Worlds, Times and Distances Apart
A Power Rangers Fanfiction
by Lauraac2110
Chapter 19: A Few Loose Ends
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, the next day, very early in the morning, some time later
As Tommy crept into the Jungle Fury base, Dominic, Fran and RJ were sound asleep. He knew that he couldn't afford to disturb Dominic or Fran so he stayed as far away from them as he possibly could whilst he made his way over to RJ.
For a moment, Tommy thought that he would have to think up some way of waking RJ but, as soon as he arrived at the side of RJ's bed, he just knew what he had to do. Gently, Tommy flicked RJ's nose and, within seconds, he was awake. To make sure that RJ didn't wake the others, Tommy held his hand over RJ's mouth.
"Sorry for disturbing you, RJ, but we need to talk. Zordon's waiting for us up in the main Command Centre," Tommy whispered as he removed his hand. RJ sighed.
"Can't it wait?" he whispered in reply as he yawned. "I was having such a good dream for once."
"No, it's important," Tommy hissed in reply. "Come on."
RJ yawned again as he quietly slipped out of bed. "Fine. Let's go," he sighed.
Tommy nodded and they slipped back out of the Jungle Fury base into the corridor outside. Then, as quietly as possible, they began to make their way up to the main Command Centre.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning, a few minutes later
"This had better be important, Tommy," RJ yawned as they stood before Zordon in the main Command Centre.
"Don't worry, it is," Tommy promised as he revealed the golden lightning bolt, the mark of a Pai Zhua Master, upon his arm. Both RJ and Zordon were instantly startled by it. "It appeared after I defeated Mira Tricks earlier. Just as she was destroyed in the explosion, I felt a burning sensation down my arm and, when I checked, it was there."
"Tommy. I've never seen or heard of anyone with a golden mark before," RJ warned as he took a deep breath. "Added to that, I've never heard of anyone, who hasn't trained for years in the arts of Pai Zhua, becoming a Master before."
"This is a strange development indeed," Zordon said finally. "I wonder what it could mean..."
"You don't think that it has anything to do with...?" Tommy began.
"I am not sure, Tommy. It could very well have something to do with that but, then again, it could have nothing to do with that at all," Zordon replied simply.
"Whatever it means, it's significant," RJ sighed. "I don't know how you could have gotten it, though, considering the fact that only those trained in Pai Zhua can become Pai Zhua Masters."
Tommy thought for a moment. "Ninjetti," he murmured softly as everyone looked at him.
"Do you remember when I said that the techniques of Ninjetti and Pai Zhua aren't so different?" Tommy asked RJ. "They're both based upon the animal spirit within and they're techniques which require years of training to master. Right now, I'm wondering whether or not they were once one and the same because of this mark."
RJ was startled by this as Zordon smiled. "It is a credible possibility, Tommy. If I was to speculate further on your guess, I would say that Ninjetti was the original technique and that Pai Zhua is descended from it."
"Why?" RJ asked. "Pai Zhua could've come..."
"No, Pai Zhua could not have come first," Zordon said quite firmly. "Ninjetti had to have been the original technique because of Ninjor."
"I'm afraid Zordon's right, RJ. Ninjetti would have to have come first because Ninjor, the creator of the Ninjetti technique, has been around for thousands of years whilst Pai Zhua has been around for less than a few hundred years," Tommy replied grimly.
"Exactly, Tommy," Zordon said with a smile before he turned grim. "We may never know for definite, though. Ninjor went into complete seclusion in the Temple of Power a long, long time ago and, since then, he will not have kept track of anything which he was involved in as he would have been too busy with his otherworldly affairs."
There was silence for another few moments before Tommy spoke up.
"So, are we going to tell the others?" he finally dared to ask.
"No," Zordon replied simply. "Not until we can figure out what exactly it means. From there, we will decide what to do about it."
"Let me guess, if it's anything to do with that then we're definitely not going to say a thing about it," Tommy said grimly. Zordon nodded.
"Of course," he replied simply as Tommy rolled his sleeve back down.
RJ yawned again. "So, can I go back to bed now?"
Zordon smiled. "Yes, you both should go get some rest. Tomorrow might be quite a long day."
RJ nodded and left as Tommy sighed.
"Something is troubling you, Tommy," Zordon noted as soon as RJ was gone.
"It's nothing important, Zordon," Tommy replied with a sad smile before he quickly changed the topic as Zordon yawned himself. "Perhaps you should go get some rest yourself, Zordon. You've had a harder day than the rest of us."
Zordon smiled at this but, before he could reply, Tommy had left the main Command Centre. Then, he sighed.
