Black and Purple

Chapter One: Meeting

She walked through the streets of her new home, she and her mother had just moved from Toronto because of a job transfer. Angel Grove was warmer and a lot smaller than Toronto, but at least it was safer. Toronto had become a place where gun violence ruled the streets because of gang wars and because people found it fun to kill innocent people. She'd almost been hit once while casually out shopping, but the bullet only grazed her arm. It was after that incident that her mother filed a transfer request and got it. It was a sunny day and her mom was at the office and it was the weekend so she decided to get to know her new home better.

'I do have to wonder though, why was the job available at a moments notice? It's almost like the person mom switched offices with really wanted to get out of this place' she thought as she walked around the sunny city.

"Hey Adam! Go long!" a voice called out from her left and she glanced quickly and saw a bunch of people playing football before she decided to continue on her way.

However, she didn't get far when something crashed into her, causing her back to collide with the sidewalk. She did notice however, that someone was on top of her and she heard something in the distance.

Opening her eyes she saw two brown-black eyes looking into her brown ones as the person got off of her and helped her sit up.

"Are you alright?" he asked and she nodded after checking to see if anything was broken.

"I'll be fine" she answered and his look of worry melted into an enchanting smile.

"Hey Adam, you're supposed to tackle opponents not innocent bi-standards!" a teen with brown hair and hazel eyes called from a few meters away.

"Maybe if you didn't throw the ball outside of the actual park then I wouldn't have to!" Adam called back and the group laughed a bit.

"You sure you're alright? No concussion or broken bones cause I'd hate to have injured a beautiful angel like you" Adam said and she broke into a slight smile as Adam helped her off the ground.

"I'm fine, no harm done" she replied, turning her attention to his giggling friends who were watching with interest.

"They always wonder about everyone's conversations or just yours?" she asked and Adam glanced behind him at his friends.

"I think it's a bad habit we've all got" Adam confirmed with a slight laugh as he continued smiling at her.

"I think they're waiting for you" she commented after a moment of silence and Adam glanced behind him again.

"Most likely, I'm Adam by the way" he said, hoping to receive her name in return but his communicator went off.

"Looks like I'm being paged for work. I have to go" he told her quickly and started back towards the others.

"Hope to see you around Adam" she whispered into the wind as she watched Adam and his friends gather their things so they could head to work.

Later…

She found herself at the Youth Center, which she discovered was the hangout spot for teenagers and preteens alike. Her eyes absorbed everything from the juice bar to the weight training equipment to the sparing mats on the ground.

"You're new around here aren't you?" the man at the counter asked her and she nodded as she went over to him.

"Yeah, just moved here. I guess you know everyone then" she commented, still looking around the place.

"Everyone comes here all the time; it's hard not to forget a face. Name's Ernie by the way, I own the place" Ernie said, holding out his hand to shake.

"Keri" she answered, shaking his hand.

"This part of the city is pretty quiet for the most part, its downtown that most of the commotions in. Are you going to Angel Grove High School?" Ernie asked and Keri nodded, watching two karate kids spar under a watchful gaze.

"I will be. Since you know everyone, who do you suggest I stay away from?" she asked as the shorter kid of the two sparing pinned down the taller one.

"The two troublemakers that are as clueless as a newborn calf" Ernie replied and Keri smirked, the door to the Center chiming.

"Man, I am exhausted and all I want is Ernie's famous milkshake" a girl Keri had seen earlier playing football said as the entire group filed in.

"I second that" another said as he stood next to her, Keri quietly slinking towards the far end of the Center.

"Six milkshakes coming right up. You guys meet the new girl yet?" Ernie asked them as he pulled out six glasses from behind the counter.

"That depends if it's the girl Adam tackled earlier, because if so then only Adam's met her" Aisha answered and Adam gave her a weak glare to cut it out.

"She's around here somewhere if you want to find her" Ernie commented as he handed them their drinks and set about doing other things as the gang walked away.

"Listen here little girl, you best apologize if you know what's good for yah" Skulls high pitched voice sounded from the sparing area where Keri had poured Bulk's drink over him for hitting on her.

