Warning: This story deals with a very controversial topic, namely, discrimination and affirmative action. To stress the point, the infamous 'n' word is also included in this story. If you have a short temper and a strong view on this topic, I suggest you not read this story.

The mailman stopped at her mailbox. Tanya rushed out the door to greet him. "Hey, Tanya!" the mailman said politely. "Looks like I've got an important message for you. Have a nice day!"

Tanya stared at the envelope. It was from Adrian University. Tanya rushed back inside and ripped open the envelope. Inside was an acceptance letter.

"Yes!" Tanya cheered. "I got accepted!"

Tanya ran up the stairs into the room she and Kat shared. "Kat, look, I got accepted!"

Kat turned from the book she was reading. "Accepted? Into what?"

Tanya jumped up and down with excitement. "Accepted into Adrian! Only the most exclusive performing arts school in the country! I've only been ranting about it for five weeks now!"

"That's great! Now maybe there will be some quiet around here."

Tanya grinned. "Hey!" She playfully threw a pillow at her roommate.

"So, Tanya, when are you going to visit the school?"

"In a few days, on Monday. Luckily, it's only about an hour from here. I already talked to Zordon, and he approves of me going so far away from Angel Grove."

"That's good. I hope Divatox doesn't try to ruin this."

It had been almost five days since she had learned about it, but Tanya still could not believe that she had been accepted. She walked up and down the campus. It was huge, and dedicated only to music and drama.

"Hey nigger!" Rocks started flying towards Tanya. "Get outta this school!"

Tanya turned. Two white men, each about 21 years old, were bent down on the street picking up more rocks. Tanya said, "Excuse me, sirs?"

"You heard me, you rotten nigger! Get out!"

Tanya replied, "I'm going to be going to this school in the fall, so I think I have a right to be here."

One of the white men stood up and said, "You think you're so high and mighty, getting into a school like this. Let me tell you something, you don't belong here."

Tanya's anger began rising. "Of course I do. I got accepted. I have the letter right here."

The other man said, "Oh, you think you do, but you don't. It's because of shit like affirmative action that got you in here. Oh, don't act so shocked. You wouldn't have gotten in without it."

Tanya came close to yelling. "I'll have you know the director said I was very talented!"

"Oh did he? He said the same to Joe here. And you know what? He got rejected! Rejected so scum like you could get in!"

Tanya's face turned from one of anger to one of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"That's it! You come in here, to this great school, you tarnish it with your nigger bodies, and now you play the fool?! That's enough! Get out!" The two men started throwing rocks again. They came so fast and so hard that Tanya had no choice but to run away.

"Kat, is affirmative action really as bad as they say?"

Kat looked up. Tanya was fidgeting nervously. "What did you ask, Tanya?"

"I was wondering how bad affirmative action is."

Kat stood up. "Oh no. Did you get picked on at Adrian?" Tanya nodded. "Oh, Tanya, don't let them get to you."

"But Kat, they said I wouldn't really have gotten in without it! Do you know how important it is to me that they accept me for my talent?"

"Don't worry about it, Tanya. I'm sure whoever they were just said it to annoy you. You're a very talented person. I'm sure you got in okay."

Tanya struggled to hold back her tears. "But what if they're right? What if I really am bad?"

Kat stayed silent. If she had spoken, she was sure Tanya would have broken down, no matter what she said.

Whenever Tanya got depressed, she always walked down the same street. It was a busy street, with lots of people always walking around from place to place. Long ago, someone had torn down all the street signs, so Tanya didn't even know what the street was called. Ahead, she saw the newspaper stand. She was always happier when she saw it, because she had spent a lot of her first days in Angel Grove there, reading magazines, finding out what was happening in the world.

"Hello, Mr. Koon!" Tanya waved happily to the newspaper man.

Mr. Koon did not reply. Indeed, he seemed to spend a lot of effort not to look at Tanya.

Tanya picked out her favorite magazine. She brought it to the front and said, "I'll take this one Mr. Koon, please."

Immediately, a man wrestled in front of her and said, "I'm gonna buy these." He had dropped the pack of magazines on top of hers.

Mr. Koon said, "Okay." Tanya sighed. She expected her friend to tell this rude man not to cut in line. Instead, he picked up the man's magazines and rung them up.

Tanya gently tapped Mr. Koon on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Koon, but I believe I was here first." Mr. Koon quickly ducked under the table and brought out a bag for his customer.