That mark just proves that the world is still full of surprises. I wonder what tomorrow will bring... he thought. Then, he sighed again as he yawned once more. Tommy was right. I do need to get some more rest.
And, with that thought, Zordon of Eltar left the main Command Centre to get some well deserved rest.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early in the morning, some time later
As everyone sat there and continued to eat their breakfast, which consisted of cereal this morning, they didn't expect the beeping noise which came a few minutes later.
"Alpha, report!" Zordon demanded as Alpha rushed over to the nearby computer terminal. After a few minutes, Alpha sighed once he had managed to locate what had set the beeping noise off.
"It's Colonel Truman, Zordon," he replied. "He wants to talk to us."
Zordon nodded. "Patch him through, Alpha."
Alpha nodded and then began to furiously type in commands. Seconds later, Colonel Truman appeared as a holographic image in the centre of the table.
"Good morning, Colonel Truman," Tommy smiled.
"Good morning to you too," Colonel Truman replied grimly. "I must congratulate you for destroying Miratrix. Since her demise, the Anti-Ranger protest group has been quite quiet. We're waiting to see whether they will disband or not but, as far as we can now tell, they're no longer a significant threat. Over half the groups members removed their names from the list of members last night and I'm hoping that even more will leave this morning."
"That's good news," Billy said. "I'll be glad that we won't be having to keep an eye on our backs in Corinth any more."
"Yes. However, there's still a few loose ends which I need your help to clear up. Firstly, I need you to help me find Fresno Bob. Since being implicated in the bomb plot yesterday, he has gone underground. I've got all my security officers searching for him but, so far, he's eluded us," Colonel Truman said grimly. "I've also sealed all possible escape routes out of Corinth so he's got to be somewhere in the city."
"Yes! This is finally a task where I'll actually be of great use!" Ziggy exclaimed out loud. Everyone instantly turned to him. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment under their stares before he continued, "I've still got a few contacts in the Scorpion Cartel. I could pull some strings and get one of them to tell me the locations of Fresno Bob's current houses. From there, we could search each one until we find him."
Tommy nodded. "Very well. You and the other RPM Power Rangers can deal with this task by yourselves," he said.
Flynn blinked as Scott asked, "You're sending us on our own?"
"Of course," Tommy replied as he looked at them with a puzzled expression. "Why wouldn't I considering that you're perfectly capable of capturing Fresno Bob without the rest of us? Besides, I'm sure that your father has other things that the rest of us are going to need to take care of anyway."
Colonel Truman nodded in confirmation of Tommy's words. Then, he continued.
"Yes. Some of you are going to have to attend the mass funeral of all those unfortunate souls who perished in the unlucky thirteenth apartment block. We're going to need to truly show that you're just as sorrowful about what happened as the ordinary citizens are," he said.
They were instantly a few grimaces before Tommy sighed.
"If none of you want to do it then I'll go. I'm not fussed," he said. "Funerals are not the place for the faint-hearted."
There was a moment of silence before RJ spoke up.
"You're not going to go on your own. I'll come with you," RJ declared.
There were another few moments of silence before Tommy sighed yet again.
"Very well. RJ and I will come, Colonel," he said.
"That's good. I'll meet you at the church," Colonel Truman sighed. "There's still two more things that I need your help with. Firstly, there are bound to be a few Anti-Ranger protesters who haven't changed their minds about what they feel about you so we're going to have to think of a way of getting them back on side."
"I think that should be our job," Billy said grimly as he looked to the other Original Rangers. They nodded in reply. "We've been around for a long time so we know more about the mechanics of getting people on our side than most Rangers do. Furthermore, Jason, Zack and Trini represented Rangers at the World Peace Conference a long time ago so they'll also know about what common things people want to know about us. Anything that's definitely not an option?"
"Going on TV," Tommy replied quite firmly. "TV interviews and Rangers don't really mix very well."
"But..." Colonel Truman began.
"Trust me. They don't mix," Tommy interrupted firmly again as he shuddered. "It's a recipe for absolute disaster."
"Ok. I think that we can see that TV interviews are out of the question, Tommy," Trini assured.
"Don't worry, we'll think of something else, Tommy," Kimberly reassured as well.
Tommy nodded. "I know. So, Colonel Truman, what's the last thing?"
Colonel Truman smiled. "I'm looking for a Representative of Power Ranger Affairs now. It's in everyone's best interests that there's somebody who speaks on behalf of the Power Rangers so that we can avoid any further accusations of being secretive. I was wondering if you had any candidates in mind?"