"And if I don't?" Keri rhetoricalized, lifting an eyebrow in question as to what the two would do.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to show you who's boss" Bulk said and Keri tried to look taken aback by their answer.

"You couldn't hurt a wingless fly" she retorted and Skull tried to hit her but she ducked and he ended up sprawled on the ground.

"Alright that's it" Bulk said and ran at her but she spin kicked him in the legs, knocking them out from under him.

"I told you to back off the first time" Keri smirked as Bulk and Skull ran like girls out of the Youth Center.

"You must be the new girl by the way Bulk and Skull were acting. They try and act tough with anyone they haven't met, unless it's with these guys because they've been shown up too many times. Name's Kim and this is Rocky, Billy, Aisha, Tommy and Adam" Kim said, introducing herself and the others.

"I'm sure those two idiots will come back eventually. I'm Keri" she said, seeing a slight smile grace Adam's face.

"Let's not stand in the way of traffic people. I'm sure we can all fit at one table" Aisha commented and they laughed before heading over to a table.

Only six managed to fit at the table near the railing so Keri volunteered to sit on the railing as long as no one tried to knock her off.

"So Keri, what brings you to Angel Grove?" Billy asked after they were all settled.

"I used to live in Toronto up in Canada but after a bullet grazed my arm while I was shopping, my mom put in a request for a transfer to another city so we ended up moving here. Toronto used to be a safe place but there's so many gangs now that it's impossible for a day to go by without someone getting shot" she replied, leaving the others in a brief silence as the information absorbed into their brains.

"Don't worry Keri, this city's 100 safe. Well, maybe 99.8 is a bit more accurate" Adam corrected after the six looked at him and they laughed as Bulk and Skull returned.

"The only place that's not safe is anywhere those two are" Keri commented, causing them to laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" Bulk asked as he stood behind Keri on the other side of the railing.

"Yeah, what's so funny?" Skull repeated and Bulk smacked him for his stupidity.

"Don't you two get tired of making idiots out of yourselves?" Keri rhetoricalized, inclining her head their way.

"We only went easy on you last time" Bulk retorted and Keri raised a brow in false surprise.

"Really? Care to prove that?" she challenged and Bulk and Skull looked at each other with the rangers stifled their laughter.

"Bring it sista" Skull answered and she back flipped off the rail and glared at them.

"I'm not your 'sista', lead the way. That is, unless you're chicken" she taunted, watching the two nervously lead the way to the sparring mats.

"Go Keri!" Adam, Kim, Tommy and Rocky cheered as she took her fighting stance across from Bulk and Skull.

"I can't wait to see this" Aisha commented as most eyes in the Center turned towards the three.

Bulk ran at Keri to hit her but she ducked and moved behind him, launching a kick at the back of his knees causing him to fall on them. Bulk stood and ran at her again so she back flipped onto a post that marked the arena and watched as Bulk ran into the ropes and landed on his back.

"You can't do that!" Skull complained as Keri jumped back into the arena.

"Either: put up, give up or shut up" she retorted as Skull helped Bulk out of the arena, allowing Keri to go back to the others. At least, where they'd been a few moments ago.

"Hey Ernie, where'd they go?" she asked after a few minutes of searching for them.

"Kim said they got a call from work so they had to leave. Said to say they'd meet you here tomorrow at eleven though" he replied and went to help a customer.

That Night…

"I sense it, the ancient powers of the Ninjetti Crystal. It's come to Angel Grove at last!" a white haired woman crackled in her Moon Palace.

"Excuse me your evilness, but doesn't that mean that the rangers will be more powerful again?" a short blue creature asked nervously and carefully as to not upset his mistress.

"Not if we get to it first. Finster!" she hollered and the minion came running at his mistress' call.

"You hollered my queen?" Finster asked as he bowed to the woman.

"Finster, I need a monster that can locate the Ninjetti Crystal" she ordered and Finster bowed again.

"I have just the thing my queen" he said and scurried to his monster making machine.