After he had finished, Tanya said, "Mr. Koon, I think that man cut in line, sir."

A woman pushed Tanya out of the way and placed her newspaper on top of her magazine again. "Hurry up, too! I'm in a rush!" Mr. Koon nodded and placed the newspaper in a bag as well.

Tanya was now getting impatient. "Mr. Koon, I was here first. Didn't you see me?"

The woman grabbed the bag and left, pushing Tanya out of the way as she did so. Tanya got up and said, "Mr. Koon, I'd like to buy this magazine now."

Mr. Koon looked at his watch. Without even bothering to lift his head, he said, "Well, I'd better be off now. It's time for lunch." He put up a sign on his stand that read, "Out For Lunch".

Tanya ran up. "Mr. Koon, don't you see me?" As she slowed down, she thought she saw him speed up.

Oh no, she thought. She tried to keep her thoughts away from the notion she just created, but it was no use. Did he discriminate against me?

Tanya walked back down to Angel Grove High. Hopefully she could find her friends. She knew them, and they would try their hardest to cheer her up.

As she walked down the hall, she started noticing many people going out of their way to avoid her. Am I imagining it, or were these people doing this before? In her contemplation, she did not notice a nearby wall. Her momentum sprung her backwards, landing on the ground below. To her surprise, not even one person tried to give her a hand.

Then, she heard a voice from the back. Turning around, she saw a young black man coming her way.

"Hey, looks like you had a pretty tough fall there."

"Yeah, I did. Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Oh, I'm T.J. Carter. I just transferred here. What's your name?"

"I'm Tanya Sloan. T.J., huh? What's that stand for?"

"Lemme tell you something . . . I've never told anybody what they stand for. It's very embarassing."

"Well, tell me, and I'll tell you how embarassing it is."

"No way! I've only known you for 10 seconds!" Though the remark seemed offensive, T.J.'s smile and happy demeanor told Tanya that T.J. was almost incapable of insulting someone.

T.J. noticed her slight frown. "What's wrong, Tanya? It didn't hurt that bad, did it?" In turn, Tanya related everything that had happened to her, starting with the incident at Adrian. T.J. nodded. "Ah. I know Adrian. That's a rough school." T.J. started walking, and Tanya kept up pace beside him. "They said you only got in because of affirmative action?"

"Yeah."

"That's a shame. That's really going to tarnish your conscience."

"Don't tell me. It already has." Tanya thought for a moment. "You're an African-American, too. What do you think of it?"

"What, affirmative action? You don't want to hear me rant about it."

"Yes, I do!" Tanya was almost begging now. "I don't know much about it."

T.J. sighed. "Fine. You want to know what it is? It's a legalized way to discriminate. That's all it is. And it benefits nobody. Anybody who's not black or Hispanic get discriminated against. Those that are accepted because of their abilities are tainted. You already know that. And those that got in because of affirmative action are too stupid to go to that college." Tanya was surprised at T.J.'s speech. It betrayed everything Tanya had thought of T.J. up to that moment.

"Wow," she finally got out.

T.J. smiled again. It seemed nothing could get him down for long. "Oh, hey, look at the time. I gotta get to cl-" T.J. stopped. "You know, I think you're looking a little pale. You should probably go see a doctor or something." T.J. looked worried as he left.

Tanya looked at her hands. There's nothing wrong with me! What's he talking about?

"Look, Rocky, just look at his face. Look at it! It's got that evil, sinister grin on it. Look at how the sign describes it. It's a bad decision, Rocky. Don't do it."

"Don't listen to Tommy, man. Try it! It'll be really cool."

"I dunno, you guys. I mean, it's a lot of risk, but if I don't try it, it might be the biggest mistake of my life!"

"Trust me, Rocko. Your life will be much better if you don't do it."

"You'll never know until you try!"

Tanya walked into the Youth Center to see Tommy and Adam talking to Rocky. Both Tommy and Adam had determined looks on their faces, while Rocky's face showed pure confusion.

"Hey guys! What are you talking about?"

Rocky spun. He fidgeted nervously. "Uh . . . none of your business."

"Why? What are you doing?"

Tommy interrupted. "It's a very delicate point in Rocky's life. He's trying to decide whether or not to try it."

"Try what?"

Adam spoke up. "You know, that . . . stuff, that, you know, gets you going . . ." Adam gestured wildly.

Tanya gasped. "You mean you're trying-"

Tommy nodded. "Yup. He wants to do it. Personally, I don't think he should. I've seen a lot of lives destroyed by it."

