For the Doctor it had been a few months, give or take, for Billy - if his calculations weren't off - about a year. Yet the Doctor looked exactly the same when he happened to touch Earth near him again. Touch earth, even, or sand, to be precise.
Because the Doctor had gotten out of the TARDIS not far from a certain headquarter, to kneel down on the ground and inspect the area. He did have questions, after all.
Naturally, the appearance of an alien spacecraft near the Command Center would register on Zordon's radar, shown live on his viewing globe. Most of the Rangers were gearing up to morph and fight it when...a relatively harmless-looking man stepped out of the box, looking curious.
Given that Lord Zedd's monsters had made a few attempts at storming the Command Center from that same area recently, the team was understandably worried. But Billy recognized that shape right away---he could hardly believe it, but there he was. So Billy stepped in front of his team, asking the others to stand down.
"He's the Doctor---the one who stopped the crisis in the business district last year, remember? I'll handle this."
Billy flicked the teleportation button on his communicator to touch down a fair distance away, then jogged into view. Best not to show off that tech right away.
"Doctor! It's great to see you again, but I think I should warn you it's dangerous out here," he worried, glancing over his shoulder. How many times had those mutant crows swarmed in the last week?
"So I see. You know, Billy, for your average American town, you have a lot of alien activity. Nowhere near Area 51, either, although that part is almost a welcome change." The Doctor straightened up, sending a smile Billy's way.
"Nice to see you again. Say, Billy, what's your last name? And if you just told me everything up front, that might save a lot of time. We could sit down somewhere though. You could offer me tea, it'd be very lovely. What do you think?"
If Zordon had wanted his teen warriorsto take such great care of their secrets, he could've given them a lot more in stealth training. For example: Billy really should've taken a backpack, or some tools, or anything that would make it less blindingly obvious that he'd teleported.
Billy looked rather pale despite the sun, meaning that he knew very well that he was caught.
"All right. But before you do anything else, I really have to advise that we leave this area. The aliens here? They have a tendency to teleport right in and start attacking the first thing that looks interesting."
For instance, there could be a mook attack...now. A telltale crackle filled the air, and then there were three clay golems staring them down.
Billy instantly lunged, punching and tossing one with an efficiency that had taken him plenty of practice. "Don't worry, this'll only be a minute!"
"...alright then." The Doctor really wasn't sure what to make of this, but different places had different customs. Apparently in this place innocent looking teenagers sometimes beat up... Whatever those were supposed to be. Alright, alright. He could roll with that.
He leaned back against the TARDIS, watching with interest. What was he supposed to do, anyway, cheer him on? He wasn't sure if that was really his style. Too violent, for one thing.
And true to his word, it only took a minute of grappling.
When they'd both faded to dust, Billy straightened and sighed. "You're all right, aren't you? Sorry. That tends to happen around me. So...tea sounds nice."
The timing couldn't have been worse, but thank goodness it was such a small swarm. Now there was only the bigger trouble to face: the cover he'd gone and blown open last year, and convincing this Doctor that the Rangers weren't a threat. Oops.
"You do that a lot, do you?" The Doctor made some vague fighting gestures that looked nothing like fighting gestures. It had been a while since he'd practiced anything similar. "Quite good. Comes in handy, I imagine, when you live here."
He raised an eyebrow at him. "Me, I've never been one for smalltown life. Or city life either, for that matter, I like travelling too much. But this place... Quite lively, isn't it?" He pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the nearby hills. "So where are we going to have our tea? I quite fancy a chat to go with it, don't you?"
Billy awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck---it was all he could really do against the rising panic he felt. Somehow he knew he'd have to share everything, but would the others understand? Would they let him stay? The secrecy oath felt so utterly pointless at times.
But he snapped out of it quickly enough. "The town's economy practically runs on martial arts tournaments, it always has," he joked. "People used to practice for more peaceful reasons, of course. Then the war started."
His face darkened a little. "But I know a café in town. I've been stopping there often lately. It's...oh, I'd estimate about ten miles."
Which put him in a bind, again. Obviously, they weren't walking that in the desert. He became painfully aware of the weight on his wrist---hopefully the TARDIS was nearby. Or, as last resort, he could teleport another person. Hopefully not.
