Chapter 11

Note: Please Read and Review. I do not own or have rights to anything involving the Power Rangers; I simply combined its story with one of my own for entertainment purposes.

Setting refresher – Though this story is not canon to either series it is written as if it were set during the mid second season of MMPR before Rita's return and near the end of the fourth series of my story. Please note that these two series differ in date and time. In the world of the Power Rangers it would be late 1994 whereas in the world of Zero it is the summer of 1998, technically meaning that the character that traveled to the Power Ranger world have traveled back in time. But as the timeline has changed in the Power Ranger world, the show would play in 1998 to compensate, despite the fact that by this time the series that was being played was actually Power Rangers: In Space.

The next morning, Kim walked down the stairs of Angel Grove High School, to the main, and seemingly only, hallway. Kim was wearing a black, nearly form fitting T shirt and light blue low cut jeans of a different brand than the ones she wore the previous day. The only things that she did wear that she also wore the day before were the white low tops and whatever jewelry she might have worn. Kim saw me attempting to open a locker. I was wearing blue baggy jeans and a black sleeveless t shirt. Like Kim, I also maintained the shoes that I had been wearing which were Black Timberland boots. Kim walked up to me and said, "Hey." I looked at her and said, "Hey." I pulled on my shirt and looked down at my clothes saying, "Well one thing I can say is that you know me."

"It was hard to find outfits that I knew you would wear. The style of the clothes they had there were so… old."

"Kim, it is 1994." I said. Kim grew wide eyed and said in surprise, "Are you serious?" I nodded and said, "Yeah."

"Well that explains things then." Kim said. I managed to open my locker while Kim leaned her back against the locker next to mine and looked around at what everyone was wearing.

"God, I can't believe what people used to wear back then." Kim said.

"I know; it's a trip isn't it." I said as I started putting books in my locker. Kim looked at me and said, "So were you able to set things up last night?"

"Yeah, I snuck in yesterday and managed to hack into one of the computers to set up fake transcripts for us." I said. "We're both from a made up town in New Jersey which will we know each other and we were sent out here early to get started with school."

"It's a good thing Kimberly's mom is letting me stay with them and Jason's parents let you stay over there." Kim said. "It'll help for us to maintain our cover."

"Yeah. Plus it helps that we don't live too far from each other now." I said as I closed my locker and turned toward Kim. Kim turned toward me and said, "Michael we don't live here."

"I know that, but for all we have to maintain the illusion that we do." I said. Kim looked at me intensely. She knew me better than anyone I know, to include members of my family, and could tell easily when something was wrong or I was not telling the entire truth.

"You don't think we'll make it back, do you?" Kim asked. I let out a sharp breath and hung my head down.

"Yeah. I mean Billy's molecular transducers are a good idea, but they were built in this world and I don't know for sure whether they are capable of creating portals to different universes."

"But you should be able to fix it, right?" Kim asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart." I said. "Alpha is working on pooling data at the command center, but Jason and the others haven't heard anything yet." Kim nodded her head, half disappointed. I could not say I was pleased myself.

"How are your powers coming?" Kimberly asked.

"Well my natural abilities are back to normal. My Zero powers are back to normal. And I think my IQ is starting to return."

"Are you sure?" Kim asked.

"You want to test me?" I asked, with a grin. Kim reached into her back pack and pulled out a scientific calculator. Then she depressed the numbers as she said recited the mathematical equation and as the device calculated it, I recited the correct answer. Kim smiled and said, "You're a human computer again." She then leaned over and kissed me on the lips.

"Yeah, but there's still a question on whether severing the gateway affected my life link with David." I said.

"Well hopefully we won't have to find that out." Kim said.

