Chapter One
Tommy turned and slowly pushed his way back through the crowd and away from the stage. He was getting tired and he still had a few things to pack away back at the Dino Cave. Kira's band was coming to the end of the last song in their set, and Tommy had to admit that they were quite something. He was no music expert, but he knew dedication when he saw it. Kira would go far. Tommy turned to face the room as he reached the door. The students were all cheering and dancing in the wake of the music finishing. The science teacher scanned the room for his former students and team mates. Conner had found a soccer ball in the corner of the gym and was now showing off his skills for his date and various other students. Tommy grinned and shook his head; some things don't change, no matter how much someone grows as a person. Kira, having packed her guitar away was walking off the stage, to be greeted by a beaming Trent. Tommy smiled to himself as Trent embraced Kira and gestured towards the hall's other exit. He had been a teenager once himself and had some suspicion as to what the new couple would be filling the rest of their evening with. Kira and Trent reminded him of himself and Kimberly when he was in high school in Angel Grove. Tommy's heart sunk. Everyone seemed so happy, but his life was missing something, and he knew exactly what it was.
As Tommy turned to leave, he heard a voice shout his name,
"Dr. O," it was Ethan James "Dr. O can I talk to you for a second?"
"Please Ethan," he replied quietly, once Ethan was closer "I'm not your teacher anymore, we saved the world together. Call me Tommy."
"Not sure I'm ever gonna be comfortable with that," Ethan smirked "Principle Randall wants to talk to you outside."
"Thanks Ethan, I'll go and see what she wants." Tommy clapped Ethan on the shoulder and made for the exit.
"By the way Tommy," Ethan shouted as Tommy pushed the door open "You'll always be my teacher!"
The former ranger could feel tears of pride well up around his eyes, so he decided to make a quick exit. Once the door had swung shut, Tommy wiped the tears from his face and made his way towards the tall, dark haired woman standing beneath a lamp post in the school parking lot. The cool, night breeze had picked up and Tommy was getting cold, so he pulled his jacket tighter around him as he walked up to Elsie Randall, the former henchwoman to Mesagog turned friend to the Power Rangers and newly reinstated Principle of Reefside High where Tommy taught science.
Elsie smiled warmly at him as he approached.
"I thought you'd be inside enjoying the party." Tommy said as he leaned back against the wall by the lamp post.
"I decided to take one last walk through the school before summer break. I found this on your desk when I was locking up the classrooms." Elsie held out a small green envelope, which Tommy took and turned over in his hands. On the front were his name and the school's address printed in simple white lettering, and on the back was a gold coloured, wax seal. As Tommy looked closer at the seal he realised that engraved in the wax, was a three-pointed claw; his old, green ranger power coin symbol. His heart began to race. What was this letter? Who was it from? Had someone figured out his identity? Tommy needed to be careful. He only trusted one person to help him with this letter and the many questions that came with it.
"Thanks." Tommy said absentmindedly before rushing off to his Jeep. Elsie stared at the man hurrying away from her. She wondered what had got Tommy in such a fuss.
Tommy parked his Jeep outside Hayley's Cyberspace and ran inside.
"HAYLEY," he shouted "HAYLEY, WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Woah, woah, hold your horses Tommy. What's wrong?" asked a flustered Hayley as she made her way out of the back room. Instead of replying, Tommy placed the now slightly crumpled envelope on the counter for Hayley to see. She proceeded to pick up the envelope and scrutinise it closely.
"I should take a closer look at this before you open it." Hayley spoke softly as she motioned for Tommy to follow her into the back room behind the counter. Tommy could feel his hands shaking. Why did this have to happen now? The Dino Rangers had saved the world from Mesagog and lost their powers just this afternoon. He'd barely had two hours to cut loose before he was hit with yet another, ranger related crisis.
Once they were both in the room and Tommy had closed the door behind him, Hayley fired up her computer and placed the mysterious envelope into a metal contraption that Dr. Oliver recognised as the scanner from the Dino Cave. Hayley noticed that Tommy was looking at the scanner in complete confusion.
"I salvaged a few things from the cave after Zeltrax had finished with the place," Hayley said with a mischievous grin "I also saved the two ATVs."
She had hoped that this remark would ease Tommy's nerves a little. It didn't. Tommy stood staring at the envelope, which gave Hayley all the encouragement she needed to start the scanning process.
A few seconds later, the screen of Hayley's computer flashed a green tick.
"No weird energy readings Tommy…" Hayley spoke with apprehension, waiting on the former ranger's response.
