Between the Lines

Chapter Six

Tommy watched the marble portal close behind him, and vanish, leaving empty air in its place. Beyond where the wall had been was nothing but more green grass, and pine trees in the distance. He frowned at the physics-defying nature of the Fifth Dimension, and then shook his head, brushing the issue aside.

Salacia had told him to spend some time with the Rogue Rangers.

Briefly, as he began to stroll through the grass towards nowhere in particular, he wondered if he trusted this woman. He had been in such a funk that night by the cliffs, that he doubted anyone promising him peace would have been turned away. True, he had run from her then, but her words had rung in his head the whole night long.

She displayed all the characteristics of the most evil villain he had yet encountered, but for some reason, Tommy didn't care. All he wanted was some respite from all the stress and hurt he'd been feeling. Evil or not, he knew Salacia could give that to him. Surprisingly, she was even starting to grow on him, with her reassuring way of making things make sense when he was completely confused. He was slowly warming up to the thought of being one of her team, and more and more was he doubting all the years on Earth as a Power Ranger.

As Tommy walked, he suddenly heard laughter. The sound drifted over to him from stand of pine trees a hundred feet away, to his right. He thought he could see movement through the branches.

He changed course and quickened his pace, heading in that direction.

Ducking through a hole in the foliage, Tommy came to another field with a tranquil pond another fifty yards away from him. The Rogue Rangers were here, scattered in and around the water, occupying themselves with a variety of activities. Tommy straightened from his crouch, and watched curiously this motley crew of people at play. No one seemed to take notice of him yet, not even the closest two-- the Black Rogue and the Gray Rogue judging by their clothes.

The pair was sitting at what looked like a card table, with several shot glasses spread out before them. She, the Black Rogue, wore a black, belted tunic top and loose black trousers. He, the Gray Rogue, wore a gray turtleneck shirt and a white down-filled thermal vest. The Gray Rogue also wore strikingly Earthlike gray and white camouflage pants and white combat boots. Tommy wondered if the guy had made several shopping trips on earth before the whole fiasco started.

Both of them looked to be about his age or a little older.

The laughter Tommy heard had been coming from the girl, who was surprisingly not drunk, sitting straight and tall, with bright coherent eyes and no sign of dizziness. All this was despite the large number of glasses before her. She was however, hysterically amused by her drinking partner's current state. She was giggling at him and tossing her curly dark head in joy.

The boy in Gray was in bad shape indeed, just barely keeping upright in his chair. Every few moments he would sway and nearly topple off, sending his drinking buddy into another fit of hysterics. Tommy had seen drunk people before, but he'd never scene a spectacle such as these two.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and approached them slowly. "What are we celebrating?" he asked.

The Black Rogue looked up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Oh, it's you, Green-Boy!" she cried enthusiastically. "Come on..." she shoved a glass into his hand and tried to pour him some pale topaz liquid from a flask. Her hand was perfectly steady and under control. "..have yourself a little something here... on the house."

"Thanks, I'll pass for now." he pushed the bottle away and set the glass down.

The woman arched a brow and replied "Suit yourself. The name's Tashana Del Shan." She stuck out her hand, and Tommyshook it.

"Welcome aboard the good ship Lollypop." Tashana said.

"Thanks. Tommy Oliver."

"Nice to make your acquaintance."

The boy across from her ran a hand through his longish blond hair, and gazed, bleary eyed, at the table and it's contents. He slurred "Hey, how many wuzzat for me..?"

"Four Keevan..." Tashana said. "Beat you by six and still going. Looooser...." she made another "L" with her fingers and shoved it in his face. He tried to focus his eyes on it, but to no avail.

"Well maybe Tommy over here can put me over the top." he said. "Hey Tommy..." Keevan turned his head to look at the newcomer and squinted.

"Hey, how come there's two of ya all of a sudden?" the boy asked. "Nevermind... ever tried DragonTail Brandy? It's got a REAL kick... kinda like you!" he rubbed the back of his neck, and Tommy remembered the first fight where he had battled both Keevan and the Red Rogue together. He'd done okay until Salacia came up to him...

Shut up, brain. Not right now!

