So, for clarification sake, since now things are going to get particularly hairy. "Tommy" will refer to either version when there is only one present. When both individuals are present, or a specific distinction needs to be made, "Tommy" will refer to the 1995 White Ranger, while "Dr. Oliver" or "Dr. O" (in the case of teenage dino thunder speak) will refer to the 2004 Black Ranger.
And now onward
Forgetting to close the curtains when going to bed after the day like Tommy had had was a bad idea. All he had wanted was to curl up in bed and not wake up for a very long time. Unfortunately, the sun had other plans for him, as the light spilled into through the unshielded window on Sunday morning. For a few moments he kicked himself mentally for giving Kira the back room that didn't face the rising sun. Groaning, he turned his head, looking at the clock through one blurry eye, on the nightstand. Three red numerals showed that it was just barely approaching 9:00 in the morning. He started to close his eyes again, but the sound of voices, confused him.
Instead, he pushed himself to his knees and brought one leg off the bed, followed by the other. He stretched and turned to face the mirror, examining himself for a moment. Briefly, he contemplated putting his glasses on, but all the teenagers running around his life, plus Connor's old man comment from the day before had struck a nerve, and he left them where they were on the night stand, walking out into the living room wearing nothing but a pair of black sweat pants.
He was taken by surprise at what he saw around the dining room table: four teenagers happily chattering while eating bowls of fruit loops. There was no arguing. No bickering. No competiveness between the red clad youth and the white clad one. And on top of that, all four were dressed in clothing acceptable for being seen in during the day time. He frowned, at them for a moment, before walking past them and going into the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of cereal as well.
Turning back around, box in one hand, bowl in the other, he smiled. "So, I was thinking, since you haven't been to school in four days, maybe today we'll go to the library. You've got midterms coming up," he told the teenagers.
"No can do, Dr. O," Connor replied, flipping through one of the magazines he and Ethan had found in the loft.
"Sorry Dr. O," Kira added, her voice light, with a smile on her face. "We've got plans."
"Plans?" Tommy asked the teenagers, confused. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to like where this was going.
"Yep," Trent told him, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Rangers invited us to hang out today."
"They invited you to what?" Tommy asked them, stunned by the teenagers' answers.
"Trent and I are meeting Adam, Rocky, and Tommy at the youth center to work out," Connor told him, ignoring the looks that the adult version of Tommy was shooting at him. It wasn't that he didn't see them, it was more like he didn't acknowledge them.
"And I'm meeting Aisha and Kimberly to spend the day," Kira replied. "Not sure what we're doing yet. There was mention of a movie," she added, bring her bowl to the sink. She placed it inside and turned, leaning back on the edge of the counter on her elbows.
Tommy looked back and forth between Connor and her, still trying to process what they were telling him, his mouth slightly open. Finally he turned to Ethan.
"And you?" he asked the teenager in blue, who shrugged.
"Billy's going to be here soon. He asked for my help to work on a plan for their memories, as well as getting us back to our time. We're heading to the Command Center."
Tommy just blinked rapidly. "So you're all leaving me?" he pouted. He honestly couldn't believe what they were telling him, or how he was reacting. Part of him was simply upset that the teenagers had made plans for the day without checking with him. Sure, Connor was actually the leader, but the teens often deferred to him in times of crisis. Not to mention that he was the only one of the five familiar with the location and time. But a much larger part of him was actually jealous that his friends would have made plans with the teenagers and not invited him along. Seeing them all, had brought back memories, and connections in his heart that he hadn't thought about in a long time. He had already resolved to do everything in his power to reach out to them, if they'd have him, when he finally got home.
In Reefside, he often felt like an outsider, even among the rangers. A man nearing the age of thirty didn't always fit in with a group of teenagers. Sure, they always strove to make him feel like one of the group, a member of the team, and not the old man they got saddled with. But it didn't make him always feel like one of them. But there at least, he had Haley. And if he was honest with himself, there were others he could always reach out to. He spoke to Billy every few months or so. Seeing himself so close with his friends was painful to watch, because he knew that he was partially responsible for the disintegration of the bonds they shared. But now, to hear that his current team was able to form bonds with his friends so easily, shook him to his very core. It seemed even among them, there was no place for him.
"You can come you know," Ethan told him. "I already told Billy you'd want to," he added with a laugh. "We were kind of counting on it."
"You were?" Tommy stated, slight disbelief in his voice.
"Yes, you big baby," he retorted. "Go get dressed or they'll make fun of you for being late."
