Of Intelligence...

    Justin sighed. Nothing happened, so he peeked out his door, raced back to his bed, and sighed again. Louder. This time, he got the desired result.
    "J, is everything okay?" Gina asked, poking her head in his room.
    Suppressing the urge to smile, Justin replied, "Everything's wrong."
    "J, look outside. It's too gorgeous a day to be depressed."
    "That's my problem. It's so nice outside, and I'm stuck in here, with nothing to do." He kicked Billy's old manuals under the bed before Gina could see them. 
    "Hmm, that could be a problem." Gina's onyx eyes glittered. "Want me to round up a group to go to the beach?"
    Justin gave Gina his best puppy-dog look. "Would you, please?"
    Gina ruffled his hair. "You've been practicing. Yeah, I think Tim can handle things around here. You go get a group together and I'll warn Tim of the imminent stampede."
    "Yahoo!" Justin screamed, racing out of the room.
    "That kid," Gina smiled.

    Once he hit the sand, Justin immediately spotted his friends. "Gina, I'm gonna go hang out with Tommy and them, okay?" he called out, not waiting for an answer. Gina just shrugged her shoulders as Justin grabbed his towel and took off.
    "Hey, Justin!" Tanya exclaimed as the kid ran up to them. "You got out!"
    "Yeah, I think Gina was just as anxious to get out here as I was," Justin said, thumbing over his shoulder at Gina who was spreading out blankets and applying purple sunblock to five kids. "She's always looking for an excuse to get the kids out of the shelter so Tim'll have time to work on the roof."
    "How are the repairs going, anyways?" Tommy asked.
    "Oh, they're going fine. Tim's being a lot more careful now. Last time he was up there, he nearly fell off. It's taking a while, though, what with waiting for the state funding to come through. I can't thank you guys enough for winning the competition, though. That money really helped out."
    "We're glad to be of service," Jason grinned at Justin. "So, when are you going to start entering competitions?"
    Justin looked at his feet. "Well, it'll be a while. I'm still sore from all that morphing. It's getting better, though, now that it's a dual morph."
    "Glad to hear it's helping!" Katarina called from her place at the grill. She and Rocky were in charge of all food.
    "Just, you interested in lunch?" Rocky called out. "My mom and I discovered warehouse shopping, so I brought enough potato salad for an army, not to mention chips, hot dogs, hamburgers, polish sausage, hot bologna, coleslaw, sauerkraut, dried apples, and a huge triple-layer chocolate fudge cake."
    "You have to help us," Adam whispered. "Rocky expects us to finish all of the food. I think he's having a flashback to one of his family reunions!"
    "I haven't eaten yet. I don't think Gina will mind." Justin took the offered plate and began loading up on potato salad and hot dogs. "Hey, where's Kat?" he asked between bites.
    "Oh, she and David are surfing downshore a little. They wanted to get away from the hubbub of the waterskiing competition," Tommy told the boy.
    "Why didn't Kat enter? She likes to waterski, doesn't she?"
    "I think she didn't enter because she didn't want to be part of the swimsuit competition," Jason grinned.
    Justin dropped his hot dog. "I thought they only had those in beauty pageants!"
    "Well, this one isn't technically part of the competition, but look at the reigning champion." Jason gestured to a tall blond in a rather minimal hot pink and electric blue bikini which did nothing to hide her rather buxom figure. "That's Bunny Marimba, winner of the Southern California Waterskiing Tournament for the past three years."
    "Wow," Justin breathed. Adam, Tommy, Jason and Tanya exchanged a significant glance, noticing the stars in Justin's eyes.
    "First crush!" Tanya whispered in Adam's ear.
    "Hey, if you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go watch the skiing competition!" Justin exclaimed, jumping up and racing down to the shorefront.
    "You really think he has a crush on her?" Adam asked Tanya. "She's obviously much older than him."
    "Well, my first crush was on my seventh grade teacher," Tommy smiled, remembering.
    "Tommy Oliver? Is that you?" a female voice exclaimed. Tommy looked up and saw a short redhead in a black tank suit and day-glo purple cutoffs staring at him.
    "Do I know you?" he asked warily.
    "You don't remember me? Same seventh-grade homeroom, you sat near the front, I sat in the back left-hand corner, usually attached to Snake Madison?"