"Ah!" A male voice said. Kim and I turned, slightly expanding the proximity between each other as we saw the owner of the voice; a skinny middle-aged man wearing a navy blue suit, with matching tie and a light pink dress shirt underneath. The man also had a thick graying moustache and on his head was a barely noticeable, but seemingly obvious toupee which matched the rest of his natural graying hair. Despite it being years since either one of us had seen the series, even longer for Kim, both of knew this character as the Principal of Angel Grove High School, Mr. Kaplan. Mr. Kaplan approached us slowly with his hands behind his back. "You two must be the new students. Let's see, uh…" He hung his head down to recall our information. "Ah, yes, Sean and Cori. Now which one of you is which?" Kim and I looked at each other with shock and confusion. Though it occurred to us that both the names Sean and Cori, depending on the spelling, could suggest either a male or a female, but the way our "names" were spelled were correct for the sex used. Not only that, but had he learned from us by the transcript that I generated, it revealed that Sean Barker was an African American male, and Cori Edwards was an Anglo/Latin female, which would suggest that though he looked the transcripts, he did not have time to observe them thoroughly at all. Lastly, it was not as if he were dealing with David and I, which we could have easily been mistaken for as the only major difference between us is how we wear our hair. Kim and I looked back at Mr. Kaplan with me saying, "I'm Sean" and Kim saying, "I'm Cori" both of us somewhat insulted at the confusion.

"My apologies." Mr. Kaplan said. "Well, I'm Mr. Kaplan, you're head principal. Very pleased to meet you both and I hope that your experience here is both beneficial and educational." Oh it's been educational alright, I thought to myself. Mr. Kaplan then turned and walked off in the same demeanor that he had arrived.

"Well that was nice…" Kim said. Then she raised an eyebrow in confusion as she finished "…and a little weird."

"Yeah." I said. "Hollywood." Kim and I laughed and turned around. Jason and the others walked down the stairs, all of them carrying back packs and wearing the same colors that depicted their Ranger powers.

"Oh there's the others." Kim said. She leaned closer to me and said, in a quieter tone, "You ever find it strange that they wear the same colors as their costumes, but yet no body can figure out what they are." I grinned as not only did I think that when I arrived, but thought that every time I watched the show, whether on accident or on purpose. The Rangers approached us and Tommy said, "Hey guys." I nodded coolly and Kim said "Hey." She then wrapped her arms around my right arm and said, "We really appreciate you guys letting us stay with you while we're here."

"Don't worry about it." Jason said. "You guys are cool."

"Yeah, and I've always wanted a roommate." Kimberly said with a smile. Kim smiled as well.

"Plus all that Sean has given us has proven to be remarkably beneficial toward our extracurricular endeavors." Billy said. "Perhaps with time and training we will become more proficient with our new abilities." The other Rangers gave confused looks but Kim and I, despite Kim not gaining the IQ boost that I did, knew exactly what was said.

"Well there's our way of training that will definitely get you guys ready for whatever gets thrown at you." Kim said.

"Yeah, but I don't think their ready for that, baby." I said. "Ranger powers aren't like Zero powers. They can't use their powers like we can."

"For something like this, I don't think Zordon will mind." Jason said. I nodded my head.

"Later though; best not to get in trouble on our first day because we ditched class." I said. The Rangers laughed.

The first class of the day was held in a class along the hall of the very same hallway I met the rangers, all of whom were present to include Jason despite only, recently arriving. The class teacher was Ms. Appleby, a middle-aged, fairly heavy set woman who wore a loud-colored pink dress with flower designs on it, and wore her hear very short. The six Rangers sat along the six closest seats on the left side of the class with Tommy sitting on the back right and Jason sitting on the back left closest to the wall. Also present in the class was Bulk and Skull, who sat at the very back right of the class room. Kim and I stood on either side of Mrs. Appleby.

"Class, may I have your attention." Mrs. Appleby said. The class seemed to calm down as everyone brought their attention to the teacher. "I would like you all to meet our newest students; Sean Barker and Cori Edwards." Kim and I smiled and waved at the class, both of us saying "Hey" simultaneously.

