'TIL I COLLAPSE - PART FIFTEEN: ON DIFFERENT GROUNDS (PG-13)
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: When the Rangers wake up they are caught up in something they never thought was possible. Can they figure out how to get out of it before things get worse?
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own this adventure and the evil dudes that are reeking havoc on their lives. Heh. Heh. You have been warned. I also own the power of ending this series as I want. So, if you decide to make suggestions, be careful how to say it. And if you haven't read "The Reason" or "Ordinary World" you'd better go back and read it, or refresh your memory, if need be.
A/N: Um...just read on. I am not gonna say anything. Just hope I don't confuse you completely. Read it carefully.
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"When I went to bed last night, things were just fine. Now, as I wake up, things are blown way out of proportions. What the hell is going on! Let's just hope we figure all of this out before things go completely wrong." -Eclyptyk Neo
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It was Friday. Finally, after another hard week, the week end was just around the corner. And it was just the time the team needed to relax.
Conner groaned quietly as he finally awoke from his slumber. He slowly turned in the bed only to find his arm hit something out of the ordinary. He opened his eyes to meet the brown eyes of another occupant in his bed.
"Ahhhh!" he screamed.
"Ahhhh!" the other person cried.
And when Conner turned, he felt the bed under him disappear and he felt the side table make contact with his head as he hit the ground. He groaned quietly as he rubbed his head.
The other person peered over the bed, down at the person laying on the ground, slightly dazed. "Dr. O?"
"What the hell are you talking about? It's me," Conner shook his head as he sat up. He looked up, only to realize that who he was talking to was Coach. "Coach!"
"What are you talking about, Dr. O.? It's me," the P.E. teacher replied. She looked just as freaked as him, as she protectively wrapped the blanket around her. "What's going on?"
Conner looked up at the person again, knowing that he wasn't dreaming. It was Coach, but when he looked down at himself, seeing the single band on his left ring finger and the bracelet housing the black dino gem, he could make only one conclusion. "Oh, shit! Kira?"
The P.E. teacher looked down at the man on the ground, looking into his eyes. And seeing something else there that she could distinguish was not the legendary ranger. "Shit! Conner, is that you? What's going on?"
The science teacher scrambled to his feet and raced over to a mirror located on the other side of the room. He looked himself over, and it was evident that he really was Tommy Oliver, but inside he knew he was Conner McKnight. The short spiked hair, the small line of hair on his chin and a set of muscles that has seen a lot of action and been through a lot of work.
The P.E. teacher raced over to the mirror, looking herself over. The long flowing brown hair draped over her shoulder. And it was evident that she was in fact, Kimberly Hart-Oliver, but inside she knew and felt that she was Kira Ford.
The two of them looked at each other again and screamed.
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Ethan let out a yawn as he slowly turned in bed, stretching out his limps as he sat up. He shook the sleepiness out of his head as he opened his eyes and slowly got out of bed.
He slowly walked through the dimmed room, but slipped on something spherical, hitting the ground hard. He groaned quietly as he watched the ball roll across the room and under the bed.
For a moment, he thought. Did Conner leave his soccer ball at my house again?
He sighed and slowly got back to his feet and walked into the dimmed hall and into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and the light and began to splash his face, but furrowed his eyes as he finally took a good look at himself in the mirror.
He caught his breath as the features on his face gave him more evidence of what he felt in his gut. The light skin complexion, the brown hair of his red DT friend, and the red dino gem now sitting on his wrist.
He took several steps back as he felt the back of the wall hit his back. He was dubbed in a red muscle shirt and some black sweat pants.
"Ahhhhh!" he screamed as he raced out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.
When he turned on the lights, it was all the evidence he needed to say that he was either in a real bad nightmare, or a nightmare that had turned into a reality. He was Conner McKnight, but in his mindhis thoughtswere still of himself, Ethan James.
He forced air back into his lungs as he looked at the room filled with soccer items of sorts and of a red color. He raced over to the mirror looked at himself as he pinched himself, hoping it was a dream. But it wasn't as he winced. "Okay, so I look like Conner. I sound like Conner. But I know I'm Ethan. I know I am. Oh man, this gives new meaning to an out-of-body-experience."
He grabbed a fresh set of clothes and threw it on, knowing that he had to get to the lab before it was too late.
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Kim slowly turned in the bed, only to realize how small the bed was and that no one was there to greet her at her side. She opened her eyes and looked around the dimmed room, realizing she wasn't in the bedroom she knew so well.