Tommy glared at him, but actually did as the blue ranger suggested. When he'd finished, he walked back out into the center of the cabin, to find it nearly deserted save for Ethan who was at the sink washing the breakfast dishes. Ethan peaked over his shoulder at Tommy, and then turned back to the sink. "They left," he replied to his mentor's silent question. "Promised they'd all be back this evening before sunset. You ready to go? I told Billy we'd meet him outside."
"Yeah," Tommy replied, as the teen dried his hands on a towel. Tommy led the way out of the cabin.
"Dude," Ethan stated. "Did you seriously think we'd leave you behind?"
"Shut up," Tommy hissed at him, slapping the teenager lightly behind his head. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get Ethan to glare at him.
"Do it again and I'll tell Billy not to take you with us," he said, as a blue steak of light landed in front of them. Tommy just laughed at him.
Later that afternoon Kira sat at a table in the park with Kimberly on one side of her and Aisha on the other. Each girl had a purple and teal movie theater soft drink cup in their hands.
"Thanks for treating to the movie Kim," Kira stated.
"Have you seen it before?" Kimberly asked her, laughing. "You know, in Reefside?" She left out the mention of the future, knowing Kira would know exactly what she meant. The yellow clad teenager with blonde hair smiled and shook her head.
"No," she stated. "That's one movie I hadn't seen. I was only eight when it came out," she said. "And being the only girl in the group, it's not a movie I could convince the guys to watch. It was really funny though," she told them.
"I laughed so hard when Marcia got hit in the nose," Aisha laughed. "As if a swollen nose is the worst thing in the world." Kimberly and Kira laughed and nodded in agreement.
"So," Kimberly asked, "what is it like being the only girl on the team? I don't know what I'd do without Aisha."
"Oh," Kira stated. "It's not that bad. The guys are pretty cool. Connor can be a bit annoying at times, but they don't treat me any differently. They know I can hold my own just as well as they can."
"Don't you get lonely for some girl talk," Aisha asked her.
"No," Kira laughed and shook her head. "I'm not normally into all that girly stuff," Kira added. "Although, there was this one time," she trailed off in thought for a moment. "A meteor brought out a latent side of our personalities. All I wanted to do was shop. I even complained about getting helmet hair from our ranger uniform," she finished with a very quiet voice.
Aisha laughed and Kimberly blushed as she remembered her first time donning the unifor, laughing as well. "That sounds like being a ranger; all sorts of weird things happening."
"And besides, I've always got Haley," Kira added in.
"Dr. Oliver mentioned her yesterday," Aisha stated. "Who is she? Do we know her?"
"I don't think so," Kira stated, shaking her head and taking a sip of her drink. "Dr. O met her when they were in college. They're best friends." She noticed both girls' smiles falter a little, the light in their eyes dim. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's alright," Aisha said. "Times change; people change." Kimberly just nodded sadly.
"Tell me about Tommy," Kira stated, trying to change the topic. "I mean, Dr. Tommy Oliver I know, but Tommy just seems so different. What's he like now? As a leader?"
"Oh right," Kimberly laughed. "Connor's your leader," she nodded. "That makes sense. Before Tommy, Jason was our leader. He was red, too. So anyway, what's he like… well…"
"He tends to be late for things," Aisha laughed. "If we really need him to be somewhere, we often tell him thirty minutes or an hour before, just to make sure he's on time. But as a leader; Rocky makes a great second in command, but Tommy tends to think things through a bit more. He's definitely worthy of the title."
"And forgetful. The boy is always misplacing things," Kimberly added in, a sweet smile on her face. She stared into the air. "It's actually kind of adorable."
"So, what's up with you two?" Kira asked her, a teasing grin on her face. "You two together?"
"They've been an item for a few years now," Aisha told Kira. Kim nodded.
"Well, it wasn't quite official when he was green, but since he became the white ranger, we've really been inseparable."
"Oh, right, after you broke the spell he was under," Kira stated.
"You know about that?" Kimberly asked, surprised at the other girls knowledge. The Tommy she knew wasn't big on talking about his evil green ranger days.
"Yeah, well, we went through something similar with Trent," Kira told them. "Mesogog had the white dino gem before Trent bonded to it. When he did, he went evil on us; a little insane as well. Dr. O helped him through the aftermath, once we turned him good."
"Makes sense," Aisha told her, standing up from the table. "What do you say we check on the guys at the youth center?"
