Tommy whirled around as Rocky pointed out the party-supply thieves. "C'mon, guys!" He ran and took his place among the other rangers. "Let's do it!"
The morphed rangers ran out of Ernie's, leaving Billy alone. He sighed and tried to busy himself rearranging the tables, but soon gave up. He couldn't do much of anything until his friends returned with the stolen supplies.
He collapsed into a chair and leaned back, closing his eyes. He could hear them outside; the loud cries of "kee-yah!", the crunch as cog after cog hit the pavement. He could go to the Power Chamber and monitor the fight, but what was the point? There was no monster, just the cogs. The fight would be over in no time, so he might as well just wait it out.
His thoughts wandered. Not two days earlier, he'd been attacked by cogs on the way to the Juice Bar. They had easily subdued him, at least until he used his ultra-magnet against them, but if he hadn't been carrying that, he'd have been toast, for sure.
"What's happened to me," he wondered aloud, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "I used to be able to hold my own in a fight."
_Yeah,_ retorted a voice deep inside, _but you held the power then. You can't expect things to be the same._
"Maybe, but that was just pathetic."
_Not pathetic, Billy, resourceful. How many other people would have come up with a plan like that?_
"How many other dorks would be carrying around a super-magnet?" The voice had no answer this time, and Billy felt a perverse satisfaction at his victory. It faded away quickly.
He closed his eyes again and rested his head on the table. The rangers would be done soon, back with the party supplies, and he'd have to be ready for them; waiting with a smile and a congratulations, just like an obedient housewife. He pictured himself in a blue house dress and panty-hose, clutching a broom and a rolling pin, and the image made him laugh.
"Good job, guys," he said when they returned, the smile frozen onto his face.
They grinned and continued their work, as Billy quietly picked up a broom and began to sweep.
