The Day of The Dino:

Part 2

Conner's red mustang swung around the corner. It had only been a few minutes since Kira had been captured and they weren't wasting anytime.

"So why are we going to Dr. Oliver's again?" Conner asked Bobby as he took another corner.

"It makes sense," Ethan replied, clearly unnerved by Conner's wild driving, "he's a dinosaur guy, these things are dinosaurs…sort of."

"Fine," Conner conceded, "where does he live?"

"Just a second," replied Ethan as he typed away on his PDA, before getting the result he wanted, "1992 Valencia Road."

"That's way out in the woods." Bobby commented, hoping that it didn't sound like he knew exactly where it was.

Conner nodded and hit the gas. With the way Conner was driving, they reached the house minutes later, and saw the familiar black jeep parked outside.

"This is the place." Conner commented as they hopped out of the car and walked up to the front porch. Bother Conner and Ethan started looking though the windows, but Bobby went straight to the front door, finding it unlocked. With only getting to Kira on his mind, he moved to go in.

"Wait," said Ethan, "are you sure we should just go in?"

"Why would he leave it unlocked?" Conner rationalized.

"He hasn't got neighbors."

"What? Haven't you ever heard of the three bears?"

"What was that the last book you read?" retorted Ethan as the three entered the house.

Again, Bobby didn't bother looking around, and dived straight to the mini dinosaur skeleton on the table and went to pulled down the mouth.

"Remember what happened last time?" Ethan warned, although Bobby ignored him and moved the mouth anyway.

"Dude," Conner replied, "He's a science teacher, not-"

But before he could finish his sentence, the floor opened up, revealing the entrance to the dino lair.

"-Batman."

Taking the lead, Bobby climbed down the stairs, closely followed by Conner and Ethan, and immediately found themselves in the very room where they'd picked up the dino gems.

"I'm I the only one freaking out here?" Ethan asked as he looked around.

Bobby noticed a shadow move, and suddenly Tommy appeared from behind one of the desks.

"If you guys are looking for extra credit," he told them sternly, "you're in the wrong place."

"Look, Dr. Oliver," said Ethan, hoping to keep everyone calm, "we can explain."

"Dude, he's just going to laugh at us," whispered Conner.

Bobby rolled his eyes; he didn't have time for this.

"Kira's gone," he stated bluntly, Tommy would get the message immediately.

"These lizard things just came out and grabbed her." Conner added

Tommy turned his back to the three boys, and Bobby could tell that shame was starting to creep into the former rangers mind.

"They're called Tyranodrones." He stated softly.

"How do you know that?" Conner asked, becoming more and more confused by what they'd just gotten into.

"I helped create them."

"Class science project?" Ethan enquired. Bobby chuckled as he realized the science geek in Ethan was taking this in like a new star wars movie.

"Not exactly," Tommy replied, "What we've got to figure out is what they want with Kira."

Then Tommy saw the guilt looks on the boy's faces.

"It might have something to do with these," said Conner as he pulled out the red Dino Gem.

Tommy just stared wide eyed at the Dino gem, and Bobby realized why he'd been so sharp with when they'd arrive, he'd been panicking about where the dino gems would have gone. "Where did you get that?"

"We found them in a cave in the woods." Ethan replied

"Look, we're really sorry," said Bobby, hoping that Tommy wouldn't notice the insincerity in his voice. At least he wasn't sorry, he knew exactly what the dino gems would do.

"How were we supposed to know those things had superpowers and those lizard dudes were going to come looking for them?" Conner added

Tommy nodded, realizing that this wasn't their fault.

"I guess this isn't something you see everyday."

At that moment, Ethan's sci-fi geek kicked into overdrive.

"Like a science teacher with the ruins of an ancient civilization under his house?"

"Ancient civilization?" Bobby questioned, as he looked around the room, the only thing that did scream "ancient civilization" was the fact that they were in a cave.

"Look," Conner said, trying to get to the bottom of the situation, "Not that this isn't all really cool, but seriously dude, you gotta come clean."

Bobby gulped at the comment, seeing as Tommy wasn't the only one keeping secrets from their future team mates.

"Alright, first of all, don't call me dude," Tommy told them sternly, "second of all, as hard as this sounds, I need you to forget all about this. I'll find Kira."

He turned to leave, and Bobby was just about to stop him before Conner shot in front of him with his super speed.

"I see that the gems power's already started to bond with you." Tommy commented with a chuckle

"We can either talk about this now, or at my next parent teacher conference." Conner threatened. Bobby and Ethan both stood firm, knowing that Tommy would need their help.

Tommy thought about it for a moment, and then looked back at the other two.

"My car's upstairs," he told them, "I'll explain on the way."

All four of them immediately bolted upstairs, Tommy stopping only twice, once to close the lair and the other to grab his keys, and minutes latter they were back on the road.

"So when you said that you helped create those Tyrano-things," Ethan asked, "you were kidding right?"

