Long Journey Home

Jason on hon his way to the Youth Center to meet the gang for their
usual weekend meeting. His mood was great, he felt fine, and if there were
still a few things on his mind, who was to know? He’d decided in the small
hours of the night not to let his problems bother him and spoil what little
time the gang had left together before graduation; time enough later to
get a grip on things.

 

The streets were getting crowded with Saturday morning shoppers, joggers
and people doing their weekend things, so he took his usual shortcut through
the park. Just as the Youth Center came into view, however, Jason was suddenly
overcome by a wave of dizziness. Swaying on his feet, he reached blindly
for the nearest tree to steady himself. Everything went black for a moment,
and a rush of first cold, then intense heat swept through his body. When
his vision cleared, he automatically assumed battle-readiness, but there
wasn’t a single cog or other monster in sight. In fact, everything around
him was just as peaceful as it had been only moments before.

 

Jason shook his head once; that certainly had been weird. Maybe he’d
talk to the Rangers t tht this, when he got the chance. He scanned the
area around him once more for anything suspicious; finding nothing, he
shrugged and went on. At the Juice Bar, he found the girls at "their" table.
Kat and Tanya greeted him with warm smiles as he collected a smoothie and
joined them. Out on the mats, Rocky and Adam were involved in a friendly
sparring match, and Tommy was still missing.

 

"Where’s Tommy?" he asked the girls over his shoulder, his attention
caught by a spectacular move of Adam’s. He turned around as Tanya and Kat
broke out in giggles. Confused, he looked at them. Their eyes were dancing
with laughter, but he could have sworn there was more than a hint of a
smirk beneath their merriment.

 

"What?"

 

Before either one of them could answer him, however, a familiar voice
hailed the group from the door.

 

"Hey guys!"

 

Jason turned around, and felt his chin hitting the floor. The person
bounding up to the table unmistakably was Tommy, only not the Tommy
Jason had known and called best friend for the last three years. The long
hair, the smiling brown eyes, the athlete’s grace were the same, as were
the jeans and the red irt;irt; what was glaringly different was the way
Tommy filled out that shirt. Instead of the smooth, sculpted chest Jason
was used to seeing, his eyes were suddenly fastened onto a pair of very
nice .... breasts? This wasn’t Tommy; this was ... a GIRL?!?

 

'Tommy' blushed as Jason couldn’t seem to avert his eyes from her chest.
Tanya and Kat, who were watching the two avidly, had a hard time suppressing
their laughter. "Uh ... Jason ... you’re staring."

 

"Uh ... what?" Realizing where his eyes had been for the last two minutes,
the former Ranger felt the heat rise in his cheeks. Collecting himself
with an effort, he shook his head in disbelief. He checked around the room,
but everything else seemed normal. The only thing out of the ordinary was
his best friend, who suddenly had transformed into an extraordinarily attractive
female. Jason felt a tightening in his groin as he once more let his eyes
sweep over the lithe figure standing across the table, and blushed even
more.

 

Before he could speak, Rocky and Adam had joined the rest of the gang.
Taking in the two heated faces and the girls’ amusement with a glance,
both started to snicker at Jason’s thunderstruck expression.

 

"Somebody hit you over the head, Jason?" Rocky teased, trying hard not
to laugh outright.

 

Jason finally found his voice. "What .... what’s going on here?"

 

Instantly, the four quieted down. Their careers as Rangers had made
them sensitive to strange moods in their teammates, and Jason’s bewilderment
was all too obvious.

 

"What do you mean, what’s going on?" Adam asked warily. "You’ve just
been ogling Tammy more than usual, that’s all."

 

"T-tammy?" Jason gulped.

 

"Yeah; Zeo Ranger Five, remember?"

 

A helpless look crossed Jason’s face. His thoughts were whirling chaotically,
and all he could do was blurt out the first thing that crossed his mind.

 

"You ... you’re a girl!"

 

At that, the four couldn’t hold back their laughter. Even the girl who
could pass as Tommy’s female clone smiled through her blushes.

 

"Of course she is! You noticed that some time ago, remember?"
Rocky grinned, exchanging a knowing look with Adam.

 

"But ... but you can’t be! I mean, you’re a guy ...." Jason stammered
helplessly, totally confused. His eyes never left the warm brown orbs of
the person he thought was his best friend.

 

"WHAT????" Kat’s astonished shriek alerted quite a few people
to the group. Casting guilty glances around, she ducked her head. The exclamation,
however, had the effect of sobering everybody up. Adam looked at his friends.
Drawing a deep breath, he took charge of the situation.

 

"Listen, everybody, let’s get out of here, okay? There’s obviously something
weird goin, an, and I think we’d better discuss this someplace more private."

 

Not waiting for consent, he collected his gear and made his way over
to the door. Everybody got up and followed him without hesitation. While
Adam was not normally assertive, leaving the leadership role to the more
experienced Rangers, he could and would take charge if necessary. The six
teens quickly made their way out of the Youth Center and over to one of
the more secluded areas of the park, where they all settled down on the
grass. Jason’s eyes never left the tall girl who was walking silently between
the Pink and Yellow Rangers, casting occasional glances his way. He just
couldn’t believe his eyes. Everything around him -- hell, everybody
around him -- seemed perfectly normal. Then why, in Zordon’s
name, did Tommy look like a girl?