"Come along then, Billy boy." The Doctor started walking in one direction, hands in his coat pockets. The TARDIS wasn't far off, luckily, because he didn't quite fancy a long trek through the desert. "What's your surname anyway? No need to be formal, but sometimes I need it for emphasis."
He made sure Billy kept up at him, looking at him from the side. "Funny old thing, isn't it? Usually when America enters a war, the whole world knows about it. Protest songs, I love those. Very catchy. Well, some of them. But here you are now, fighting in a war I've never heard about. Do you have any songs about it?"
Billy hurried along, shaking his head with a little smile. "It's Cranston, but for some reason my teachers never seen to remember it."
He sighed. "It's difficult. The mayor doesn't like to be talk about it, because the weekly attacks are destroying property values around here. The military tried to get involved, but 50 foot monsters were beyond them. Then come the Power Rangers in their giant mecha to save the day---and now we have mysterious town heroes. That's kept people happy enough to stay. They might have a song, I don't know."
Being evasive (and failing at it) was a reflex at this point. It wouldn't work, of course, but the others would kill him if he didn't try.
"Billy Cranston. Well, I'm not your teacher. Should be no problem to remember." As they reached the TARDIS, he stopped by the door, considering Billy thoughtfully. "See, what I don't get is the colours. The fighting, sure. The monsters, yeah, yeah, I know all about that. Even the tightness, you know, I'm sure that's great for movement and besides, if you got it, flaunt it, right? But why the colours?"
With that he opened the door and stepped through, looking back over his shoulder to wink at Billy. "Love the blue though. Great colour."
As the Doctor talked on and on, Billy could feel a cold wave of apprehension settle over him. So he'd done his research on the Rangers, clearly. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea for Zack and Jason to start that rumor that the Rangers were Martians---it was funny and it took the heat off them at the time, sure, but with a paranormal investigator around? Bad idea.
It was a decent question, though. Was there a reason they couldn't wear black?
Those thoughts took a dark turn when the Doctor made it quite clear that he'd been caught. Billy looked over his shoulder too---no one was physically there, but he knew perfectly well that mentor (and possibly his friends) were watching via the viewing globe. If Billy was right about the TARDIS's position in spacetime, the globe couldn't see inside, but they would have seen enough. He'd definitely be a dead man when he got back.
But this was no time to panic. He was doing exactly that, but it was really time to stop and focus, so he forced himself and stepped up to the rail. "I really should wear a different color, shouldn't I? And it's not flaunting."
"Dunno about that, Billy. Brings out your eyes. Besides, there's nothing wrong with some flaunting." The Doctor shrugged out of his coat now as he walked inside the TARDIS, throwing it over its usual place on one of the pillars and approaching the console. "Where do you want to go? Seems as if you need that tea."
He leaned on the console, looking up to watch Billy, one eyebrow cocked. "You're nervous. Very nervous. What is it, me knowing your secret? Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. It's very difficult to hide things from me. Believe me, I've tried before, but I always catch up to myself pretty fast."
"The Flying Monkey's a good one. On Rosethorn and 7th." That part's easy to say. He focused on the names for a moment, trying to find a way to calm his racing thoughts. He didn't just need to worry about what Zordon would do to him. The Doctor was a mystery too.
"...close, but not exactly," Billy finally said, easing his death grip on the rail. He didn't need to hurt the TARDIS on top of everything else. He never looked up from his white knuckles, though.
"It's the consequences of letting an outsider in that I have to worry about. We were warned that we'd be kicked off the team if we let anyone know what we were doing. He made an exception when my friends had to unmask me to save my life, but I'm not sure he'll be so forgiving this time."
He let out a weary breath. "It's not the easiest life, but protecting people is important to me. I'll miss it, as much as I'll miss the technology lessons."
"Oh, but I'm not just an outsider. I'm way out. I'm so out, what I know or doesn't know really doesn't affect the inside." He. Who was this he? The Doctor went over what he did know, even as he walked around the console, getting them all set and headed to the right location. He'd better make sure to pick the right time, too.