    "Jamie Zedden?" Tommy asked incredulously. Jumping to his feet, he gave the petite young woman an enthusiastic hug. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?"
    "It's a public beach."
    "No, I mean in Angel Grove!"
    "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Well, Mom decided that she'd had enough of L.A., so she wanted to move somewhere..." Jamie coughed, "...safer. I tried to tell her that we were safer in L.A, but she just wouldn't listen!"
    Tommy grinned. "Well, except for the monsters, Angel Grove's pretty safe. And besides, the monsters are only interested in people who might be Power Rangers!"
    Jamie laughed. "No fear of that here! I don't think they'd let a suspected arsonist-slash-cat burglar be a Power Ranger."
    Tommy heard a loud "A-hem!" behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jason standing there, impatiently, looking from Tommy to Jamie. He smiled.
    "James, this is one of my best friends, Jason Scott. Jason, this is an old friend of mine from L.A., Jamie Zedden." As they shook hands, Tommy saw them giving each other the once-over, approval showing on both faces. "Jamie, care to join us for lunch? Rocky over there brought enough food for two armies--or half his immediate family."
    "Sure. I didn't think to bring a lunch with me, but then, I didn't think I'd run into an old acquaintance, either!"
    Tommy and Jason introduced Jamie to the group. "This is Tanya Sloan, and her boyfriend Adam Park, Over by the grill is Rocky DeSantos and his girlfriend Katarina Petronova, and coming up the beach is my girlfriend and my brother," Tommy said.
    Katherine and David joined the group. "Mmm, the sausage smells wonderful," Katherine told Rocky. "We could smell it all up the beach." Katherine gave Tommy a hug as Jamie watched.
    "So this is Kimberly? She doesn't seem that short to me, Tommy," Jamie said.
    Coughing nervously, Tommy explained. "It's been a while since I last wrote, hasn't it? This isn't Kim, Jamie. This is Kat. Kim went to Florida to train for the Pan-Global Games, and later sent me a break-up letter."
    "Oh, sorry. Hi, I'm Jamie Zedden. I knew Tommy before he moved to Angel Grove." Jamie shook Katherine's hand, obviously not impressed by the tall blonde.
    "And this is my recently discovered blood brother, David Trueheart," Tommy continued. Jamie was impressed by this bit of knowledge.
    "Geez, too bad you didn't know about him in seventh grade. You would have had someone to pawn all those girls off on." Jamie smiled at David. "Your brother's one heck of a guy. In fact, I think he was one of the few honest people at that high school."
    David smiled back at Jamie. "I know. We haven't known each other long, but twins have a way of knowing some things."
    Jason seemed anxious to get Jamie talking about herself. "So, how'd you meet Tommy?" he asked.
    "It's a fun story, actually. I tried to lift his wallet, and he threw me the length of the hallway before realizing I was so small."
    "You always were a shrimp," Tommy grinned at her. She good naturedly stuck her tongue out at him.
    "Anyways, after that, he and Snake got acquainted--well, he got to meet Snake's fist. They had one knock-out, drag-down fight and were great friends after that."
    "Is Snake your boyfriend?" Katherine asked, grasping Tommy's arm possessively. Tommy unobtrusively removed Kat's hand.
    "Um, well, he was, but when I had to move, we decided that we're much better as a friendship than a romance. So, we split up." Jamie fingered a ring she wore on her right index finger that looked like a coiled serpent. "I think he's interested in a new girl at the school, Carla Dante. She'll be good for him." She looked at Tommy sideways. "So, is it true that you had a crush on Mrs. Axelrodd?"
    Tommy shuddered. "Not that seventh-grade teacher! My English teacher, Mrs. Collins." A far-away smile graced his face as he remembered. "I used to think she was an angel."
    Jamie snorted. "Well, her son Mike is anything but. He just entered ninth grade and he's already vying with Mouse for most annoying student. Not to mention the fact that he's an animal nut. I happened to find his pet wolf spider once."
    "How many ceiling tiles did they have to replace?" Tommy was familiar with Jamie's acute arachnophobia.
    "Only three this time."
    Jason was dying to find out more about Jamie, but he kept his curiosity in check. He just sat back and listened as Jamie filled Tommy in on all the changes that had taken place in the past four years.
    Justin, meanwhile, was standing by the dock, watching the contestants for the waterskiing competition. Bunny Marimba was surrounded by a group of agents, stylists, and groupies. "At this rate, I'll never get to meet her!" he groaned.