At that point, Ernie came up to the counter. "Well, Rocky, are you going for it?"

Rocky bit his lip. "Ummmmm . . . yes, I'll take some."

Tommy scrambled to Rocky's side again. "No man! Don't do it!" But it was too late.

"Here you go, Rocky. One Super Deluxe Sugar Surprise."

"All right! Look at the size of that thing!" Rocky took in the sight of the enormous glass before him. "It'll take hours to down that sucker!"

"Rocky, don't! I swear, if you do, you're going to be hyper for days!"

"Do it, Rocko!"

Tanya groaned. She had witnessed firsthand what Adam had been like after trying some of Ernie's Super Deluxe Sugar Surprise. King Mondo's biggest mistake had been sending down a monster before Adam's sugar rush was done. Super Zeo Zord IV was in the repair bay for days, trying to get all the dents out. Adam had loved it.

Though she didn't see Tommy's first sip of it, rumor was Tommy was bouncing around so much he hit his head on the wall. He was out for two days. At the end, the doctors were considering pumping the rest of the sugar out of Tommy's system. So naturally Tommy wouldn't encourage someone as hyper as Rocky to try it.

Rocky grinned as he held the huge glass in his hands. "All right! Come to papa!" He opened his mouth and started tilting the glass. Rocky's eyes shifted as he looked at each of his friends to see their reaction. Adam was cheering, Tommy was fidgeting, and Tanya was . . .

Rocky was so shocked by what he saw that he dropped the glass. It shattered on impact.

Adam exclaimed, "Rocky! Why'd you do that?"

"L-Look at Tanya, guys!"

Adam turned first. Barely noticable at first, as he concentrated he saw his girlfriend fading in and out. "Tanya! What's happenning?"

"I don't know. What?"

"You--You're fading!"

Tommy stepped in. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, "Guys, let's go to the Power Chamber. Maybe Zordon knows the answer."

When the rangers teleported in, they noticed that Tanya did not follow them. Zordon, previously in a state of meditation, appeared before the rangers. "Rangers. What is the problem?"

Adam spoke up. He said, "It's Tanya. She's fading in and out."

"Where is she, Adam?"

"I - I don't know. She should have teleported in." At those words, a faint yellow light flashed, and an almost transparent Tanya appeared.

Zordon saw the problem immediately. "She is phasing through time. Alpha, run a scan on her."

"Wait a minute. How did you figure that out so fast?"

"From this time warp, I can see Tanya's shift. Somehow, Divatox must have planted an autonomous chronometric anchored phase inducer on her. Alpha, scan Tanya for anchors."

Nobody spoke. Finally, Rocky said, "What does that mean?"

Zordon's head seemed to motion towards Tanya. "Divatox is forcing Tanya's body into the past. However, a normal chronometric phase inducer must be controlled by someone, and it tends to shift a person erratically, without any set guidelines. I can see that the shift is specifically phasing Tanya into the past, at a steady pace. To do that, the phase inducer must be autonomous. Nobody can control it that precisely. The fact that she is only going into the past, and not jumping into the future as well is odd. I suspect that Divatox has an anchor on Tanya. The anchor will relay to the phase inducer where the present is, and it will adjust accordingly."

"Say that again?"

Zordon sighed. It was difficult to discuss matters of time with anybody, because they did not possess the knowledge of time that he did. "Rocky, imagine that there is a line that represents time. We are moving on that line at a constant rate. The phase inducer on Tanya is pushing her slightly back through time. Her body is slightly behind us on the line. But a normal phase inducer will cause Tanya to jump sporadically around the line. But she is phasing at a steady pace. So she must have an anchor. This anchor is with us on the line, but it relays where we are on the line to the phase inducer, which is with Tanya slightly in the past. Thus, the phase inducer knows where the present is, and pushes Tanya in the opposite direction. Without an anchor, the phase inducer would not know where to push Tanya."

Tommy stepped up. "But if the anchor is with us, why don't we see it?"

"Divatox would not keep the anchor in plain sight. She would obviously hide it with a cloaking device. And so Alpha is scanning for cloaked objects giving out a temporal pulse."

After a brief pause, Tanya spoke up. "Zordon, I can hear what you're saying. How can I do that if you're in the past?"

"It's quite simple. In the past, you will still be subjected to future events. It will just happen a little later. We are fortunate that Divatox did not choose to push you into the future. If that were so, we would have no way of contacting you since you would always be ahead of us on that time line. Apparently, Divatox was afraid you would know of her plans before she implemented them."