"So where is he from? Your... mentor. All that technology and all those rules. Me, I've always loved rules. They bring out my creativity."
Billy laughed, almost. The way this man dropped in and out of wherever he went, it shouldn't matter too much, right? He hoped it would be seen that way. But in the meantime, Billy had a lot to answer for.
"His name's Zordon, and he's a sorcerer from a planet called Eltar. He fought the source of the invasion, Rita Repulsa, in a battle thousands of years ago---but it was a draw. She was sealed in a dumpster on the moon and he was trapped in a dimensional warp. His only window into this dimension is his tube in the Command Center."
He rubbed at his arm, finally breathing a little easier. "Our astronauts accidentally broke Rita's seal during the last moonwalk, and she set out to conquer this planet. There were constant earthquakes the first day, everyone was terrified. Zordon had to act. But there's not much a head in a tube can do to fight her, so he summoned us."
"Eltar, eh?" Alright, alright, he had heard that before. He'd have to consult the data base, but it definitely seemed familiar. Rita Repulsa. Catchy name. He was very sure that he'd heard that before.
"Never underestimate floating heads in a tube. You'd be surprised." The Face of Boe had certainly managed to surprise and impress him again and again. And if he was right, he would keep doing so. "I was a sorcerer once. Well, people thought I was and I didn't exactly protest. Merlin, you ever heard of him?"
He considered Billy for a moment, then shrugged. "I should probably talk to your Zordon. But tea first. And maybe a banana shake."
"...Merlin? You have too much fun across the universe, don't you?"
Billy had a lot of questions, actually, but those could wait. He focused instead on getting to the shop and drinking his tea in one piece.
"If you want a shake, I'll have to get you one from Ernie's. Best around. But the atmosphere at the Flying Monkey's nice. No one should bother us."
He looked back up at the Doctor, that worried frown reappearing. "No one gets into his chamber without either a power coin or being accompanied by someone who has one---so I'd have to take you in. What do you need to talk to him about?"
The Doctor followed behind Billy, catching up enough to walk next to him. He did wonder whether the TARDIS might be able to get into this chamber, but if she could it might be better not to test the theory until it became necessary.
"Oh, you know. What wise old aliens talk to each other about when they catch up. Weather, sunspots, some jokes about UFOs, figure out our degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon. Mine is zero, by the way. I call him bacon bits. Nice bloke, really."
"...wise old aliens?" Billy stared openly for a moment, trying to reconcile the man before him with what he often pictured wise old aliens to look like. Zordon had a human face too, but...huh.
He slipped into the café and ordered---black tea, no frills, same as usual. "I have so many questions, Doctor, but...first, did you want a bite to eat too? The food's not bad."
"Oh? Yeah, sorry, that's me. Well, you could debate the wisdom part." He ordered tea for himself as well, then he shrugged, but gave a nod after a second. "Food, sure. I love food. Well, depends on who's cooking. But then, I just ordered tea in America, so I won't pretend my standards are too high."
There might be a reason the TARDIS generally tended to land somewhere with much better tea.
Billy quickly settled on bread and dipping sauces. Nothing that could really be screwed up too badly. He glanced over at the Doctor for a moment in contemplation.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you don't look any more alien than your average Englishman. I guess the TARDIS and the stunning intellect it away, but..."
That last bit might've been a gentle joke. "Must be an amazing life."
"Actually, we came first. Humans just look like us. More or less. There are some differences, but they're not immediately apparent." The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at Billy as he ran his hand up through his hair. "Oi! Cheeky. I'll have you know that I'm considered a genius and where I come from we built spacecraft for show and tell. I drew lightning bolts on mine."
He used a finger to draw a bolt in the air now and then he smiled, just a bit wistful as he blinked and looked off to the side. "Oh, yeah. It's brilliant."
"Huh. Admittedly my contact with those from other planets is very limited, but I never would've guessed."
Billy pictured all those spaceships and laughed. "I've only gotten as far as building a flying car. Maybe it needs racing stripes."
There was also all the repair work he did for their Zords, but he wasn't sure that really counted. He stopped to note how crisp and fresh the bread was, mulling over everything he was learning.
"So...you have friends? More people traveling through time like you?"
