DAY FIVE-Tuesday
A few days later, the Dino Thunder teens were back at the youth center. Sitting at the table that had become their usual place, they picked at the remnants of their food. They had eaten a late lunch after spending most of the day at the cabin.
"Ok. That's it," Conner said. "We have been sitting here or in the cabin for the last three days. When is something going to happen?"
"Whenever Dr. O says," Kira said. "He doesn't want us interfering with the rangers anymore than we have to."
"And since there's still no sign of Tick-Tock," Trent added, "we have to sit here."
They all let out a sigh and stared off into space.
"Is it time to go meet Dr. O in the park?" Ethan asked.
Kira turned to look at the clock.
"Almost," she said. "Oh! Look."
They all turned and looked in the direction Kira was facing. The rangers had just walked in. Tommy was with them and they were all laughing and talking.
"They must've broken the spell," Trent said.
The other rangers sat down at a table nearby. A few of them glanced over at the Dino teens, but no one made a move to approach them.
"That's great," Ethan said. "I guess we don't have to worry about Dr. O dying anymore. Well, I guess he could still die. But they aren't going to kill him."
Kira rolled her eyes.
"Come on guys," she said. "It's close enough to time. Let's go meet Dr. O for an update."
They stood up from the table and headed for the door.
"I wonder where they're going," Kim said, watching the new kids head out the door.
"You know," Zach said. "They've been here almost all week and I have yet to see them at school. Has anyone else seen them?"
Everyone shook their heads no.
"Come to think of it," Jason said, "this is the only place I've seen them since we ran into Trent on the street."
"Something's got to be up with them," said Trini.
"Well, why don't we go ask them?" Tommy said.
"Yeah," said Jason. "Come on guys. Let's go talk to them."
Standing up, they followed the other teens out the door.
"Anyone see Dr. O?" Ethan said, looking around.
They were wandering through the park, trying to find Dr. Oliver. There weren't a lot of people around, but they still couldn't find him.
"Maybe he's not here yet," Kira said. "We did leave a little early."
"Which means we'll probably be waiting another ten minutes," Conner said.
"Wait," said Trent. "There he is."
He pointed toward a fountain. Dr. Oliver was leaning against a lamp post watching them. Waving, the kids started heading in his direction. Suddenly, he disappeared. The teens froze, looking around in surprise.
"Why did he just turn invisible?" asked Kira.
"Uh, guys," Trent said, looking behind them.
The other three turned around to see the original rangers walking toward them.
"Great," Conner muttered. "Hey guys!"
Jason and the others stopped next to them. Tommy was standing next to Jason, studying the four teens.
"Hey," Jason said. "We haven't seen you four around much."
"We've been busy," Conner said.
"What are you doing in the park?" Kim asked.
"Looking for our teacher," said Ethan.
"This is a weird place to be looking for your teacher," Tommy said.
"Yeah, well, he's a weird teacher," Conner said.
His head jerked forward.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.
"Are you ok?" Trini asked.
"Oh, yeah," said Conner quickly. "It was a bee."
"That must've been one big bee," said Zach.
Kira glared at Conner. He shrugged, putting his hands up. Shaking her head, Kira turned back to the other group. They were still staring.
"So why haven't we seen you in school?" asked Tommy after a moment.
"Uh, we're on break," said Conner. "From our school."
"We're on a research trip," Ethan added quickly. "Out here in the hills."
"What are you researching?" Billy asked.
"Rocks," Conner answered. "Really old rocks."
The rangers looked at Conner in confusion. Ethan smacked his forehead with one hand.
"Fossils," Kira snapped.
"Right," said Conner. "Fossils."
"How long are you guys gonna be here?" Jason asked.
"Umm… Well," Conner started to say.
But he didn't get any further as both groups found themselves completely surrounded by putties. Both teams immediately dropped into defensive stances. The Dino Thunder team created a circle, back to back, while the other rangers stayed a little more spread out.