"Tyranodrones," Tommy corrected, "fusion replicants using robotics and actual dinosaur DNA. But they weren't meant to be used like this. Someone must have modified their programming. A few years back I was researching with a man named Anton Mercer-"

"This rich guy who disappeared a few years ago?"

"Yeah. Shortly after Mercer disappeared, our lab was attacked and our research was destroyed. Or at least I thought it was."

"And they guy who did this is back?"

Tommy nodded.

"He calls himself Mesogog."

While Conner and Ethan were listening intently to Tommy's story, Bobby was sitting quietly in the back seat. He was partially annoyed at himself for losing it. He knew that Kira was fine, in fact, in just a few moments; she'd be falling out of the sky and landing on the jeep. But despite all that, from the moment Kira was kidnapped, he feared for her safety. It was as if he'd forgotten all foresight he had into this world the moment things got too real.

"Look," he suddenly heard Ethan say, "this story is great and all, but how is it going to help us find Kira. It's not like she's just going to fall out of the sky."

But that was exactly what happened. The very second Ethan finished his sentence, an invisiportal appeared and Kira fell onto the hood of Tommy's jeep.

"Kira!" Bobby called with relief as he hoped out of the car and ran over towards her. The second he got to her she reached out and hugged him, catching Bobby completely by surprise.

"You have no idea how good it feels to see a normal person." She told him.

"Uh guys? Is this really the place?"

Both Bobby and Kira looked over at Conner and Ethan, who were both now out of the jeep and giving them weird looks. Both Bobby and Kira looked back at each other to realize that they hadn't let go of each other yet, and immediately let go faster than Conner's super-speed.

"I'm fine," she told everyone.

"So what happened?" Conner questioned, trying not to smirk at bobby and Kira's faces, both of which had turned bright red.

"I have no idea," she told them, "one minute I'm being chased by Franken-lizard, and next, I'm a hood ornament!"

"Invisiportals," Tommy commented vaguely as he stared up into the sky.

"What ever. All I know is, next time, I'm calling a cab. What are you guys doing here?"

"Umm," Bobby began bashfully, "we were coming to rescue you."

"Nice going," she replied sarcastically, "way to show up when I don't need you anymore."

"Are you sure about that?" Conner questioned.

The five of them spun around to see a large group of Tyranodrones being led by a large warrior in silver and blue armour.

Zeltrax, Bobby thought, okay, just stay calm; you've got Tommy on your side this time.

"Mesogog find a new goon to do his dirty work?" Tommy taunted with a mischievous grin.

It's probably just like old times for him. Well, minus a Morpher…for now.

"You are not fit to speak my masters name!" Zeltrax snarled, "Come with me peacefully or suffer the consequences!"

"I'm going to have to say…no."

The very second Tommy shot Zeltrax down, the Tyranodrones charged, and all five of them shifted into fighting stances. Bobby was met by a group of about five Tyranodrones, not that he had time to count them. Luckily, the Dino Gem had enhanced his reflexes enough to fend off most of their attacks, but this time he didn't have the element of surprise, and Bobby could tell that their mission was a little different than their earlier recovery missions. Now their mission was a simple Kill now, get gems from bodies. Bobby rolled over the hood of Tommy's jeep, giving putting some distance between himself and the Tyranodrones, and managing to hit them pretty hard when they ran around, but he could see that it wasn't going to be enough.

"Tommy?!"

"I'm a little busy here!"

Bobby took a quick moment to see the science teacher getting into intense fisticuffs with Zeltrax.

"How strong are your tires?!"

"What!?"

"Could they withstand a large pulsing force!?"

"You mean like an earthquake!?"

"Kinda!"

Suddenly Tommy pulled open the door, just in time to block a powerful blow from Zeltrax's axe.

I'm gunna take that as a yes.

Bobby kicked away one of the Tyranodrones, giving him enough space to move freely. He lifted his arm above his head, and then slammed his fist into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that shook the jeep and knocked over all the Tyranodrones that were attacking him and Tommy.

Immediately Bobby regrouped with the others, as Zeltrax faced them with the beaten and shamed Tyranodrones.

"Make sure you tell your master, Dr. Oliver's back." Tommy yelled.

"I will inform him that the battle is over," Zeltrax replied arrogantly, "But the war is only just beginning."

And with that, they all disappeared through an invisiportal.

"Is that the best he could do?" asked Ethan, thrilled that he was winning a fight for the first time in his life.

"It's getting late," Tommy told them, "I don't want you're parents to worry."

"I bet you don't," replied Conner sarcastically, "you might have to explain something."

Tommy sighed. Bobby could see what Conner meant, he'd just had his second fight with Tyranodrones, gained super powers, seen his classmate get kidnapped and found out that his science teacher actually helped create the very things that were trying to kill them. All without any explanation at all.

"I'll fill you all in tomorrow after school," Tommy decided, "I promise."

Realizing that they weren't going to get anything out of him, the other three teens hopped back into the jeep for Tommy to drive first to his place, so Conner could pick up his car, and then to drop everyone else home.