"Sure," Kimberly said, following her. Kira nodded, joining the other two girls as they began to walk in the direction of town. They'd barely gone ten yards when they found their path cut off by a group of tengas and a strange creature Kira had never seen before. The creature appeared to be skeletal, with the possibility of organs on the inside. He was thicker in build than any skeleton Kira had ever seen. The right side of his body was a brownish grey color, while the left side appeared painted in a brown and green camouflage pattern. He carried a sword made out of the same bone material as he was. All three girls had dropped into a fighting stance at their arrival; while once again, the local populace ran screaming in the other direction. That was nothing new to Kira.
"Ok," Kira stated, "the tengas I've seen. But what the hell is that?"
"Rito," Aisha stated simply, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Um… ok," Kira answered. That explained nothing.
"What do you want, Rito?" Kimberly yelled out.
"Aww, don'tcha want to play little ranger? I do," Rito laughed. Kimberly and Aisha looked at each other and nodded, then they glanced at Kira. Kira gave them a quick nod and twisted her wrist.
Standing beside each other, Kimberly and Aisha moved their arms in an arc pattern, Kimberly calling out "Ninja Ranger Power Now!"
Just behind them, Kira shouted "Dino Thunder, Power Up!" She pressed her morph button.
At that point one fully morphed yellow ranger, and two ninja clad rangers stood in front of the tengas and Rito, threating with their poses.
"Give it up now Rito," Aisha stated.
"Sorry," he laughed. "Wish I could; but I can't. Get em'," he instructed the tengas, which rushed forward to attack the three girls, driving them all apart. Each ranger took on a batch of tengas, refusing to back down, while Rito studied the battle. "Now," the creature stated, "let me think. Which one I am supposed to take again?" He surveyed the fight in front of him.
Used to working together, Kim and Aisha had managed to regroup. Using Aisha's hands as a spring board, Kim leaped toward a tenga, both legs colliding with one and sending it to the ground. She used the force to propel herself into a second tenga, knocking it out. When she tried to do the same to a third, it grabbed her by the ankles and jerked her out of the air.
Aisha flipped backwards, coming up between two tengas. She punched out to both her left and right, nailing them both in the beak. As they dropped, a third bird creature wrapped its wing like arms around her, pinning her arms to the sides and lifting her in the air. Despite the restraint, Aisha kicked out with her legs, preventing any other tengas from coming near.
Kira, separated from the other two girls, took on a few of the tengas on her own, using kicks and punches that Tommy had taught her and the other dino thunder teens. After taking down two, Aisha's scream as she was held captive called her attention. Kira looked up at her to see Rito moving closer to her.
"Lemme go, you feathered parasites," Aisha hissed.
"Leave her alone Rito," Kimberly yelled. A tenga had its foot pressed against her back, pinning her to the ground.
"Let'see," Rito stated, staying just outside the range of the yellow ninja ranger's flailing legs. He was scratching the rounded top of his helmet like skull. "Was it this one that I'm supposed to bring back?"
Kira didn't hesitate. She raced toward the tenga trapping Aisha and did a summersault over its head, landing between it and Rito, who stumbled backwards a few paces. Aisha stopped kicking, but continued to struggle to free herself. Taking a deep breath, Kira released a ptera scream, causing the tengas trapping the ninja rangers to release them. Kim and Aisha clapped their hands over their ears, as the tengas and Rito struggled to do the same, tripping over themselves as they raced to place as much distance between them and the fully morphed screaming ranger.
"This isn't over," Rito shouted, and disappeared with a few of the tengas. The remaining creatures took flight, racing away.
Scanning the area for witnesses and not seeing any, all three girls powered down.
"Thanks Kira," Aisha stated a worried smile on her face. She was rubbing her ears.
Kira nodded.
"That was weird," Kimberly added in. "Let's go see if Zordon knows anything," she told the other girls.
Aisha nodded and placed her hand on Kira's shoulder. "Ready?" she asked the girl, who nodded. A moment later they teleported straight into the Command Center, startling the three male rangers working at the consoles.
"Kira," Tommy stated, catching the girl as Aisha released her when they materialized, confused. "Are you ok?"
She nodded. "We were attacked," she stated, coughing a bit.
"You've got to stop using your scream," he scolded her gently, helping her sit down on the edge of a console. She waved him off since he was acting like a mother hen. He told them that teleporting took some time to get use do. It was definitely going to be more than three for Kira. Ethan had been wobbly on his feet for almost an hour after they arrived with Billy at the Command Center that morning. "Tengas?" he asked Kimberly and Aisha. Both teens nodded to him.