"You guys should get out of here," Jason said, looking over his shoulder at Conner and the rest of the team.
"So should you," retorted Conner.
The putties attacked and both groups jumped into the fight. The originals seemed shocked at how well the Dino Thunder team was doing, but they were too distracted to ask questions. After a few minutes, Trini and Billy found themselves surrounded and cut off from the other rangers. Billy got knocked to the ground and Trini ran over to him.
"Are you ok?" she asked, helping him up.
"I'm fine," he said. "Look out!"
Trini turned around to see a putty leaping at her. Surprised, Trini didn't have time to defend herself. But before it reached her, the putty suddenly went flying in the other direction like it had been thrown. Trini and Billy stared in surprise.
"What just happened?" Trini asked.
Billy just shook his head. They joined back in the fight, still occasionally seeing putties go down when no one was around. Taking down the last of the putties, the two teams paused. But not for long. With the putties gone, Goldar and Scorpina appeared to face the rangers.
"Get out of here!" Jason yelled, looking at the Dino Thunder team.
"He's got to be kidding," Conner muttered. "Like we're really going anywhere."
The other rangers made no move to morph. The Dino Thunder team exchanged looks. It was quickly turning into a face-off of who would give first.
"We can't fight them un-morphed," Kira said quietly. "And they aren't going to morph with us here. They're going to stick to the code."
"Decision made then," said Conner. "Let's do this. Ready?"
"Ready," said the other three, pulling out their morphers.
"Dino Thunder, power up! Hyah!" called Conner, Ethan, and Kira.
"White Ranger, power up!" said Trent.
The original rangers stared at the Dino Thunder team in complete shock. Even Goldar and Scorpina paused. Zach recovered first.
"I told you so!" he exclaimed, whipping around to look at Jason. "I knew they were power rangers."
"Forget it, Zach," Jason answered. "We'll talk about it later. It's morphin' time!"
"Dragonzord!" called Tommy.
"Mastadon!" called Zach.
"Pterodactyl!" called Kimberly.
"Triceratops!" called Billy.
"Sabertooth Tiger!" called Trini.
"Tyrannosaurus!" called Jason.
"You think just because there are more of you that you can defeat me?" said Goldar. "We will destroy you all!"
"Wow," Kira said, looking at Scorpina and Goldar. "That gold armor stuff is really tacky. At least Elsa is fashionable."
The original rangers stared at the Dino Thunder team as they debated back and forth. Scorpina and Goldar advanced toward the two teams.
"Yeah," said Ethan. "In a creepy, mutant, psycho way."
"Better than her," Kira said, gesturing at Scorpina.
"How dare you!" Scorpina exclaimed.
Kira, Trent, Ethan, and Conner looked over at her.
"Oh, right," Kira said. "Time to take down the bad guys."
"We've got this," Jason said, taking a step toward Goldar.
"Right," Tommy said, stepping up next to him.
Both of them jumped sideways in surprise when the black ranger suddenly appeared between them. Dr. Oliver didn't pause, but ran straight for Goldar, pulling his Brachio staff out as he ran.
"Wait!" Jason yelled after him. "You'll never beat him!"
"I'll bet you five bucks he can!" Conner called as the Dino Thunder team charged Scorpina.
"I'll bet twenty!" Ethan said.
The rangers stared at Ethan and Conner in surprise for a moment. All four of the Dino Ranger teens were battling with Scorpina and keeping her busy. Dr. Oliver was fighting with Goldar alone. He was matching Goldar blow for blow, both moving so quickly their weapons were blurred. Tommy leapt forward to try and join the fight, but he was thrown backward.
"Tommy," cried Kimberly, running to help him up. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine. Maybe he doesn't need help."
Surprised by the strength of the new team, Goldar and Scorpina retreated, leaving the two ranger teams behind. The original rangers grouped around Jason while the Dino Thunder team all moved to stand next to Conner.
"Alright. Who are you and where did you come from?" Jason demanded.
Conner glanced back at Dr. Oliver, who nodded.