"Are you okay?" Bobby asked Kira once they headed back into the city. Despite feeling that he knew the answer, for some reason he wanted to hear it for himself. Plus, they were alone in the back seat, with Conner driving himself home and Ethan in the front talking about the dino lair with Tommy, and he wanted to make conversation.

"I'm fine," she told him reassuringly, "honestly. That'll teach me to just storm off like that though."

"So they didn't hurt you?"

"Stop being so protective," she giggled, giving Bobby the feeling that she was just a little bit enjoying the attention he was giving her. "I just woke up on what looked like a metal dentists chair, and this weird dinosaur guy started questioning me about these gem things. Boy was that thing ugly. I mean they talk about faces only a mother could love, but even then I'm not so sure."

Bobby nodded, realizing that she was talking about Mesogog.

"What happened then?"

"Well once Franken-lizard found out I didn't have this gem he was talking about, he disappeared, and then some crazy lady appeared out of no where and attacked me. But somehow I… I think I fought her off."

"You think?" Bobby asked, intrigued.

"Well I don't know how I did it. One minute she's trying to hit me, the next I have her in a joint lock and then she's spinning across the room."

Bobby nodded; it fitted his theory that the dino gems enhanced the body's reflexes, which meant that when combined with a fairly strong survival instinct, even someone without training could become a fighting machine.

"When that cyborg guy and his goons appeared, I did that scream thing again. And then like I said, i ran away and became a hood ornament."

Bobby nodded silently.

"Hey," Kira said softly, "Stop beating yourself up over it. None of this would have happened if I hadn't stormed off like that. Besides, it's not like you could have done anything."

"I guess…" he replied, hoping that Kira wouldn't notice the guilt in his voice. He had known what was going to happen, and could easily have stopped it, but he'd been too distracted.

I was so busy being stunned that she would just walk away that I almost lost her, he realized, Wait! What!?

But before he had a chance to contemplate more, Tommy's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Here we are Kira," he said as he pulled next to the curb, "tell your mom that it's my fault you're late."

"Sure," Kira agreed, "but just as a heads up, if you get a call from a crazy lady yelling at you for making her little girl late for dinner, that's my mom. It's Taco night."

Tommy nodded in agreement, Bobby figured that he was quickly reminiscing on the different excuses he used to use on his parents whenever he was late for dinner.

Kira hopped out of the jeep and turned to Bobby.

"Umm I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

Well duh, we're all meeting up after school to talk to Tommy so… Ohhhhhh.

"Sure," Bobby nodded, and with that, Kira turned around and walked into her house. Bobby looked ahead to see Ethan grinning in the rear vision mirror.

"Don't. Say. Anything." Bobby threatened sternly.

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly, as Bobby decided to shift the conversation to computer games, although many times throughout the conversation Bobby had to remind himself that it was only 2004 in this world, and had to make sure he didn't talk about games that hadn't come out yet.

"So have you played Deadly Alliance yet?"

"I love Mortal Kombat!" replied Ethan excitedly

"They're still making those games?" Tommy asked, "I remember playing those when I was at school."

Soon afterwards, Tommy dropped Ethan home, and then they drove to the cyberspace. However, the second that they had dropped Ethan off, the light hearted man talking about video games was gone, and his face became quite serious.

They didn't talk until they reached the cyberspace. It wasn't closed yet, so Bobby just planned on going to help Hayley, he felt it was the least he could do after she had been so generous, but Tommy had other ideas.

"I want to talk to you," he said sharply, "now."

Not wanting to piss off the legendary ranger, Bobby simply nodded and led him inside. Soon they found themselves in Hayley's upstairs apartment.

"Bobby what the hell were you thinking?" Tommy demanded the second they got inside.

"Excuse me?" Bobby was quite taken aback, although he knew that on the show Tommy wasn't initially keen on Kira, Conner, and Ethan being involved, but to snap at Bobby seemed out of character.

"You claim to be from a world where this was a TV show," Tommy stated, "so you should know how dangerous the Dino Gems are. And you just let three kids you barely know take them?"

Bobby sighed, to a degree, Tommy was right, Bobby did know what would happen now that they had the Dino Gems, and yes he probably should have tried to warn them. He tried to think how long it would take the laughter to die down if he told them that they were actually in a TV show and if they took the strange looking rocks, which to them were tickets out of a weeks worth of detention, they would become Power Rangers.

"You deserve an explanation," Bobby replied eventually, "they were meant to take them. They would have gotten the dino gems if I was here or not. Those gems are meant for them. Besides, you were what, 15, when Zordon let you join the team?"

Tommy paused for a moment. Bobby had chosen his words carefully. Sure, Tommy had had no choice when Rita Repulsa gave him his first powers, but once he was free her control, it was really Zordon that had allowed him to fight evil on a daily basis.

"That's different," Tommy replied, "And I'm not Zordon."