"I have another question. Earlier today, I think I was already fully phased, because nobody noticed me. But then someone else saw me. And now I'm phasing again."

"Hmmmm . . . I don't know that answer to that. It is very odd." Zordon sunk deep into concentration. "Did you, at any time, get hit on any part of your body?"

"Yes - I crashed into a wall. Why?"

"What did you hit?"

"I think just my head. It still hurts."

"Alpha, run a concentrated search near her head." To Tanya, Zordon said, "I think that crash may have damaged the anchor. The anchor would probably have a way of repairing the damage. Most likely, when you shifted back into the present, it started the phasing again, moving you back into the past."

Then, Alpha exclaimed, "I've found it! I've located the anchor!"

Suddenly, the alarm began blaring. "Ay yi yi!" cried Alpha. "Divatox just sent down a monster!"

Zordon nodded. "She must be aware that we have figured out her plot. Rangers, go and stop the monster. Tanya, stay here. We will figure out a way to reprogram the anchor."

Tommy said, "All right, guys, let's do it!"

Alpha cried, "Wait! I have something!" He pressed a button on the panel next to him. The door to the Power Chamber opened, and out came a little machine resembling a drag car. "Remember back when you first got the Turbo powers, and I said I was working on new personalized weapons? I finished them. Go on, grab a weapon." The rangers stepped up to the small machine and grabbed different colored parts of it.

"Tommy, you have the Lightning Sword. With it, you can execute the Lightning Slash, a powered up slash across an opponent's body.

"Adam, you have the Thunder Cannon. With it, you can hit large numbers of enemies with the Thunder Bomb, a large ball of energy which will detonate on impact.

"Rocky, the Hand Blasters are yours. They can create Blaster Seekers, which will seek any enemies you wish.

"Kat, you get the Wind Fire. With this weapon, you can perform the Wind Stun, which will freeze opponents in place."

Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Alpha. Guys, Shift into Turbo!"

Citizens were fleeing from the rampage of an army of Pirahnatrons, accompanied by a strange-looking monster. It had a mostly white armor, with a clock in the chest. Its voice was deep and menacing, it was attacking buildings with large guns in the shape of clock hands.

Red Turbo arrived first. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Timetable, and you're history!"

Blue Turbo groaned. "A clock monster. There's something original."

Green Turbo agreed. "Divatox must be running low on ideas."

"Wait a minute!" Red Turbo exclaimed. "This has to be the guy that put the phase thing on Tanya!"

"Correct, ranger! Here's your prize!" Timetable held up his guns, and blasted the rangers. As the rangers fell, Pirahnatrons began swarming around them.

"We need breathing room!" ordered Red Turbo. "Adam, the Thunder Bomb!"

"Right! Thunder Cannon!" Green Turbo's new weapon appeared in his hands. "Thunder Bomb!" he cried, firing. A green ball of energy came out. It hit a Pirahnatron dead-on, spewing green energy and hitting several others. "All right! Let's try that one again!"

Blue Turbo looked up. "Woah! More coming from above! Time for Hand Blasters!" With his new weapons in hand, he fired at the incoming Pirahnatrons. Their manuevering, combined with his inexperience with the weapons, made the Pirahnatrons hard targets. Finally, the exasperated Blue Turbo said, "Aw, to hell with it! Blaster Seekers!" Now, glowing shots came from his Hand Blasters and hit two Pirahnatrons. Firing again, he hit the others as they came down.

Red Turbo jumped over the Pirahnatrons and dove for Timetable. "Lightning Sword!" he called. In return, Timetable"s guns grew blades, turning them into swords. Timetable blocked Red Turbo's attack, and began a furious onslaught. Red Turbo had no time to call for his Turbo Blade to even the score.

"Tanya, we'd like you to stand in this, please." Alpha was almost apologetic as he dragged out an odd-looking capsule, slightly taller than Tanya.

"Sure Alpha, but what does it do?"

"It's a specialized Laser Target. Using small lasers to identify a point, we can target anything the lasers touch with pinpoint accuracy. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure nobody's too thrilled with spending time inside here."

As Alpha turned on the Laser Target, small lasers filled the capsule, until it seemed to be one red light. Tanya rolled her eyes. "I can see why."

Zordon said, "It's the only way to perfectly pinpoint where the anchor is so we can reprogram it."

