Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all related characters belong to Saban Entertainment, and some guy in Japan who first thought of a similar idea. Extreme Ghostbusters belongs to DIC (I think) and UPN.
Author's Notes: This fic was started at 1:30 in the morning after a really bad week of being sick, a 30 hour blackout, and a three week case of writer's block. My thanks to Ellen Brand for her great Personality Conflicts series which gave me the idea for using Ghostbusters, but not in her way (I don't think). This is set a few of years in the future after The Space Rangers take over defending the Earth.. Happy Reading. Comments Are Always Welcome! (HINT. HINT.) If I get good feedback, I might try a sequal, if not, I'll do a totally different story

Home Again, Home Again...
by Gayle F. Cox

Trini Kwan was back. Well, sort of. She had come back from Switzerland to find that her best friend had run off to a water-covered planet to save his life, and had fallen in love with one of the natives.

I'm happy for him. She thought as she wandered the streets of New York City. She did not know what called her to be there, but she did know she was happy. Going home to Angel Grove did not seem right. All her friends had moved on to different aspects in their lives. All the original rangers, plus Adam, Aisha, and Rocky, were scattered all over, and they were the only ones she considered friends. She had never met the new ones, and had no idea who they were.

How strange, for once, I'm on the outside of the Power Ranger activities with the rest of the world. Irony is a funny aspect. Trini thought as she stepped into the doors of New York University and collided with another student.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, as she bent to pick up her books. The other girl looked at her and gave a small smile.

"No problem, I should have watched where I was going." Their hands crossed as they collected their books and parted ways with a quick goodbye. Trini continued onto class, her mind churning. She seemed nice, but kind of reserved. I wonder who she is. The door to her sociology class came into view and she put the thoughts out of her head. Maybe I'll run into her later.

~*~

An hour and a half later, Trini sat at a table at an outdoor cafe and reached for her book, a collection of essays by Threrou. "What is this?" She had pulled out a thick book entitled Spengler's Spirit Guide. "Where in the—that girl I ran into! We must have grabbed each other's books when we ran into each other!" At that realization, she flipped to the inside cover to look for an address.

This book belongs to Kylie. If lost, please return to the address below.

Quickly, Trini committed the address to memory and stood. After paying the cashier, she headed down the street. Ten minutes later, she came upon an old brick building with the word Firehouse still visible beneath the decades old grime. Looking up, she noticed a swinging sign. It showed a white ghost in a big red circle with a dash through it. Wonder what that means. No ghosts allowed?

She rang the bell, and heard it echo through the building right before hearing someone running down a flight of stairs rather loudly. The door swung open to reveal a young, lanky Hispanic man with a goatee.

"What's up?" His voice held a trace of a Spanish and Brooklen accent mix.

Trini smiled at him, hoping she looked more at ease than she felt. For some reason, she felt unnerved. How odd, two years as a Power Ranger, fighting the worst the universe threw at me, and I'm freaked out by one guy with a mixed accent. "I'm looking for Kylie. Is she here?"

The guy shook his head and moved from the door. "She's not here yet, but her class should be over soon. You can wait if you want. I'm Edualdro."

"Trini. Nice to meet you." She stepped into the old building, and was suddenly very cold. "Is it chilly to you?" Edualdro shook his head. "No, but I'm used to it. I can shut off the AC if you want." Trini shook her head.

"No, that's okay. It was probably just a momentary chill. Thanks anyway." Edualdro nodded and motioned toward the living room. "You want to sit down?" She nodded and settled on the couch.

"Do you live here?" "Nope, just work." Edualdro answered as he sat at the other end of the couch. Trini looked at her surrondings quickly. There was a couch, which she was sitting on, a few chairs, and a television. It looked more like a place to relax than a place to work. "What kind of work?" "I'm a Ghostbuster."