"Okay," retorted Bobby, "First of all, that "I'm not Zordon" excuse, is only going to work if I let a ten year old get a dino gem. And secondly, it's not that different. Both you and the other three were and will be put in a situation which you had little to no control of, and as a result, gained powers. Now when you were presented with the opportunity to utilize those powers and use them for something good, you took it. And it did a number on your personal life. Not to mention what it must have done to your head."

Tommy was silent, he knew what Bobby was saying was true, and the fact that it was coming from someone not much older than he was when he first gained his powers just made it more real.

"You're not angry at me because I let them get the dino gems," Bobby continued, "You're angry because you're about to watch as four ordinary kids go through the exact same things you did. Okay three, I don't really count in this case."

There was silence in the room. Bobby was amazed at how he hadn't realized before just how incredibly difficult it would be for Tommy to just hand Morphers to a bunch of teenagers. This was a guy who had been turned against his friends twice, trapped in a story book, shrunk multiple times, turned into a football, turned into a child and lost at least one girlfriend to his ranger duties. Then take into account that he'd been striped of his powers at least four times, twice as the green ranger, once when the tiger Zord was destroyed, and once when the ninja coins were destroyed. And then on top of that he'd seen one friend be put in hospital when separated from her power coin, another nearly killed because his body began to reject his ranger powers, those same friends turned evil in an attempt to bring out Divatox's fiancé, and another friend rapidly aged and forced to travel off planet because of his attempt to reverse the spell that had turned the other rangers into kids. Tommy's ranger career may have been filled with plenty of great moments, and clearly the good points outweighed the bad ones considering he stayed a ranger for so long, but the bad memories must no doubt have stuck, and he was about to watch it happen all over again.

"You're right," Tommy admitted, "I guess it was easy to think that I could make a team of rangers to fight Mesogog, I mean Captain Mitchell did it so easily with the Lightspeed Rangers. I honestly thought they'd be the best defence. I knew I couldn't do anything until the dino gems had found owners, but seeing whose hands they're in…I'm scared for them. I'm already starting to see how Zordon felt during battles, and I haven't even given you guys Morphers yet."

"This isn't TV," Bobby said, "I know that now. I might know what's going to happen, and I'm warning you now that if I let something bad happen, it's because I know it's going to work out for the best. I don't know how much you've had to do with Wes or Eric, but I know that because the Time Force rangers in depth knowledge of events, they could change them for a better outcome. Does that make sense? Or am I rambling?"

Aware that he was starting to just ramble on about various Power Ranger trivia, Bobby wasn't sure if anything he was saying was relevant, so he was relieved when Tommy gave a silent nod and smiled.

"Anyway, what I meant to say is, I don't know why I'm here." he continued, "I don't even know if this is 100% real, for all I know it could all be in my head. But I know that there's a chance that it's not, and that you're just as real as I am. And because of that, I want you to know that I've got your back. I'd rather wake up and realize that it's all a dream, and it would have been the coolest dream ever I might point out, than just not care and put you guys in danger."

Although he knew that it probably meant a lot to Tommy to hear that, he knew that the issue of handing over Morphers was still troubling him.

"Do you know what the one thing I remember you telling the rangers whenever they were worried about not being good enough?" he asked

Tommy shook his head, wondering what words of wisdom he could have, or rather would, give the rangers.

"You don't choose the Dino Gems, they choose you." Bobby quoted, and he could already see Tommy's face light up, "They wouldn't have bonded with them if they didn't think they could handle the power."

They spent the next hour talking about rangering, highlights of Tommy's rangering career, what Zordon was like, most grandiose excuses Tommy had come up with. After a while, Tommy got up to leave. As he reached the apartment door, he turned back to face Bobby.

"Hey Bobby," he said sincerely, "thanks."

And with that, he went downstairs, said goodbye to Hayley, and drove home.

He's probably going to get the Morphers ready. Bobby thought as he closed the door.

He slumped down on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until he finally settled down on a "rerun" of Smallville.

Although it was good to re-watch an episode of the fourth season, considering it was well into the ninth back home, Bobby wasn't really paying attention. He was just sitting there, turning the small green Dino Gem over and over in with his fingers. He had decided not to tell Tommy that it wasn't meant to exist, he figured that the veteran ranger had enough on his mind, but small rock was very much on his. He had no idea what it meant, other than the obvious, and just like his enrolment at Reefside high, it existence was simply perplexing. But the day he'd just had, plus all the thinking that he'd been doing throughout, and by the time that Hayley came upstairs after closing shop, Bobby was fast asleep.

*****

When Bobby woke up the next morning he was still on the couch, but noticed that Hayley must have put a blanket on him (in true ranger fashion, the blanket was green). As he got up to take a shower however, he noticed a small set of clothes, sitting where his clean ones had been the day before. Like the previous morning, there was a note: You'll get ripped to shreds if you show up at school wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday. It sounds crazy but hey, girls in high school can be cruel. Breakfast is downstairs, Hayley.

Note to self, start doing shifts at the Cyberspace.

