The harsh light of his computer screen reflecting in his face, Billy continued to try to gather information for his newest project. He was working on the power supply of zeo zord one and had noticed that it was a type of technology beyond his knowledge. So, after hitting the computers of the Power Chamber and finding nothing to help him, Zordon admitted that using the zeo crystal as a power source made for a complicated machine, he was trying the internet. And failing horribly.

    To his knowledge, Tobias LeOrte was the most authoritative figure on the idea of engines of this type and alternative power supplies, yet there was nothing in any of the sites about him on the internet that was of any help. Billy could only hope that the site of the university, El Universidad de LeOrte, would be of help. Many times professors would have published papers available on the internet, and Billy hoped that Dr. LeOrte would be the same.

    A glance at the clock on his computer showed that it was nearing 3:00 in the morning. As much as he wanted to go to bed and get some sleep, he knew that he needed to stay up and work on the zord. The rangers hadn't destroyed the monster today, which meant that it would definitely strike tomorrow. And it would strike hard. Turning on the radio he kept in the Power Chamber, and turning it up loud enough to keep him awake, he half listened to the music as he searched for information on crystalline power supplies.

    Finally, as the DJ was announcing a new song, he found his way to geniuses.net, the web-site for the super intelligent. To his surprise it turned out to be a chat room, filled with other people chatting about different things, from the Human Genome project to the latest theory of relativity. He 'watched' the conversations for a while, and was just about to leave when one particular chatter, calling himself geniusboy, broadcasted a message to everyone in the forum.

geniusboy: Did any of you see the Power Ranger fight today. The pink one's machine got toasted. I've always said that women shouldn't be put is situations such as that. I mean, she wrecked the thing.

    Billy's mouth gaped to see the way this self-described genius went on to rag about how the Power Rangers were just a crock that was put on CNN to scare the general public. Finally, when Billy had just about had enough, someone else stepped in.

AnnaBrie: So, according to the all powerful geniusboy, the Power Ranger don't exist, women serve only to do what they are told and in all, society as a whole should go back to the time of Neanderthals when they would hit each other over the head with stone clubs to mate. Real genius-like. Might I suggest that you get a life before you try to make fun of other's.

geniusboy: So you are saying that you believe all that crap.

AnnaBrie: I'm saying that you should think before you type. There are probably residents of the fair city of Angel Grove here, they probably don't like the way you make fun of their town.

geniusboy: Just because you attend El Universidad de LeOrte, you think that you are all that, don't you?

AnnaBrie: And you weren't accepted? Oh, my, I think that there has been a big mistake. Opps. Really, get a life. I may be attending a prestigious school, but that's not the reason I find you insufferable. I find you insufferable because you are a callous, judgmental, backwards, living in the middle ages, sexist, racist pig. And if I left anything out I'm sure that everyone else here will feel free to elaborate.

    For the next several minutes, the chat was filled with the 'here, here's' of the others in the room responding to AnnaBrie's statement. Billy, on the other hand, didn't take the time to reply to the statement, but was instead sending a request for a personal chat, with every intention of picking this person's brain about alternative power supplies.

LoneWolf: So, you attend El Universidad de LeOrte? What do you know about his project on alternative power supplies?

AnnaBrie: Not nearly enough. Nor does he. The project was scrapped for lack of results. He couldn't get any to work.

    Billy swore at the computer. He had a working alternate power supply, he just didn't understand how to work on it.

LoneWolf: What if I said that I had one that worked.

AnnaBrie: I'd first say that you were lying, then ask you what the hell you're doing with it if you aren't at the University.

LoneWolf: I never applied, yet. I just graduated. But I do have the power supply. The only problem is that, while I can get it to work, I'm having a hard time incorporating it into normal technology.

AnnaBrie: The big guy had the same problem. He came up with plans for an electro-crystalline interface to use, but never had the chance to test it. All I know about it is that it is the last thing anyone would think of. Those were his exact words. And that was all he told us.

LoneWolf: Just great. Hmm, I guess that it's back to the drawing board for me.

AnnaBrie: Good luck, and tell me how it goes.