She turned on the light, to see the hint of yellow all over the room. She saw the pictures around the room, of family and friends. But they weren't of her own. She looked at her wrist and saw the bracelet that housed the powers of the yellow dino gem.
She shook her head for a moment, thinking it was a dream as she dashed toward a mirror. But when she looked at herself, she saw the long blonde hair and the yellow clothes of her 'little' sister.
"Ahhh!" she screamed. She blinked again, as she felt the blood rush to her head and she fainted.
Minutes passed as she slowly came to her senses again, and slowly pulled herself up the dresser to look into the mirror again. And it was clear that she was in fact, Kira Ford, but she knew inside she was Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver.
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Tommy groaned quietly as he craned his neck, feeling the aching pain run down his spine. He rubbed the back of his neck as he slowly raised his head.
For a moment, he didn't think about where he was or how he got there, but the sinking feeling in his stomach was all that he needed. He rolled his neck to awake it from its painful state as he turned in the chair and looked around the room.
He furrowed his eyes, to make sure it wasn't a dream. And it wasn't. He saw the evidence of sketches and drawings plastered on the wall next to comic posters and small anime-like models. And he knew that he was no longer in his own bedroom, but Trent's.
He looked down at himself, to see he was dressed from head to toe in a white jumpsuit and when he pulled the cuff of the jacket away, he saw the white dino gem glow to life.
"Mindshatter," he said in a low voice as he got to his feet and headed out the door.
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Trent groaned quietly as he raised his head and rubbed the pain from it as he opened his eyes. He raised an eyebrow realizing he was sitting in front of the computer. And not just any computer, but Ethan's computer.
"What the hell...?" he leaned forward as he saw the dull refection of himself in the computer screen.
He swung around in the chair as he looked around the room. It was in fact of a blue color, and with all the sci-fi posters and pics along with mountains of CDs, he knew he was in Ethan's room.
He jumped out of the chair and raced into the bathroom. And as he turned on the light, it showed that he was in fact, Ethan James, but he knew mentally he was Trent Mercer.
"Oh, man. Not good," he shook his head as he heard those words. It did in fact sound like Ethan, too.
He raced out of the room, found a fresh set of clothes and left the house as he raced toward the lab, where he hoped to get answers to what was going on.
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The two high school teachers sat some distance apart in the underground lab, still trying to understand what was going on.
And that was the problem. They weren't high school teachers, not mentally anyway. They were students at the high school trapped in their teachers' bodies. A star soccer player stuck in the body of his Geology teacher. An independent punk-rock singer trapped in her P.E. teacher's body. They didn't know how, but they knew why.
"I don't like this one bit," the science teacher spoke, but the tone in his voice was clearly that of Conner.
"I hear you. I have a History test. I can't go in there like this," the P.E. teacher spoke slowly, as she looked herself over again.
"Maybe you won't have to. At least you don't have to worry about teaching a science class if that's what it comes down to. You know I don't pay attention in there."
Then the forest entrance creaked open, and three more figures stumbled into the room. Ethan, Kira and Conner. Their voices trying to dominate the other as they were trying to figure out what was going on. The two teacher met them in the center of the room as a new line of panic and fear ran over each of them.
Another figure walked into the room. The White DT Ranger. For a moment, he knew that something was wrong by the aura in the room and residing among the team. He whistled, stopping everyone as they turned to look at him.
"Trent, what's going on?" Conner asked as the soccer player walked over to him.
"I'm Trent!" Ethan spoke in a slight growl.
"No, you're Ethan," Kim said as she tapped him on the shoulder.
Trent whistled again to stop the arguing from continuing. The team turned to look at him as he shook his head. "Guys, it's me," he said simply as he took another step into the room.
The team raised an eyebrow, looked at each other and made one conclusion.
"Dr. Oliver?" the science teacher spoke slightly confused.
The White DT Ranger nodded. "It's me, Conner." he walked over to the crowd of people, patting the science teacher on the shoulder. "And it seems that we might have gotten ourselves into a spot of trouble."
"Might have!" the soccer player breathed. "I'm Conner. I am supposed to be Ethan!"
"Yeah, and I can't be a P.E. teacher," Kim spoke.
"But it isn't that hard," Kira said.
"And I'm pregnant!" the P.E. teacher panicked.
"By two months," Ethan shrugged.
The P.E. teacher glared at the teen in blue as she pulled up a finger, but the White DT Ranger stopped her.