"No, I can safely say I've never had DragonTail Brandy." Tommy said, humoring the young man before him. "Does it have real dragon's tails?"

Keevan frowned in foggy thought. Tommy looked into the boy's glazed eyes and realized they were an odd dark gray-- like storm clouds.

"Ummm... lemme check..." Keevan picked up the bottle and looked at the label for the ingredients. He began to study them closely.

"So you're human, eh?" Tashana asked, tipping back her chair.

"Yup. I'm about as human as they get. Yourself?"

"Ever heard of Zarakins?"

Tommy shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Well now you have... and don't go believing what anyone tells you about us neither-- people say we're thieving little nasties with no regard for common decency! Well let me tell you boy, that the Zarakin people are one of the most decent races in the whole damn Galaxy!"

She slammed her hand down on the table to emphasize her words.

Several glasses fell off onto the grass.

"Yesiree, we're a fine people, us Zarakins. I'm the second child of a Noble! My Daddy was the Head Honcho of our Caliphdom... the Big Cheese... Numero Uno Sombrero and all that. We had more land than you could shake a stick at; and believe me, our land had a helluva lot of sticks."

Tommy began to smile wider. Tashana was beginning to remind him of Zack the time he'd had jello-shots at a party.

"I couldn't inherit any of it though," Tashana lamented. "being the second child..." now she became a little more subdued, staring off in the distance. This might have been a bitter memory for her. "My Big Bro had his life handed to him on a silver platter, but the rest of us... we had to make our own way. I enrolled in the Enchakra Warrior's Academy; Women's Campus. Boy, if that place don't turn you into a hardened battle-maiden, nothin' will. I graduated top of my class there..." She inflated with pride.

"..and then for some reason I went on to become a Power Ranger." She gave a short laugh. "THAT was a brilliant idea."

Tommy frowned. "What's wrong with being a Power Ranger?"

"Only that my teammates were to most stuck up, lazy snobs in the universe! Shilarians... go figure! They found out I was Zarakin and they didn't want to be alone in a room with me! They thought I was gonna steal something from them or something. Zarakins don't just steal from anybody, it depends on the person, and if they deserve it or not! I mean, it's not like theft is a big ole' sin or anything!"

Tommy chuckled to himself and folded his arms.

"Well anyway, the Rangers kicked me out on my keister after a while. Our mentor, Candenta, was no help either, letting them convince her I was trouble. Wasted ten little earth years of my life with her. When she was out of my picture for good, I found Salacia's little club and she told me she liked my style. I became her Black Rogue and she told me I would live forever now that I had joined her. Sweet deal, eh?"

Tommy was silent a moment. Live forever...?

"Yeah, sweet deal alright."

"Now then," she said, pouring herself another drink. Tommy noticed she was suddenly looking him up and down with her pitch black eyes. "What say we go for a walk in the woods together? I know a real quiet little spot where nobody can bother us..." She winked and downed her Brandy.

It was Tommy's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Uh... I think I'll take a rain check. Thanks for the offer though..." he gave a half smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and walked away. Tashana laughed to herself again. "So much for fresh meat." she told Keevan, who was still staring at the Brandy bottle. He hadn't heard a word of the conversation.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "'No dragon derivatives were used in the making of this product'. Boy, what next? No shepherds in Shepherd's Pie?"

Tashana reached out and playfully cuffed him in the head. He didn't seem to notice except to sway and fall off his chair onto the grass. Tashana squealed at the sight and threw her head back laughing.

A minute later, as Tommy walked away towards the water, Keevan lurched to his feet and followed. He caught up with Tommy and grabbed onto the newest Rogue's shoulder for support. Tommy steadied him and realized the boy was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tommy asked.

"Aw, nothing. You didn't see that one coming did you?"

They continued to walk together. "No, that was a bit of a surprise." Tommy said, starting to laugh at Tashana's brazen suggestion. The two of them enjoyed the thought of their wacky companion for a few moments while they walked. After another minute or so, Tommy didn't have to hold Keevan up anymore. The boy was quickly recovering from his drunken stupor, and was walking pretty capably now.

"Hey, what species are you..." Tommy inquired. "..if you don't mind me asking?"