    Weslianna sat back from her computer, wondering just who LoneWolf was. He had never visited the chat room before, at least not when she had been there. And he wasn't there just to talk himself up, like geniusboy. He was there for the reason that it had been formed in the first place, to broach ideas with others and get help. And if he has an alternative power supply that actually works, he has to be brilliant. Even LeOrte couldn't figure that one out. Finding the identity page, she read all she could about LoneWolf, before she logged out. Heading back to her project, she wondered about the genius that lived in Angel Grove, California.
 

    Billy headed back to the holding bay, trying to figure out just what it was that he would have never thought of. The radio station was set to broadcast on the intercom, so he could stay awake. Heading over to zeo zord two, he found the area that he had been working with on zord one. While it wasn't exactly the same, he figured it would be enough to help him. As he worked,  the beginning of a new song came across the intercom.
 

 Fire and rain is my favorite song. I
say a prayer at 11:11. I could watch
old movies all night long. I'm not
sure about hell but I know there's a
heaven. Sometimes I feel so alone it
scares me. I talk in my sleep but
there's no one to hear me.

Unknown. I don't want to
be unknown. The little things that
make me who I am. I need to share.
I need to know that someone cares.
That I drink coffee black. That I sing
when I drive. That I sleep with the
TV on. More than anything. I don't
want to be unknown

    He had been happy to see Jason return, after all he was his best friend. But things were different now. Just when he had been getting used to being ignored, Jason came back and poured salt on the wound. Maybe not in so many words, but he followed the lead of Tommy and the rest, ignoring him like everyone else, and he was his best friend! Billy was beginning to think that he could disappear and no on would really care. Still thinking, he started back in on the zord, an idea coming to mind.
 

I love September when leaves turn
gold. I get nervous in crowded
places. Someday I want to see San
Francisco. I'm bad with names, but
remember faces. I need more than a
kiss, more than a lover. I'm a world
that's just waiting to be discovered.

    The project was coming closer to a close. He had finally just decided to mimic the wiring in Tanya's zord, knowing that it wasn't much different than Kat's was originally. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would do until he had a chance to better understand the wiring of the new systems. It would at least hold up during the next day's battle, that much he was sure of. Hopefully he would be able to contact Professor LeOrte soon in order to find out what he knew about working with crystalline power sources.
 

Unknown. I don't want to
be unknown. The little things that
make me who I am. I need to share
I need to know that someone cares.
That I write down my dreams. That
I love when it rains. I burn candles
when I'm alone. More than
anything. I don't want to be unknown.
More than anything. No one wants
to be unknown.

    Tommy paced the floor of the Main Chamber in the Power Chamber. They were about to enter yet another battle against Mondo's monster and Billy wasn't anywhere to be found. He couldn't understand why the other boy was late, that was usually his department. But it was irritating him beyond belief. "Where is he? Why hasn't he answered his communicator?"

    "Sorry, I was in the shower, I thought that I should at least pull on some clothes before teleporting here." Billy answered sarcastically as he hurried to the nearest console, for once his lack of sleep causing him to be cranky. He had, in fact, slept in, if that's what one could call it. It had taken him forever to finally fall asleep, the relationship, or lack there of, he held with the other rangers plaguing him all night. His nightmares were of them saying he wasn't needed anymore, every moment he was awake was filled with them leaving the Power Chamber without him. When he had finally felt sleep overtake him he reset his alarm to get more rest. He hated doing it, but he had needed the sleep. And this is exactly why I don't like to over sleep. Tommy goes on one of his rampages, acting like I have nothing better to do than hang around the Power Chamber. With a frustrated sigh, he turned back to the others. "I suggest morphing and heading to battle, I was able to repair zeo zord one last night, so the zords will be ready when you need them."

    Tommy glared at him, angry that he had pointed out something that he had forgotten to do, before yelling the catch phrase of the rangers. As they all morphed and teleported out of there, Billy breathed a sigh of relief and prayed to whatever deity there was that the jury-rigged zeo zord one would work. The rangers quickly made short work of the monster, causing Clank and Orbus to make it grow. Billy held his breath as the rangers called on the zords, but zeo one joined the rest of them in battle. Still he flinched when they took a hit, knowing that the jury-rigged systems probably couldn't take much more.