"Oh yeah, absolutely. Everything is faster with racing stripes, that's scientifically proven. More or less." The Doctor licked the bread before taking a bite, freezing mid-chew at the next question. He gave a slight shake of his head, using the fact that he hadn't swallowed yet as a way to bide his time. When he finally had a free mouth he shrugged, his eyes suddenly ever so serious.
"These days it's pretty much just me." He offered a slight smile. "I pick people up sometimes."
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#2: INTERROGATION
Because the Doctor had gotten out of the TARDIS not far from a certain headquarter, to kneel down on the ground and inspect the area. He did have questions, after all.
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Given that Lord Zedd's monsters had made a few attempts at storming the Command Center from that same area recently, the team was understandably worried. But Billy recognized that shape right away---he could hardly believe it, but there he was. So Billy stepped in front of his team, asking the others to stand down.
"He's the Doctor---the one who stopped the crisis in the business district last year, remember? I'll handle this."
Billy flicked the teleportation button on his communicator to touch down a fair distance away, then jogged into view. Best not to show off that tech right away.
"Doctor! It's great to see you again, but I think I should warn you it's dangerous out here," he worried, glancing over his shoulder. How many times had those mutant crows swarmed in the last week?
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"Nice to see you again. Say, Billy, what's your last name? And if you just told me everything up front, that might save a lot of time. We could sit down somewhere though. You could offer me tea, it'd be very lovely. What do you think?"
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Billy looked rather pale despite the sun, meaning that he knew very well that he was caught.
"All right. But before you do anything else, I really have to advise that we leave this area. The aliens here? They have a tendency to teleport right in and start attacking the first thing that looks interesting."
For instance, there could be a mook attack...now. A telltale crackle filled the air, and then there were three clay golems staring them down.
Billy instantly lunged, punching and tossing one with an efficiency that had taken him plenty of practice. "Don't worry, this'll only be a minute!"
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He leaned back against the TARDIS, watching with interest. What was he supposed to do, anyway, cheer him on? He wasn't sure if that was really his style. Too violent, for one thing.
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When they'd both faded to dust, Billy straightened and sighed. "You're all right, aren't you? Sorry. That tends to happen around me. So...tea sounds nice."
The timing couldn't have been worse, but thank goodness it was such a small swarm. Now there was only the bigger trouble to face: the cover he'd gone and blown open last year, and convincing this Doctor that the Rangers weren't a threat. Oops.
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He raised an eyebrow at him. "Me, I've never been one for smalltown life. Or city life either, for that matter, I like travelling too much. But this place... Quite lively, isn't it?" He pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the nearby hills. "So where are we going to have our tea? I quite fancy a chat to go with it, don't you?"
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But he snapped out of it quickly enough. "The town's economy practically runs on martial arts tournaments, it always has," he joked. "People used to practice for more peaceful reasons, of course. Then the war started."
His face darkened a little. "But I know a café in town. I've been stopping there often lately. It's...oh, I'd estimate about ten miles."
Which put him in a bind, again. Obviously, they weren't walking that in the desert. He became painfully aware of the weight on his wrist---hopefully the TARDIS was nearby. Or, as last resort, he could teleport another person. Hopefully not.
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He made sure Billy kept up at him, looking at him from the side. "Funny old thing, isn't it? Usually when America enters a war, the whole world knows about it. Protest songs, I love those. Very catchy. Well, some of them. But here you are now, fighting in a war I've never heard about. Do you have any songs about it?"
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He sighed. "It's difficult. The mayor doesn't like to be talk about it, because the weekly attacks are destroying property values around here. The military tried to get involved, but 50 foot monsters were beyond them. Then come the Power Rangers in their giant mecha to save the day---and now we have mysterious town heroes. That's kept people happy enough to stay. They might have a song, I don't know."
Being evasive (and failing at it) was a reflex at this point. It wouldn't work, of course, but the others would kill him if he didn't try.
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With that he opened the door and stepped through, looking back over his shoulder to wink at Billy. "Love the blue though. Great colour."
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It was a decent question, though. Was there a reason they couldn't wear black?
