"What the hell is this?" Conner asked as he peeked inside the Mercer museum.
The Dino Rangers and Kimberly had left in search of some old fossils for the machine Hayley was working on. After speaking to Billy on Aquitar, they agreed on the use of Fossils to help reverse the damage Mesogog and Zeltrax had inflicted on the rangers. The only way to reverse the effects of the explosion was to use the same power Mesogog used. The dinosaur power they used to fuel their ranger powers had become corrupt and displaced their essence, leaving them with powers they didn't have before and a new body to walk around in. With Hayley and Billys brain working together, they could reverse this strange situation.
The valet attendants in front of the museum worked diligently on parking the luxurious vehicles that belonged to the Reefside elite. The usual quiet museum was filled to capacity with Reefside's richest and most powerful residents.
"It's clearly a Gala," Kira rolled her eyes.
"Great," Conner sighed, "Just a bunch of old rich snobs eating cheese, drinking wine, and talking about old rocks."
"How are we supposed to get inside? It looks like invite only," Ethan's brows furrowed. He had returned from a failed mission of finding a way in.
Security was piled outside, keeping the event as exclusive as possible.
"I can get us in," Kimberly answered. She'd done it a million times before. There was never a place she couldn't get in. She just had to know who to talk to.
"You can?" Conner stepped forward, "You have an invite we don't know about?"
"No, but I do have a badge." Kimberly whipped out her prized possession. It had never let her down before. "No one will turn down an opportunity for free press. Besides.." She threw a glance over her shoulder, "it shouldn't be that hard to get in."
Conner turned to the rangers and shrugged. At least she was confident.
"Hey," Kimberly turned her attention to Tommy, "Don't watch, okay? You might not like what you see."
He pondered that for a moment, "What's that supposed to mean?"
She turned on her heels and made a beeline to the burly guard at the entrance of the Museum. Tommy watched her intently from his place with the rest of the rangers. He could almost hear her laugh from the distance as she played the guard like a fiddle. She was right, he wasn't going to like this.
Flirting came so natural to Kimberly, it was surprisingly strange. He wasn't jealous, he knew why she was doing it, but it did make him question why it came so natural to her. If she made it look that easy, he wondered if their time together had been real.
He shook his head, Tommy couldn't even entertain that thought. It must be lingering side effects from Conner's stupid brain. Of course it was real. Kimberly wasn't like that. She would never do that to him.
"Well?" Conner asked as she returned with a beaming smile.
"We're in," Kimberly nodded.
The rangers let out a quiet cheer before making their way towards the front entrance.
"Do you think you can do whatever you did to him to me later?" Tommy asked with a smirk.
Kimberly let out a small giggle, "How about we get you back to your body first, yeah?"
Tommy groaned as he escorted her into the museum.
The inside of the Mercer Museum was as posh as it came. A large gathering of people with their noses up in the air were mixed with forced chuckles throughout. Of course there was wine. Nothing this extravagant ever came without the only tool that allowed everyone to be it, it would be a competition about whose net-worth was the highest. No one gave a damn about the dinosaurs, only how impressive they'd look to their peers about who could give the largest donation. Ah, to be among the rich.
The rangers stood out like a sore thumb. They weren't exactly dressed for the occasion, at least none except for Kimberly who was always ready for a red carpet moment.
"People are staring," Kira huffed under her breath, taking an uncomfortable glance around the room.
"It's okay," Kimberly whispered, "Just act like you belong. Maybe they'll think you're a bunch of snobby heirs"
Okay, that didn't seem too difficult. What did heirs do anyway? Walk around and talk about how rich they were?
"Let's split up guys," Conner ordered. "Hayley said the amber from the Triassic Period should be here. Thats all we need. We'll meet back here in 20 minutes and regroup. Got it?"
"Ethan and Trent, why don't you guys check out the back room. I'm sure there could be something hidden back there. Kira and Kim, you guys should go check out Dr. Mercers office," Conner continued while the team nodded. "I think we should check out the exhibits Dr. O. Maybe they've put it on display."
The team didn't even get a chance to break up before they were halted by the voice of the devil in disguise, Principal Randall.
"Dr. Oliver," a sharp voice came from behind, "I didn't know you were a member of Reefside's Honorary Society."