"Scan it for signs of magic," Tommy said darkly "This could be Rita's work."
"No need," Hayley replied nonchalantly "The scan is comprehensive. No signs of magic, prehistoric or mechanical tampering."
Tommy nodded and went to retrieve the letter from the scanner. Slowly and carefully, he began to break the seal…
Six Weeks Later
Tommy had been driving for three hours now and he was starting to get tired. The drive from Reefside to Angel Grove was a long one and he did not have the money for plane tickets on a teacher's salary (especially since most of that money had been spent on repairing his basement after the damage Zeltrax had done to it). Ethan had dozed off in the seat next to him and was drooling on the headrest. Tommy chuckled to himself at the sight and quickly checked the back seat. Kira was resting her head against the window, looking dreamily at the passing clouds in the gleaming, red, evening sky. Trent, who was sitting in the middle seat, had fallen asleep on his girlfriend's shoulder and Conner had drifted off on Trent's. Tommy attempted to suppress a yawn. They weren't far now, he only needed to stay awake for another hour or so.
Thinking back to six weeks ago, Tommy remembered the letter which had detailed what now lay ahead of him in his home town.
The envelope lay open on the table in Hayley's back room. The letter itself was made from a flexible, metallic material that shimmered in the light. At the top of the letter, coordinates were etched into the surface of the metal which, having typed them into Hayley's computer, were the coordinates of the site of the former ranger command centre in Angel Grove. This worried Tommy further, he hadn't yet read the rest of the letter and was now concerned that something new and more dangerous than he had ever faced before meant that he would have to return home and take up the fight once more.
"What does it say?" Hayley asked. She was tapping her foot impatiently. Tommy realised that he had been staring blankly at her computer screen for sometime, so he redirected his attention towards the shiny message in his hands.
The letter read:
"Dear Ranger,
It has come to our attention that throughout the last year, you have accessed the Morphing Grid in order to prevent our Earth's destruction once again. The Council of Zordon would like to congratulate you on your success and to thank you for taking up the Ranger mantle once again in order to protect the planet.
The Council would like to meet you and your team at the site of Zordon's original power chamber in Angel Grove, California in order to congratulate you in person and because we would like to offer you a place on the Council.
We understand that you probably have no reason to believe the authenticity of this letter, and have therefore attached a photograph of some of the Council's senior members on the rear side of this message.
Thank you for your consideration, and may the power protect you,
William Cranston"
The last two words of the letter stuck out to Tommy the most. Billy Cranston was one of Tommy's oldest friends, but he hadn't seen the man since he left Earth for Aquitar towards the end of their time as the Zeo Power Rangers. Tommy turned the letter over. On the back of the message, was a picture of three men. The first was Billy himself. He looked older and less gangly than Tommy remembered him, but it was unmistakeably Billy. The other two men were also people that Tommy recognised. They were both around Billy's height, with dark hair and dark eyes. They were former rangers, Jason Lee Scott and Adam Park. Adam's hair was short now. Like Tommy, he must have cut it after high school. Jason had grown a thick beard which obscured a considerable amount of his face, but it was his smile that gave him away.
Tommy's hands began to shake a little as he handed the letter over to Hayley to read. She scanned both sides of the page before asking:
"Are you gonna go?"
Tommy was too curious not to go. He hadn't been in contact with his former team mates since he finished college and went to work for Anton Mercer (although he had seen Jason in 2001 during their trip to the moon). It hadn't been difficult to convince the other Dino Rangers to accompany him back to Angel Grove. They had all been curious and somewhat star struck at the prospect of meeting the veteran Rangers. Tommy also suspected that they felt a little too pleased with themselves for receiving recognition for their work that wasn't directed at their faceless Ranger forms.
Whilst he was definitely excited to see his old friends again and to return to his home town, Tommy was also apprehensive. The picture had only revealed three members of the Council of Zordon. Who else was on the Council? What was its purpose? Why hadn't he been contacted about it before? He also couldn't shake the feeling that this might still be a trap. It was for this reason that the trunk of the car was full to the brim with any weaponry that he was able to salvage from the Dino Cave before they left.
As Tommy drove through Angel Grove, he noted that not much had changed since he left. Everything was where he remembered it. Even the youth centre was still up and running. Tommy made a mental note to visit the place before he left. All thoughts, however, of anything other than fear and apprehension left his brain as he drove the final stretch up the hill on the outskirts of the city, to the sight of the command centre.