POWER RANGERS: LAST ENGAGE: ROTATION: BY ANOTHER NAME

1

Will awoke in a bed. Remembering what happened and feeling as though his life was in danger, he shot upright. He was in a hospital's ER. He saw a few people he recognized from his encounter earlier sitting on the far side of the room. They stood up once they realized he was conscious. Will reached for his morpher. He didn't care if they were armed or not. He was going to end them now.

"It's morph…"

A nurse came into the room. Will stopped himself as he took the moment to take everything in. Everything looked modern compared to what he saw earlier. She walked over to check his vitals. He decided it would be best not to beat the hell out of everyone in front of her. They were lucky she walked in. He was ready to have them meet the business end of his Power Axe.

"You seem pretty awake for someone who just regained consciousness," the nurse said. "Just relax as we take care of you."

None of this made any sense to Will. He somewhat relaxed as the people stepped toward him but he still had his fists clenched.

"Thank God you're awake," a man said. Will was confused as this guy was one of the ones that assaulted him earlier.

"First," one guy said. "Let us apologize for what happened earlier."

"I'm terribly sorry I hit you, which landed you in the hospital."

"You're lucky you did that," Will said. "Otherwise, it'd be you here instead of me."

"We thought you were someone else," the man said.

"You do that to any black folk you see?" Will asked.

"We thought you were an extra," he said. "A black guy was starting today as an extra and we thought you were him."

"An extra?"

"You seem to have stumbled on our reenactment land," another guy said. "We created an area solely for the purpose of civil war era reenactments."

Will began to relax more. While he didn't know what had happened when he was ambushed, he was relieved to know that he wasn't in the southern states during the civil war.

"We were going to toy with the new guy for a bit by being in character just to show him how things are. We realized you weren't him when you attacked us."

"Then why did you hit me?" Will asked.

"It was the only thing I could think to do," the man said. "You appeared to be a threat and we had to stop you. You looked pretty strong and could probably take all of us out so a quick whack to the back of the head seemed like the easiest choice."

"Well I can understand that I suppose," Will said. He looked around and while things looked modern, there was a dated aura about things. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but the style of clothes, hair style, technology of the hospital equipment didn't seem to be 21st century. It was almost there but not quite. It seemed maybe 20 or 25 years in the past.

"So, where are you from?" one guy asked.

"Ohio," Will said.

"Ohio?" the guy said in surprise. "You're a bit far from home. What are you doing in Colorado?"

Will did his best to hide his surprise. He was transported somewhere but when was the question now.

"Family is thinking of moving out this way," Will said. "Mom doesn't like the bipolar weather in Ohio."

"Bipolar is a good way to describe the weather in the east," the man said. "Never did like it myself. So, if you move into the area then you'll be going to the high school." The man pointed to the window and Will followed the motion. He could see a flat building in the distance on the other side of a lake. "That's my alma mater. I graduated from Columbine fifteen years ago. This year's class is the last class of the 20th century."

Even with a head injury, Will knew immediately when and where he was. That high school had become infamous after the massacre that occurred there. Will looked at the dry erase board on the wall that had the assigned nurse's name and the date. It was April 19th. One day before the massacre.

2

Hours later, Will was finally out of the hospital and those that had put him in there had also left. While he was thankful he wasn't in slavery south, he wasn't sure how to feel about winding up in Columbine, Colorado a day before the shooting. He stood in front of the school that had now let out for the day and stared at it. Another thought entered his mind. Should he stop the massacre or should he let history play out.

"You're not supposed to be here but yet here you are," a voice said behind him. Will spun around to see a figure standing among the trees across the street. The figure was oddly dressed. He wore a suit but a headpiece that looked Egyptian. "You're probably wondering if you should change history, right?"

"Who are you?" Will demanded.

"I used to call myself 'The Riddler' but then that Batman series aired and I had to drop that name. Now I don't even bother with a name. My given name is Dora-Sphinx."

"So, you're one of Bandora's creatures sent back in time to take me out," Will said.

"You're half right," the man said. "I am one of Bandora's creatures but I wasn't sent back in time."

"Then how do you know I'm not from this time?" Will asked.

"Because I transcend time," the man said. "I exist in this time as I do in any other time. I know what will happen at that school tomorrow as I know what will happen in New York in two years from now."

Will wasn't sure what to make of this creature. He didn't appear menacing but there was something malevolent about him.

"What will happen if I change history?" Will asked.

"Messing with time is not something that should be taken lightly," the man said. "But I don't think I can allow you to change it."

"Why not?" Will asked.

"Well partly because tomorrow's events are my doing," he said. Will's eyes widened. Will reached for his morpher and pulled it from his belt.

"It's morphin…"

"You misunderstand," the man said. "I'm not the one that's doing the shooting tomorrow. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold will be the ones marching in there with guns blazing. However, it was I that has been messing with their heads for some time now."

"Why?"

"They got one of my riddles wrong," the man said nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?" Will asked.

"I told you my given name is Dora-Sphinx. Underneath my human disguise is my sphinx form. If you know your mythology then you'd know that sphinxs give riddles."

"You are severely fucked in the head," Will said. He held his morpher in front of him. "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"