Keevan shook his head. "Edenoid. If you're wondering about the Brandy thing, Edenoids recover fast from alcohol in the bloodstream. Even that DragonTail stuff... whew!"

"Never drank much before." Tommy said. "My grandparents let me drink their homemade wine at Thanksgiving, but that's about it."

"That's okay. Tashana and I'll show you how it's done one of these days."

"Can't wait." Tommy sighed.

They walked another few yards in silence.

"So you're the New-New Guy, huh?"

"The New-New Guy?"

"I'm only the second last guy to join up. The last girl we had in is the Old-New Guy now. How's it going for you?"

Tommy was slightly surprised by Keevan's concern, but replied, "Alright I guess. Big change, you know."

"Yeah, I sure do. I'm still missin' home now and then, but this is a pretty good life."

"Where's home on Edenoi?"

"Capital Province."

Tommy nodded. "I know that part of the planet. The Rangers have been there a couple times helping out."

"I was born in a street shelter close to the Palace. Lived on the street begging and stealing and stuff till I was fourteen. Kind of like Oliver Twist with a different ending."

Tommy turned to him. "How do you and Tashana know so much about Earth? She used so many human expressions back there..."

"Salacia had us all study Earth culture before you came. We all learned the lingo so we could understand you, and I've been there a couple times, picking up clothes and stuff. That's where I picked up my other name, 'Nezumiro', when I was visiting Japan. Some nice stuff you got down there." The good-looking Edenoid paused in his tracks a moment, and posed in his outfit, making Tommy think of Tommy Hilfiger ads.

The boys continued walking. "Anyway, when I was fourteen, I went and tried to steal some food from the Palace garden. Not too bright a thing to do, but I was under the threat of a wedgie, so I did it anyway. The Princess, who was about my age, happened to be outwalking that day, and caught me red-handed. She called the guards, and I knew I was in hot water. I had to think pretty fast. Now I knew how airheaded Princess Solita was supposed to be-- she was a real celebrity at that time and even us street kids knew who she was. I took a gamble and picked her a flower, hoping it'd win me some points with her. Turns out, she totally fell for me right then and there, and took me into the Palace with her. She made me a Lord and we arranged to get married when we were old enough. She rode me around to royal functions for years after that, treating me like her pet pony. I put up with it because I thought a life with royalty HAD to be better than what I'd been doing before. I learned fighting arts from the Palace Militia, and I spent some time on the Masked Rider's honor guard too. Then the Morphin Master leading the nearest Power Ranger team-- name was Mizuro-- heard about me, he recruited me for his little team."

Tommy stopped walking and looked at him. "Wait, lemme guess. The White Ranger?"

Keevan grinned. "Right on. Anyway, when Coronation Day came, I was the Earth equivalent of about nineteen. I was wearing all my stark white robes and stuff, and I went out in the garden to take a breather." Keevan's voice took on a deep remembering tone. "I was walking through the vegetable patches, and there was this kid there, a street beggar like I used to be, trying to steal fruit. He was dirty and skinny and smelled like a sewer, but I saw his friends waiting outside the fence for him, and I figured he'd come in on a dare. Right then I realized I had been happier living on the street by my own rules, than trying to fit in in the Palace. I took off that day, selling my communicator for a credit and a half, and letting my clothes get filthy. Salacia found me a little later, and told me she didn't want a White Rogue on her team, but that she'd make me her Gray Rogue because of the clothes I was in when she met me."

Tommy laughed aloud at the image. Keevan shook his head at the memories, now walking completely steady and sober.

When they had calmed down, Tommy asked him, "How much lingo did you pick up in Japan?"

"Nothing substantial, why?"

"Because Nezumiro translates roughly into 'Rat-Colored'."

"Well, once a Street Rat, always a Street Rat."

"I don't suppose you saw 'Aladdin' while you were planetside did you?"

At that moment, they both heard a small explosion, and whirled around to look. Tashana was standing in front of the card table with a glass in her hand. As they watched, she tossed it high in the air, pointed a finger at it and obliterated it in mid-flight with a tiny fireball. She whooped in triumph, and then glanced at the boys, blowing the smoke off her finger and then 'holstering' it in her pocket.