Tommy chuckled. "I do. However, I know that you've already got one person in particular in mind, especially after yesterday, so what's the point in me voicing my suggestions? Why don't you just reveal who you've chosen, Colonel Truman?"
Colonel Truman sighed. "Very well. I was wondering if Miss Cornell would be happy to take up the position."
"Me? But..." Cassidy began.
Zordon shook his head. "You would be the most likely candidate considering the fact that you have had significant experience with the media and how to deal with it before," he said.
Cassidy was silent for a moment before she sighed. "I'll do it but on one condition," she replied firmly.
"Anything," Colonel Truman said.
"I want Devin to come with me," she said.
"Cassidy, I..." Devin began.
"Nonsense," she hissed. "It's the least that I can do for you."
"I'll have accommodation in the city, food and clothing arranged for you. Send them over to the Corinth Defence Headquarters whenever you get a chance and I'll take it from there," Colonel Truman said before he sighed. "I had better go. Vasquez needs my signature on a few things."
"Just before you go, Colonel Truman, I'd like to say that both Vasquez and Corporal Roberts did excellent jobs yesterday," Tommy said. "I hope that you consider them both for promotions."
Colonel Truman nodded. "Don't worry, I will. It's time that Hicks had some competition anyway as he's starting to feel too safe in his job. Besides, I was extremely impressed with Corporal Roberts myself and I need a good man like him further up the chain right now."
Then, without another word, Colonel Truman shut down the communication link and the holographic image in the centre of the table vanished. Zordon sighed.
"We have also got one problem that needs to be resolved. The Rhino Steel Zord and the Stegozord still have not been repaired because of what happened yesterday and it must be repaired as a matter of urgency today," Zordon declared grimly.
"Don't worry, Zordon. Anton, Tenaya 15 and I have agreed that we will repair the Zords," Dr K. replied with a smile.
"What about the rest of us?" Kira asked urgently. Tommy smiled.
"Everyone else has a day off," he said with a smile.
Kira smiled as she looked to Trent. "Thanks, Dr O.," Trent said.
Dominic yawned as Fran squeaked. "I think that Fran and I will probably go get some more rest. For some strange reason, I'm still absolutely exhausted this morning."
"Hayley and I plan to do some research," Alpha said.
"On my..." Billy began. Hayley nodded.
"Yes. We're going to see if we can find the problem and make it work again," she replied.
"Well, if that is everything, you are dismissed, Rangers," Zordon declared a few minutes later after everyone had finished their breakfast. The Rangers, and the associated non-Rangers, quickly got up at that point and left.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, a few minutes later
"Goodbye, Kira, Trent," Cassidy said as she embraced them. "I'm going to miss you both."
Kira and Trent sighed. "We're going to miss you too."
"You both can always come visit us, you know," Devin pointed out. "Right, Dr O.?"
Tommy smiled from where he stood at the console. "Of course they can. I'll make sure that we pay you a visit at some point," he promised.
"Thanks for everything, Dr O.. If you hadn't..." Cassidy began.
"You earned this job by yourself, Cassidy, by defusing the anger of many of the Anti-Ranger protesters yesterday. I just helped you to realise that you could do it," Tommy smiled as he shook his head.
Cassidy shook her head. "I can't take all of the credit. I..."
"Yes, you can," Tommy assured. "You and Devin both deserve a lot of credit for what you did yesterday. It took a lot of guts to face the Anti-Ranger protesters, Cassidy, and it took even more guts to not give up despite the fact the odds were against us, Devin. I'm proud of both of you."
"Thanks, Dr O.," Cassidy said as she sighed. "We're ready to go now."
"Just remember that the communicators which you're wearing can keep in contact with the main Command Centre. It's how we'll probably let you know if we've got anything that we need you to represent us on," Tommy replied as he activated the teleportation controls. "Prepare for teleportation. You'll arrive right in the middle of the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters so be prepared for a surprised Colonel Truman."
At that moment, Cassidy and Devin vanished in flashes of grey light as Tommy sighed.
"Dr O., will we get a chance to go see them at some point?" Trent asked.
Tommy sighed again. "I don't know. I'll try to make some time for us to go somewhere in the next few days but, to be honest, I don't know if we're going to be able to see them given how busy we are normally. There's a chance that they might have to wait until things get extremely quiet until we can see them."
Kira nodded just as the RPM Power Rangers entered the main Command Centre again.
"You both should go now," Tommy warned. "I don't want to accidentally teleport you down into Corinth with the RPM Power Rangers."
Trent and Kira nodded and left as Tommy turned his attention to the RPM Power Rangers. Ziggy, Gem and Gemma seemed to be extremely excited about the mission whilst, on the other hand, everyone else wasn't because they had quickly grown sick of the three of them talking over and over about the same thing.