"Kira, relax. We'll figure this out," Trent spoke.
"Okay, stop!" the science teacher breathed. "This is confusing. So, let me get this straight. Somehow, when we were sleeping, Mindshatter had cast a spell or something to make all of us switch bodies. And now, I am Dr. Oliver when I should be Conner. And Kira is now Coach. Ethan is now me, and Trent is Ethan. Coach is Kira and Dr. O is now Trent. Is that right?"
"That about sums it up," Trent nodded slowly. The legendary ranger's status was evident in how he stood and how he let the words escape his mouth.
"Talk about freaky Friday," Conner shook his head. And by the protest heard in his voice, they all knew he was Ethan. "Have you guys seen that movie?"
"I am not going to school like this," Kim protested. Even as much as the two girls on the team were alike in so many ways, it was how they had presented themselves in front of the team that gave them what they needed to know to tell them apart. And in how the fear danced in her eyes, it was Kira speaking those words.
"We're gonna have to," Trent shook his head. "We can't afford to go on and skip school for something like this. As confusing as it is, we're just gonna have to pull off who we are for the day and hopefully figure this out by night fall."
"What if we're stuck like this?" Kira said.
The White DT Ranger turned to the Yellow DT Ranger, as the eyes of husband and wife met. It was clear she was scared, but still holding strong about the situation. She had seen her fair share of strange things, and this would make no difference. But it was clear that they never expected a blow like this. The look in her husband's eyes made it evident that they will figure this out as soon as they can. And she admired that he managed to keep his cool about a situation like this. It was really hard for her to.
"We won't. I mean, we can't. Can we?" Ethan asked as everyone turned to look at him. But where they all knew to find the intellect of the blue DT ranger there, it was the creative and artistic mind of the white DT ranger.
"No way. There's got to be a way for us to change back," Conner stated. "You guys remember that in the movie, right?"
"This isn't a movie, Ethan! This is real life!" Kim protested.
"Stop!" Tommy groaned, grabbing his head. It was clear he was getting a headache, or moreso Conner, and who could blame him. They all were. "You're confusing me."
"All right. To keep things simple, we're just gonna have to address each other by who we see. So, you guys can't address me at all as Dr. Oliver," Trent said clearly and firmly. "Or each other in those terms. Got it?"
The team looked at each other and knew they couldn't argue with him anymore. It would be risking far too much, and by the look of the time, they all had to get down to the school.
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Ethan sat in the red GTO in the senior lot at the school. He had looked himself over and over, telling himself that he was Conner. He hoped it would only be for the day. But he wasn't too sure how well he could pull it off, especially with Krista. He had a sinking feeling about even saying as much as 'hi' to her since he wasn't exactly Conner right now. If he was lucky, he could try to avoid her at all costs, but that was no guarantee if he failed to do what Conner would do with her on a daily basis.
He groaned, sinking into the seat as he heard a knock on his window. He rolled down the window to see the teen dressed in blue standing there, leaning against the car.
Himself, but it was now Trent. "Hey, how are holding out?"
"You mean right now?" Ethan asked as he sunk lower into the seat. "I look and sound like Conner. You cannot tell me there
is something wrong with that. I'm literally talking to myself here."
"Yeah, I get that feeling too," Trent nodded as the soccer player got out of the car. "But you heard what Dr. Oliver said. We got to play it off like who we are for the day."
Ethan nodded as he followed Trent into the school. A line of students had greeted the soccer player, which Trent had to remind him that Conner was in fact, a popular guy at the school. Moreso for his jock status, and even if he was taken, girls still tried to flirt with him which made Ethan feel slightly uncomfortable.
The computer gamer pulled the soccer player down the hall as they made their way into the English Hall. They saw Krista wave them over, and as Trent stopped to greet her, Ethan kept going.
Krista raised an eyebrow slightly confused. "Is everything okay with him, Ethan?"
The computer gamer could only shrug as he called out to his friend. "Yo, Conner. Conner!"
Ethan stopped for a moment and took a breath. He looked down at the bracelet honing the red dino gem. "Wait. I am Conner." he told himself quietly as he turned around and slowly walked over to the duo.
Krista gave him a warm smile and a small kiss on the lips that had Ethan's eyes widen with fear. Trent elbowed him in the gut as the kiss was broken and the two guys exchanged a quick chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"If only you knew," Ethan replied, trying to keep his cool. How could I go off and do that? I just kissed, Conner's girlfriend or she kissed me. But I am Conner. C'mon, Ethan. You gotta play it off as Conner. he told himself as he slowly wrapped an arm around Krista's waist.
