, for the record—gives me just as good, if not better rest, than a typical Earth pod," he explains as his eyes track to the item in Billy's left hand. "Now, what have you brought me?"
"Oh, right." Billy pops open the case to reveal a brand-new, ultra-shiny wrist communicator, its band woven with white titanium links. "It's a narrow beam transmission module that allows wave function over an extended interval."
Kiba blinks once, then twice. "Sorry?"
"Your official Ranger communicator. Like mine." Billy holds up his left arm as he extends the box with the other.
Kiba takes it and removes the communicator from its velvet bed, lifting it between two fingers and turning it over with genuine interest. He sets it to his wrist and presses the metal flat, as if expecting the thing to self-adhere. When it nearly slips off, he scowls. "Installation seems a wee bit convoluted, I'm sorry to say."
Billy bites back a smile and steps in. "It's a standard watch clasp, Kiba. Have you seriously never worn a watch?"
"I have an internal clock I can read fine, but this is not like any time piece I've seen your fellow humans wear."
"Because it isn't. It's for talking to me and the other Rangers, plus Alpha and Zordon, hence Communicator. Allow me."
Billy sets the box down and takes Kiba's left hand. Kiba's skin is alarmingly warm considering the weather, a possible side effect of White Light stasis, he reasons.
Standing this close, he smells like... it's hard to describe, like... spring rain on white stone? Woodsy? Whatever it is... it's morphinominal.
Billy focuses and starts securing the communicator around Kiba's wrist. Mid-fitting, he feels Kiba's stare, pulling his own gaze up to check from the safety of his peripheral.
"There," Billy says, looking away after the clasp sets. "It's officially on. What do you think? Too snug?"
Kiba raises his left arm and flexes his wrist to examine the fit, his eyes sparking with satisfaction. "It's remarkably compact," he says, his gaze drifting to Billy, then to the strange contraption sticking out his backpack. "Did you construct that device as well?"
"Huh? Oh, my polarizer?" Billy's chest puffs up a little, his hand reaching and patting the device in question. "I did. Something I whipped up in my garage recently."
"Oh. What's it for?"
"Astrophysicists are predicting a rare solar storm in the atmosphere later today, and I want to record the data for my school's Science Club."
Curiosity returns to Kiba's face as Billy pulls the device to give his teammate a closer look. The White Ranger gives it a once-over, then smirks. "So, you built a mass spectrometer from, what, silicon and wire? Solely for knowledge sharing?"
"Well, that, and it's a good head start on the spring science fair, so..."
Kiba nods and continues to examine the device. "Back on Eltar, our Science Guild required advanced matrices to track solar flares." His blue eyes fill with something that could be interpreted as pride for his planet, or something else entirely—Billy wishing the latter. "You possess formidable intellect. You would thrive among our scholars."
Billy's stomach does a full gymnastics routine that would earn a ten from Kim. He pushes his glasses up his nose while grinning like an idiot. "Seriously? Wow, that's... so kind. Um, I-I'd love to discuss that guild and the tech they oversaw."
Kiba's grin falters some as he gives Billy's right shoulder a light squeeze. "Maybe another time, yeah?"
"Oh, I didn't mean now, I—"
"When we do, remind me to tell you about a good friend of mine. He lives on a distant planet, a real technology haven. Edenoi. He's also an engineer, among other things. He'd find your resourcefulness fascinating."
"Edenoi?" Billy cocks an eyebrow. He's certain he's seen the name in the database before. "Isn't that—never mind, doesn't matter right now." He shakes his head, realizing he was about to go full nerd with school starting in fifteen. "I gotta go. First bell is soon."
Billy packs his polarizer and zips it as far as his backpack will allow, while Kiba watches with mild amusement. "See you later. Oh, and don't forget to answer your communicator if it beeps!"
"Understood, Billy."
"Oh, and tap the button by the head to answer, or hold to teleport!"
"Got it, Billy."
"Oh, and if you need to reach out—actually never mind, I'll show you later, heh. See you!"
Please, beautiful blue light, get me the hell out of here!
And just like that, Billy shoots away, leaving Kiba to ponder his new gadget... and his suddenly awkward teammate.
Later That Day
The final bell rings at 2:55PM, and no one is more excited to bolt than Billy. Running past the bus loop, he unlocks his ten-speed and dashes from campus like a mad man. The solar storm is due to kick off within the hour, but with lack of sleep catching up, a detour to the nearest QuikTrip becomes priority number one.
Billy finds himself standing in front of a beverage cooler stocked high with Jolt, Mountain Dew, and a dozen other beverages he's never heard of. But as always—
"Jolt," Billy murmurs, his hand pulling the red can from its row.
Shutting the door, he turns, then nearly knocks into the body standing three-feet left. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!"
A flustered Billy locks on to who he nearly mowed over—a girl, sixteen, maybe seventeen, her petite frame sporting a green sleeveless vest and khaki shorts that scream scout leader. "Lucky you, because I never earned a concussion merit badge."
A nervous laugh leaves Billy as he takes a step back to give the girl space. Her face... he's seen it before. "I know you, right?"