"Are you ready to go?" Tommy asked them. Scott sighed.
"Yeah," he replied simply. "We're ready."
"Just be careful out there. The Scorpion Cartel are really going to fiercely defend Fresno Bob with their lives if they have to," Tommy warned. "And Ziggy, your contacts had better not mess you and the other RPM Power Rangers around."
Ziggy nodded. "Don't worry, they won't," he promised.
"Prepare for teleportation," Tommy warned as he activated the controls. Seconds later, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.
Then, Tommy sighed. He stood still for a moment before he began to make his way down to the Dino Thunder base so that he could fetch a black suit.
Corinth City, Outside the Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations, mid-morning, another few minutes later
"Just why are we hiding here again?" Dillon asked as they stood behind a nearby building and watched the main door into the Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations.
"Aye, why are we hiding here?" Flynn agreed.
"Because," Ziggy hissed. "If we go near that door, we're dead in an instant."
At that moment, Ziggy smiled as he saw one of his few friends in the cartel, Benny, leave the building.
"Hey, Benny!" Ziggy hissed. "Over here!"
Benny looked up sharply and, when he saw Ziggy, he turned pale.
"Ziggy? What are you doing here? You know that..." Benny hissed back.
"Get over here and I'll explain everything," Ziggy hissed. Benny nodded and came over to them where they stood behind the nearby building. As soon as Benny came over, the RPM Power Rangers slipped out of sight of the main door in case anyone leaving the Scorpion Cartel spotted them.
"So, what are you doing here, Ziggy?" Benny asked.
"Colonel Truman has sent us after Fresno Bob," Ziggy admitted grimly. "And I need to know where he might be hiding."
"I can't tell you Ziggy," Benny replied. "If I tell you, and if the Cartel finds out that I told you, my neck will be on the line."
"Benny, you saw what Fresno Bob did at that thirteenth apartment block. Innocent people were killed because of that explosion and, if we don't stop him, he could kill more," Summer said gently.
Benny sighed.
"There are a lot of people within the Cartel who are disgusted by what Fresno Bob did. However, as he's our boss, we can't betray him. Our business has gone down the drain and, for the first time in our history, the other Cartels are also considering handing all of us over on a platter to Colonel Truman because our actions have ruined their businesses as well," he admitted.
"You can still save the Scorpion Cartel, Benny, if you tell us where to find Fresno Bob," Scott replied. "My father only wants Fresno Bob right now because he's the only one who has been implicated by Mira Tricks. As far as he's concerned, the rest of you didn't have anything to do with the bombing but, if we can't arrest Fresno Bob, that might just change."
Benny nodded as he took out a card and began to write down three addresses. "All right. I'll tell you but, if you're asked, you don't mention my name or the fact that a mole within the Scorpion Cartel told you where you might find him. He's got two houses in the city and a penthouse. As far as we all know, he's hiding in one of them. Here are the addresses."
"Thanks, Benny," Ziggy smiled as he took the addresses from Benny. "I won't forget this."
Benny sighed. "I know. If I'm ever arrested, will you..." he began.
"We'll see to it that you're acquitted of all charges," Scott assured. "It's the least that we could do for you now."
Benny nodded and walked away. However, he stopped as he realised something else and turned to Ziggy.
"You've got until nightfall to find Fresno Bob. He's planning to escape by blowing a hole in the city shields apparently. Good luck," he warned. Ziggy nodded as Benny turned back and walked away. Flynn snatched the card off of Ziggy.
"Well, let's go. The penthouse isn't far from here," he declared as he rushed off. The other RPM Power Rangers sighed and soon followed close behind him.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-morning, at that very moment
The five Original Rangers and Zordon sat at the top of the long table in the Ranger Planning Room.
"So Rangers, have you got any ideas how we're going to reconcile with the people?" Zordon asked.
There was absolute silence in response to this. Zordon sighed. It was obviously going to be a long day.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-morning, also at that very moment
"Well, it looks like the Stegozord isn't going to need too much work. My nanotechnology should be able to repair it whilst we deal with the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. noted as she looked over both Zords.
"Well, we had better get started then," Anton sighed.
With a sigh, Tenaya 15 said, "I'll go get the required materials. You should start removing the destroyed panels."
Then, without another word, she left as Anton began to grimly remove the destroyed panels as Dr K. calmly set to work on utilising her nanotechnology to start the repairs on the Stegozord.
Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's Penthouse, mid-morning, another few minutes later
"Fresno Bob isn't here," Gem and Gemma said after they had searched the entire penthouse. "However, it did look like he had been here to fetch a few things. His bedroom was a mess."