"And Rito," Kimberly told him. "Zordon, can you find out anything?"
Afraid not, Kimberly.
"Ay yi yi yi yi… Kimberly, Aisha, Kira are you alright?" Alpha 5 stated, running forward to check the girls' vitals with a scanner.
"We're fine, Alpha," Aisha assured him. "Zordon, Rito said something about taking one of us."
"He almost got away with Aisha," Kimberly stated.
"That's most unsettling," Billy told them.
"Kira stopped him," she answered. Ethan grinned, and Kira accepted the praise with a weak smile.
"Was Rito sure he was supposed to take Aisha?" Tommy asked them.
"No," Kimberly replied. "He really seemed like he couldn't remember."
Rangers, all that is apparent is that one of you three was the target. Until we know more, you should each remain with a few of the others at all times.
"I agree with Zordon," Tommy told them, getting slight glares from the girls. "There's strength in numbers," he told them. The three sighed and nodded. The older man had a point.
"Speaking of the others," Billy put in, "perhaps we should meet up with them. Let them know what happened?"
"We were pretty much done for the day here anyway," Ethan added, shrugging his shoulders.
Tommy sighed and nodded. "Kira?"
"Ugh…" the teenager mumbled, struggling to her feet. "Get it over with."
Moments later they teleported behind the trees to the side of the youth center; Tommy faded invisible. The rangers may have known who he was, but it wouldn't be good for any other Angel Grove residents to catch two Tommy's walking around.
Billy and Ethan led the way inside, happening to catch the end of a match between Adam and Connor.
"Hey guys," the white clad teenager with long hair called up to them. "What's up?" he asked with a slight frown when he saw Kim. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He put one arm around her in a hug.
Billy gave him a look, and Tommy called out to the other four, leading the entire group of eleven; ten visible; individuals to a secluded corner.
"Rito attacked the girls," Billy stated simply.
"What's a Rito?" Connor asked.
"Skeletal creature," Rocky stated.
"Rita's brother," Adam said at the same time.
"You wouldn't like him," Tommy added. The three dino thunder boys nodded. "Are you all ok?" he asked the three girls. They nodded as well.
"We're fine," Kimberly assured him. "Kira chased them off."
"Kira, your throat is going to," Trent began.
"I already got the lecture," she said quietly, cutting him off. She didn't need to be scolded twice. "I had to do something. He was gonna carry Aisha off to who knows where."
"What!" Rocky, Tommy, Adam, Connor and Trent shouted, drawing stares.
"Sorry," Rocky stated, waving to their audience. Aisha rolled her eyes.
"Quiet," she hissed at her teammates and the other two boys. "I'm fine," she stated, sensing more worry from both Adam and Rocky than any of the other guys. It made sense; they'd known each other the longest.
"Rito was going on about taking one of us," Kira told the guys.
"But we don't know who," Kimberly finished for her. "He sort of forgot which of us the target was."
"Good thing he didn't just decide to take all three of you," Trent stated, slinging his arm over Kira's shoulder. She gave him a grateful smile.
"Alright," Tommy stated, "until we figure out what they're after, you three aren't to be alone."
"We already got that lecture," Kimberly told him with a smile. "Twice."
"Good," he added, leaning down and kissing her forehead. He sat up then and looked around. "Speaking of lectures, is Dr. Oliver here?"
"Yes," was the whispered reply from behind. Tommy and the rest of his team jumped nearly out of their seats. The dino thunder teens startled slightly, but nowhere nearly as bad. They laughed.
"Not fun, is it?" Ethan asked them. Billy grumbled slightly, while the others guys blushed slightly, despite small smiles on their faces. Aisha and Kimberly were trying not to laugh.
"How'd your end of things go?" Tommy asked Billy and Ethan, and Dr. Oliver, despite the fact that they couldn't see him.
"We've got a start on the memories thing," Billy replied. "Ethan you want to explain, since it was your idea?"
"Sure," he said, noticing the current rangers were frowning. "If what we're planning works, your memories won't be erased."
"Come again?" Rocky asked him. "You all were adamant yesterday that we couldn't keep them."
Ethan grinned. "We're not going to erase them. We're just going to lock them up."
"Ethan came up with the idea," Billy said, smiling. "We're still ironing out the logistics, but I do believe I can create a device that will seal our memories until Connor and his team have returned to their rightful time."
"At which point," Ethan said, "your memories of meeting us will return. So, while you can't change anything that will happen between now and then," he put in.