"Conner here didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Probably thinking about you too damn much," Trent stated, as he got a glare from Krista. "Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing. No. I'm just... I'll shut up now." He knew he could pull off Ethan well, but it was a matter of not slipping out more than he needed to.
Krista giggled. "Don't worry, Ethan. Are you sure you don't want me to find you someone to go out with?"
"Hey. Hey. Hey. I told you, I'm a free agent, but that doesn't mean I need the hook up. I think I'll still with the bachelor life," the computer gamer replied.
Krista turned to look at her boyfriend, tapping him on the shoulder. He was obviously pre-occupied with something. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just like Ethan said. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep," the soccer player said, absently scratching his head.
"So are we still on for tonight?" Krista asked.
"Tonight!" Ethan looked at her with some confusion. He looked over at Trent for support who could only shrug. "Um...tonight?"
"Yeah, silly. You don't remember?" Krista stated. "We were gonna go out and have dinner at that new Italian restaurant downtown."
"Oh right," Ethan breathed quickly. If they didn't figure how to fix this, he would have to go out on a date. And he wasn't sure how Conner was on a date. Let alone, if he could pull off a date on his own terms. He wasn't a ladies man, as he would hope to be. "Hey, listen, Krista, about tonight..."
The computer gamer cleared his throat as the soccer player looked over at him with some confusion. He pointed with his eyes up the hall to see as the artist and science teacher was heading their way. Ethan let out a breath, slightly relieved.
"Hey, guys," the artist greeted as he walked over to his friends on the side of the hall.
"What's up, Trent? Thank God it's Friday," the computer gamer stated as he patted his friend on the shoulder, greeting him with a friendly handshake.
"I hear you. This has been one crazy week," the artist nodded. "So, um... Conner, got any plans for you and Krista tonight?"
The soccer player scratched his head absently again. "Um...I don't know. We were gonna head over to that new Italian restaurant, but..."
But before he could finish, the science teacher nudged him in the back as he leaned up against the wall, watching the students pass by. As a teacher, he had to play it off as if he were monitoring the halls to make sure nothing bad or out of the ordinary was going on.
"You're talking about that new Italian restaurant on Stenson Dr, right?" the science teacher began. "Yeah, I heard that was a really good place to go. I'd take Kim, but she's sorta cranky at the moment."
The artist groaned internally sinking his head. He didn't want to say anything about that last comment as he pulled the science teacher off the wall. "C'mon, Dr. O. I thought you were gonna help me out on that photosynthesis and cellular respiration diagram. We'll catch you guys later."
The two disappeared down the hall. The computer gamer tapped the soccer player on the shoulder, indicating that the warning bell had rung and it was time to head off to class. He said he would catch the two later and left them alone.
Ethan was in a panic again. How could he pull off being Conner if he wasn't good about dates, let alone giving the right impress about saying good-bye to 'his' girlfriend? He wasn't like this one bit, and he felt like he had it the hardest. He had seen Conner and Krista hanging out so many times, but it was even harder being in his shoes and trying to pull it off.
"So, are we still on for tonight? I mean, I understand if you're busy or whatever, Conner..." Krista began.
The soccer player looked back at the girl locked in his arms, and held his breath for a moment. He shook his head. "No. Of course not. I thought I had something to do, but I can always push that off until tomorrow. Besides, we haven't had dinner in awhile, right? So, yeah. We're still on. 7:00, right?"
"Just as long as you don't forget to pick me up at the shelter," she stated.
"All right. I'll see you after 1st hour," he nodded as he slowly leaned over to give her a kiss. Krista finished it off as her lips melted with his. And for awhile, he couldn't let go. It was something to think about, but he had to kick himself in the head to tell himself that though he may look like Conner on the outside, he was still Ethan on the inside.
They said their good-byes and the soccer player disappeared into his first hour class, snagging the seat beside the singer.
Kira looked over at the soccer player–actually, Kim was looking–with a wide smile on her face. Ethan looked at her with raised eyebrows as he shook his head.
"Don't say anything," he said.
"Why? I saw you out there," Kim smiled widely again. "I thought you weren't much for being a lady charmer."
"Well, I guess some of that soccer player charm could be rubbing onto me," Ethan shrugged, sweeping his shoulders. "I think I pulled that off well."
"Let's just see if you can pull it off for the rest of the day," the singer replied in a challenging tone.