"Well, his first safe-house is on the other side of the city. We should head over there," Flynn said as he checked the card. "It's certainly going to take us a while."
"Let's get going then," Scott said grimly. Without saying anything else, Flynn set off for the next house with the other RPM Power Rangers in hot pursuit.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-morning, at that very moment
As Tommy fetched both of his black suits, both of his pairs of fancy black shoes and two pairs of black sunglasses from his wardrobe, there was a knock at the door. Tommy instantly knew who it was and what they were after.
"Just come in, RJ," Tommy called. "Your morpher should let you in."
Outside, RJ must have held his morpher up to the scanner as there was a click as the door unlocked. Then, RJ came in.
"You're lucky that I've got a spare suit otherwise we might have had a problem. You can also borrow one of my many pairs of sunglasses as well," Tommy said with a smile as he turned to the door.
RJ groaned. "That's going to get quite annoying, Tommy," he warned.
Tommy shrugged. "It's a curse which I'll never be able to rid myself of but, fortunately, it's beginning to grow on me," he chuckled. "We had better hurry as the funeral must be starting soon."
RJ nodded and they quickly changed into the suits. Then, they put on the shoes and the sunglasses on.
"Let's go," Tommy said grimly as he left the Dino Thunder base. Within a few seconds, RJ followed suit and they began to make their way up to the main Command Centre.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, mid-morning, also at that very moment
"Anything, Alpha?" Hayley asked as she sent another powerful current of electricity through the Time Pulse. Alpha, from where he stood nearby as he monitored the results on the computer, shook his head as the screen remained blank.
"Nothing," Alpha replied grimly. "I'm sorry, Hayley."
Hayley sighed. "All right, Alpha. Let's go back to the drawing board again. There must be something which we're missing," she said grimly.
Alpha nodded and sighed. It was going to be a long day for them both.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-morning, also at that very moment
"Somebody must have an idea!" Billy exclaimed after a prolonged bout of silence in the Ranger Planning Room. No one had come up with an idea to deal with the remainder of the Anti-Ranger protest group. "We're all very intelligent people yet we still can't come up with a decent idea."
"Well..." Jason began. "I might have one."
"Tell us, Jason," Zordon said grimly.
"Well, we could..." he began.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-morning, also at that very moment
"Repairs have fixed 50% of the damage to the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. noted as she ran a diagnostic check on the Rhino Steel Zord. Then, she grimly turned her attention to the Stegozord. "And the Stegozord has been completely repaired by my nanotechnology."
"I'll send it back to the Biozord hangar," Anton promised as he activated the controls. Seconds later, the bay door opened and the Stegozord left. Dr K. ran to the edge of the door and watched it as it returned through a hangar door further up the Brachiozord into the Biozord hangar. Then, she sighed and got out of the way as the bay door closed.
Then, she turned back to the Rhino Steel Zord, Tenaya 15 and Anton Mercer and sighed. "We had better keep going. The sooner that we can repair this Zord, the sooner that we can have a break," she declared.
And, with that, Tenaya 15, Anton Mercer and Dr K. continued to work upon the Rhino Steel Zord.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, a few minutes later
"Prepare for teleportation," Tommy warned RJ as he stepped back to his side after he had activated the controls.
Seconds later, they vanished in a flash of purple and multi-coloured light.
Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's first safe-house, mid-morning, another few minutes later
"He's not in there either," Gem said grimly.
"Yeah, we searched everywhere," Gemma added.
Dillon sighed. "Well, that means that he's got to be in that second safe-house," he said grimly as Flynn cracked his knuckles.
"I can't wait to get my hands on him," Flynn growled.
"Let me," Summer said calmly as she took the card off of him. "Hey, guys, you're not going to believe this."
"What is it?" Scott asked instantly.
"The final house is near the Corinth City Church," she replied. "Talk about coincidence."
Scott grimaced. "We're going to have to make sure that Fresno Bob doesn't escape us then. We don't want to upset any of the grieving mourners any further."
Ziggy grimaced. "That's going to be quite difficult," he said grimly. "Fresno Bob is a very slippery customer."
"Don't worry, we'll manage it," Scott assured as he nodded to Flynn. "Let's go."
Without another word, the RPM Power Rangers began to make their way to the final house and, they hoped, to Fresno Bob.
Corinth City, Corinth City Church, late morning, another few minutes later
"Over here," Colonel Truman said from where he sat at the back in the last pew on the left as RJ and Tommy entered the church. He was carrying a massive bouquet of white roses. Both RJ and Tommy grimly made their way over to him and sat at his side. The front rows of pews on both sides of the church were filled with many weeping relatives of those who had perished and, at the front, there were several coffins laden with flowers behind the minister.