"Hey babe; Need someone to show you around?" Bulk said. I folded my arms at my chest. I was well aware and would come to expect that people were attracted to my girlfriend. She was beautiful and maintains an almost goddess-like figure. But despite knowing that Kim's heart belonged to me, as mine belonged to her, that did not mean that I had to enjoy witnessing people hitting on her.

"Quite Bulk." Mrs. Appleby said with a stern tone.

"What, I'm just trying to be helpful." Bulk said.

"Yeah, we're very helpful people." Skull said. He smiled and flinched his eyebrows. Kim giggled and said, "I'm sure you guys are, but I think I'll be ok."

"Before class begins, I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you two to Angel Grove." Mrs. Appleby said. The class began to applaud, with the exception of Bulk and Skull and Kim and I went to two unoccupied seats, conveniently located next to each other right behind the group of Rangers. Kim took the seat behind Tommy while I took the seat behind Jason. "Now class, open your text books to chapter five…" Kim and I went through the day of school along with the Rangers. As it turned out, there were more classrooms and teachers than I initially thought. But that could have been because I was actually living the show rather than watching it on television. All of Kim and my classes were together and we shared them with at least one of the Rangers.

After school, the Rangers were at the juice bar. Tommy and Jason were sparing, with Tommy wearing white pants with a white tank top and Jason wearing black pants and a red tank top. Both of them sported their black belts. Adam watched the two of them spar and awaited his turn to practice against one of the two talented Rangers. Meanwhile Kimberly practiced a gymnastics routine on a separate mat and Aisha and Billy watched their friends from one of the tables Jason and Tommy continued to spar, matching each other move for move. Tommy stopped the session and smiled saying, "I see you haven't let Switzerland make you rusty."

"C'mon bro." Jason said, slapping hands with Tommy. "You know I gotta stay sharp. Never know when I might be needed again, right?" Tommy chuckled and said, "Right." Little did either of them know, even if I did not return, Tommy would be calling for the assistance of Jason in the future to become the Gold Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo. But even still, Jason was right, for who knows when he would be called on again. Kim and I both walked in, with Kim wearing short blue gym shorts and a white tank top with light blue trim, And I wore a Shaquille O' Neal, Orlando magic basketball jersey with matching shorts, long enough to come down to my shins. Adam approached Jason and Tommy and said, "Sean and Cori are here." Jason folded his arms at his chest as he and the other two watched us. Kim kissed me on the cheek and walked toward Kimberly while I started toward Jason.

"You know it's great that those two are here." Jason said.

"Too bad about Rocky though." Adam said.

"Yeah, I went to see him yesterday, he looked pretty bad."

"I know." Tommy said. "But at least you're here, Jase." I arrived where the three rangers were and folded my arms while saying "What's up, y'all?"

"Hey." The three teens said one after another.

"You know. I know we were gonna get some training later and all. But I was kinda curious to see what you got without your powers." Jason said.

"Ah, I don't know about that." I said. "The Tai Gin fighting style I know would combines the arts of Tai Kwon Do, judo and Muai Tai with the art of ninjitsu. The skills I know are a little two advanced."

"Aw come on, it'll be fun." Tommy said.

"Yeah, you can spar with Tommy first." Adam said. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Alright, if you're sure." I was reluctant to use my skills on humans that either were not protected by some sort of power, or did not know Tai Gin themselves. Even though I could control the force behind my attacks; if I were not careful even a sparing session like this one could result in serious injury to my opponent. But at their request I agreed to the sparing competition. I kicked off my white tennis shoes. Meanwhile Kim joined Kimberly and said, "Hey!" Kim towered over the much smaller girl as they stood facing each other.

"Hey Cori." Kimberly said with a bright smile.

"Wow, you were great." Kimberly said. I definitely liked the combination at the end of your routine. Kimberly looked surprised.

"I didn't know you were into gymnastics." Kimberly said.

"Oh, I'm into a lot of things; gymnastics, martial arts, singing." Kim said.

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff." Kimberly said.

