Missing White
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

As the red light began to overwhelm him, distinct, noticeable changes occurred in his musculature. He felt his t-shirt tighten as his pectorals tightened and enlarged. His abdomen tensed, producing a sensation not unlike that of the 250 ab crunches he did every morning. His biceps felt like they doubled in size, and he was sure that if he were fast enough, he could see a greater definition in the muscles that ran the length of his forearms.

The most pleasurable sensations, as well as the most alarming and potentially frightening, occurred in his behind and crotch. His glutes tightened rock hard, and if it weren't for the fact that the morphing process was nearly instantaneous, the sudden force in his buttocks would have pushed him onto the balls of his feet. At the same time this happened, his scrotum retracted in a sensation that reminded him of jumping into a swimming pool that was far too cold, only much, much faster and harder. His testicles felt like they were drawn completely into his body. Actually, for all he knew, they were.

He had expressed his concern regarding one of his most prized and carefully revered bodyparts with Zordon and Alpha. They had both assured him he was perfectly all right. Alpha volunteered to ascertain Tommy's sperm count. Tommy had been expecting, at the most extreme end of possibilities, for Alpha to whip out one of his trusted scanning devices and wave it over his groin. Had it not been for his sudden embarrassment, Tommy would have laughed out loud at Alpha asking if he preferred a video or magazine. Although he had turned a dark shade of red as he mumbled, "video," Zordon telling him that masturbation was a normal and even expected aspect of growing up gave Tommy a hearty laugh two or three times a week.

After discovering that his sperm count was as normal as it had always been, (actually, he had never known if it was normal or abnormal, but he had no reason to suspect he was deviated from the norm), he relaxed greatly when it came to the sheer physical act of morphing. He even discussed the situation with Billy, who had brought up his own concerns with Zordon and Alpha shortly after joining the team. Billy and Tommy discovered that paying a visit to one of the Command Center's med rooms with a specimen cup and a video courtesy of Alpha was a rite of passage all male Power Rangers went through. This was reinforced within a week of Adam and Rocky joining the team.

Another change morphing brought that was initially startling was the change in height. His height didn't actually change, but the soles of his Ranger boots were thicker than those of any shoes he normally wore. It seemed that he gained at least an inch as his Ranger boots formed around his feet. If he was bare foot, the sudden shift in his vision was much more dramatic.

A brief tickling ran up his neck as his long hair was pulled up to the back of his head. As soon as the hair was off his neck, the white collar of the suit surrounded his throat and the helmet began to form. For a split second, his view was similar to what he saw when looking through sunglasses.

After that, there was a bright flash of light : originally green, then white, and now an alarming fire red. With that, the near instantaneous morphing process was over. His vision cleared so that it was as though he was looking with no obstruction, whatsoever. His vision was actually greatly enhanced, as he could now see in near darkness and for much farther. His expanded muscles were covered with shiny red armor, his hair was presumably tucked away in the back of his helmet, and no matter where his gonads actually were, there was an appropriate sized cod-piece at his crotch.

Tommy glanced down at his feet. Much to his delight, the sand around his feet had been swirled into a snowflake-like pattern by the intense albeit brief winds producing in the morphing process.

"Zeo Ranger V, Red" Tommy sighed, his voice brimming with disappointment. He was the White Ranger, created from the light of goodness. Zordon had assured him that his White Powers could not be destroyed. Instead, he had lost them three times. One at the hands of Ivan Ooze, again courtesy of Rito Revolto, and most recently during MasterVile's Orb of Doom fiasco. "I am not the Red Ranger."

"Yes you are," a calm voice said behind him. Tommy spun around in shock. He had thought he was alone.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy asked.

"I was in the Command Cen-... Power Chamber," Billy said. "I saw that you morphed and decided to come out here."

"I'm really sorry about your powers, Billy," Tommy said sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it," Billy told him. "It couldn't be helped."

"Yes it could," Tommy insisted. "I can make Tanya give up her powers."

"I wouldn't do that to Tanya," Billy said. "Besides, assuming Tanya hadn't come back in Aisha's place, then by your logic, I would take Kat's place. I might look okay in yellow, but I sure as hell will not wear pink."

Tommy shrugged and looked out over the cliff. A dark sky littered with diamonds stretched out above him. The armor that currently encompassed his body came from a crystal that originated on a planet that spun around one of them.

"Tommy?" Billy asked cautiously. "There is obviously something bothering you."

"Several something's, actually," Tommy sighed. "I miss my White Ranger armor, I miss the falcon, I miss being a Ninja Ranger, and worst of all, I feel guilty because I have powers and you don't."

"Tommy, I could have had powers and I chose not to," Billy told him. "It isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault. If I wanted powers, I would have taken them. I'm doing okay. I do know what you mean about the falcon, though. I miss the wolf something terrible, but you know what? He's still there. I'm still the wolf. Don't tell anybody, but... well, I'll just show you."

"Show me?" Tommy asked. Still morphed, he turned from looking over the cliff to Billy. Much to his surprise, Billy was unbuttoning his shirt. "Just what are you going to show me?"

Billy's only response was a mildly amused scowl. He quickly had his shirt unbuttoned, and then let it fall to the ground. Billy turned around, and looking over his right shoulder said, "Well? Whaddya think?"

Tommy's jaw would have dropped to the ground if his helmet had permitted it. A blue tattoo of a timber wolf was forever embedded in the flesh of Billy's shoulder. "You got a tattoo?" Tommy asked in disbelief.

"Yep," Billy answered, retrieving his shirt and pulling it back on. "It was kind of a spur of the minute thing," he explained. "The parlor was clean and reputable. New, sterilized needle. I was gonna get it on my bicep, but if I want to wear a tank top again, it'll bring up too many questions."

"What about the locker room?" Tommy queried as Billy finished buttoning his shirt. Billy suddenly stopped dead-still.

"That was a possibility I didn't consider," Billy remarked. "Oh well. My mom won't see it for a while, anyway. Why don't you get a tattoo?"

"I don't know, Billy," Tommy said. "A tattoo is so permanent."

"Then get it in an out of the way place," Billy suggested.

"Yeah, I'll get a white falcon on my butt," Tommy commented sarcastically.

"Kim would get a kick out of it," Billy laughed.

"Eh, she'd never see it," Tommy muttered, turning his gaze back over the cliff.

"Oh yeah, what with her being in Florida and all," Billy nodded, bending down to pick up a pebble to lob off the cliff.

"Well, that's not really what I meant," Tommy said.

"Oh?" Billy asked, his eyebrows lifting slightly. "You mean, you two haven't? Ever?"

"Not even a little bit," Tommy confirmed.

"Boy, these past few weeks have just been full of surprises," Billy murmured.

Laughing, Tommy powered down just so he could reach over and punch Billy in the arm. Morphed, he would have been liable to drive his fist through Billy's body. "Let's do it."

"Do what?" Billy asked, jamming his hands in his pockets.

~*~

Twisting his wrists, he summoned his morphers, or zeonizers, as they were now called, in a red flash. "Not white, but they'll do."

Just as he put them back into their pocket dimension, his mother called, "Phone Tommy!"

Leaning across his bed, he snatched the phone from its cradle on his nighttable. "Hello?"

"Hey handsome."

"Kimberly! Hey!"

"Billy told me about the change," Kimberly said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doin' all right," Tommy answered. "Hey. Next time you come visit, I've got a big surprise for you."

End