    As the rangers teleported back to the Power Chamber after the battle, Billy held his breathe again, hoping against hope that for once he would get a 'thank you' or 'good job' from the others. Instead, all they did was congratulate themselves on destroying the monster. Frustrated, Billy teleported to his lab. At least there he could find some solace in his work.

    It used to be that the higher technology of the Power Chamber and rangers fascinate him. He had enjoyed digging in and learning more about the zords and computers that surrounded him there. Now it had become a burden. He spent all his time alone, even Alpha had begun to ignore him. He was a permanent fixture to the Power Chamber, always overlooked, and he hated that fact. Turning on his computer, he opened up what was the closest thing that anyone could come to an operators manual the technology that Zordon and Alpha possessed in the Power Chamber. Everything that he had ever learned, deduced or discovered working on the machines and computers had been entered into a computer program. Now, he was hoping that he could find what he needed to completely repair the zeo zord one.

    Several hours later he found what he needed, printing off the sheet of calculations and information, he was about to teleport to the Power Chamber. Instead, he looked back at his computer. The rangers just defeated Mondo's monster. He won't send one down for several more days. Certainly I wouldn't have to make the corrections until later today, at the earliest. I do deserve some free time, and I would like to talk to that AnnaBrie again. Sitting back down, he connected his computer to the internet. He was able to find the site again, but AnnaBrie wasn't there.

    Still, he had convinced himself that he wouldn't be needed in the Power Chamber for just a bit longer. Throwing the readout on the table, he headed into the house. He felt like had hadn't had a decent meal in days. And he probably hadn't. Making a sandwich that was filled with fixing's, he sat at the kitchen table and read the mail, enjoying his first free time in days. The thought of going to the park crossed his mind, but he pushed it away. While he may not be needed in the Power Chamber, there were still some projects of his own that needed attention. They had been put off for too long so he could work on the zords. Now it was time to work on them for a while.

    Grabbing a can of Jolt, he headed back to the lab, he had quickly set up the machines he needed to test the analyzer he had built. It would be useful not just for the rangers, but for anyone. A sort of home testing kit, in a way. It was meant mainly for food products, such as water, but would work just as well for soil and chemicals. It was nearly finished, but still in the testing phase. For the next several hours he immersed himself in the reps that he ran, testing to see how accurate the machine was.
 

    Weslianna looked over at her computer. She hadn't logged on yet today, being too busy reviewing the grant proposal that she had been given. More like tearing it apart, I really don't know where he comes up with his ideas, but even a kindergartner could tell him that it was incorrect. The writer was on the right train of thought, but his methods were wrong. Wondering just how to break it to the big guy, she finally yielded to her temptation and logged on to the computer. She would never admit it, but this LoneWolf intrigued her. Not to mention that she wanted to interrogate him on his thoughts about hyper-real travel and transfer. Granted he came from Angel Grove where seeing five people in spandex teleport was second nature, but there were some problems to the theory that she wanted to smooth out.

    She headed immediately to the chat room after checking her email. He wasn't there. Groaning to herself, she left her computer, to look over the research proposal one more time. It was covered with corrections and revisions, as well as explanations for why what he proposed wouldn't work. Slipping it into her desk, she sent an email to it's author saying that she was going to need to hang onto it for a while to check something over. That done, she headed to the lab to work on her project that was due to be finished in the next two months.
 

    Jason sat that the ranger's usual table in the juice bar, looking over his group of friends. The only one missing was Billy, yet that didn't surprise him. It had at first, when he returned to the rangers. Billy was never around, something that Tommy explained as his always working in the Power Chamber. It hadn't seemed right to Jason, but seeing that the others were used to it, he hadn't said anything. But now there was something wrong, he could feel it in his gut. Wondering briefly if he should broach the subject with Billy, he pushed the thought out of his mind as silliness. He shouldn't expect things to be exactly the same when he returned as when he left. That would be selfish and unreasonable. Things change.