"We need to talk," Conner said, turning back to Jason.
"Why don't we head back to your command center," Kira suggested. "We'll tell you what we can."
"How do you know about the command center?" Kim asked.
"We should probably get out of here," Ethan said, glancing around. "We're starting to draw attention."
People had started to notice there were two teams of power rangers. They were gathering again, talking and pointing.
"Fine," Jason said. "We'll teleport you there."
The originals moved forward to the Dino Thunder team. Jason put a hand on Conner's shoulder while Trini placed a hand on Kira's, Billy on Ethan's, and Zach on Trent's. Kim stepped forward to touch Dr. Oliver's shoulder, but he held up a hand to stop her, disappearing in a flash of green light. The original rangers stared in shock.
"I thought you guys couldn't teleport," Zach said.
"We can't," Conner said. "He's—well—"
"He's special," Kira interrupted. "We'll explain more at the command center."
Nodding, the original rangers teleported themselves and the Dino Thunder team out of the park. When they arrived at the command center, Dr. Oliver was already there. He was leaning against the computer console, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked up at Zordon. Alpha was on the other side of the room.
"Ay yi yi yi!" he was exclaiming. "Not again!"
"It's alright, Alpha," Jason said. "They're friends. I think."
The Dino Thunder team exchanged looks. Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent de-morphed and the original rangers followed suit. They stared at each other for a moment as Dr. Oliver moved to stand behind his team, staying morphed and leaning back against the console. The original rangers stood across from the Dino Thunder team, Jason standing in front. Tommy leaned against the console on that side of the room, mirroring Dr. Oliver. Billy looked between the two of them thoughtfully.
"Rangers," Zordon said. "We need to figure out what is going on. Who are you and what are you doing in this time?"
The teens looked up a Zordon.
"Well…" Conner said, glancing back at Dr. Oliver.
Dr. Oliver nodded and Conner took a deep breath.
"We're from the future," he said.
"What?" Zach exclaimed. "Like time travel? Why would you want to come here?"
"We didn't exactly do it on purpose," Ethan said. "We were in the middle of a fight and things went, well, wrong."
"So why are you still here?" Jason asked.
"We're trying to track some things down," Conner answered. "But it's a little harder than we thought it would be."
"What are you trying to track down?" Kim asked. "Is it something we can help with?"
"No," Conner said, shaking his head. "We're trying to just lay low until we can get out of here."
"Yeah," Ethan said. "And the technology today is horrible for doing anything."
"Ethan," Kira said, rolling her eyes. "Deal with it. You can get your computer fix when we get back home."
"But there isn't even a decent cell phone," Ethan grumbled. "I mean, how are we even supposed to—"
"Umm… Ethan," Trent said, poking him in the arm. "You're making the black ranger mad… He's glaring at you underneath his helmet…"
Ethan turned around. Dr. Oliver was looking at him, arms still crossed.
"Sorry," he muttered, turning back around.
"Wait a minute," Jason said, looking at Conner. "I thought you were the leader of this team."
"I am," Conner said defensively.
"Then why do all of you keep looking back at him?" said Jason.
"He's our mentor," Conner said. "Ouch!"
His head jerked forward as Dr. Oliver smacked him in the back of the head.
"Right, sorry," said Conner, rubbing his head. "Forget I said that. It's hard to remember what I can and can't say. It would be so much easier if we could just—"
Dr. Oliver growled and Conner stopped talking.
"He made a noise!" Zach exclaimed.
"Duh," Kira said. "He can talk you know."
"Then why doesn't he?" Zach asked. "And why is he still morphed?"
"Well… Because he doesn't," Kira said, looking over her shoulder. "And he's—well, he—"
"He's stuck," Conner blurted out.
The teens all groaned, shaking their heads. Dr. Oliver let out a sigh.
"Stuck?" Billy said, taking a step toward Dr. Oliver. "Is there something I can—"
Dr. Oliver held up a hand to stop Billy. The blue ranger nodded and stayed where he was, frowning.