"We can change things after," Adam finished for him, realization dawning on him. He gave Billy and Ethan a smile. "It's better than nothing."
"So we won't forget you guys?" Aisha said, asking Ethan who shook his head.
"I hope you'll come to Reefside when you remember," Kira told them. Kimberly reached across the table and put her hand on top of the other girls.
"Try and stop us," she said with a smile and a laugh. Unseen, Dr. Oliver's face went pale, at Kimberly's promise that when she remembered, she'd waltz back into their lives. Sure, when Ethan had proposed the plan, he'd been all for it. He'd remember the encounter as well, from both sides of the coin, so he was more than agreeable to the idea of a way to mend the broken relationships with his friends. However, now that the plan had been spoken out loud, he was more hesitant. If, and of course they would, the current teenagers knew all the details behind their separations, would they truly want to reunite? They might think so now, but as they grew up, they would grow apart. While friendship and danger bonded them together, it was easy to make such a promise. But what would happen when they remembered their new allies, but also knew all the events that would occur in between? If they didn't show up in his life again, he'd be disappointed. But more importantly, the teenagers would be devastated. He was beginning to realize that the teenagers were forming bonds with his friends. He worried that they'd be let down. And he worried that Kimberly, knowing what had happened between her and Tommy, would let that stop her from coming.
Kira, Connor, Ethan, and Trent smiled, and began talking a mile a minute, describing Reefside. They couldn't wait to show off Cyberspace. Ethan was going into detail about some of his favorite video games. Connor wanted to show off his soccer field to Adam, who suggested that they get in a game or two while they were still the same age, as he figured with years of experience he'd be able to easily best the teenager, when they met back up in 2004. Kira was promising to introduce Aisha and Kimberly to Haley, which in Dr. Oliver's mind was a very scary possibility. Haley knew about his past with Kimberly, despite the two having never met. He couldn't see that meeting going over very well. He was beginning to regret not insisting that the device erase their memories completely.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent in multiple random conversations between various groups of teenagers, while the lone invisible adult took in the whole situation. He watched the teenagers spar a few times, giving his teenage charges a bit of critique whenever they sat close enough that he could maintain a whisper. One suggestion to Kira even helped the girl take Rocky, who was taller and stockier than she was off his feet in under two minutes. When he pressed her for where she'd learned such a move, she told him Tommy taught it to her. The white clad teenager had to convince his teammate that he didn't know it yet. The complexity of the situation was amusing enough that Dr. Oliver almost drew attention to himself through laughter.
Finally, as the clock approached five o'clock in the afternoon, Tommy decided to call in quits for the day, reminding his friends that they had parents and responsibilities and school the next day. Rocky mumbled something about still having homework to do, getting a few nods from his teammates as conversation slowly shifted to what they all still had to get done before Monday morning.
"It's a short week, though," Billy told the dino thunder teens as they migrated out of the youth center all together. "We've got a long weekend coming off. Out of classes on Thursday and Friday," he added in.
"Sounds great," Connor assured him.
"What will you all do tomorrow?" Kimberly asked the visiting teens.
"I'm sure Dr. O will find something for us to do," Ethan laughed, glancing around for any sign that he was about to get smacked upside the head by an invisible hand. He relaxed after a moment when nothing happened.
"We'll meet you at the park around four if you'd like," Aisha told them.
"Give us some time to work on homework," Adam told them.
"Sounds good," Trent put in with nod. They'd all paused when they reached the road.
"Alright, tomorrow at four in the park near the swings," Tommy stated. The four dino thunder teenagers nodded. "Come on," Tommy said to his teammates. "We're walking you two home," he added, addressing Kimberly and Aisha who glared at him, although Adam, Rocky, and Billy were nodding agreement with their leader. "Kira?"
"We got her, dude," Connor told Tommy. Kira rolled her eyes, but smiled. It was kind of nice knowing the guys took it seriously that they would always have each other's back.
"Alright," Tommy nodded. "See you tomorrow," he added, waving as the two groups of rangers split in half to head home for the evening. He slipped his hand into Kimberly's as they walked.
Dr. Oliver watched them go silently for a moment before turning and jogging to catch up with his current teammates.
Not much to comment on here, except to all those who review as Guests, since I can't reply to you individually - Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying.
If you've thus far been a silent reader, - thank you as well for continuing to read.
If you have a moment, leave a review. If you love it, tell me. If you want to put out a theory, let me know. If you've got constructive criticism, please, by all means, tell me.
Thanks as always,
Fateless