"Yeah, well the martial arts wasn't my choice at first. My dad is military, but he spends most of his time on base which is pretty far from where we lived. But he wanted to make sure that I could take care of myself when he couldn't be there." Kim said.

"So how do you manage your time between all that, Sean and being… you know." Kimberly said. Kim shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well between the time I spend doing my duty and the time I spend with Sean and our other friends, it really doesn't leave me much time to train. My skills don't come naturally like his does."

"Naturally?" Kimberly said.

"Yeah. Cosdonians, even half Cosdonians like Sean and his brother, are born with the knowledge to use the Tai Gin. Cosdonians used to be a warrior race and the knowledge of how to fight was passed down genetically so they could fight at younger ages more effectively. But they still have to do some kind of training in order to hone their skills and become more proficient with them."

"Gee, I wish I lived in your world." Kimberly said, oblivious to how ironic that comment was. Kimberly and Kim looked as Tommy, Jason, Adam and I were talking. "Tommy spends so much time training that he hardly has time for anything else. And Adam, Rocky and even Jason when he was here spend a lot of time training also. And I love gymnastics too much to give it up."

"You ever thought about doing national competitions?" Kim asked.

"I've thought about it." Kimberly said. "But, I mean like, I love gymnastics and everything but, I mean, we were lucky that Rocky, Adam and Aisha showed up when they did. I don't know whether we'd be so lucky if I decided to go national." Kim shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I know being a Ranger is important and everything and I'm pretty sure Tommy and your friends would miss you. But if they're anything like my friends, they wouldn't want you to give up on something you love." Back at the martial arts mat, I kicked off my tennis shoes and set them to the side of the mat, then joined Tommy facing him on the mat a good distance away. Tommy put his hands flat to his side and bowed at the waist, while I put my right fist against my left palm and brought both hands in front of me before bowing my head, all the while keeping my eyes focused on Tommy. Tommy quickly got into his martial arts stance and let out his common 'ki-ya" while I calmly got into one of the fighting stances of the Tai gin, which was similar to the stance of Tai kwon do. Jason and Adam watched from the side of the mat, Jason folding his arms at his chest. Tommy came at me with his patent spinning jump kick which I ducked under. Then as he jumped up to do a second one, I threw a right side kick to his chest causing him to jump back. Tommy landed and said, "Pretty Good." Tommy got back into his fighting stance. He came at me with a middle side kick and then a high kick, both of which I blocked, and then he followed with a roundhouse kick which I ducked under. He followed with a kick from the other side which I managed to grab. I then swept his planted foot with mine and brought him to the ground. I stepped back and got into my stance. Tommy sprung to his feet and got into a martial arts stance. He came at me with a cross kick, which I ducked under then I blocked the back kick that followed causing him to turn the other way. While his back was turned to me, I threw a front kick to his back, pushing him to the ground. Tommy pushed himself up and said, "Ah man." Jason walked up and said, "Let me try." Tommy and Jason slapped hands as he took Tommy's position opposite me. I bowed to Jason in the same manor I bowed to Tommy, and then got into my stance. Jason came at me with a front kick, which I blocked downward, and then he threw a spinning back kick, which I ducked under. Then Jason threw a low punch, which I grabbed and countered with a right knee to his chest, soft enough to only stun him, and then I turned and swept his legs from underneath him. I stood up and helped Jason to his feet. Then he and I backed up and took our stances again. Jason came at me with a right cross punch, which I grabbed with my left hand, then with my right hand delivered a soft chop to his neck, then tuned with my back to him and flipped him over my shoulders to the ground. I lifted my leg to stomp but then stopped myself as this was a sparing session and not a real fight. I reached down and helped Jason up. Then he and I got into our fighting stances. Jason came at me with a right side kick, which I grabbed, and then I kicked over the leg with my right leg and delivered a back kick to the chest with my left, causing him to stagger back. I then did one back flip to gain space. Jason regained his balance and got back into his martial arts stance. One thing I loved about Jason was his resolve. He came at me again with a punch, but I moved to the outside of his arm, brought my right arm down over it to catch it between it and my chest and then used my left hand and downward motion to bring him to the ground. I stood up releasing his arm and then extended my hand down to him. Jason took it and I helped him to his feet as Tommy and Adam joined us.