Tommy looked at each of the coffins and he turned slightly pale. Each one of them contains the body of someone that Mira Tricks murdered in her campaign against the Rangers. Each one of them contains a person who I couldn't save in time. He thought to himself.
"Are we late?" RJ whispered to Colonel Truman. Colonel Truman shook his head.
"No. You've arrived just on time. The minister is just about to begin in a few minutes," he replied.
"Tommy, are you all right?" RJ whispered when he turned to Tommy and noticed that he was pale.
Tommy blinked. "I'm just fine," he replied simply as the minister cleared his throat.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn..." the minister began as he started the funeral service.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, late morning, at that very moment
"That's rotten, Jason," Trini criticised as soon as Jason had finished detailing his idea. "Did you even remember about what Tommy said?"
"No TV interviews, right, but..." Jason began as Zordon sighed.
"I've got an idea," Zack interrupted. "We could..." he began.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, late morning, also at that very moment
"Repairs have fixed 75% of the damage to the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. declared with a smile as she ran another diagnostic check. "If we get that Zord Controls Circuit out and replace it, we'll be done here."
"You'll need to give us a hand then, K.," Tenaya called. "This circuitry is so badly fried that I can't seem to remove it."
Dr K. sighed. "I'm coming," she called back. Then, with a sigh, she went over to where Tenaya 15 was working to give her a hand.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, late morning, also at that very moment
"Well?" Hayley asked as she ran an even more powerful current through the Time Pulse.
"Still nothing," Alpha replied as the screen remained blank. Hayley sighed.
"I guess we're going back to the drawing boards yet again," she said grimly.
Alpha sighed. It was definitely going to be a long day at this rate.
Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's second house, late morning, another few minutes later
"He's here as his guards wouldn't be here otherwise," Ziggy said grimly, from where they were hiding in the hedges nearby, as he pointed to the two guards with guns.
"Here's the plan..." Scott began but, before he could tell them it, the guards spotted them hiding in the hedge. The guards were hesitant for a moment, which gave Dillon time to insert his engine cell into his morpher, before they opened fire.
"RPM, Get in Gear!" Dillon called as he activated his morpher. Then, he quickly activated his invincibility shield to protect himself and the other Rangers from the shots. "Gem! Gemma!"
"Right!" Gem exclaimed as they took out their Cloud Hatchets and switched them to ice mode. Then, they attacked. "Chill out!"
Seconds later, both guards were frozen solid. Dillon sighed in relief as he powered down.
However, his relief vanished when Ziggy cried out.
"Fresno Bob is escaping!" he exclaimed as he pointed to Fresno Bob as he fled out the front door of the second house and down the street towards the church. "And he's heading towards the church!"
"After him!" Scott exclaimed as he got to his feet and gave chase. A few seconds later, the other RPM Power Rangers quickly followed suit. They all knew that they had to stop Fresno Bob before he reached the church or escaped otherwise all hell would quickly break loose.
Corinth City, Corinth City Churchyard, early afternoon, at that very moment
In the churchyard, Tommy quietly watched with a sombre expression as the families threw bouquets of flowers onto the coffins of their deceased relatives.
RJ stood grimly at his side and, as Fresno Bob entered the churchyard with the RPM Power Rangers in hot pursuit, they both knew that he was there. They also both knew what they had to do.
As Fresno Bob continued to run through the graveyard, he was unknowingly heading rapidly towards his capture.
"On three," Tommy whispered to RJ.
"One..." RJ began to countdown as Fresno Bob grew ever closer.
"Two..." Tommy added.
"Three!" RJ exclaimed as they both did an intricate flip into Fresno Bob's path. Then, before he could react, RJ tripped up Fresno Bob as Tommy summoned Saba into his hands.
"What..." Fresno Bob began. There was a brilliant flash and Tommy morphed into the form of the White Ninja Ranger. Then, he held Saba's tip at Fresno Bob's neck.
"I wouldn't," Tommy advised quite simply as the shocked mourners turned to watch what was happening. At that moment, the RPM Power Rangers suddenly caught up and rushed over.
"Nice timing," Scott said as all of them caught their breath. Colonel Truman looked at them for a report. "Sorry, sir, but his guards gave us a bit of trouble."
The grieving mourners were angry. "Murderer! You should die for what you've done!" one of them yelled at Fresno Bob. "Because of you, my beloved son is dead."
There were a few moments of stunned silence before all of the mourners began to simultaneously hurl abuse at Fresno Bob. They were all upset about the fact that he had dared to show his face at their funeral of their loved ones.