Those thoughts took a dark turn when the Doctor made it quite clear that he'd been caught. Billy looked over his shoulder too---no one was physically there, but he knew perfectly well that mentor (and possibly his friends) were watching via the viewing globe. If Billy was right about the TARDIS's position in spacetime, the globe couldn't see inside, but they would have seen enough. He'd definitely be a dead man when he got back.
But this was no time to panic. He was doing exactly that, but it was really time to stop and focus, so he forced himself and stepped up to the rail. "I really should wear a different color, shouldn't I? And it's not flaunting."
He might've been a little flustered there.
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He leaned on the console, looking up to watch Billy, one eyebrow cocked. "You're nervous. Very nervous. What is it, me knowing your secret? Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. It's very difficult to hide things from me. Believe me, I've tried before, but I always catch up to myself pretty fast."
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"...close, but not exactly," Billy finally said, easing his death grip on the rail. He didn't need to hurt the TARDIS on top of everything else. He never looked up from his white knuckles, though.
"It's the consequences of letting an outsider in that I have to worry about. We were warned that we'd be kicked off the team if we let anyone know what we were doing. He made an exception when my friends had to unmask me to save my life, but I'm not sure he'll be so forgiving this time."
He let out a weary breath. "It's not the easiest life, but protecting people is important to me. I'll miss it, as much as I'll miss the technology lessons."
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"So where is he from? Your... mentor. All that technology and all those rules. Me, I've always loved rules. They bring out my creativity."
no subject
"His name's Zordon, and he's a sorcerer from a planet called Eltar. He fought the source of the invasion, Rita Repulsa, in a battle thousands of years ago---but it was a draw. She was sealed in a dumpster on the moon and he was trapped in a dimensional warp. His only window into this dimension is his tube in the Command Center."
He rubbed at his arm, finally breathing a little easier. "Our astronauts accidentally broke Rita's seal during the last moonwalk, and she set out to conquer this planet. There were constant earthquakes the first day, everyone was terrified. Zordon had to act. But there's not much a head in a tube can do to fight her, so he summoned us."
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"Never underestimate floating heads in a tube. You'd be surprised." The Face of Boe had certainly managed to surprise and impress him again and again. And if he was right, he would keep doing so. "I was a sorcerer once. Well, people thought I was and I didn't exactly protest. Merlin, you ever heard of him?"
He considered Billy for a moment, then shrugged. "I should probably talk to your Zordon. But tea first. And maybe a banana shake."
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Billy had a lot of questions, actually, but those could wait. He focused instead on getting to the shop and drinking his tea in one piece.
"If you want a shake, I'll have to get you one from Ernie's. Best around. But the atmosphere at the Flying Monkey's nice. No one should bother us."
He looked back up at the Doctor, that worried frown reappearing. "No one gets into his chamber without either a power coin or being accompanied by someone who has one---so I'd have to take you in. What do you need to talk to him about?"
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"Oh, you know. What wise old aliens talk to each other about when they catch up. Weather, sunspots, some jokes about UFOs, figure out our degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon. Mine is zero, by the way. I call him bacon bits. Nice bloke, really."
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He slipped into the café and ordered---black tea, no frills, same as usual. "I have so many questions, Doctor, but...first, did you want a bite to eat too? The food's not bad."
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There might be a reason the TARDIS generally tended to land somewhere with much better tea.
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Billy quickly settled on bread and dipping sauces. Nothing that could really be screwed up too badly. He glanced over at the Doctor for a moment in contemplation.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you don't look any more alien than your average Englishman. I guess the TARDIS and the stunning intellect it away, but..."
That last bit might've been a gentle joke. "Must be an amazing life."
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He used a finger to draw a bolt in the air now and then he smiled, just a bit wistful as he blinked and looked off to the side. "Oh, yeah. It's brilliant."
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Billy pictured all those spaceships and laughed. "I've only gotten as far as building a flying car. Maybe it needs racing stripes."
There was also all the repair work he did for their Zords, but he wasn't sure that really counted. He stopped to note how crisp and fresh the bread was, mulling over everything he was learning.
"So...you have friends? More people traveling through time like you?"
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"These days it's pretty much just me." He offered a slight smile. "I pick people up sometimes."
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