After a quick shower and breakfast, as well as a quite insistent request to help Hayley run the Cyberspace, Bobby left the café and went to school. Half of him was feeling fear, half of him was excited. One the one hand he would be getting a Morpher, putting himself in front of danger everyday to save a town he wasn't even sure was real. But on the other hand, he was getting a Morpher.

He walked up to the main gate to see Kira playing her guitar.

"Now Miss Ford," he joked while putting on his best Randall impersonation, "Are you aware that you need written permission to perform on school grounds?"

Kira's first instinct was to laugh, but suddenly her eyes widened and lifted her hands, one to her mouth and the other to point behind Bobby.

Shit! She's behind me!

Bobby spun around, trying to come up with an excuse that would explain his impersonation. But to his surprise, there was no one behind him. Realizing he'd just been had, he turned back to Kira.

"Very funny."

"I thought it was," she laughed as she put her guitar back in its case, "I may not be able to play on school grounds, but this sidewalk is public property."

Bobby pulled a face and started walking up to the school.

"So did you're mom end up calling Dr. Oliver?" he asked, remembering the comment she had made the night before about a crazy phone call.

"No," she replied, "luckily she bought the, "I crammed a weeks worth of detention into a day," excuse."

"Damn," laughed Bobby, "I was looking forward to hearing Dr. Oliver's excuse."

Kira giggled for a moment, and then turned and asked

"Did you sleep much last night?"

Bobby stopped to think for a moment, although he knew exactly what was going on, and about to go down, he knew Kira didn't, and mind was probably overflowing with questions that were yet to be answered. Of course, Bobby had questions too, but figured that even trying to explain it to Kira would make her run to the hills from the crazy person.

"Yeah," he replied in the end, "Like a log, I don't think I've ever been so exhausted."

"I didn't sleep much," she admitted as they entered the building and walked towards science, "It's just that there's so much I don't understand."

"Well we only have to wait a little bit longer," Bobby reassured her as he remembered his conversation with Tommy the night before, "maybe he's just trying to figure out a way to tell us."

The entered the room, and Bobby immediately saw Cassidy jump up with a Dictaphone.

"Oh crap," he muttered

"What?"

"Cassidy Cornell at 1 o'clock."

"Wow you catch on fast; just let me handle this."

Bobby sighed as they both entered the room, briefly shooting a "Hi" nod at Conner and Ethan (they both returned it), and followed Kira to the desk. Unsurprisingly, Cassidy tried to intercept.

"Kira Ford, I'm Cassidy Cornell-"

"I know who you are Cassidy, we're in homeroom together."

"Whatever, what can you tell me about the strange happenings in Reefside, for instance, you sudden friendship with Conner McKnight and Ethan James, as well as the new guy? What's his name, Reed?"

Bobby chuckled, slightly flattered that Cassidy confused him with Mr. Fantastic purely on the basis of the same last name. But at the same time he caught a glimpse of both Conner and Ethan, hoping Kira wouldn't let slip their activities the day before.

"Look," Kira said firmly, "I have no idea what you're talking about; I figured that seeing that Bobby is new here, he could use someone to show him around. And as you can see, I'm fine. But you on the other hand, you look a little…"

"Pasty?" Bobby offered, not wanting to miss one of Cassidy's panic moments.

"Pasty?!" she shrieked, "I hate fluorescent lighting!"

She pulled out a compact mirror, and completely forgot about her "interview". Kira quickly pulled Bobby to some spare seats while Cassidy was distracted.

"That was fun," Bobby chuckled

"I agree," smiled Kira, "and now we have time to think of an excuse for when she realizes these aren't fluorescent lights."

Right on cue, Tommy entered the room.

"Cassidy, unless you intend to give a lecture on the Mesozoic Period, I suggest you take a seat."

Cassidy groaned and sat down, knowing she wasn't going to get to the bottom of why she supposedly looked pasty.

Here it comes, Bobby thought, knowing full well what was going to happen next and grabbed a hold of the desk to brace himself.

"Okay," smiled Tommy, "who can tell me when it all began?"

But at that moment, the whole ground shook, turning off the lights. Bobby looked over at the window, and sure enough ominous black clouds were forming in the sky, transforming from day to night in an instant. But the one thing that Bobby didn't expect was for Kira to jump and cling onto his arm. And then he noticed that he had let go of the desk and was holding her too. Like their moment at the car the previous day, they immediately let go and went on like nothing had happened.

"…no I came to tell you about some whack report about mechanical dinosaurs attacking downtown."

Bobby looked over his shoulder to see Tommy's eyes light up.

The BioZords, Bobby thought immediately, then added sarcastically, Yay

Tommy was about to stop Cassidy and Devin leaving, when suddenly Randall's voice came over the PA system.

"Everyone remain calm. The mayor has declared a state of emergency. Please report to the front of the school."

Wow Elsa, Bobby thought sarcastically, the mayor sure did react fast.

But he knew there was no time to think about his principles hand in the robotic dinosaurs appearance. He quickly joined Conner, Kira and Ethan at the front of the room.

