Chapter 9: The History and The Search

Tommy woke up with a splitting headache and the back of his head hurt like someone had hit him with a ton of bricks. He tried to move his arms, but found them tied down to the table he was lying on. He looked around groggily, trying to figure out where he was and how he could get out. The room he was in looked like a science lab and he was the experiment.
"Good, you're awake. My master wishes to see you. Grab him!"

A small army of Tyrannodrones appeared out of nowhere and undid the restraints on Tommy's limbs. Two for each arm grabbed on and started dragging him out of the room and down a series of hallways so confusing that if he tried to escape, he would be lost. Finally, the group stopped in front of a door that slid open when the "leader" punched in the code. Throwing Tommy inside the room, the Tyrannodrones quickly followed as the door shut behind them.

"Finally. Put him in the Life-Force Extractor," a raspy voice order.

As he was being dragged, Tommy saw Mesogog, the Tyrannodrones "master" and the arch enemy of the Dino Rangers. "What do you want with me?" Tommy asked, fighting the minions.

"My sources tell me inside this crystal is a gem that only certain people can release. Despite my efforts, the crystal doesn't even have a scratch on it. I've taken the liberty to see who could possibly release the gem for me. And that someone is you, Thomas Oliver. You and only you can release the gem so that it may do my bidding." Mesogog stopped pacing and stopped right in front of Tommy. "The only way I can get it is if I take away your very own soul and use it to get the gem. Besides, you are an expert when it comes to dealing with such strange things such as this."

"Sorry, I can't help you there," Tommy said. "I'm just a high school science teacher. The only strange things I've seen are dinosaur bones."

"Really? Just a teacher?" Mesogog leaned in so close that Tommy could feel its hot breath on his skin and its rancid breath filled his nose. He forced himself not to gag, fearing that that would cause his situation to worse. "Thomas, I know your secrets, every deepest, darkest secret you've ever possessed. I know about your past, I know things you don't even know yourself. Believe me when I say that you are not just a high school science teacher." He took a couple steps back from Tommy and resumed pacing in front of him. "I know that you have three brats who are the new Power Rangers and you know what the gem inside that crystal does. I need it out and I need it out now. Turn on the machine!"

"Where is he?" Kira asked, growing impatient by the minute. "Dr. O said to be here at eight and we are."

"Yeah, this totally reminds me of level forty-three in the video game, 'Space Ninja Warriors'. The princess of Yugonu is missing and you have to go find her in the hidden passageways of the palace looking for her because the rebel leader Mosogeg has her locked away on a hidden island in the middle of the ocean," Ethan chimed in.

"Wait, what?" Conner asked, confused by Ethan's explanation. Giving up, he shook his head. "Never mind. Look, don't you guys think you are a little too paranoid about this?"

"A little?" Kira asked. "Dr. O hasn't been late to anything since we've known him. He's probably been that way since he was born. He would have been here at eight on the dot and if he was out running errands or something, wouldn't he have left a note or something? It doesn't seem like him to just ditch without warning."

"Kira's got a point," agreed Ethan. "Maybe we should look for him."
"He's probably sleeping," Conner reasoned. "It's about a twenty minute drive from Cyberspace to his house. Give or take fifteen minutes for him to get ready for bed, and by that point, it's nine forty-five at night and the poor guy is exhausted. It's way past his bed time so he decides to sleep in for an extra hour or two to make up for lost time. The elderly need their sleep, too, you know."

"Conner," Kira said, "Dr. O isn't as old as your grandmother. Now, I'm taking a shot in the dark here, but I'm pretty sure he can handle staying up past ten. He used to work at a college for God's sake!"

"Conner, if your theory is correct," Ethan said, "then we can go wake him up and do whatever he has planned for us. If he's not in the house, then we can start worrying. Sound good?"

Conner nodded his head and led the other two up the stairs to find their teacher's bedroom.

"This is bad," Kira muttered. "This is so so so bad."

"Relax, maybe he went out for a jog," Conner said.

"Where? There's no path and any person in their right mind wouldn't go in that forest without a gun and a flashlight and a cell phone," Ethan argued. "I don't know about you, but I don't think Dr. O is completely insane."

"Well, maybe we missed a note or something," Conner fought. He started to pace around the small cave trying to think of other possibilities other than just vanishing. "Check his computer and see if you can find anything. Maybe there's something on there. After all, he knows you're a computer genius."