"Well, right back at you there, Coach," he shot back meeting her challenging glare.
"It's on," she smiled, before laughing.
And the bell had rung to begin their first class. Now, it was up to seeing if any of them could really pull off that first hour without choking.
Minutes passed.
The news was over and it was time to start the action of first hour.
"All right, class. If you will, pass up those short stories you've been working on for the past week. I hope to find some interesting pieces of work from some of you people. I hear we got some impressive writers in this class," Mr. Rodriguez announced as he took his place at the front of the room.
The computer gamer and P.E. teacher exchanged a look before diving into their–Conner's and Kira's–backpacks. If they were lucky, they would find it in there, but after all the crazy things that were happening that morning it was hard to really say if they were completely prepared for it. They tossed the binders on their desk and began to search through it, hoping to find it, but got nowhere. And that wasn't a good thing at all. Even one assignment could throw off a senior's grade completely, especially in an English class.
They looked at each other again, and their hands shot up faster than Conner's super speed could compare to. "Mr. Rodriguez," they said in unison, trying to keep their cool. But it was evident that they were slightly freaked.
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Tommy sat at one of the lab stations trying to get used to the fact that being behind the desk was another story as being part of the audience seeking out an education. He looked over at the nervous teacher, himself–but held the spirit of the current red ranger–and sighed quietly. He knew Conner wouldn't make it, but he had to do something to reassure him that things will be okay and they would figure it out.
He pulled out the backpack and looked through the items, noticing some papers that weren't his own. Or more so, Trent's set of papers. It was Conner's and Kira's short stories they've been working on for the past week or so. He walked over to the science teacher, whose head was plastered to the desk.
"Hey, lighten up, Dr. O," Tommy replied as he patted the science teacher on the shoulder.
Conner slowly looked up at him, the look of fear in his eyes. He sunk, whispering. "I can't do this, Dr. O."
"Hang in there, Conner," Tommy nodded slowly. "Got a favor. Write me a pass. I'll go check on the others, all right?"
The science teacher nodded slowly, but stopped trying to figure where the hall passes were hidden. The artist pointed at the desk drawer closest to the teacher as he pulled it open. Conner quietly thanked him and wrote the pass, letting the science teacher roam the halls to see how their comrades were holding out.
Tommy let out a breath as the door closed behind him. He looked down at the stories in his hands, and figured the first place he would go was the English hall. He picked up his pace as he realized that the news was almost done and many times, a teacher would be collecting homework before it was done.
He nearly stumbled into Mr. Rodriguez's room as he caught his breath and everyone turned to look at him, slightly confused.
"Trent! Shouldn't you be in class?" Mr. Rodriguez approached the teen in white.
"Sorry, I forgot something in my locker," the artist breathed as he held out the printed work for the teacher. "And it's sorta funny that I'm here. Conner and Kira were over at the cyber café working on their stories last night and forgot to get them from the printer. So, I'm just gonna give this to you, and we could go about our business."
The teacher looked at him slightly confused, but thanked him for looking out for his friends. He turned back to his students and began to address their next assignment regarding a self-portrait work on them.
Tommy looked over at Kim and Ethan in the corner of the room. And the look of their faces was of relief and a great gratitude of thanks for saving their asses for the time being. He could only look at them with the sincere look and eagerness to find a way out of this situation and bring them all back to normal.
"You guys okay?" Tommy asked quickly as he slowly moved toward the door.
"Whoa! What the...?" Ethan looked around slightly confused, knowing he heard that voice in his head.
"We're holding out, okay, for now, Handsome," Kim replied as a light smile passed her lips.
"Ninja powers, Ethan," Tommy replied simply. "Just hang in there. I was gonna go check on Trent and Kira."
"How is Conner holding out?" Ethan asked.
"He'll get by. I'll watch his back the most. Just for my own sake. Talk to you guys, later," Tommy nodded. He winked and turned and left the room.
Ethan looked over at Kim, who let out a breath. "Is he always like this?"
"Always got our back," Kim nodded. "Without him I don't think we would have made it through this day."
"So, when are you two gonna hook up?" Ethan asked with a laugh, knowing that Conner had badgered his friend in yellow constantly about her relationship with Trent. "Some other girl might get to him, or some other guy could get to you."
"Like you?" Kim met his statement. "Besides, we've talked. I don't know about actually starting a relationship. I guess we'll see."
"I'm taken. Remember," he shot back.