Conner continued walking, seemingly forgetting just who the hell she was referring to.
Kira nudged Conner, breaking him from his thoughts, "Thats you, remember?"
Conner ran a quick hand over the short hair of his mentor. Oh, yeah.
"I…um, yeah," Conner returned an uncomfortable chuckle.
Principal Randall gave an airy laugh, lightly touching the black ranger on his arm, "Are you here for the new exhibit?"
Kimberly turned to Tommy who was wishing to be anywhere but there. He gave her an apologetic look as they watched Conner become increasingly more uncomfortable in his body.
It was awkward to say the least. Kimberly hadn't been aware of Principal Randalls advancements until just that moment, but she loved to watch Tommy squirm.
"Of course," the black ranger nodded, throwing a helpless glance at Tommy who had his head buried in his hand.
"Ms. Hart, interesting running into you with Dr. Oliver of all people," Principal Randall didn't try to mask the disgust in her voice.
"We're old friends." Kimberly returned, brow quirked.
"I'm sure you are," She gave a strained smile. Turning to glance at the group of teenagers, she asked Conner, "And.. you don't mingle with your students, do you? Must I remind you of our policy?"
"No, of course not. It's.. extra credit."
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" Randall returned through gritted teeth. "You know, it's a little perfect that I'm running into you. We need someone that's a little more knowledgable to entertain some of the members. Since you're so qualified, why don't you bestow your knowledge on us commoners?"
Conner was dead. Done for. He could get by for a little bit by just looking like Tommy, but he simply didn't know what the hell to say. They lived, they died. Fin. That's the extent of his knowledge.
"Oh, come on, Tommy," Randall put her arm around him, "For me?"
Conner threw pleading eyes to Tommy a few feet away. What the hell was he going to do? Just the feel of Randall's arm on his body made him want to vomit. Is this what Dr. O felt all of the time? Gross.
Conner gently disentangled himself from her grip, "Um, Ms. Principle… Randall-"
"Please," Randall pulled at Conner's forearms, tightening her grip on him, "you know you can call me Ella."
"Call me a doctor because I'm about to be sick," Ethan nearly gagged for his friends uncomfortable situation.
Tommy threw Conner a simple nod, which he reciprocated to Randall.
"Excellent," she gave a wicked smile before returning to the rangers "And you kids… I believe this Gala is a little too… High class."
"You won't even see us, I promise," Kira added to the dismay of Randall.
"Hard to say no to the owners son, but no."
"Where is my.. I mean, Dr. Mercer, by the way?" Trent tried to smoothly recover, but Randall gave him a look that said she caught his little slip up.
It's not like they both didn't know exactly what was going on. They were both playing a part, even if they were on opposite ends of the team. They both had the same to lose if the rangers found out their little secret.
"And why do you care, Ethan?" Randall emphasized for her own sick pleasure.
"Just curious," Trent replied, "Have you seen him?"
"He's around," She shrugged, telling him nothing and everything at the same time. "Now if you kids will please leave. Our members don't pay 10 grand a head to be surrounded by a bunch of teenagers."
She threw a scowl over her shoulder as she placed a hand behind the black ranger, leading him away.
"I'll explain. I promise," Tommy turned to Kimberly who was trying to suppress a laugh.
"You better," she told him before he followed after Conner.
While this was only a mild inconvenience, they never expected the events that would unfold throughout the night.
Author note: Hey guys! Long time no see! I'm hoping that updates will pick back up soon! If you need a little bit of a refresher then let me tell you that you are not alone! I had to go back and read the last few chapters to see where I had left off. As a reminder: Tommy is in Conner's body, Conner is in Tommy's body, Kira is in Trent's body, Trent is in Ethan's body, and Ethan is in Kira's body. They should be getting back to themselves VERY soon! I promise! Anyway, let me know what you think in a review or PM. It always makes my day. This was a short chapter, but only because I wanted to get this out there before the events in the next few chapters! I've been on FF more within the last year as I've gotten into a better routine with school. I hope you're all doing well during this insane time right now! Also, anyone else checking out the comics? Those are my saving grace! I highly recommend to any PR fans that are looking for something more mature.