    From inside her circle of people, Bunny noticed the boy standing off to the side with a wistful expression. A wicked smile graced her face as she raised her sunglasses. She carefully twisted out of the group of people to approach Justin.
    "Excuse me, but were you looking for me?" Bunny asked, leaning down to talk to Justin.
    Justin looked up into Bunny's large blue eyes. "I...I...I...yeah," he finally breathed, unable to believe that Bunny had actually spoken to him. "I wanted to...to...wish you luck in the competition!"
    "Well, thanks! I never try to disappoint a fan," she replied. "Take care." She re-entered the crush of her entourage.
    "Wow," Justin breathed. "The guys are never gonna believe this!" He raced back to the group.

    "Well, it was good to see you again, Jamie!" Tommy exclaimed as the group was packing up to leave. A still-exuberant Justin had left with Gina and the rest of the kids half an hour ago.
    "It was good to see you, too. It was nice meeting all of you." Jamie's gaze lingered on Jason. She walked up to him. "Do you think you could give me a ride home? It'd save my mother a trip out here to pick me up."
    Jason grinned. "I'd love to." He lightly slung his arm over Jamie's shoulders to steer her to his truck.

    Justin laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. One of Billy's specs lay open beside him. It was the one Justin read over the most, detailing the holographic computer interface system. I wonder if this actually exists, he thought. I mean, everyone says Billy was a genius. These specs would prove it. I mean, some of this stuff is so complex, I don't know if I could ever reproduce it. He sighed, rolling over and picking up the spec sheet again. I wish I could have met Billy. He could have been like a mentor. Or a friend.
    Studying the sheets, Justin found a small paragraph he had overlooked before. It read:
    To activate holographic computer interface system, enter code F47E-Gamma into control panel J-39.
    "No way," he breathed. "I've gotta check this out!" He activated his communicator and transported into the Power Chamber.
    Due to the late hour, Alpha 5 was in a rest mode. Zordon was inactive as well. Justin searched the control panels, looking for panel J-39. Finding it, he crossed his fingers and muttered "Come on, come on!" while entering the code.
    In a corner of the Power Chamber, an electric shimmer appeared, followed by a faint sound of static. The shimmer grew stronger, gaining a form. The static grew dimmer and finally, Justin was amazed to see himself staring at a holographic simulacrum of Billy Cranston, complete with glasses.
    The hologram spoke. "You have activated the holographic computer access system, dubbed the Built-In Holographic Lifeform, or BIHL. What information do you desire?"
    "Whoa," Justin breathed. The activation of BIHL "woke up" Zordon and Alpha, who simply stared at the hologram of their old friend, speechless.
    "What information do you desire?" the simulacrum inquired again.
    "Uh, uh, uh," Justin stuttered. "None, right now."
    "Then why have I been activated?"
    "Um, I found the specs, and I was curious," Justin explained, a little embarrassed.
    "I have an inquiry," Zordon intoned. "What is your purpose?"
    BIHL tilted its head to the left. "I was programmed by William James Cranston before his departure for Aquitar, when he first noticed the signs of his aging. I hold all his knowledge of the Power Rangers. I am also an interface for the Power Chamber computer system, faster and more efficient than manual searching of the data banks." The hologram's head returned to the normal position. "I am programmed to evolve as I am activated, adapting myself to new teams of Rangers and new information. I am also programmed to act as a 'counselor' for Power Team members who have a need to talk to someone about the great responsibilities that accompany being a Power Ranger."
    "Wow," Justin breathed. "This is too cool."
    "I can adjust the heat level of the Power Chamber to a more comfortable temperature," BIHL offered.
    "Oh, no, not that type of cool! Cool as in neat, groovy, awesome, radical...you know," Justin explained.
    "Ah. I shall store this information."

    Divatox paced the control room of the sub, desperately trying to think of a new plan to defeat the Power Rangers. "What haven't I tried?" she moaned aloud. "I've called in favors from old boyfriends, I've used mercenaries, I've even tried to get help from Rita! These are just teenagers! Why can't I beat them?"
    Just then, Elgar ran in. "Uh, Auntie Dee, you've got a visitor," he stammered.