Keevan shook his head at her. "Zarakins..." he said. "Mind-Boggling tolerance for liqueur, but keep your flammables out of sight when they're drinking. 'Scuse me." and he jogged back to the table to make sure his companion didn't set the trees on fire. Tommy laughed again and turned back toward the water.

Over by the rocky edge of the pond, swishing his feet slowly in the water, sat another of the Rogues, wearing a black shirt with a yellow utility vest, and loose yellow trousers. The pants were rolled up around his calves, and his shoes sat next to him on the bank. He also wore a yellow headband with three metal runes sewn onto it, and three gold earrings in his right ear.

This was obviously the Yellow Rogue.

He was sitting alone, reading a book, and Tommy suddenly got a vision of his old friend Billy; although, until recently, Billy wouldn't have been caught anywhere near the water, let alone with his feet right in it. The Yellow Rogue didn't notice Tommy approaching until the newcomer was right beside him. He looked up sharply.

"Oh, Hello." he gave a curt nod. Tommy noticed that the guy also had eyes the same as his Rogue color. Commander Data Yellow.

"Hey. Mind if I join you?" Tommy asked.

"Come right ahead."

Tommy took a seat next to the neat young man and inquired. "Is she always like that?"

The Rogue frowned in puzzlement until Tommy jerked his head in the direction of the card table he'd left.

"Oh, you mean Tashana? Unfortunately yes, she likes teasing people. Did she come onto you?"

"Subtly, but yeah." Tommy gave a short laugh. "I take it she does that to everyone?"

"Just the people she'd like to hop into bed with. Which is pretty much everyone, I guess."

Seeing Tommy's startled look, he laughed too. "Don't worry, she won't sneak into your bedroom tonight and tie you up or anything."

Tommy sighed. "Thank God."

The dimpled humanoid left his book in his lap and held out his hand to shake.

"Tristam. I'm the Yellow Rogue if you haven't already guessed."

Tommy shook the hand. "Tommy. You got a last name?"

"In Triforian culture, we go by our given names and our surnames are for our family's ears only. It helps to minimize class issues on our world."

"Oh right, I knew that." Tommy said, thinking of the Triforian Prince who's acquaintance he had made. "Well, I don't like my last name anyway, so I'm happy to leave it out of this."

Tristam grinned. He leaned back on his arms in a relaxed posture. "So how are you adjusting?"

"To what?"

"Being here. It's always kind of sudden, getting your whole life swept out from under you like a rug." Tommy blinked, realizing he was yet again being asked how he was doing.

Tristam went on though. "It was like that for all of us. Keevan and Undine still feel the effects, even though it's been almost 1500 of your years for Keevan."

Tommy gaped. "1500 years? He looks my age! How can that be?"

"It's only technically. He's about 21 in terms of physical maturity, but he's been around for about 2000 earth years or so."

Tommy blinked and shook his head. "Man. I knew Edenoids lived a long time, but I guess I never really knew how long."

"It wouldn't matter." Tristam said. "Once we join Salacia, it's her gift to us that we stop aging. Has to do with the energy from the Dark Side of the Morphin Grid. I stopped aging at the physical age of 26, but I'm really about 6400 years old. Frankly I couldn't have cared less about my body getting older-- to an extent-- but it sort of comes with the territory. The aging really mattered to Tashana, it was one of the big reasons she decided to join us. She's about 4000 years old. Eternal youth is a bonus for serving Salacia."

"Weird." Tommy said. Then he stopped. "Wait a minute, have I stopped aging?"

Tristam shrugged. "Has Salacia mentioned it to you?"

"No."

"Then I don't know. Probably, you have. Congratulations."

Tommy let out a long breath and stared ahead. "Unbelievable." Then he laughed a little. "I still feel like the baby around here, though. I guess it'll be like that for all eternity."

Tristam smiled. "Get used to it."

The two young men stared out at the rippling water for a moment longer, enjoying the warm sun and fresh-smelling breeze.

"I know one other Triforian besides you." Tommy said. "Trey, the Prince. We helped him out a while back when he got split into three individual beings."