"There's only one way to find out," Ethan said as he walked over to the computer. Pressing a couple of buttons, he hacked the password and soon a video with Dr. Oliver appeared on screen.

"What's this?" Conner asked.

"A video," Ethan said.

"Thanks, geek," Conner sneered.

"You two, stop," Kira ordered. "It's about to start."

"I'm Tommy Oliver. If you're not me, then something is seriously wrong." Tommy's voice filled the room and a serious look filled his face. The three teens looked over at each other with expressions wondering the same thing. What is he talking about? "This video diary is confidential and can only be viewed in an emergency. If this diary falls into the wrong hands, everything I and so many others have worked so hard to do, will be all for nothing and could danger the lives of a hundred very important people and, quite possibly, the world."

Not being able to take it any more, Kira reached over and hit the space bar to pause this video. "Okay, time out. What the hell is he talking about?"
"Important people's lives and the world could be in danger if this falls into the wrong hands," Conner stated. "I thought for sure you would have gotten it if I had."
"No, smart ass, I know that part," she retorted. "But what exactly is he talking about? Important people could be in danger? Who are they and why are they so important?"
"Maybe he's talking about world leaders or something," Ethan offered. "Throughout the world, they're considered important."
"Well, we're not going to find out by sitting here and asking ourselves questions," Conner said. "Play the video."

"Okay, okay, take a chill pill," grumbled Ethan. He hit the space bar and the video resumed.

"This video is about my past," Tommy said.

"Great, stories about dinosaur bones and 'crazy' college days," Conner yawned.

"This video is about my past as a Power Ranger." Conner reached over and hit the space bar again.
"Okay, what is it now, jock boy?" Kira asked.

"Um, did you not just hear what Dr. O just said?" Conner shrieked. "He was a fucking Power Ranger! Like us! Do you have any idea how much this, this guy is hiding from us? He didn't think it was important to tell us that he was once a Power Ranger, too?"
"Conner, relax," Ethan soothed. "I'm sure he was going to tell us when he was going to explain everything to us. In case you haven't noticed, we haven't exactly had the right time to sit down and talk about this."

"Oh yeah, because Dr. O was going to pull out a plate of warm chocolate chips cookies and some milk while we discussed dinosaurs and he would casually just say, 'By the way, I used to be a Power Ranger'! I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that."

"Can we discuss this later?" Kira groaned. "I want to know what else he has to say. He made this video for a reason and I think we need to see it. We can chat about all of our different theories over coffee later." She pressed the space bar and watched with the guys as their teacher's story unfolded.

He wasn't sure exactly how long the video was, but it didn't matter. He had just found out that his teacher was a Power Ranger. Ethan spun around in his chair and watched his cohorts as their brains absorbed the last given information. Their science teacher was a Power Ranger, an ex-Power Ranger, but a Power Ranger none the less.

"Our teacher is the oldest living Power Ranger," Conner whispered, "and he didn't even bother to tell us. He knows some of the most famous people on the planet, and he didn't even think about telling us. He knows so much more than he letting on and he didn't even hint to us that he knew."
"For the record, he isn't the oldest living Power Ranger, just the best." The three teens whipped around only to find Haley standing in front of them with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What are you doing here?" Conner asked.

"The better question is, what are you doing here," she echoed. "Not only are you trespassing, but you're in a teacher's home. If I didn't know Tommy and if I didn't know that he wasn't here right now, the police would have been here by now to pick up you three and perhaps Tommy, too."

"To answer your question, we're here because Dr. Oliver told us to meet him at his house at eight for training," Kira answered.

"And when she says training, she really means tutoring," Ethan said, hoping Haley wouldn't notice the slip up. "Man, Dr. O is just slamming us with information, it's hard to keep track."
"It's been the first week of school, I highly doubt Tommy would give you any homework within the first week. It' not his style," Haley retorted. "Now, tell me why you are really here."

"It's like Kira said," Conner confessed, "we're here for training. Like, fighting training."

"So you three are the new generation, huh?" Haley pondered. "I should have known. It's the same with every group."
"What do you mean?" Kira asked.