Trini's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" Edualdro's eyes narrowed. "You don't believe me?" Quickly, Trini snapped out of her shocked state of mind, and smiled at him. "Sorry, but it jsut surprised me. The last I heard of the Ghostbusters they were..um.." Her voice trailed off.

"Older?" He supplied. She nodded. "They all disembarked on their own adventures. Even though I don't know what's more adventureous than trying to save your lunch from a gob of green ectoplasm." Before Trini could ask what he meant, the gob of ectoplasm in question-Slimer tore into the room, and covered her yellow T-shirt in green slime.

"SLIMER!" The yell came from a tall black man standing the doorway of the foyer. He looked around and noticed Trini. "Sorry about that. He got ahold of my sandwich and flew out of the room." Trini looked down at her gooey shirt and shrugged. "No big deal. I grew up in Angel Grove. This is pretty tame."

Roland threw her a towel and sat in one of the arm chairs. "Angel Grove? You grew up in monster central?" She nodded. "Yeah, at least until I went to Switzerland for a Teen Peace Summit. I just got back about six months ago."

"You lived in Switzerland?" Edualdro asked. "For about three years. I was almost sixteen when I went. It was me, and two of my guy friends; Jason and Zack. Jason's back in Angel Grove, and I think Zack is in Los Angeles with a traveling acting group. Last I heard, he was performing in Rent." Edualdro and Roland looked impressed.

"So, you lived in the monster capital of the world, traveled in Switzerland, and now you're here. Why is that?" Roland asked. "I'm actually waiting for Kylie. We ran into each other-literally-and our books got switched. She got my Therou essays, and I got her spirit guide."

Edualdro and Roland laughed. "That's definetly Kylie. She never goes anywhere without that book." Edualdro explained at Trini's confused look.

"Did I hear my name?" Kylie stepped into the room and glanced around. Edualdro was on the couch, Roland was in his usual chair, Slimer was hovering in the door to the kitchen, and the young Asian girl she had collided with eariler that day was on the other end of the couch covered in green ectoplasm. Most likely from the resident ghost. "Hi," Trini smiled at her.

"Hi, we were never formally introduced. I'm Trini Kwan." Kylie nodded at her, feeling a little wary. "Kylie. What are you doing here?" Trini's head snapped at the tone.

She took a minute to study the girl. Her black hair was long and shaggy, and her black eyes were outlined with even blacker eyeliner. Tough as they come. Probably had a hard life. She and Tommy would get along. That thought comforted her, and Kylie's question finally registered. "When we ran into each other on campus we got our books mixed up." Trini held up the spirit guide.

Kylie reached over and accepted it. "Thanks, I guess that explains why I've got a book about a pond, a cabin, and some guy who writes weird." Trini laughed. "Thoerou. He's a favorite of mine, but he can get confusing." Kylie smiled. "I can relate. Try to understand Egon's spirit book. It gets pretty weird if you haven't experienced it."

"You're a Ghostbuster too?" Trini asked. Kylie nodded. "Yeah, for about a year. Roland and Edualdro are too." "She knows I am." Edualdro supplied. "What's it like?" "Interesting," Roland interjected. "Especially when one of the traps gets fried or the proton packs need repair."

"Let me guess, you're the monkey wrencher aren't you?" Roland nodded. "How did you guess?" Trini shrugged. "Let's just say, there's one in every group, and the one in mine was my best friend." She said aloud while she thought Billy comes in every shape and size. "So, what's it like to bust ghosts?"

"It's fun as long as you can dodge most of the goo." Roland said. Kylie and Edualdro started telling stories, and pretty soon, Trini was completely engrossed. The spell was broken when a very loud voice came from the foyer.

"Anybody up for a game of-Oh, hi. I'm Garrett, and you are?" Trini looked at the dark redhead and waved. "For the fourth time today, I'm Trini, and you would be Garrett, right?" He smiled and moved over to her. She suddenly realized he was in a wheelchair. "Garrett, college student by day, Ghostbuster by night and judging by the slime on your shirt I'm guessing you've met Slimer."