"Mm-hmm. Starts with L... ends with aura."
Billy turns a shade of red for not remembering straight away. "Laura, right. Kim's friend. Again, I'm sorry. It's been, like, a week or two?"
"Something like that," Laura says through a giggle. "Kim's helping again with my Angelettes. We're headed to the forest shortly so the girls can demonstrate their compass know-how, and, um—I'm sorry, but what is that?"
Billy looks over his shoulder to see where Laura is pointing. "Funny," he starts, "You're the second person today to ask about my polarizer."
"Polarizer?" Laura beams as Billy presents it. "Details please."
Billy cheeses hard at the opportunity to explain all over. "An electromagnetic phenomenon is happening shortly, so I made this to capture all available data points."
Instead of her eyes glazing over, the standard response Billy is used to getting, Laura beams harder. "Wait, you built that?" she asks, leaning in for a closer look. "That's incredible, really. My dad and I built a ham radio last summer, though it only picks up trucker static and one very specific preacher."
Billy chuckles as he feels an unexpected prick of heat. "That's, um, also incredible..."
A beat of silence as Laura scans the boy before her. "So... you invent stuff," she says. "Kim said you're the smartest person she knows, so that checks out."
"I think amateur tinkerer is a more accurate descriptor, but that's very generous, thank you." Billy rubs the back of his neck, unsure what else to say.
Laura thinks, then grabs a tiny pencil and slip from the adjacent lotto counter. "Here's my number. Call me this week. Let's hang and talk science... or whatever. Cool?"
Oh. Wow. Crap. Holy crap.
Laura presses the slip into Billy's hand. Billy, who usually requires direct social cues, has no problem registering the vibe of female flirtation. "Affirmative. I mean, yes," he stammers, tucking the slip into his front pocket. "That'd be nice."
"Amazing. Catch ya later!" Laura gives a little wave over her shoulder as she heads for the register.
That just happened, right? A girl, a pretty girl, expressed real interest in what I do and gave me her number? And I... I liked it? Of course I liked it! I'm not ga—
"Bye, Billy!" Laura's voice is heard as she exits, snapping Billy from his silent spiral.
The exchange is all he can think about—from the moment he paid for his Jolt to the bike ride over to Angel Grove Park. Billy settles by one of the benches and starts his setup. Talking with Laura ate most of his prep time, but her flirtation lingers and soothes his writhing anxiety.
Let's hang and talk science... or whatever—Laura's words echo as Billy continues his setup, followed by Trini's after meeting Laura prior at Ernie's—She's pretty, don't you think?
Finally, Kiba, his words warm in the morning chill—You possess formidable intellect.
Not a flirt like Laura's, or even encouragement like Trini's—but still nice, Billy thinks. The way Kiba looked at his contraption was really no different than Laura, but there were key differences—differences he doesn't have time to sort because the wind starts to whip, rustling the trees and his messy blonde coif.
"It's solar storm time," Billy says giddily as he hurries to finalize his settings. Beep. Beep. Boop. It's on. "As Zack would say—jammin'."
Billy steps around the bench to begin his recording, which is precisely when the surrounding bushes explode in red-hot energy. A half-dozen claybrains appear, each one flanking Goldar who stands at center.
"Oh great," Billy huffs.
"I've come for that device!" The general bellows. "Hand it over, power twerp!"
Billy sets his polarizer down and goes to work. Hopping atop the bench, he vaults into a forward flip and lands his Timbs on Goldar's chest, knocking the snarling gold monkey onto his butt.
"Give it up, Blue Ranger! You're outnumbered!"
The dance commences with the usual sequence of fists, kicks, and complicated flips. And as it goes, Putty attacks are prologue for what's to come. One of the goons slips from the huddle, snatches the polarizer, and tosses it at Goldar.
"Hey! Hands off!" Billy shouts mid-kick. His foot lands against a Z, popping the Putty clean to pieces.
Two others grab hold of Blue Ranger and vault him against a tree trunk. In that time, Goldar raises the polarizer high into the sky to receive his master's spell.
CRACK! Scarlet red lightning streaks from the clouds and strikes the polarizer, creating an instant plume of fire and smoke. Out of it steps something truly horrifying as the remaining Putties and Goldar vanish.
"Oh no," Billy groans, seeing what's become of his polarizer—a seven-foot monster with a magnet-shaped head and metallic body, its hands gripping a staff marked with N at top and S at bottom.
"Ha-ha-ha! It's a perfect day to polarize! Surrender, human, for I am Magnet Brain!"
"Yeah, right!" Billy snaps. "You picked the wrong Power Ranger to polarize! It's morphin' time!"
Back to Present: Days Later
The weekend arrives in a beat-up Ford Pinto with a dragging muffler, because that's how long it took to get there—according to Billy anyway. As for his fellow Rangers, the mood is mixed.
Zack is more hype than normal, which usually means girls. Kim's been busier than usual with Gardening Club and gymnastics. And Trini's been helping Jason and Tommy prepare for the '94 Team Ninja Finals—the guys working their Mighty Morphin' asses off to notch their second win together.