"Okay. Whatever it takes." Tanya reluctantly stepped inside the capsule and was bathed in the red light.

Alpha immediately started pushing buttons on the capsule. "I've pinpointed it already, Tanya. It's easy when you have thousands of these lasers. It just takes a few seconds to reprogram it . . . there! You should be coming back now."

Tanya stepped out. To her, she looked the same as before. "Am I back?"

Alpha cheered. "You are indeed!" Suddenly, the alarm started blaring again. "Uh oh! The rangers are in trouble!" On the small viewing screen, they could see the rangers getting beaten.

"I've got to go help them!"

"Wait! Tanya, before you go, I have something for you too." He grabbed the remaining weapon from the small machine that had wheeled in earlier. "These are your Star Charges. They can create a Star Strike, an electric field which will electrocute whatever is inside. I think that will come in handy."

"Okay. Shift into Turbo!"

"You're history, ranger!" Timetable laughed as he picked up the beaten Red Turbo. "Have a nice trip! See you - ah, you know the rest!" He laughed as he threw Red Turbo into a nearby wall, shattering it.

The other rangers fled to his side. Pink Turbo asked, "Tommy, are you okay?"

"Nothing hurt but my pride. I'm not going to be beaten by a clock!"

"And you won't be!" This new cry surprised everyone. Looking up, they saw Yellow Turbo with her new weapons. "Star Charges! Hiiya!" With his swords, Timetable blocked the Star Charges and threw Yellow Turbo to the ground.

Red Turbo stood up. "We need to get rid of those swords. Lightning Slash!" He held up his sword and hit Timetable with it. In defense, Timetable raised his swords to block. The Lightning Slash destroyed both of them.

Pink Turbo yelled, "My turn! Wind Stun!" She drew back her bow and fired two shots which struck directly into Timetable, freezing him in place.

"All right!" cheered Yellow Turbo. "Let's try this again!" Jumping up, she cried, "Star Strike!" Both of her Star Charges hit Timetable, and the resulting electricity shocked him severely. When she let go, Timetable fell to the ground.

Gasping, Timetable said, "You haven't seen the last of me!" Then he teleported out, taking the Pirahnatrons with him.

Tanya fidgeted as she approached the dean's office with anxiety. What if those bullies were right? I have to find out. She knocked on the door. "Come in," came a surprisingly harsh answer.

When she came in, the dean did not look up. "Sit down," he stated curtly. "Tanya Sloan, right? You wanted to discuss your enrollment at our school."

"Yes, sir. I was wondering . . . did I get in for real?"

The dean looked up. "Why, yes. All our records say so. If that is all you came to ask, I must say that's a real waste of both our times."

"No, no, no. What I meant to say is, was I accepted on talent or on color?"

"What? Why would you want to know a silly thing like that?"

"I'm just . . . curious."

"I'll bet you are. Listen, we don't keep records of things like that."

"But . . . you must have a copy of my application. Can't you tell?"

"Well . . . I really shouldn't, but since you will be a student in the fall, I will." The dean got up and left to find her application.

When he returned, he dropped Tanya's appliaction on her lap. "See that? That means you were not accepted. The comments say you are too carefree with your performances. We frown on such a casual attitude. We here at Adrian University believe that all performances are special, and we seek to impart that lesson on each of our students. Unfortunately, your own essays speak for themselves."

"Then that's it?! I was rejected, then accepted?"

"Well, it's school policy to have affirmative action. I guess you got off the hook this time." Catious, evidently picking up on Tanya's attitude, the dean tried to smile his way out.

"No, I didn't! I'm not going to attend some filthy little racial college just because it'll get me a good certificate! I want to know I was accepted on my abilities!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sloan, but if that were true, you wouldn't be here."

"Fine!" Tanya was steaming mad. "Keep your goddamn universities and your goddamn awards and your goddamn policies! I'm not attending this dump!" With that, she left.

"Tanya, what's wrong?" T.J. had been studying in the Angel Grove Youth Center when he saw his new friend crying.

"T.J., that college I told you about," Tanya said between sobs, "Well, they didn't want me, but it was that - that -"

"Shhh, don't cry." T.J. said. "I understand. What did you do?"

"I told them I'm not going there. I don't care if I never get a job because of it. I won't go there because of my color!"

"Shhh, don't cry, Tanya. It's going to be okay. You'll pull through." T.J. sighed. He knew that another innocent heart had been broken.

The End... for now