    Having convinced himself that nothing was wrong, Jason headed down to work out, planning to try to work on his weight lifting. Stopped by an offer from Rocky to spar, he took him up. Glad to finally be somewhere that he could practice his martial arts without being ribbed by anyone else. At the peace conference he had been told more than once that as a delegate he shouldn't practice his martial arts, that it was too violent. It had taken all his restraint to not reply to that comment with an 'up yours.' That had been one of the reasons that he finally decided to leave the conference. He wasn't one to sit and talk about peace, he preferred action to arguing, and that was all the conference had become lately.
 

    Tanya was talking fashion with Kat when she noticed the frustrated look on Jason's face. He just shook his head and headed down to the mats, but she had still noticed it. Wondering again if it was about Billy and the way things had been going lately, her thoughts went back to the last attack. They had all gotten used to having Billy around and ready to brief them when they reached the Power Chamber. It had been weird to not find him there when they reached the place. But he had a good excuse, especially when, after checking with Alpha after the fight, she found out that he had stayed up all night working on the zords.

    She shook her head, not listening to what Kat was saying. Billy was a friend and she hated the fact that he was abusing himself, and that no one else was willing to tell him to take better care of himself. When she had first arrived no one else seemed to notice that he did so, so she hadn't really cared. But she had seen the hurt looks on his face when Jason and Tommy would go off and spar or something without inviting him. Granted he would have probably refused, it they should have invited. From what she had understood, Jason was Billy's closest friend, but now he acted only like they were acquaintances.

    Kat's concerned voice brought her out of her reverie. "Tanya, Tanya. Earth to Tanya."

    "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

    "I noticed, anything important."

    "No, not really."
 

    Kat furrowed her brow. It had definitely been important. She had been trying to get Tanya's attention for the last five minutes. She had definitely been off in la-la land, if there was such a place.

    Tanya had been doing that a lot lately. Kat sincerely hoped that her friend wasn't having second thoughts about dating Adam. It was so obvious that he would do anything for her, and she could have sworn that Tanya felt the same way. Pushing the thought from her mind, she started in again on what she had been telling Tanya, not noticing that her friend became lost in her thoughts once again.

    This time her eyes were on Adam, her boyfriend. He was talking with Tommy while watching Jason and Rocky spar. Mmmm, he looks so yummy standing there. I can't believe that he's so shy! Her thoughts turned to their first date. He was probably her best friend, not counting Kat, in Angel Grove, had been at her place many times with the others, yet still asked if it was okay to walk her to the front door. She had pretended not to notice that he had been holding his breath while waiting for her to answer, but it was too cute.

    She remained lost in her thoughts, not noticing how Ernie was watching her and the rest of the gang. I wonder where Billy is. I haven't seen him around here much. I hope they didn't have a fight, they need him too much and he needs them. I thought that things would get better when Jason returned, I guess that I was wrong. Maybe I should have a talk with him. He would understand better than Tommy or the others. Except maybe Tanya, she is fast becoming one of his closest friends on the team. He stifled a smile at that thought, turning to his next customer and revving up the blenders.
 

    Billy was about to call it quits for the night. It was nearing 12:00, and considering the amount of sleep he hadn't gotten the night before, he was going to bed early. He logged on to the internet one last time to check his email and see if AnnaBrie was at the chat room. To his surprise, she was and she was immediately trying to get a private chat.

AnnaBrie: Hey, how did the experiment go?

    At first Billy was confused, them remembered that she was referring to the crystalline power supply they had discussed earlier.

LoneWolf: Well, I kinda got it to work, but it's jury-rigged. I'm just waiting for it to go down, so I can run a diagnostic. I think I know what I need to do.

AnnaBrie: Good, I have a few questions for you of my own. I'm proofing a paper on hyper-real travel and transfer and wanted you to go over it with me on a few things.

    Billy's jaw dropped. There was no way that she could know that he was involved with the Power Rangers. Yet here she was, basically asking him about the process of teleportation.

LoneWolf: Well, I don't know much, shoot.

AnnaBrie: WellÖ