"In every generation of Power Rangers, the rangers wear their respective colors in their civilian clothing," Haley explained. "You three are no different."
"Power Rangers?" Conner sputtered. "You think we're the Power Rangers? As if. I wouldn't spend any more time than needed with these two."
"Conner, drop the act," Kira said. "She knows."
"What act? Ouch!" He rubbed the back of his head where Kira had slapped him. "What was that for?"
"For being such an idiot." Kira turned to face Haley once more. "Do you have any idea where he might be? We've tried everything."
"So you've tried the GPS locater in his belt? I'm impressed."
"What GPS locater?" the trio asked.

"So you haven't tried everything," Haley mused with a smile. She stalked over to the computer chair where Ethan was sitting and pushed him out of it. She began typing quickly, trying to find the locater on Tommy's belt."Who do you think designed all of your gear with the latest in technology? Tommy? As if! It's one thing to go to MIT, but it's a completely different thing to get a degree in paleontology at MIT."

"Wait, so you built our morphers and our zords?" Ethan asked, trying to get things straightened out in his head.
"Not the zords, no. That was Tommy and Anton's job. I just built the morphers and the weapons." Haley continued to type, her hands flying across the keyboard as she looked for the signal. "I've got a lock on Tommy. He's on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. I'm sending the coordinates to your new Raptor Cycles. There's an invisportal nearby that'll take you straight to the island fortress."
"Wait, Dr. O is on an island?" Conner asked nervously. "And islands are surrounded by water, right?"

"Generally," Kira said.

"Maybe we should call the past Rangers and see if they can come and help out," Conner suggested. "I mean, they must want to help a fellow Ranger out, right?"
"Conner, it's not that simple," Haley said. "Most Rangers don't have their powers anymore, and the only person who would know how to contact them would be Tommy. You guys are on your own."
"But isn't it dangerous to go into a super villain's liar?" Conner said, panic creeping into his voice. "Besides, we don't know how to fight really well. That could get us killed!"
"Conner, are you afraid of water?" Kira asked with a coy smile.

"I'm not afraid of anything," he defended, " especially not water. I would just like to live to see my twenty-first birthday that's all."

"Uh huh," Kira said, completely unconvinced.

"It's true!"

"You can't swim, can you?" she challenged.
Before Conner could open his mouth, Ethan interrupted the pair. "Okay you two,the longer you stand here arguing, the longer Dr. O's missing and potentially in trouble. Haley, did you send the coordinates to the cycles so we can go? The sooner we leave, the better. Besides, I really want to see if Conner can swim."

Hey guys! Long time, no talk, eh? My life has been a nutshell, but my field hockey team did make it to sectionals, the farthest we've ever gone, and I broke the shutout record with 13, beating the old record by six. Our marching band took the Crowd Favorite award at our state championship competition, and we preformed the best we ever had in the current season. Overall, it's been a good month and a half except that my boyfriend broke up with me, and I'm taking it very hard. Luckily, I have writing new chapters for you guys, so it's getting me through the day. So, thank you guys and I'm sorry this has taken so long. But now, it's COMMENTS TIME!

MaxKnight1010101-Thank you and I enjoy taking the original series and making it my own. It makes it fun to write and to read from an audience perspective.

fallingstar22-Thanks! I wanted Tommy to at least Kira's performance especially since in the original series, he originally missed the concert. I felt that with everything that has happened to the characters recently, Kira deserved to have Tommy see her first concert. As for Kira and Conner's "magic", it'll be coming up within the next couple of chapters. I'm just afraid of rushing the chemistry with everything that is going to be happening and how a real relationship tends to work. Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait until next chapter to see how the team rescues Tommy.

andyg2525-Thanks! Sorry the wait was so long. From now on, unless something dire comes up, I will be updating on Tuesdays so you can make it your Power Ranger FanFic Night!:)

YellowPrincess-Thanks, and you'll have to see what happens and if she does like him back;) (Sorry for the wait...)

FrostyTheBookLover-Yeah, he has, hasn't he? Thanks for reading!

oldtvlover-Thanks!

Well, that's it for now. As you can tell, I'm back and will be updating once again on Tuesdays. Unless something dire occurs, it will be weekly again as it was before my break. Thank you guys for sticking with me through this and I hope to get the number of readers back up to what it was a month ago. Spread the word to your other Conner/Kira, Power Rangers fan friends and let them know what is going down on this awesome story! Thanks so much again you guys. You truly make my day:)

Until next chapter,
Writingaddict169