Mighty Morphin Power RangersLove Is SeriesVolume 2: One Moment In Time

Chapter 1

Each day I live I want to be

A day to give the best of me

I'm only one, but not alone

My finest day is yet unknown

I broke my heart for every gain

To taste the sweet, I faced the pain

I rise and fall, yet through it all

This much remains

It's undisputed that a Power Ranger is granted the abilities needed to protect the planet. Inside the armor, you're nearly invincible. Every single motor function is increased a dozen fold: you can jump higher, run faster, fight longer, etc. Also, you are given access to the bottomless well of knowledge that is associated with the particular coin, including a mastery over the armory and battle machines each ranger must use to defend Earth. That's the primary objective to the rangers, to defend their planet. And one mustn't forget the adrenaline rush that comes with morphing. It could certainly be considered addictive, leaving a feeling of weakness and dizziness once the Power is taken. But even that isn't enough to make a person really depend on being a ranger. However, that's only the beginning of what being the Green Ranger meant to Tommy. Tommy forged a completely new identity for himself, and that identity had its foundation in that power coin, and what it symbolized.

When Tommy came to Angel Grove, he was alone. Before he transferred schools, he was a loner. He never had many friends, because he didn't really involve himself in scholastic activities that typically rule a teenager's afternoons. Instead, he lived his life for martial arts. Of course he spent time with his family, as well as doing schoolwork, but his free time was monopolized by practice. This made it difficult to make real friends, because the only people he shared anything in common with were the other martial artists. There weren't many in his old school, but they existed. However, there was always an air of competition. Unfortunately, they couldn't learn the distinction between being opponents in a ring and friends outside of it. So he didn't have many friends. Then he came to Angel Grove, and everything changed.

After the martial arts tournament, Jason was really nice to Tommy, despite the fact that he was the defending champion, and Tommy the opponent. True, Jason didn't lose, but he didn't win either. The two accomplished athletes tied. In a way, Jason lost his crown of being the greatest martial artist in Angel Grove. But it didn't bother him. He seemed to like the challenge, and befriended Tommy almost instantly. And the same held for everyone else. Even after Tommy first fell under the spell of the Evil Green Ranger, and acted cruelly to them all, they welcomed him into the fold nonetheless. For the first time in Tommy's young life, he had a circle of friends that were really Friends. With a capital "F". The kind you can depend on, trust in, and count on. The kind that you'd trust your very life with, and even give your life for. The kind of friendship that is truly more precious than any material riches.

Once he had lost his powers, he suddenly felt alienated from them. He didn't feel he was part of that inner circle, because he no longer had the Power, which was a membership card. Although it is difficult to believe true friends would suddenly stop being that once Tommy lost his powers, it made perfect sense to him, and he locked himself into his own little world, once again turning to martial arts in his free time. But rather than practicing for fun or exercise, he was practicing for solace. It was one thing he was always able to do alone.

He had hit rock bottom emotionally. He felt all alone in the world, stripped of his powers and self esteem. He believed he had lost the friendships that made him strong, and even the respect of his trusted allies. He felt Rita really defeated him in the truest sense. She stripped him of his identity, and separated him from his friends, his hopes, his dreams, and his goals. Without that power coin, Tommy Oliver had nothing.