"Dr. O, I think now might be a good time for that little chat." Suggested Kira, although Bobby could tell that secretly she was hoping that the dino gems and the giant robots weren't connected.

"There isn't time," Tommy replied frantically, "If Mesogog revived the BioZords, then we've gotta act fast. Come with me."

He moved towards the door and beckoned the others to follow.

"What's the worse that could happen?" Ethan asked the others

Oh Ethan, you have no idea.

"Well then," Bobby decided, "to the Batcave."

*****

"So these mechanical dinosaurs," Kira asked as the entered the Dino Lair, "They're your friends?"

"BioZords," Tommy corrected, "fusion powered replicants using actually dinosaur DNA for the neural-functions."

"And let me guess," said Ethan, "you helped create them?"

Once again, Bobby could see shame wipe across Tommy's face.

"I'm afraid so. But right now we…I mean you have to tame them."

"I think I'll BBL if that's okay with you."

That was Ethan again.

"BBL?"

"Be back later."

"Ethan!" Tommy called out, "You can do this. But you won't have to do it alone."

He walked over to the table where they'd found the dino gems, except now the font had been replaced by a small metal briefcase.

"Ever since I found the Dino Gems, I've had these in waiting, in case I've ever needed to harness their power."

"Into what?" Conner asked, although Bobby could tell that he had a fair idea.

The moment, bobby had been waiting for had finally come. Tommy opened up the case and sure enough, along with the red, blue and yellow Morphers, there was one more. A green one. It looked similar to Conner's Morpher, except apart from the obvious colour difference; there were also no white stripes on it, instead it had small yellow spikes running back from the stop of the head.

"Dino Morphers," Tommy replied, "you can use these to become power rangers."

Ethan looked pretty much the way Bobby would have expected any videogame geek to react to the trailer of Arkham Asylum 2. His eyes could have leapt out of their sockets.

"I need to sit down." He said

"Breath dude," Conner instructed as he helped him stand.

Bobby looked over at Kira. She was staring wide eyed at the yellow Morpher in front of her, unsure whether or not to believe what was happening.

"We can't be Power Ranges," she protested, "Aren't they supposed to fly and have super strength and stuff like that."

Tommy looked at her, ready to point out the obvious flaw in her argument.

"You do."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"Your gems are from the asteroid that crashed into Earth millions of years ago, wiping out the entire dinosaur population" Tommy continued now that everyone had come to grips with the Morphers in front of them, "When I found them, I recognized their Power and hid them, so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

"But how do you know these are the right hands," Conner asked.

It was at that point that Bobby realized the reasons behind everyone's uncertainty. Ethan would barely go outside for exercise, why go running outside when you can raid a dungeon in Bulder's Gate 2? Conner was the soccer star, athletic, popular, and unsurprisingly half the girls in the school had crushes on him. But this was big, this was, important. What was at stake here was more than just a simple soccer game. And finally there was Kira, the lone musician, who really only came out of her shell when she had a guitar in her hands, although Bobby felt he was starting to see another side to her, he could tell she was closely guarded.

And there they were, all faced with a big decision, and although not one they could take lightly, it wasn't one they had time to think about either.

Tommy shot a knowing look at Bobby, remembering the conversation they'd had the night before.

"The gems are yours," he told them, "you didn't choose them, they chose you."

"Well can't they unchoose us?" Kira asked

"They've already bonded with your DND," Tommy explained as he walked over to the computer, "that's what's giving you your powers."

"But if they've already bonded with us," Ethan wondered, "how come Mesogog and his creeps are still after them?"

Tommy was about to answer, butt Bobby beat him to it.

"Let me guess," he said, trying to explain a reason why he knew the answer, "the only way our powers can be taken away, is if we're destroyed?"

Tommy nodded.

"That's right."

Conner stepped forward, still trying to take in everything that was happening.

"Look, all I know is, I don't remember asking to be a superhero."

But this time Tommy was ready for it, and moved behind the table with the Morphers, again shooting a knowing glance at Bobby.

"The gems wouldn't have bonded with you if you didn't already have something inside you that could handle the power."

He pushed the briefcase forward a little, just to emphasise his point.

"Please."

The four of them looked at each other. Despite thinking he'd already made his choice when he'd taken the Dino Gem, he knew now that he hadn't. At the time it had been a, take the gem, get Morpher later train of thought. But Bobby knew now that once he took that Morpher, there was no turning back, and everything else had to be put on hold, because he knew that he wouldn't be able to leave, even though he knew that the team was more than capable of succeeding without him, until it was all over.

Bobby reached forward and took the Morpher from the case.

"So what now?" Ethan enquired as he examined his blue Tricera Morpher, "is there some sort of special password or command?"

"All you have to do is say "Dino Thunder! Power up! And you'll be transformed."

Bobby noticed a wave of relief wash over Tommy, he could worry all he wanted, but it was all out of his hands now.

"Dino Thunder?" remarked Conner before turning to Ethan, "did you come up with that?"

"I kinda like it."