"I know about him-- I keep tabs on what's going on on my homeworld. I'm from long before his time though. How much do you know about Triforian history?"

"Not much."

"Well, I'll tell you then. A good couple millenia before Trey's family came into power, Triforians were enslaved by an evil being called Ivan Ooze." He looked at Tommy meaningfully. "I know you've heard of him."

"Have I ever."

"Well, when my father and sisters were killed in the invasion, I was just a kid. I worked in what you'd probably call a sweatshop. The only difference was we didn't get paid ANYTHING. We worked for our food and to avoid whippings. It took years, but I eventually worked my way up into Ooze's Palace. When I was your equivalent of seventeen, I became one of Ooze's guards. That was a turning point."

Tommy listened in earnest.

"I got trained in fighting arts for the sake of being an effective guard." Tristam said. "Ooze had spent too long conquering races with lifespans like yours, he had figured the Triforians had given up all hope of revolting by then. I came just days away from executing a revolt of my own against him, when the Power Rangers arrived to free us. They took him into space to do battle, and while he was gone, I destroyed the machinery that manufactured the Ooze that kept us all under his control. The whole planet and I were ready to fight if the Power Rangers lost and Ooze came back for us."

Listening intently, Tommy marvelled at how the quiet, soft spoken man next to him could have led a planetwide revolt when he was only highschool age. He supposed desperate times brought out the best in anyone.

"Well, the Rangers didn't lose." Tristam affirmed. "They sealed Ooze in a Hyperlock container and buried him in the desert area of western North America on Earth, which was pretty much dead and barren then. It was all they could do. They had him trapped and they figured that would have to be good enough; but the Rangers had suffered a big loss nonetheless. Their Yellow Ranger had been killed by Ooze during the battle. They were devastated, but needed a replacement. Zordon chose me."

"Your mentor was Zordon?"

Tristam looked at him. "You didn't know? Surely he told you about Ooze when he broke free and attacked you on Earth."

"We were out fighting when Ooze attacked Zordon in the Command Center. We spent the next few days trying to save him from dying-- he never got a chance to tell us any stories."

"Oh. Well, anyways yes, Zordon was a working Morphin Master at that time. He made me the Yellow Ranger to replace the young woman he lost to Ooze."

Tommy nodded. "You deserved that position."

Tristam's expression darkened slightly. "That's what they told me. I served Zordon for, again the equivalent, of seven years, feeling like I was doing what I was meant to do-- protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.

The Triforian shook his head slowly. "But during the last year, I began to have dreams. I dreamt that Zordon and my Ranger companions thought of me as nothing but the little Triforian slave they had picked up and used to replace their fallen comrade. I dreamt they thought of me as a nothing, a possession, the Megazord's right arm, and that's all. The dreams plagued me so much that I couldn't stand it any longer, and I finally ran away with my Powers on the seventh anniversary of my world's rise to freedom."

For a moment, Tristam was gone from the pondside, his mind lost in the memories of that day millenia ago.

Tommy stared, trying to understand. "But... they were just dreams. You gave up everything-- your place as a Ranger-- because of a bunch of dreams you were having?"

Tristam looked at him, seemingly reading his mind.

"The power of dreams can be great, Tommy... as I think you already know."

Tommy was silent, speechless.

Neither of them would have to break that moment's silence however, because there was a sudden splash and the two of them looked out at the water to see what the noise had been.

Amidst a spreading circle of ripples, in the center of the pond, stood a young woman with short, boyishly cut black hair. She stood waist deep in the water, wearing a pale lavender tank suit with boy-cut legs, a high neckline and t-straps in the back. Her back was turned to them right now, but from what Tommy could see she had the sculptured figure of a Baywatch Lifeguard.

For a moment, Tommy thought Tashana had perhaps stripped out of her loose clothing, chopped off her raven locks and hopped in the water, but it was not Tashana. As the girl turned around, Tommy saw the deep violet eyes and realized she must be the Purple Rogue.

Tristam watched her for a moment, expressionlessly, until she spotted the boys on the bank. She gave a small smile. Tristam gave the same faded version of the gesture, and then said, "Excuse me Tommy, but I'm going to go do a little exercising. I'll talk to you again soon."