The Next Day…

Keri stirred as the morning light hit her face. It was Sunday; a day to just laze about until late afternoon, go shopping and then prepare to enter hell the next day. Rolling onto her stomach, she looked at her alarm clock. The green digits showed it was ten-thirty.

"It's still early" Keri mumbled, hiding back under her covers again.

"Ten-thirty!" she cried in alarm as she bolted out of bed and scrambled into the shower.

She had thirty minutes before she was supposed to meet everyone. Ten minutes later, she stumbled out and ran around the room, getting dressed while trying to completely find her outfit. As soon as she was done getting ready, she only had ten minutes to get to the Youth Center and still be on time.

'Come on feet, don't fail me now' she thought as she ran through the streets while hoping she wouldn't get lost.

With five minutes to go, she was stuck at a four-way, the light seemingly trying to keep her from being on time.

"Oh come on already" she whined to the inanimate object, trying to get it to change green with her mind.

Three minutes left and she was finally free from waiting; she also had to attempt to break the sound barrier if she was going to make it. Unfortunately, it was around the time that church was over and old people were crowding sidewalks.

'No wonder I don't visit grandma often, I'd yell at her for being old' she thought as she tried to maneuver around the canes and walkers.

"Move it or lose it people, this is an emergency!" she yelled in frustration, causing some seniors to cast her dark looks.

"Patience is a virtue missy" a senior commented as Keri nearly ran the woman over.

"Can it granny!" she shouted back, one minute left to go. The Youth Center's doors were a reach away, she could just make it.

"Hey babe, what's the rush?" a familiar and unwanted voice asked as its owner and friend stepped out in front of her.

"I apologize" she said and the two looked confused at each other.

"What for?" Bulk asked as Keri walked up to them.

"For…this!" she said as she flipped them both onto their backs and ran through to the doors.

'Five seconds…four seconds' she thought, hand opening the door.

'One second…' "Made it!" she cried as she skidded to a stop but ended up falling instead because the floor was wet.

"You fell all on your own this time" an amused voice said and she looked up to see Adam offering his hand to her.

"I don't know, I think the water had a bit of a role in it" she commented, brushing herself off before looking around.

"Did you forget or did you get lost?" Billy asked as the others wandered over.

"Neither, I slept in until ten-thirty" she replied and the others laughed a bit as headed towards the gym equipment.

"Sounds like a Tommy excuse except we know he's late because he forgets" Aisha laughed, a Tommy frowned lightly.

"Anyways, what are we going to do today?" Kim asked as the seven made their way to the area they were at the day before, Keri sitting on the railing again while Adam maneuvered so he could sit near her.

"We could go to the park and play football or something" Tommy suggested but the others looked at him like they had had enough of that yesterday.

"The museum has a new exhibit on ancient times we could check out" Billy replied but since school was tomorrow, no one really wanted to be in a place of learning so soon.

"I say we let our new best friend decide" Aisha commented and Keri looked at her like she was nuts since she didn't know Angel Grove that well.

"Um, I have no idea. Is there a beach near the ocean or something?" she answered, not really knowing what to suggest since she didn't know what was around.

"Looks like we're heading to the beach guys. Let's get going before all the good spots are gone" Kim said and they left the Youth Center, heading towards a fun day at the beach.

Elsewhere…

"Finster! Is my monster ready yet?" Rita hollered through the halls of her castle.

"Yes your evilness, it's finally finished. My creation will track down the Ninjetti Crystal for you before the power pukes even discover its existence" he replied, Rita cantering into his laboratory.

"Good, now let's send her to earth" she ordered, looking at the monster Finster had created for her. It looked like a ninja, but had spikes growing out of its lower legs and arms. Only its red eyes were visible and its hair looked like it was made from pine needles.

Earth…

"This is so cool! This place is so beautiful!" Keri exclaimed when they finally reached the beach. Rocky found a spot that was away from the crowds near the rocks where the waves broke every now and then. The girls were setting up the towels and things while Billy and Tommy were setting up the volleyball net. Adam was watching Keri a bit and Rocky was looking at Adam.