"He's not stuck," Kira said.
"Well, he better not be," Conner muttered. "Not after everything that happened the last time."
"Last time?" Trini said.
"Conner," Kira said, glaring at him. "Anyways, he's not stuck. He just isn't de-morphing."
"Why not?" Tommy asked.
"Doesn't he trust us?" Kim said.
The Dino Thunder team exchanged glances and then they all turned to look at Dr. Oliver. He groaned, putting on hand to his head in frustration. The not talking was starting to drive him nuts.
"Sorry," Conner said. "It's a lot harder when you don't say anything. I mean, you usually explain everything and—"
Dr. Oliver straightened up and clapped a hand on Conner's shoulder. Conner looked up at him as Dr. Oliver transported both of them out of the room. The other three sighed, shaking their heads and looking at each other.
"Should we go after them?" Trini asked.
"No," Kira sighed. "They'll be back."
"So if the black ranger usually does the talking, then why isn't he talking now?" Tommy asked. "And why did he leave the command center to talk to Conner?"
"It's—complicated," Trent said, shrugging.
A moment later, Conner and Dr. Oliver reappeared. Dr. Oliver was gripping Conner's arm rather tightly.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Conner exclaimed. "Geez, I got the point. You can let go now."
Dr. Oliver let go of Conner's arm and returned to his place behind the team.
"You're just as bad as Hay—" Conner started to say.
Dr. Oliver let out a low growl again, starting to step forward.
"Tech! I mean Tech!" Conner recovered, flinching.
Conner took a deep breath and turned back to the original rangers.
"Anyways," he said, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "There's a lot we can't tell you. But we aren't here to hurt you and we're going to stay out of your way as much as possible."
"Why can't you tell us anything?" Jason asked.
"Rangers," Zordon said. "They cannot tell us anything for fear of disrupting the time stream."
"Right," Billy said. "If they mess something up in this present, then their present might never come to exist. Which means they would most likely cease to exist themselves."
The group stared at Billy for a moment.
"You make my head hurt even more now than you usually do," Conner muttered. "And no, I'm not explaining myself."
All of the rangers were silent for a moment. The original team was looking at the Dino Thunder team, trying to figure out how to take them.
"So how are you going to get back to your time?" Tommy asked after a moment.
"Hopefully the same way we got here," Conner said. "But, like I said, tracking it down hasn't been easy."
An alarm started going off. The Dino Thunder team, except for Dr. Oliver, all jumped, looking around in surprise. Dr. Oliver immediately moved to the viewing globe.
"What is it, Zordon?" Trini asked.
"Rangers," he said. "Observe the viewing globe. A new monster is attacking Angel Grove. Goldar and Scorpina are with him."
Both teams looked into the viewing globe. The Dino Thunder rangers exchanged glances. It was Tick-Tock. He had finally shown up. But it looked like Rita was about to catch him.
"We'll have to finish this later," Jason said. "We've got to stop them."
"We're coming with you," Conner said. "And we aren't taking no for an answer."
"Sensors indicate the monster is called Tick-Tock," Alpha said before Jason could argue. "But the readings are strange."
"Be careful, rangers," Zordon said.
"We will," Jason said. "It's Morphin' Time!"
The two ranger teams arrived to find Tick-Tock rampaging through the park. He was surrounded by putties, Goldar and Scorpina watching from a distance.
"There you are, rangers," Tick-Tock said, catching sight of them. "It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you'd lost track of time."
"Yeah right, Tick-Tock," Conner said, taking the lead. "You might have gotten away for a little while, but you won't get the best of us this time."
As the two ranger teams charged, the putties attacked them. The rangers split up, fighting their way toward Tick-Tock. Laughing, Scorpina and Goldar disappeared, thinking to let Tick-Tock do their dirty work. Knowing they had to reach Tick-Tock first to stop the other rangers from destroying him, the Dino rangers fought hard. But the original team reached him first, pulling out their power blasters and shooting at him.