    "Who is it?" Divatox demanded. The airlock opened, revealing a tall, blond woman in electric blue stiletto heels, a hot pink miniskirt, and a pink and blue bikini top.
    "Di-va!" the woman exclaimed, stepping into the control room.
    "Bunny!" Divatox exclaimed, her face brightening. The two rushed together for a hug and air kisses.
    "Who's that?" Rygog asked Elgar.
    "That's Auntie Dee's oldest friend, Bunny Marimba. They went to finishing school together."
    "Divatox went to finishing school?" Porto asked.
    "Yeah, well, she never finished."
    "Bunny, darling, what brings you to Earth?" Divatox was asking.
    "What else? A man, Diva, the likes of which you have never seen before."
    "He lives on Earth?"
    "Unfortunately, no. I was exiled to Earth three years ago because of him. Follow a man around and take a few pictures of him and they immediately think you're stalking him." Bunny sighed. "They confiscated the pictures, too."
    "Poor dear."
    "So, Diva, what brings you to this cesspool of a planet?"
    "Another man. Remember Maligore?"
    "You married him and didn't invite me? Diva, how could you!"  Bunny was indignant.
    "Now, Bunny, you know I'd never do that. The wedding never happened. Those wretched Power Rangers threw Maligore into the ocean," Divatox pouted.
    "Oh, Diva, I'm so sorry. But look on the bright side: you're single now! And I know of these twin brothers in the Beltan system, royals, in fact, who are absolutely gorgeous and looking for brides."
    "Really?" Divatox's face brightened. "Bunny, you wouldn't be lying to me about men, would you?"
    "Diva, honey, when it comes to men, I'm dead serious." Bunny sat lightly on the edge of a console. "Now, tell me all about these Power Rangers and how they ruined your wedding." Divatox proceeded to do so, in great detail. Bunny just nodded, making appropriate sympathetic sounds in the right places.
    "Oh, poor, poor dear! How terribly wretched!" Bunny looked thoughtful. "You know, Diva, I think I might have met one of those Power Rangers today." She described Justin to Divatox.
    "Yes, that's one of them. That's the little spore of a Ranger." Divatox made a sour face as she hit the nearest console. "That one's the most annoying of them all."
    Bunny just smiled, a cold, calculating smile. "Leave the little spore to me," she purred. "I think I can handle him..."

    "So you've met another one," Christina Collins grinned at her best friend Jamie. "And here I thought you were still pining for Snake!"
    Jamie threw a pillow at Christina. "Hey, just because I wasn't that happy with the breakup doesn't mean I can't be interested in someone new! Besides, he's Tommy Oliver's best friend."
    "The man must be a saint." Christina had never met Tommy, but had heard enough stories about him from Jamie and her mother to get a pretty accurate view of his personality.
    Jamie grinned wolfishly. "Well, not quite."
    "Jamie! You only met him a week ago!" Christina looked at Jamie in mock horror.
    "Ecchi!" Jamie threw another pillow at Christina who caught it, laughing. "As if! We've only been on a few dates. Nothing happened except some kissing." A spacey smile graced Jamie's face as she remembered. "But what a kisser! Yowsers!"
    Christina threw the pillow back at Jamie. "Stop that! I'm gonna vomit if you keep that up!"
    "Oh, you're just jealous!" Jamie teased. This was one of her favorite activities, visiting Christina at the fine arts academy and just catching up on everything.
    "Just because I have really high standards..." Christina started.
    "Yeah, like he has to be exactly like your dad!" Jamie teased. "Really, Chris, do you really think there are two Karl Collinses running around?"
    "You never know," Christina replied seriously. "Besides, he doesn't have to be exactly like Dad. I mean, I like blond guys, too." A dreamy look appeared on her face. "My dream guy would have dark blonde or light brown hair, light eyes, and he'd have to be smart, sensitive, funny, and kind."
    "Just like your dad."
    "Except for the hair color." Christina's father had jet-black hair which was well on its way to turning silver. "Okay, so I want someone like Dad. Is that so wrong? My dad's a great guy."
    Jamie leaned back on her pillows. "Yeah, your dad's the greatest. I wish I knew mine more." Jamie's father had disappeared when she was four.
    "James, things could be worse."
    "Oh? How?"
    "Your mom could've remarried some jerk."
    "I'm glad she hasn't remarried. However, Pete's starting to get on my nerves." Pete was Lesley Zedden's newest boyfriend.
