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It just all seemed to be too much of a coincidence.
There was no way that the three of them should have been selected as delegates to the World Peace Conference. Admittedly, it was an amazing opportunity, and with the arrival of Adam, Rocky, and Aisha, it wasn’t even like Trini had to worry about leaving her team in the lurch. But they were only supposed to be taking three people from the entire country. The fact that all three of them had come from Angel Grove didn’t make any sense.
It wasn’t entirely in Trini’s nature to be suspicious - in fact, she’d often been accused of being too trusting. But there were coincidences, like Rita just happening to attack the carnival they were going to, and there was this, with her, Zack, and Jason, now sitting in a room waiting for their first briefing about the World Peace Conference. A conference geared for teens, that was supposed to be worldwide, but that it seemed that nobody except for the people in Angel Grove had actually ever heard of.
Trini’s hand inched towards the pocket that she’d used to keep her morpher in. It felt strange not having it. They’d only given up the powers a few hours before, and that was beginning to feel like more and more of a mistake.
She glanced over at Jason and Zack, who were both still sitting in the seats around the table they’d been left at.
“What do you think?” she asked quietly.
Jason raised his wrist, where his communicator was still sitting. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Worst case scenario, we call the others.” He spoke in a hushed tone, and Trini and Zack both nodded, used to following his lead. And there was something comforting about knowing that no matter what, they had a way out, and that she had her friends, her team, at her back.
The door to the conference room they’d been led to for the supposed conference opened, and a man in a trench coat and an eye patch walked in. “I’m Deputy Director Nick Fury of SHIELD,” he said without preamble, even as the three former Power Rangers got to their feet and assumed a defensive stance. “And you three were Power Rangers.”
“SHIELD?” Zack demanded. “If this is one of Zedd’s tricks.”
“Formerly the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, but we’re currently calling ourselves the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.”
“And what does that have to do with us?” Trini asked.
“Did you three really think you were applying to a peace conference?” Fury challenged them. “Everything in your applications was about wanting to change the world. We’d been looking into you ever since Rita and her monsters first appeared. Officially, you and your replacements seem to have the situation well in hand, and we appreciate that the destruction appears to be contained to just your one town. That makes it easier to contain both the collateral damage and to ensure that the rest of the world isn’t too concerned about alien invasions.
“We know that you are the Power Rangers - ”
Trini began to speak up, but Fury held up his hand. “No. Don’t even try to deny it. We’ve been following you since you first were recruited by that alien in the desert. And you’ve been protecting the planet well for over a year. We could use people like you in our organization. You already know how to work in a team, you’re committed to the defense of the planet. You have experience dealing with things that most people aren’t equipped to deal with. And when we offered you the chance to work for peace on Earth, you jumped on it.”
“You recruited us under false pretenses,” Jason said, his eyes narrowing.
“We do what is necessary to make sure that we have the best people to defend the Earth,” Nick Fury sounded completely unapologetic. “And if you hadn’t been ready to move on to something bigger, you wouldn’t have responded at all.”
Part of Trini wanted to argue about that - but it had been true. She had loved being a Power Ranger. She had grown up telling her parents that she was going to change the world when she grew up. And while she fully believed that she was doing that by protecting everyone from Rita and Zedd, there was still more than can be doing.
“And what is your offer?” she asked.
“There are other threats out there, not just the monsters attacking Angel Grove,” Fury said. “You have the knowledge and the skills that would make you valuable members of your organization. You could save the world on an even grander scale than you’ve done as Rangers.”
Trini crossed her arms and glared at him. “If we just retired from being Power Rangers, what makes you think that we want to do this?”
“We don’t just want you for your skills there,” Fury continued. “We want you to help train the newest recruits, to prepare them for what will happen. You could help us work with the rest of the world to try and stop problems before they start. This won’t just be shooting your way through problems, although I can promise you that there will be some of that. You’ll get the chance to bring about change at every level, not just by stopping invading aliens.”
And there it was, the thing that could convince her to do that. She was pretty sure that Jason and Zack were going to agree, and a glance at them confirmed it. Neither of them had ever gotten over their childhood dream of being James Bond.
“So you want me to be what, an analyst?” she asked.
“Eventually,” Fury said. “You’ll be helping us find the problems before they become visible.”
Trini and Zack both nodded to Jason. “We’re in,” Jason said.
“Welcome to SHIELD,” Fury said. “Agent Coulson will escort you momentarily.”
He exited the room, and the three former Rangers shrugged. “I guess there’s no getting away from heroics,” Jason said finally. “We joined the world peace conference to change the world, and this could be a good a way as any.”
“Besides,” Zack said. “If it doesn’t work out, once a ranger…”
“Always a ranger,” Trini finished.