"You would."

Tommy chuckled.

"Guys, in know you're from different worlds-"

Some of us more so than others, Bobby thought to himself

"-I get it, but you're going to have to work together or this will never work. This won't be easy, no one knows that better than I do. But you're going to have to believe in yourselves, I know I do."

Conner looked up in surprise.

"Really?"

"Really."

Conner took a look at the others, and Bobby could tell that Tommy's approval meant a lot to him. Slowly, each one of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"Then let's do it."

*****

I've been in a lot of speeding cars recently, Bobby realized as the jeep shot through the abandoned streets. With giant robot dinosaurs rampaging through the city, everybody had darted for the nearest cover.

At least no one will be around at see us morph, he thought.

Suddenly the jeep skidded to a halt, and Bobby could see the Zords in the distance. They were huge. Even after all his years of watching the show, Bobby had never fully understood the size of the Zords. The Tricera Zord was easily as bigger than a semi trailer, in both height and length, while the Ptera Zord could have passed as a small jet plane. But it was the Tyrano Zord that was most impressive, being roughly the size of a of a three story building. And at the time, none of them were their friends.

"That must be them," said Conner as they hopped out.

"Wow great call Conner," snapped Kira, but Bobby could tell that she was just trying to calm herself.

Bobby looked around again and counted the Zords. Yup, only three Zords.

Well at least not everything's different.

But just as they ran forward Zeltrax teleported in front of them.

Couldn't this be more straight forward? Just once?

"You'll have to get through me to get to those Zords," he laughed as what could only be described as a horde of tyranodrones appeared behind him.

"That's the part I'm looking forward to." Grinned Conner.

"Oh it's definitely morphing time," agreed Bobby, already feeling adrenaline pulse through his body

"You guys ready?" Ethan asked.

"Oh yeah," Kira replied.

With all in agreement, Conner stepped forward and lifted his arm, revealing the red Tyrano Morpher.

"Ready!" he called out.

"Ready!" agreed the other three as they stepped forward.

Bobby took one last glance at Kira, and then did what every Power Rangers fan boy has ever dreamed about. He morphed.

"Dino Thunder! Power up! HA!"

He pressed the activation button, and immediately felt a large pulse of energy run through his body as he was consumed by light. He could feel the suit shooting onto his body, and then his vision became a little bit darker as his helmet materialized in front of his face. When the light cleared, he and his three new friends were standing there in their new ranger suits. For a moment they were all shocked that it had actually worked. But then they were all serious again and ready to face down Zeltrax.

"Power Rangers," snarled Zeltrax.

"Call out your weapons," Tommy instructed, "Their in your belts."

There was a flash of light, and Bobby immediately saw a large green sword appear in the air.

"Alright," he heard Conner exclaim, "I got a Tyrano Staff."

"I can come to grips with this, Ptera Grips!"

"Tricera Shield!"

"Stega Blade!" Bobby called out instinctively, not even bothering to question how he knew the weapons name.

"Enough!" roared Zeltrax as the Tyranodrones charged forward.

In their first fight, the Tyranodrones appearance on their own had been enough to make Bobby run for the hills. In the second fight, having a bit more confidence had allowed him to fight them straight off, but he still had to consciously make sure he didn't let fear control him. Now things were different. He'd fought the Tyranodrones twice, and won both times, and now with the power that he could feel flowing so naturally through his body, Bobby knew he was ready for them.

He darted forward with the others, swinging his Stega Blade wildly at the Tyranodrones. Although Bobby was still certain that the Dino gem had altered his body enough for him to fight, it had nothing on the ranger powers. Bobby ducked and weaved between the Tyranodrones gracefully, slashing away at them with every opportunity.

After completely decimating the Tyranodrone numbers, the rangers ran up to face Zeltrax.

"Not so fast," he laughed as a thin beam of energy shot out and wrapped around Ethan before throwing him into a wall. Bobby and the others quickly ran to support him, only to be blasted down as Zeltrax fired lasers from his eyes.

Okay, fan question answered, Bobby thought, you can feel pain through the suits.

"Rangers!" Tommy called to them, "Combine your weapons!"

"Right!"

Bobby picked up his Stega Blade and slid it under the bottom of the blaster, finding that it fitted perfectly.

"Z-Rex Blaster!" they called out, "Aim! Fire!"

The Blaster hounded as a large blaster of energy shot out and hit Zeltrax, sending the cyborg flying backwards.

"You've shown me your weapons!" Zeltrax roared as he got to his feet, "Now meet mine!"

The cyborg disappeared in a flash of green, and suddenly a large aircraft burst through the black clouds, opening fire on Tommy and the Rangers. They managed to see the attack coming in time to get out of the way, but the explosion still through them to the ground.

"How do we fight that?" Ethan demanded as the five of them climbed to their feet.

"You have to tame the Zords!" Tommy told him, "Concentrate, your Morpher will communicate your thoughts to it."

Ethan nodded and ran towards the Tricera Zord, but slowing down as he got closer to it, approaching as if he were about to ride an angry bull.