"Man, those moves were intense." Tommy said.

"Thanks, yours were too." I said.

"Nah." Tommy said in modesty.

"No I'm serious." I said. "You two are excellent fighters. Had it been at the beginning of my time as Zero, you two would have beaten me for sure." Tommy patted Adam on the back and said, "Well Adam, it's your turn."

"No way. If he could beat you two like that, there's no way I'd stand a chance." Adam said. Jason and Tommy laughed and even I let out a grin of amusement. The four of us walked up to the table where Billy and Aisha were and soon Kim and Kimberly joined us.

"Wow. I must say that was an excellent display of athletic ability." Billy said. I hung my head shyly and said, "Thanks."

"Seriously, I don't know anyone that has been able to beat Tommy in competition." Aisha said.

"Have you ever considered competing?" Billy asked.

"No." I said. "I competed once but only because Kim asked me to. Tai Gin is very dangerous and requires a level of mental and physical control to be able to use." I said.

"Do you know it, Cori?" Kimberly asked.

"Well Sean has been able to show me a little bit, but I usually stick to the moves I already know." Kim said.

"You know I'm kinda anxious to start my training now." Jason said. "Those moves you got were amazing."

"I'll say." Tommy said.

"We will. But there's so much about this world that I didn't get to see on TV. I'm curious to see what all is out there." I said. Then someone yelled, "Hey look it's Ernie." All of us looked as Ernie walked in, wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt and black pants with a white apron worn around the waist. Ernie had his right arm in a sling and was still scared from the encounter from before. The eight of us ran over to Ernie, Kim and I at the rear.

"Ernie, man are you ok?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, the doctors said I managed to get out of it with just some scratches and this broken arm." Ernie said. "Boy I'll tell you, I was lucky." It was only then that Ernie noticed Jason was there. "Wait, Jason, when did you get back?" Ernie had been released from the hospital before it was destroyed so he was not there when Jason went to visit Rocky in Stone Canyon.

"Yesterday." Jason said. "I heard about what was happening and came home. Zack and Trini would have come but they felt the best thing they could do was stay where they were."

"Yeah. Fortunately Ritchie has been taking care of things while I've been gone." Ernie said.

"You sure you should be here. I mean you look like you're in pain still." Kim asked.

"Ah, I'll be fine. Ritchie will still be doing all the heavy lifting, but I couldn't stay at the house any longer." Ernie said. "Besides, I missed you guys." Ernie then tilted his head and said, "Have we met before?" Kim shyly looked around.

"No. Ernie, this is Cori, she's from the same town I'm from." I said.

"New Jersey right." Ernie said. Kim and I nodded, Kim with a smile. "Well welcome to Angel Grove, Cori. These guys will tell you, if you need anything, just ask Ernie." The Rangers laughed and walked with Ernie back to the counter while Kim and I watched. Kim folded her arms at her chest while I put my arm around her shoulder. Kim in response rested her head against me.

"Everyone seems so nice here." Kim said. "Even Bulk and Skull are relatively harmless."

"I know. Far cry from where we're from huh?" I said.

"I feel so bad that we had to come into their lives and wreck everything." Kim said.

"I do too." I said. "I mean their lives weren't normal to begin with, with the constant attacks and everything. But they've never had to deal with the things this dark before."

"I know. I want to end this as soon as possible so we can get home and they can go back to the way things were."

"Me too." I said. I let out a sharp breath and said, "And before anything can get any worse."

Meanwhile in space a large golden space dumpster floated through space. A loud screechy laughter could be heard from inside as the dumpster maintain a course toward the moon.