Billy and Kiba enter the bustling Youth Center and begin to weave their way through. One one end of the fighting ring are Jason and Tommy, fully decked in black ninja garb. On the other end, the masked competition in red are performing... Tai Chi? Zack and Kim trade confused looks over the spectacle, right as Billy and Kiba arrive.
"Hey, boys!" Kim chirps. "Happy Saturday!"
"Oh, is it?" Billy groans as he plops down on the bleacher. "Last night, I downloaded a leak copy of the Windows 95 beta, and now I'm stuck in bootloop hell!"
Kim grimaces and slides an arm around Billy. "I have no idea what Windows 95 is or what bootloop means, but I'm sorry that happened to you, my special little unicorn."
Billy shrugs her arm away as she giggles into Zack's shoulder, who also laughs. Kiba sits in confusion, unsure what to make of Kim's use of unicorn.
"So," he starts, sounding unsure. "What's good in the hood?"
Zack and Kim stop laughing and stare at Kiba for a second. "Good in the hood?" Black Ranger deadpans, before cracking into a mammoth-size smile. "Bro, you watched my VHS of Juice?! I love you!"
It's not long until the Team Ninja Finals commence. Zack is on his feet whistling through his fingers, while Kiba remains seated with arms crossed over his white hoodie, his face analyzing the Earth warriors with quiet admiration.
As a red ninja leaps into a high crescent kick, Jason ducks, allowing Tommy to vault over and land a flying crane. The red ninja flies back into the ropes as the crowd roars.
"Gung ho!" Trini screams from the ringside. "You got this, boys!"
Billy applauds along with his friends, but his attention is split between the match and his journal recounting Magnet Brain's mayhem—How rad was it that I got to see Kiba use his communicator for the first time that same day?
Billy turns his head slightly to see his comrade enthralled with the match, his eyes trailing next to the communicator he secured—He looked geeked that he can teleport without having to push his White Light for travel. It's like going from horse buggy to sports car, I imagine.
The ref rings the bell—it's the end of round two and the teams move to their respective corners. Kim is busy selling Kiba on a second mall trip, while Zack takes the opportunity to flirt with a yummy one row back. Billy, on the other hand, stays in his head—Magnet Brain standing center, cackling, and twirling its staff.
The creature's reverse-polarity waves were a solar storm unto themselves. To be Crystal Pepsi clear, I knew we'd pull through, but I was worried for a minute that we wouldn't. I guess we can thank Kiba again for the assist. A week earlier, he would have ignored Jason and charged the monster alone. But to my surprise, he listened when Magnet Brain grew a hundred feet and waited for Jason's call. Remarkable! But as far as Laura goes—
"Point! Match! Angel Grove wins again!" The referee's arm chops down, and the crowd goes wild.
"Yooo, that's what I'm talkin' about!" Zack cheers, high-fiving everyone as the trophy makes its way to the ring.
Even Kiba seems uplifted, in his own quiet way, offering an approving nod toward Tommy and Jason. Over in the ring, the repeat champs pull their masks to reveal their sweaty smiling faces, before turning and bowing to their opponents. The red boys bow and remove their masks next, revealing two good-natured, albeit exhausted smiles.
"We were so close!" the tan teen says, smacking Jason's shoulder.
"Yeah, sure, Rocky!" Jason laughs heartily. "Adam, nice foot work today. You're damn quick."
The Asian teen gives a modest smile as he towels the sweat from his face. "Thanks, Jase. That means a lot coming from you."
Jason waves over the rest of the crew from the bleachers. Billy, Trini, and Zack hop down to weave their way toward the ring, while Kim hangs back, appearing locked in a deep conversation with Kiba.
"Rocky, Adam, you remember my friends from the Halloween party, right?" Jason asks as Billy, Trini, and Zack step up to the ropes.
Adam's gaze darts past and locks on Kim, his slightly burning face saying he definitely remembers. Billy catches the direction of Adam's stare, drawing his eyes to the bleachers, then back to Tommy beside him. The grin on Tommy's face has completely vanished, replaced by a tight-lipped grimace as he watches Kim chat up the White Ranger.
Frowning, Billy looks back over at Kim. Even thirty-feet away, he can hear her laugh is a decibel too high in her effort to feign normalcy. But Billy files the matter away for later, because the event photographer is ready to immortalize Jason and Tommy with their newest, and perhaps final, trophy.
"How's Stone Canyon been treating you guys?" Trini asks, bumping shoulders with Rocky. "And where's Aisha? She didn't come?"
"The S.C. is good, and Aisha has a dance competition over in Reefside," Rocky says, reaching for his water bottle."Hopefully she fares better than we did!"
Everyone laughs, everyone except Billy, who's retreated inside his head again.
Jason's Halloween bash was the first time I met Rocky and Adam. They're a fun time, and I can see why Jase stayed in contact after meeting them at martial arts camp three summers back. However, the fun had morphed into fright as soon as Zedd inserted himself—by sending a truly devious diva we thought we had seen the last of—which, in hindsight, was only half as bad as another fight that night, one within our own ranks.