"This place isn't the only thing that's beautiful, is it Adam?" he teased and Adam tried to hit him playfully but Rocky ducked and laughed, running over to the other two. He watched her set things up with the girls for another moment before going to help the other three with the net.

"Okay, you Billy and Rocky take that side and Adam, help me with this side" Tommy said, naturally taking charge of the situation. Adam lined up across from Rocky who was on the other side of the net, wanting to hit him for the grin he was wearing on his face.

"You guys hear about Adam's new crush?" Rocky taunted, Adam giving him a look to cut it out, but he was no where near done yet.

"Who is it this time? Is it someone we know?" Billy asked and Rocky's grin grew wider as he watched Adam's eyes pleading at him not to tell anyone.

"It's someone we know alright. Someone somewhat tall, athletically built in a gracefully kind of way, brown hair…"

"Cut it out Rocky" Adam told him. Rocky just grinning away as Tommy's head turned in Adam's direction.

"It's not Kim is it? I don't want to have to hurt you Adam" he kidded and Adam shook his head in reply, glowering at Rocky who just smiled innocently.

With the Girls…

"So Keri, how do you like it in Angel Grove so far?" Kim asked as the three watched the guys set up the volleyball net, Adam and Rocky looking like they were having a bit of a disagreement.

"You'll know after tomorrow depending on whether or not I survive" she commented and they laughed, they guys finally finishing setting up the net.

They played three on three with the boys against the girls, Billy referring the game. The boys thought they'd have an easy victory but with Keri leading the girl's team they won the game 8 to 6. After the game, they all decided to rest for a bit before going for a swim.

One girl had another idea in mind though, after making sure everyone had dozed off, she filled a water pistol and crept quietly over to where the boy's were and fired at Tommy, Rocky and Adam since Billy had left to the rest rooms and to get drinks a few minutes beforehand. She laughed and ran down the beach as the three tore after her, waking Kim and Aisha so that they too could laugh with her.

It was Adam who finally tackled her to the ground while she laughed under him. The other two were catching up when Aisha and Kim shot them with their own water pistols and took off in the opposite direction from them.

"Isn't this how we met yesterday?" Keri commented after she finally stopped laughing, a smile gracing her face.

"Except this time, you deserved it for waking me up with cold water" he replied with a grin, hosting her up and lifting her over his shoulder.

"Adam! Put me down!" she shrieked as he started walking down the beach, the others watching, Billy just arriving back in time to see what was going on.

"I'll put you down in a minute" he said, reaching the end of the beach and trekking into the shallow water.

"No, not the water, I don't want to go swimming yet" she cried, struggling to get out of his grasp while trying to persuade him to take her back to shore.

"What? You want to go swimming? Okay" he remarked, ignoring her pleas and tossed her in the water where she landed with a splash.

After the water died down a bit Adam looked around for her, wanting to make sure she wasn't going to pull him under. After a minute however, he didn't see anything. He looked back to the others on shore who looked a bit panicked since they didn't see her either.

'Shit, where is she' he asked, looking around for some sign of her until he couldn't take it and dived in where he'd thrown her. 'Why didn't she just say she couldn't swim?' he thought as he swam under the water, her right arm brushing his leg which he took hold of and tried to swim towards the surface but he noticed she was caught.

She indicated to a knot of seaweed wrapped around her ankle. He went towards the surface for air, yelling to the others that her leg was caught before diving back down. He swam down to her ankle, trying to tear the seaweed from it, but it wouldn't loosen so he went down to the bottom and pulled at it's roots where it finally let go, causing Keri to start sinking towards the bottom since she'd finally run out of air.

Breaking the surface of the water, he pulled the lifeless girl towards shore with his left arm while swimming with the right one, Tommy and Rocky coming towards him to help out. They got her onto the beach where she started coughing up seawater.

"What happened?" Tommy asked after she was finished coughing up water, her lips still somewhat blue and the seaweed still around her ankle.