"See you later, man." Tommy said, and watched him go. Then he felt another splash right by his feet. He looked down.

"Hi." said the girl from the water right beneath him.

"Hi." he said, and then did a double take. Her hair had grown two feet since since he had seen her a moment before. Now it was long and flowing-- perfectly dry-- and falling gracefully about her shoulders as she stood there in the water.

"How did you do that?" he marvelled.

She looked genuinely puzzled for a moment. "What? Oh! You mean the hair! Sorry, I don't even think about that anymore."

Tommy blinked and shook his head.

The girl raised her hand in an "I-cannot-tell-a-lie" type gesture. "Shape-shifter," she said.

Tommy could only stare. "I don't think I've had this many mouth-open surprises in one day before."

"I remember how that feels." the changeling said, her violet eyes laughing at him. "My name is Norvi Iolanthe. It'll take you a few weeks to pronounce that right but don't worry, you'll get it sooner or later."

Tommy opened his mouth to repeat the name, and found himself unsure how. "Yikes," he said instead. "That is gonna take some work. I'm Tommy Oliver."

"Good to meet you." They shared another warm smile, but were silent a moment longer.

Then Tommy looked behind him. Tristam was gone now.

He asked, "Uh, you and Tristam aren't on bad terms are you?"

Her smile turned to a sigh, as she looked in the direction the Yellow Rogue had gone. "He told you about the Triforian Slave Revolution thing, didn't he? Well, did he tell you who their slaver was?"

"Yeah... oh, I get it. Shape-shifter."

"Uh-huh. Tris just doesn't have a lot of trust for my kind. It helps that my natural coloring is violet, too. He sees me in my big oozy nest and it brings back a lot of harsh memories for him."

"Oh. Well that explains a lot. He's a nice guy, reminds me of an old friend of mine."

Norvi suddenly looked at him in a bit of alarm. "You mean, one of your Power Ranger friends..?"

Tommy was puzzled. "Well, he used to be a Ranger, yeah."

Norvi pursed her lips and shook her head. "What those people did to you..."

Tommy was silent a moment, stunned. He realized Norvi must know about the Rangers aligning themselves with Zedd and betraying him as Salacia had said. He didn't know what to think, but he suddenly felt very shaken inside.

Norvi sensed it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. You want me to leave?"

"No, no, that's okay. I guess I'm still just figuring all that out for myself. You didn't hurt my feelings or anything, don't worry."

"Good." she looked sincerely glad. "I know all this is hard at first, but you'll adjust in time. I promise."

"I hope so..." Tommy suddenly remembered what she had said before, and frowned a little in puzzlement. "Hey, you said your name was Norvi."

"That's right."

"I know of another woman named Norvi, she was an Eltarian politician. You're not..."

Norvi laughed. "No, I'm not her. I'm originally from Morpheon, but I was raised Eltarian by adoptive parents-- Nobles-- about 7500 years ago."

"Eltarian Nobles?" Tommy repeated. "That must be a pretty old concept, I don't think Eltar has Nobles anymore."

"You're probably right." She said. "My parents raised me as a humanoid child, forbidding me to use my shape-shifting abilities in public. They had adopted me as a favor to the scientist friend who had discovered me abandoned, and took me in as sort of their charity case. Eventually, the novelty sort of wore off and I became more of an inconvenience to them. I was their little freak-baby."

Tommy blinked and looked alarmed, but her smile was still warm and so he felt more comfortable.

"I wasn't allowed to rest during the day, since it required reverting into my natural gelatinous state, so I got really good at staying in form for long periods of time. Most Morpheonites look vaguely humanoid at best, when trying to pass among other beings. I on the other hand, learned how to go in my solid form completely undetected... as you found out." she grinned. Tommy blushed and rolled his eyes.

She went on. "Anyway, I wasn't allowed to use my abilities for anything. I was punished whenever I pulled something. Like once I saw a dress I wanted at a store, but Mother refused to get it for me. I was mad, so when we were getting ready to go out the next evening, I replicated it on my body instead of wearing the stuffy fabric clothes they usually made me wear. I really got in trouble that time..."