RJ could sense that the crowd were beginning to get dangerous so he quickly decided to placate them.
"Death is a quick, painless punishment," RJ said to the mourners. "Jail, however, isn't. Fresno Bob won't ever see the light of day again."
"That I can assure you of," Colonel Truman added as Tommy grimly hauled Fresno Bob to his feet whilst keeping Saba at his neck.
"He's all yours, Scott," Tommy said grimly. "Make sure that he is put straight into the high security cell."
"You blew the door off that cell," Colonel Truman reminded him.
"Actually, I didn't. RJ did," Tommy replied grimly. "Just make sure that he doesn't escape you."
Scott nodded as Flynn and Dillon calmly held Fresno Bob's arms so that he couldn't escape. Then, they left as Tommy powered down. A few seconds later, Saba vanished.
"I'm sorry about that," Tommy apologised to the mourners. Most of the mourners smiled sadly at him.
"No, don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault that Fresno Bob chose to turn up," one of the older mourners said. "You did what you had to do to make sure that dangerous man didn't escape justice."
Tommy nodded but didn't say anything else as many of the mourners congratulated him for exactly the same reason before they turned their attention back to the funeral as the minister began to make a final speech.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early afternoon, at that very moment
"We could always hold an exhibition to educate the people about everything that the Rangers have done," Kimberly suggested quietly after another prolonged period of silence because of Zack's idea.
Everyone turned sharply to her. "That's a brilliant idea, Kimberly," Billy exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something before?"
She shrugged. "I didn't think that it would be any good," she said.
"Well it is," Trini countered. "And it would certainly defuse what remains of the Anti-Ranger protest group if they knew about our origins."
There were several murmurs of agreement from the other Original Rangers.
"Can I assume that we are going to use this idea?" Zordon asked with a smile.
All of the Rangers present replied positively to this so Zordon nodded.
"Very well, since we now have an idea to work with, you are all dismissed," Zordon declared. The five Original Rangers nodded and left the Ranger Planning Room as Zordon sighed.
"That went well," he said to himself aloud before he too followed after the Rangers to take up his chair in the main Command Centre.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment
"That's it," Dr K. said after she had run yet another diagnostics check. "Repairs have completely repaired all the damage done to the Rhino Steel Zord."
Both and Anton and Tenaya 15 sighed in relief.
"I'm going to go spend some time with my son," Anton said with a smile as he left.
"Are you coming, K.?" Tenaya asked. Dr K. nodded.
"Let's go," she said as they left the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1 and headed back to the RPM base.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, early afternoon, also at that very moment
"Nothing again, Hayley," Alpha reported as the screen remained blank after they had increased the flow electricity to dangerous levels. Hayley sighed.
"Well, it seems that we're not going to make a breakthrough today. Let's leave the Time Pulse for now, Alpha, and we can come back to it again tomorrow," Hayley suggested.
"All right. I had better get up to the main Command Centre anyway," Alpha 5 replied. "I'll see you at dinner, Hayley."
Hayley sighed. Then, without another word, she quickly left as well because she didn't want to be stuck there thinking about the Time Pulse any longer.
Corinth City, Corinth City Churchyard, mid-afternoon, some time later
As grimly as possible, Tommy threw some of the white roses, from the bouquet that Colonel Truman had brought, onto each of the coffins on behalf of Colonel Truman and the rest of Corinth City. Then, once he had thrown all them, he stepped back and watched sadly as the graves were filled in.
Once the graves were full, they turned to look at Colonel Truman who nodded to him.
"Go," he said softly. "With Corinth's blessings for the service which you did for the city today by apprehending Fresno Bob."
They both nodded but, before RJ could use his communicator to contact Alpha, Tommy calmly put his hand on RJ's shoulder and activated the inbuilt teleport controls in his communicator. Then, they both vanished in a flash of multi-coloured light.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later
When RJ and Tommy reappeared in the main Command Centre, they startled both Zordon and Alpha.
"Tommy... you didn't..." Alpha began.
"Relax, Alpha," Tommy smiled as he removed his hand from RJ's shoulder. "I just used the teleportation function in my communicator. I didn't want you to waste your time teleporting us out of there."
RJ was feeling quite nauseous. "You should've warned me," he exclaimed.
Tommy grimaced. "Sorry, RJ," he apologised.
"You both should go change out of those suits," Zordon warned.
"We'll go right away, Zordon," Tommy promised as he grabbed RJ's arm. "Come on, RJ."