"I touched the bottom and was going to propel myself up but the seaweed wrapped around my ankle. I kept pulling at it but I couldn't get it to let go" she explained, rolling back over onto her back and staring up at the sky.

"Maybe we should take you home so you can rest for a bit" Aisha suggested, but Keri just shook her head as she sat up.

"I can make it home by myself; I'm not going to ruin the day. Besides, that's what beach towels are for-sleeping on" she retorted with a grin and made her way over to hers where she stretched out on her side and started drifting off.

"Got to give her credit for trying to pretend nothing happened" Billy commented as the gang just watched Keri for a moment before they went to play with a Frisbee.

Adam's mind wasn't focused on the game though. Something was bothering about the fact that the seaweed just somehow happened to wrap around her ankle. None of the others had gone swimming yet. They were going to, but then the girls decided to play shoot the boys while they're asleep. Even though he'd gone after Keri, he hadn't been as close to the bottom as she had, he never touched it.

Due to his lack of concentration on the game, Adam didn't notice the Frisbee heading for him and it hit him square in the head, causing the others to stifle their laughter as he was suddenly jerked from his thoughts.

"Dude, I think you're losing it" Rocky commented as Adam picked up the Frisbee that had fallen in front of him after it hit him and held it in his left hand.

"I think something's in the lake. I find it odd that seaweed just wraps itself around humans" he remarked, nodding over to the lake, the others looking at him questioningly.

"Are you sure?" Kim asked, feeling shifty now that Adam had said what was on his mind and her proximity to the lake itself.

"She's the only one who touched the bottom that far out and the plant really didn't want to let go that easily" he continued, supporting his previous statement with the knowledge that was commonly known by all of them.

"I think maybe Adam's right. Plants in the water don't have has deep of roots as those on dry land. Keri should've been able to get herself free" Billy agreed, using his scientific mind to support Adam's facts even further.

It was just at that point that a woman further down the beach let out a shrilling scream, one that was followed by other people screaming, their tones that of terror.

The ranger's heads turned, seeing seaweed crawl up the beach towards the civilian people who were there. The woman's scream had alerted everyone on the beach, they ran away screaming in fear of something they could never understand.

The only person she didn't alert was the one spread out on a beach towel asleep. The rangers had to morph on order to fight which they had a chance to do but if they disappeared on Keri, then she might figure things out. Worse still was the fact that she wasn't conscious, meaning one of them would have to wake her up and get her out of there so the others could fight.

"Adam, get Keri the hell outta here and then find someway to join us" Tommy told the black ranger who nodded and went to wake the girl up.

"Let's do it guys. It's morphin time! Ninjetti, the Falcon!" he continued, morphing, the others following suit.

"The Ape!"

"The Crane!"

"The Wolf!"

"The Bear!"

By the time they were done morphing, Adam was leading Keri away from the beach and towards someplace safe. She'd been in danger once that day already; he didn't need her in anymore. Leading her towards the parking lot, they hid behind one of the cars, Adam trying to make up an excuse in order to go join the others in battle.

"I saw a little girl by herself; I think she got lost in the confusion. I'm going to help her, I want you to stay here" Adam told her, leaving Keri by herself behind the car watching as he ran back towards the beach.

Her eyes followed him and watched as an explosion occurred where he'd just been. Jumping up from behind the car, she ran towards where she'd lost sight of him.

"Adam! Adam, where are you!" Keri yelled, trying to locate him, but she couldn't. Her ears suddenly heard what sounded like a child crying, looking over to her right, she saw a little girl standing there.

Her thoughts of Adam pushed aside, she went over to the little girl, lifting her into her arms and trying to consol her that everything would be alright.

The Rangers…

The explosion had given Adam the chance he needed to morph, but it also lead to Keri running back to the beach in search of him. The monster they were facing looked like a giant snapping turtle with seaweed tentacle hair spouting from its shell. The rangers had been attacking it both physically and with their weapons. They were doing well, until the monster's attention turned to that of the young woman holding the small girl against her.