Tommy nodded. "I can imagine. But how do you punish a shape-shifter--" he caught himself. "Wait, stupid question, you don't have to answer that."

"No, that's okay," Norvi reassured him. "I've had several millenia to deal with that part of my life, I don't mind talking about it. Mostly I was given little electrical shocks with a battery charging tool. That was when I was very bad. Other times I was made to split myself in four and sit in jars on opposite corners of a room-- which was uncomfortable but mainly just boring-- or I was put in boiling water for a minute or two."

Norvi noticed Tommy's horrified expression. "Oh, don't worry, it takes a lot to hurt a shape-shifter. The boiling water felt like being in a sauna, and the sitting in the corners was just like being separated from your friends and your toys for awhile. The shocks though, those hurt. I don't know if you were ever spanked, but it's like being spanked to the very core of you."

Tommy shook his head in sympathy and distaste for the way she'd been treated. "I'm sorry, Norvi. That must have really sucked."

She smiled at him, recognizing the slang. "I appreciate the sentiment. Anyway, when I reached the age of majority on Eltar, I left my home and managed to fall in with the Power Rangers. My Morphin Master, Fukushin, wasn't based on Eltar, so it was the perfect chance to get away from my home. She was searching for different types of beings to recruit as Rangers-- you know, to give her team different strengths. I was a perfect choice, she told me, and I swear, when the power transfer took place I felt as complete and perfect as I could have ever hoped. Over the years, my team and I were close. We travelled to all corners of the galaxy and learned tons of new things."

Her eyes were excited now, remembering a happy time in her life. "I was introduced to a sculpting art in which you combined a very expressive form of dance and a series of electrodes, to create forms out of clay or putty. You compose a dance that expresses an emotion like fear, or hate or something, and the electrodes read your movement and manipulate the clay with energy impulses. At the end of the dance, your material is a mass of swoops and curves and other shapes, depending on how you were dancing. I got good at it very quickly, because of the Morpheonite heritage I was learning to accept. When I showed my piece called "Rage" to my teacher on Mercenae IV, she told me I was a genius. With my art, my friends, and the Great Power, I started to feel like I would never need anything else in the world."

"I know the feeling." Tommy interjected, gazing at her in calm exhilaration at the memories of his own Rangering experiences. Norvi flashed him a grin and went on with her story.

"I had been a Ranger about four years when we first encountered Lord Zedd. We weren't sure what to make of him at first, Fukushin having never encountered him before in her own days as a Ranger; but when he took Rage and made a monster out of it, we knew we were dealing with trouble. Rage was a superb monster. Made of nothing but an emotion, it moved across our base planet with nothing but its hate to act on. When it was finally contained, it had killed hundreds of people, and the remaining people of our planet told us to leave. We could do nothing but obey."

Norvi was staring off into the distance as she told her story. Her warm grin had faded to a pale expression of sadness.

"Before we left, we supplied materials and built the planet a monument to their dead, and then we packed up and got out of there. We set out to find another world to work from, but before we did, one night my fellow Rangers came to me. They asked me to give up my sculpting in case we encountered Lord Zedd again. My creations were too dangerous, and they wanted me to give it up. I couldn't believe it. They were asking me to deny my past, ignore the trauma and emotions of my childhood that I was trying so hard to overcome. I felt betrayed, as though these people had never cared for me at all. So, I left them, taking my art with me... and I joined Salacia."

The story was remarkably familiar to Tommy. Friends betraying him, ignoring years of hardship to suddenly let the enemy win on some level. That's what Norvi's Rangers had done, and that's what Tommy's Rangers had done as well.

"I think I know how you felt." Tommy said softly.

Norvi looked at him and a bit of her smile returned. She nodded. "I think you do."

Then she gave a big sigh. "Well, that's my story. I'm sure you've got one too, but I won't make you tell it to me now. You could probably use a break from thinking about it. If you ever feel like talking though, don't hesitate to ask me. Or Skyla. She and I were the first two Rogues, and she's my best friend in the whole damn universe. A great listener." Now her gaze was sincere. "Remember, we're your family. That's what we're here for."

"Thanks." Tommy said. Norvi laid a hand over his and gave it a quick, friendly squeeze.