    "What's wrong with Pete?"
    "He's the human equivalent of a gerbil." Christina dissolved into laughter picturing this.
    "So he lives on lettuce and likes to run in a giant wheel?" she asked.
    Seeing this image, Jamie started to giggle too. "Well, so maybe he's not that bad."
    "Perk up, Jame. Things are gonna get better. I mean, you live in a neat town, you've got a killer boyfriend, and your mom's one of the greatest in the world."
    "Yeah, I guess you're right. Things are gonna get better."

    Justin was in the Power Chamber talking to BIHL. In the specs, Justin had found out how to turn on the personality and slang subroutines and was now having a great time learning from the master.
    "Really?" Justin asked as BIHL described the Power Chamber's hidden functions. "There are really living quarters in the Power Chamber?"
    "Affirmative, and each TurboZord was equipped with a dimensional fold allowing living quarters to be placed inside for long away missions," BIHL replied.
    "How come we've never found them?"
    "You've never looked for them," BIHL replied, smiling. "Also, there hasn't been a need for them. Divatox has kept her attacks based in Angel Grove. The fold is such that if there is a need for it, it's revealed."
    "Wicked cool," Justin breathed.
    The lesson was interrupted by the sirens blaring. Alpha 5 activated the communicator alarms, bringing the Rangers to the Power Chamber. One by one, they all stared at BIHL.
    "Billy?" Tommy asked, hesitant.
    "Rangers, this is BIHL, a holographic assistant created by Billy before he left," Zordon told the team. "Even I was unaware of its existence. Justin found it in an old spec of Billy's."
    "Way to go, Justin," Adam said, ruffling Justin's hair.
    "So what's up, Zordon? Why the alarm?" Tanya asked.
    BIHL activated the viewing globe. On the screen, they saw a blonde woman ordering a group of women in skintight leotards to destroy the city.
    "What is that?" Katherine asked.
    "I am afraid that this is one of Divatox's friends and those are her legions of followers," Zordon replied. "The woman is..."
    "Bunny Marimba," Justin finished sadly. "I never thought anyone so beautiful could be so bad."
    "What are her troops called?" Tommy asked.
    Zordon looked at Alpha. Alpha looked at Zordon. Together, in a flat, deadpan monotone, they replied, "The Ski Bunnies."
    The Rangers looked at each other. Tommy, keeping his mirth under control, said, "Guys, it's morphin time. Shift into Turbo!"

    They landed on a strip of the harborfront. Bunny Marimba and her Ski Bunnies faced the Rangers. "So, you've arrived!" Bunny purred. She looked at the Blue Ranger. "My you've certainly....grown since I last saw you," she commented, looking him up and down.
    Under his helmet, Justin blushed, deeply. Katarina sensed this and took over. "Be careful, Bunny! You won't be able to control his mind as long as I'm here!" she called out, the suit shifting to the female persona.
    To Katarina's chagrin, this didn't faze Bunny at all. "There's no problem there, Missy. I don't mind playing both sides of the field!" She gestured to the Ski Bunnies. "Attack!"
    The Rangers found themselves fighting legions of scantily-clad women. This didn't bother Tanya, Kat, or Katarina, but Adam and Tommy were having difficulties, as the women had no qualms about aiming for sensitive parts of the male body. Justin, still recovering from the shock of finding out about Bunny, was letting Katarina do most of the fighting.
    One of the Ski Bunnies uncoiled a whip. She wrapped it around the Katarina-controlled Blue Ranger, sending her hurtling to the ground. Justin found himself in control of the body, Katarina unconscious.
    "So, Blue, you've come back," Bunny said, snaking an arm around him. "I know how this morph of yours works. I wonder what you look like under that spandex-suit when you have this body."
    Justin gulped. His arms were pinned to his sides, so he couldn't reach his AutoBlaster. "Help!" he cried weakly.
    Bunny giggled. "You won't be getting any help. In fact, just to make sure of that..." She snapped her fingers and the two of them were enclosed in a hot pink bubble.
    "Justin!" Tanya called out, gaining the others' attention. "She's got Justin and Katya!"
    "Sayonara, suckers!" Bunny called out, the bubble floating out of range of their weapons. "Your Blue Rangers are mine now!"
    "Damn!" Tommy swore. "Now what?"