"This is so not good" Aisha commented under her breath, as all their gazes turned to what had caught the monster's attention, their oblivious friend helping a small child.

"You won't be attacking me if I use humans for a shield" the monster remarked, long seaweed tentacles shooting out towards Keri and the child she was holding.

"Keri! Move!" Rocky screamed, alerting the young woman to the threat heading her way and she started running, never letting go of the girl in her arms that was holding onto her tightly.

With the tentacles right behind her, she prayed for a miracle in order to save the child, anything that would get them to safety. The rangers watched as a flash of light teleported the two away from the monster whose attention was still diverted, leaving it wide open for attack. With the destruction of the monster, the ranger's teleported near a place where there were more people, and de-morphed away from prying eyes.

Elsewhere…

She didn't know how it happened and she didn't care. All she knew was that the child was safely with her family again. The white light had somehow transported her back to the parking lot away from people. From there she proceeded to locate the little girl's parents, her thoughts of Adam being injured somewhere never leaving her mind as she did so. The girl's parents had called her a hero, saying that she was very brave to go back towards the beach for a stranger in the middle of a battle.

Their words didn't matter to her though. She was too busy wondering what had happened to Adam. It wasn't that she liked Adam in a sense people probably would think she did if they were to read her mind, he was a friend and he'd gone missing after an explosion. She scanned over the heads of people, wandering through the people gathered in the parking lot trying to locate someone she knew.

Her eyes locked with someone's across from her in the crowd, they flashed blood red and before she could register what she'd seen, the person was gone. Thinking to herself that she was loosing it, she tried to shake the ordeal from her mind but the look of those eyes kept haunting her thoughts.

After five minutes more of searching for the others, she decided it was no use and that she'd probably see them at school the next day. The afternoon air was starting to make her chilly as she made her way towards her home, the sun seeming to lose the warmth it held all day at the beach. Then again, being dressed in a one-piece suit with only her towel wrapped around the bottom half of her wasn't exactly helping. Her clothes were with everyone else's in the back of Tommy's car since they had expected to stay into the night and would've needed to change as the weather got colder.

Walking up the driveway to her house, she noticed that her mothers car was gone, meaning the door was locked and since her keys were with her clothes, she couldn't get in. Her mother had yet to get a spare key made so they could hide it somewhere in case of something like this happening. She didn't expect to be locked out of her house so soon after moving in though.

"Great, this day can't get any worse. First I almost drown, then some whacked out monster attacks the beach, then Adam takes off and is probably lying somewhere in a hospital, then I try to save a child and end up almost being caught by that monster, I couldn't find the others, my clothes and house key are in the back of Tommy's car and now my mothers already left to catch her flight to Washington and will be gone for two weeks meaning I'm locked out of the god damn house!" she yelled in frustration as she paced up and down the porch and collapsing in a swinging chair at the left end of it.

Bringing her knees up to her chest, she tried to cover as much of herself as she could with her beach towel as she thought of a million reasons why she would rather be in Toronto still. The most important one being that she could go to her friend's house for the two weeks she's locked out of her house.

The Rangers…

After de-morphing, they set out to look for their friend who would most likely be worried about Adam since she had seen the explosion. Locating her however, was a difficult matter since there were so many people. Finally, they gave up their search and Tommy drove them back to Billy's where the genius ran a computer search to find out where the girl lived so they could give her back her stuff and as Kim noticed while searching through the girl's jeans for a wallet that hopeful contained her address, her house key.

Keri had mentioned earlier on their way to the beach that her mom was going to be out of town for two weeks and would be leaving early that afternoon. Which meant that since it was now half-past five, Keri would be locked out of her house.

"Billy, can't this hunk or junk search any faster?" Aisha asked, kicking some of the loose wires that connected the computer to its power source.

"It's not the machine's fault Aisha. Government records are protected and need a password to get into" he replied, his fingers clanking over the keyboard and his eyes zipping through the screen.

"Shouldn't we be trying to figure out what that light we saw was?" Kim asked absently, she wanted to find their friend but that light was just, as she would put it, freaky.