RJ nodded grimly and they both left the Command Centre at that point to go get changed.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early evening, some time later
As Tommy took his seat at the head of the table, in a white shirt and black trousers, everyone instantly turned to him to deliver status reports whilst Cestria dished out dinner.
"Fresno Bob is tightly secured in his own little high security cell," Scott said to Tommy. "He tried to escape a few times but Dillon quickly taught him that it wasn't a good idea to fight a hybrid."
Tommy chuckled. "I can imagine," he said simply as Dr K. stood up. "K.?"
"I'm pleased to inform you that both the Stegozord and the Rhino Steel Zord are completely repaired," Dr K. said with a smile. Tommy nodded as Dominic grinned.
"You can't keep a Rhino down," he declared. "Thank you, K.."
As Cestria reached Tommy, she calmly bent down as she served him dinner.
"Tommy, Alpha and Hayley still haven't made a breakthrough with the Time Pulse," she whispered. Tommy nodded.
"Thank you," he replied. "What about you guys, Jason?"
"We came up with the idea of educating the people through an exhibition about Power Rangers at the Corinth City museum, Tommy," Jason replied simply.
Tommy smiled. "That would work. I'll pick out the exhibits myself and I promise you that I'll get Colonel Truman's permission to use the museum," he said as he calmly began to eat his dinner like almost everyone else.
Ziggy, however, was excitedly waving his arms around, with knife and fork in hand, as he told Kira and Trent about what had happened by doing a strange re-enactment of the capture of Fresno Bob.
As he moved to show how RJ and Tommy had stopped Fresno Bob, the fork flew out of his grasp towards the top of the table. Tommy instantly knew what had happened and, as the fork hurtled towards its intended target, he instantly took up his knife. Then, he threw the knife to intercept the fork and to knock the fork harmlessly to one side before it could hurt anyone.
Just before the fork reached Kimberly, the knife clattered into it and sent it flying harmlessly towards the floor as she cried out in fright.
All present were startled by this display of skill and, instantly, everyone looked to Tommy who was calmly eating away as if nothing had happened. However, something had happened as both Tommy and Zordon's teeth were aching at that moment.
"Wow, bro, that was cool. How on earth...?" Jason asked.
"It was me," Zordon lied quickly. "I used Tommy to throw the knife because, if I had thrown it, it would not have intercepted that fork in time."
Tommy nodded in uneasy agreement to Zordon's words.
"Yeah. It was all Zordon," he lied. "Are you all right, Kimberly?"
She nodded but it was clear that she was quite shaken. "I'm fine. Thanks, Zordon," she replied.
Zordon nodded. "You are welcome," he replied simply as he returned to his dinner. At that moment, RJ opened his mouth to ask a question but quickly shut it again at Zordon's sudden glare.
"You're going to have to be more careful Ziggy," Kimberly warned. "Next time, we might not be so lucky."
"Yeah," Tommy agreed as he continued to eat his dinner. Ziggy nodded and instantly calmed down.
After a few minutes, everyone but Tommy, RJ and Zordon had completely forgotten about what had just happened. When both RJ and Tommy looked to Zordon, he mouthed "later" back at them as he didn't want the others to know about what had really happened.
"Hey Tommy, do you think that it'll get quieter around here for a few days?" Zack asked. "There has been no sign of Zedd or any other villain today."
Tommy shrugged. "It probably should get much quieter here now for a few days. Zedd was put in his place yesterday so he shouldn't be back for a while and, as for the rest of them, the other villains don't appear to be in Corinth right now."
"There's Rito, Tommy," RJ reminded him. Tommy shook his head.
"I know that he's not here any longer," he disagreed. "After that battle between us, I think that he left Corinth, guys, because he would have showed up by now if he hadn't."
"I agree, Tommy," Zordon said. "Rito is no longer in Corinth."
At that moment, Tommy completely finished his dinner and sighed.
"I'm going to get some rest," he declared as he left the Ranger Planning Room.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, the next day, very early in the morning, some time later
"... I'm sorry, Zordon. I just couldn't help myself," Tommy protested. "It just happened. I just knew that Ziggy had thrown that fork and I just knew I had to throw that knife to stop it hitting Kimberly. Isn't that what the "knowing" sensation is all about?"
RJ shook his head. "We may have the knowledge of what must be done and when it must be done for but the skills we use to complete our task are our own. No Pai Zhua Master would be able to throw as accurately as you did earlier," he countered.
"I'm afraid that RJ is right, Tommy," Zordon replied grimly as Tommy turned away. "I am going to have to keep a very close eye on you now because your powers must have awakened. You are going to have to proceed extremely carefully from now on because, if you make a mistake, someone else could potentially get hurt."