"Back to the beginning!" Tick-Tock yelled, hitting the button on top of his watch.
The two ranger teams arrived to find Tick-Tock rampaging through the park. He was surrounded by putties, Goldar and Scorpina watching from a distance.
"There you are, rangers," Tick-Tock said, catching sight of them. "It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you'd lost track of time."
"We're not playing this game again," Conner yelled, charging forward.
The Dino Thunder team charged Tick-Tock as the original rangers started falling into the same pattern as last time. They fought through the putties and moved to attack Tick-Tock.
"Forget it!" Ethan yelled as they pulled out their blasters. "He'll just reset the fight again. It's that watch!"
The original rangers stopped, looking at the other team in surprise. Taking the lead, Conner led the Dino Thunder team in to confront Tick-Tock. They attacked without weapons, the five rangers working together to take on the monster. Conner dove for the watch, hoping to reset it to send them forward. But Tick-Tock saw him coming and swung the watch, catching Conner with it and sending him flying backward. Conner grunted as he hit the ground, but he rolled and ran straight back to the fight.
"Back to the beginning!" Tick-Tock yelled, hitting the button on top of his watch.
The two ranger teams arrived to find Tick-Tock rampaging through the park. He was surrounded by putties, Goldar and Scorpina watching from a distance.
"There you are, rangers," Tick-Tock said, catching sight of them. "It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you'd lost track of time."
The Dino Thunder team didn't even pause this time. They just ran straight for him. Putties swarmed them, slowing the team down.
"That's enough!" Jason snapped, getting irritated with the resets. "We're gonna have to hit him from all sides. Take him out quickly."
"Got it!" the other originals agreed, splitting up.
Letting the Dino Thunder team deal with the putties, they moved to surround Tick-Tock, each of them pulling out their power weapon.
"Now!" Jason yelled.
Dr. Oliver heard his yell and spun around to see the six rangers converging on Tick-Tock. And Jason was aiming straight for the pocket watch. Without hesitating, Dr. Oliver sprinted to stop them.
"Jason, no!" he yelled, leaping in the way of Jason's strike.
Jason looked around in shock, thinking he had heard Tommy yelling. But Tommy was still charging the monster. Jason looked back up in time to see the black Dino ranger leap in the way of his attack. Dr. Oliver took a direct hit from Jason's power sword and went flying backward as the other original rangers struck Tick-Tock. Landing hard, Dr. Oliver de-morphed. He started to push himself up to his knees, but collapsed, unconscious. The other rangers' attacks hit Tick-Tock from behind, finding his weak spot and destroying him.
"Dr. O!" the four teens screamed, forgetting about not using his name.
They ran toward him, ignoring the other rangers. Conner got there first, dropping down next to Dr. Oliver and putting a hand on the back of his shoulder. He shook him lightly, trying to get a response.
"Dr. O!" he said as the other three joined him. "Come on. Get up."
"Wake up, Dr. O," Kira said. "We can't get out of here without you."
He didn't stir. Billy ran up behind them. Kneeling down next to the teens, he helped roll Dr. Oliver over and got his first glimpse of the other ranger's face.
"Tommy?" he said in shock, staring down at Dr. Oliver.
"What is it Billy?" Tommy asked as he and the other rangers came running over.
When he saw Dr. Oliver's face he froze, just staring in complete shock. Kim glanced between the two Tommy's for a moment, and then she passed out. No one noticed because the rest of the rangers were still staring at Dr. Oliver.
"What's going on?" Jason demanded.
"Doesn't matter right now," Conner snapped. "We need to get him out of here. Now!"
"Right," Billy said, shaking himself. "Let's take him back to the command center. We can talk more there."
"And don't forget her," Ethan said, nodding to Kim.
"Oh, yeah," Zach said, picking her up. "Ooph. She's heavy for a small girl."
With the original rangers standing in a circle around the unconscious Dr. Oliver and the Dino Rangers, they all teleported back to the command center.