"I just figured it was Zordon or Alpha" Rocky commented, bouncing a ball off one of the walls of Billy's basement.

"And, I got it!" Billy announced as he hit the print button on the computer, the ink black words spelling out where their friend lived. Tearing off the paper, he and the others ran upstairs and out the door, pilling into Tommy's car.

Elsewhere…

During her million reasons that she'd rather be in Toronto than here, she realized how much she hated living in Angel Grove, even if she'd only been there for a few days. Her friends back home wouldn't have left her all on her own if something had happened; they always stuck together if anything went wrong. After the incident with the bullet, they had been over at her house half an hour after she was allowed to go home. None of them would leave her alone, even when her mom told them that they had to go back to their own homes; they made a big protest and her mom caved in and let them stay the night.

Not here though. She thought she had made the greatest friends possible, but then they left her all alone in the middle of a flippin' crisis! She was seventeen years old, her life was supposed to be in its highlighting years and her new friends left her alone in the middle of a crisis! It was bad enough her mom was hardly even home during the year, but now her friends seemed to want to be away from her too.

She felt something watery on her hand and lifted her palm to her face. She was crying. Through all the thoughts going on in her head, she had caused herself to cry without realizing it. But it was true, now that she had moved to Angel Grove; she could count on being alone.

Moon…

"Your evilness! Your monster has located the crystal" Finster said as he ran towards his mistress with the news. Through the confusion of the monster his queen had already sent down to earth to cause havoc for the rangers, the locator had discovered where the crystal was.

"That's excellent news! Tell her to bring it to me at once!" Rita cackled, and her servant bowed, running back to where the locator monster was waiting for her next orders.

"Bring the crystal here at once" he told her and she vanished back down to earth, a smirk of victory on Finsters face at the thought of his empress winning for once.

Earth…

Tommy's red mustang pulled into the driveway, the headlight illuminating the sleeping figure on the swinging chair with the beach towel overtop of her. Shutting down the engine, the rangers quietly got out of the car and ventured up the porch steps towards the sleeping girl.

"I think someone's had a tiring day" Aisha whispered as they peered at the resting teen underneath her beach towel, stifling their laughter.

"What should we do? We can't leave her out here guys" Kim commented, the others nodding in agreement as they contemplated what to do next.

They knew they should probably wake her up but she looked so peaceful that they felt reluctant to do so. Although, they did owe her an explanation and apology for having taken off on her during the attack, she most likely wasn't too happy about that.

Adam couldn't help but stare at the sight before him. He didn't know what it was that drew him to the girl he'd known for only a short period of time, but he didn't really care. The setting sun illuminated the girl in front of them from behind, almost setting her aglow with its reds, yellows and oranges. He was snapped out of reverie when he felt Rocky's elbow connect with his side.

"I vote Adam wakes her up" Rocky commented, ignoring the glare he was receiving from his black clothed friend.

"Get off his case Rocky or he might return the favour one day" Aisha remarked, causing the red ranger to shut up finally about Adam liking their new friend.

As the teens argued quietly about what they should do, Keri's eyes started to flutter open and with herself still half asleep let out a little cry in shock of seeing them all in front of her on her porch suddenly. Their attention immediately turned to her as she cracked up in laughter for no apparent reason.

"I guess our argument is invalid now" Billy remarked after the girl calmed down a bit, but was still having trouble controlling her laughter.

"Yeah, but anyways, were sorry for taking off on you like that Keri. Some elderly people needed help getting to safety, that's why we left Adam with you so you'd also be safe" Aisha told the hazel eyed girl who spotted Adam with them lingering in the back.

"It's alright, I understand. Let's continue this inside, I want real clothing on me" Keri told them as she stood with the towel wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm as Kim stepped forward to give her her house keys.

Keri opened the door quickly, leading them to the living room before dashing upstairs to change. Stepping over to her window, she started to pull down the shades when she saw the same red eyes as before peering up at her from down on the street, seeming to flash with a hidden message before disappearing again. The scream was out of her mouth before she could stop it.