Trini nodded. "Guilty, your friends were just filling me in on their Ghostbusting adventures. Do you have any?" Roland stifled a laugh. "Are you kidding? He's an extremist. His adventures are probably the wildest." Garrett shrugged nonchalantly and launched into a story about a toy demon, a flight of stairs, and no one holding on to the back of his wheelchair. He was interrupted half an hour later by the sound of Trini's stomach growling.

She looked down at it sheepishly. "Oops, I forgot about lunch." Everyone laughed. Kylie stood up and streched. "That's a natural occurance around here. Come on, I'll fix you a sandwich." They headed into the kitchen, and Kylie started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

"I have a question." Trini looked up at her. "What's that?" "Why did you look all of us over like you knew something we didn't?" For a moment, she just stared at the girl, but then it became clear. "You mean when I looked like I was studying you?"

Kylie nodded, "Yeah." "You just reminded me of some friends from back in Angel Grove. All of you share some of the same traits." "Like what?"

They stood at the counter making large sandwiches. "Well, Edualdro reminds me of my friend Zack. When he's uncomfortable, he usually covers it with humor. Of course, his jokes were a little better." Kylie laughed at that. Trini could defenity pick personalities.

"Roland is like my friend Billy. Too smart for his own good when it comes to the technical part of the team. Billy was a little more reserved, though. Garrett is Rocky. An extremist who doesn't believe in limits, and he probably eats more sugar than any human can be allowed." "There is some truth to that. What about me?" Kylie asked.

"You are the female incarnation of Tommy. He was serious and a brooder. Not exactly a 'share your feelings' kind of person, but he was sensitive. Especailly when his friends are hurting." Kylie glanced over at the girl next to her. She looked normal, but the way she nailed them like that was anything but.

"Ever think of becoming a Ghostbuster, Trini?" The question caused Trini to jerk and cut her finger on the sharp knife she was using to cut her sandwich into triangles. "Holy Creep!"

The yell sent the three young people into the kitchen from the living room in a hurry, along with an older blond man with a ponytail and a redheaded woman who turned a sickly shade of green at the sight of the blood.

"Oh, geez, Trini," Kylie sputtered as she guided the girl's hand under the faucet and turned on the cold water. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. It was just a question." Trini waved her off with her good hand. "I'm fine. It's just a little cut." Secretly, she was hoping the healing abilities that stayed with her after she gave up her powers had taken the day off so she wouldn't draw suspision.

"What question?" The blond man asked. Roland quickly made introductions. "Trini Kwan, Egon Spengler, and the woman who's starting to resemble Slimer is Janine." Trini nodded to both of them then turned to Egon. "Kylie asked if I had ever thought of becoming a Ghostbuster."

Egon nodded. "Have you?" Trini shook her head, "Not until today. Why; are you looking for another person?" "Actually, we are. I used to go with them on assignments, but I prefer to work from here. We could use the extra help if you're willing."

For a moment Trini thought it over. It would be cool, but am I up for it? I haven't done any serious fighting since before I left for the Summit. Of course, Ghostbusting is probably nothing like being a Ranger, but some philosophers believe that life is only lived if it is filled with opposites. "I'll try it out."

Two Weeks and A Couple of Assignments Later...

"Hey, Janine." Trini breezed through the front door of Ghostbuster Central feeling the most at home since the Command Center. Janine looked up and smiled. "Hey, you look happy." Trini nodded and perched at the edge of the desk. "I am. I just aced a major sociology test, and I think I earned a snack. Do we have any double chocolate fudge ice cream left?"

Janine nodded, "We should unless Slimer has gotten to it." At that moment, Slimer rushed through the wall and headed headlong for Trini, leaving her dripping in green ectoplasm.

"SLIMER!" As Trini took off after the ghost, she had to smile. It's not even close to Angel Grove or the Rangers, but I'm home again.

The End