"Easy boy," he said calmly.

Suddenly the Zord flashed, and the mechanical triceratops's colour changed from green to blue and white.

"It worked!" he exclaimed.

"Alright then," decided Kira as she turned her attention to the Ptera Zord, which was perched on a nearby building, "my turn. We can be friends right?"

Again the Zord glowed and changed into Kira's ranger colour, yellow.

"Two down, one to go." Bobby announced happily. But suddenly the large green tyrannosaurus charged, and with its spinning tail, it struck down the other two Zords, sending both of them flying.

"Conner! The Tyrano Zords out of control." Ethan yelled

"You can do this Conner," Tommy told him, probably assuming that if Conner remained calm, it would be easier to calm the mechanical T-Rex.

Suddenly there was a flash, and the Tyrano Zord turned red.

Thank god for that, Bobby breathed, he didn't want to think about what would have happened if that didn't work.

"There's only one thing left to do," Tommy informed them, "time to bring them together. You can do it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that?" snarled a voice behind them, and the rangers spun around to see Elsa standing with another group of Tyranodrones.

Okay, Bobby decided, that's new.

But he knew that he couldn't waste time contemplating it. Every minute spent thinking was another minute Zeltrax had to destroy the city. He knew what he had to do.

"You guys worry about that airship," he told the other three, not taking his gaze off Elsa, "I'll handle this."

"Are you sure?" Kira asked.

"She's just a distraction," Bobby replied, "Zeltrax needs to be stopped."

There was silence for a moment, and Bobby could tell that the rangers were busy contemplating.

"Alright, let's go." Conner decided, and the three rangers immediately ran towards their Zords.

"Good luck," Kira told him.

"You to," smiled Bobby beneath his visor.

"Ahh that's sweet," snarled Elsa, "and it's making me sick."

"Well if you only need a doctor now," taunted Bobby, "you're about to need a hospital. Thundermax Blaster!"

He quickly whipped out the blaster on his belt and opened fire on the Tyranodrones.

"You still have me to deal with!" roared Elsa as she leapt forward, giving Bobby only just enough time to switch to Sabre mode and block her attack. Not wasting any time, Bobby pushed her back and then delivered an attack of his own. Unsurprisingly, Elsa blocked it, but what she didn't expect was for Bobby use his momentum from the first attack to deliver a powerful tornado kick, sending her spinning to the ground.

"Want more?" he questioned as he pointed his Thundermax Sabre towards her.

"I can see my time is wasted here," she spat, "But this isn't over!"

She immediately disappeared in a flash of green.

Relieved that the fight was over, Bobby ran back over to Tommy, who was beaming with pride.

"How'd I do?" Bobby asked jokingly.

"Well it went better than my first morph," he replied with a chuckled, "for starters you actually fought with the good guys."

Bobby chuckled as he looked up at the air assault craft, just in time to see the Thundersaurus Megazord flying above it, activate the Dino Drill, and then shoot straight through the middle of the craft, blowing the whole thing to pieces.

"yeah," smiled Bobby, "That's how it's done."

*****

"Keep these bracelets on you at all times," Tommy instructed as he handed out the small metal wristband each with their corresponding dino gem neatly fitted into it, "they'll access your Morphers when you need them, as well as allow you to communicate with me, as well as each other.

All four of them took the bracelets, none of them believing what they had just done.

"Dr. O? I know you're real smart and a science teacher, and everything," Kira began, "but this is… I mean, how did you…?"

"I'll fill you in," Tommy told her, "in time."

"Speaking of time," said Ethan, "do you think Mesogog will stick around for long?"

"They always do," muttered Bobby under his breath.

"They?" asked Kira as she looked at Bobby in surprise, making him realize he had not been as quiet as he thought.

Luckily Tommy jumped in to save him just in time.

"I know it's a lot to take in," he cut in.

"That's for sure."

"You're lives just changed in ways you can't possibly imagine," Tommy continued, "but as long as you work together, and remember you're a team, no one can defeat you. No one."

The four newly appointed rangers nodded, and again Bobby thought about his situation. Tommy was right, his life had just changed. He'd only been in this world for two days and was already beginning to come to terms with being there. And although he had been initially frightened by the idea of becoming a ranger, the very second he'd morphed he knew that it felt right. He knew that it was no coincidence that he was in this world and a ranger, and knew that if he didn't stay, he'd be putting his new team mates in danger. He'd be putting Kira in danger. At that point he realized that if he was going to get to the bottom of this, he would have to let events unfold when they were ready to. And in the mean time, he would help the rangers against Mesogog. Tommy was right, his life had just changed, and he wasn't going to ignore it.

A/N: I would like to quickly point out that this will not be a straight retelling of Dino Thunder with an extra character, even though retelling some of the stories is important here, there is a lot of extra stuff that I'll be writing. Elsa appearing in the battle was just the tip of the Ice burg. Thank you to those who reviewed, keep it up, and to the people who haven't, please do.