"Conner! Kira!" the teacher barked.
They had to kick themselves mentally recalling that they had to watch their mouths, but they were holding off for now. They apologized and averted their eyes to the front. But they didn't seem to know about Trent's and Kira's recent hook-up. But, no one could blame them when that was only a day ago, and since then things were rather hectic to discuss any issues outside the ranger thing.
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Tommy walked through the halls to the math hall where he knew where the true bearer of the body he was in was now stationed. He slowly came to a halt in the hall, as he watched the computer gamer slightly dazed in the back of the room. He figured that Trent had it all under control since he knew that Ethan was always tired, especially in the morning.
Then the head of the computer gamer turned slowly toward the hall, trying to avert any attention toward his teacher. He saw himself standing there looking at him.
"How are you doing, Trent?" Tommy asked through telepathy.
Trent furrowed his eyebrows, slightly confused, but couldn't forget that his teacher was a master of ninjitsu and ninja magic. "I can deal. I'm all right, Dr. O. How's everyone else holding out?"
"Well, you're probably the most calm about this than them. Conner being the worst off, but he'll get by. He has me for two hours of the day. Keep yourself in check, Trent. I'll see you later."
"See you later, Dr. O," Trent gave a quick wave of his hand as he watched himself–the legendary ranger–head off.
Tommy made his way outside and over to the gym where he had to make on last check before heading back to class, but got stopped by the booming voice of one of the administrators, Mr. Titus. The guy no one could really stand next to Mr. Clarkson due to their over-excessive authorative business.
"Mr. Fernandez, what are you doing out of class? I assume you have a pass to be roaming the school like this," Mr. Titus stated, not too amused to see a student out of class who had no real authority to unless they were a student assistant. If one could say, he could almost pass as the male version of Principal Randall. He was a tall, slightly built man. And if he did have the strength it was covered up by a business suit, which he work every day. He had a short hair cut, one seen on a military guy, and he had a pair of glasses to finish it off. No one knew a whole lot on his record, but knew that he set the record straight at another school before turning it over to Reefside High.
Tommy forced out a breath as he played it cool. He slowly pulled out the pass and handed it over to the assistant principal. He forgot that though Trent's last name was legally changed to 'Mercer' those who seemed to hold a personal grudge against him called him by his actual last name. "Actually I do. And I was needing to head over to the gym to send a message to Coach Hart-Oliver from her husband in the science wing."
"Which would be?" the assistant principal looked down at the teen with a raised eyebrow. And that's how Mr. Titus was. He was always trying to get the dirt, usually for no reason, or right to.
"Sorry. You know, family business, Mr. Titus," Tommy nodded firmly as he took the pass gripped firmly in the assistant principal's hand.
"You're not family," Mr. Titus protested.
"Hey! Did I mention I was Dr. Oliver's cousin? So, that would make me family with every respect possible. Now, if you'll excuse me," Tommy turned and headed for the gym, hoping to avoid anymore confrontation. But in the back of his mind, he was beginning to see into the eyes of the students and why they had hated the assistant principal so much. And if one could look at the status of 'family' bonds, Tommy and Trent could pass as cousins considering the color each of them had honed regarding their ranger powers.
Tommy walked into the gym and headed upstairs to the upper decks. He watched from the railing as the students paced the outer edge of the gym floor to get their heart rates up. He saw the gym teacher he could call his wife, but had to remember at that moment it wasn't her. And he wasn't necessarily in the right look to see her that way, being a student himself.
The gym teacher began to encourage her students to push themselves a little harder as the music in the back set the mood for the jog around the gym. She slowly turned, realizing there was a spectator on the upper deck.
"Shouldn't you be in class, Trent!" the gym teacher called out as his eyes turned to look at her.
Tommy chuckled lightly, knowing that Kira had it under control. Or she was playing it off well, if she was still slightly freaked and nervous. "Thought I'd drop by and give you a message from your husband."
The students gushed and teased the gym teacher as they continued their jog.
"He says he likes the yellow one on you, but would prefer to see you in pink," the artist jeered with a laugh.
The other students teased the gym teacher as her face turned a slight red.
"Well, you tell him that he may have to deal with yellow for awhile if he keeps being a jerk about my new style," she shot back.
Tommy dropped his head, shaking it as he chuckled. Yeah, he knew she was holding out fine. "How are you doing, Kira?"
"I can't believe you just said that to me, Dr. O." she breathed looking at her mentor with some shock.
"Just trying to have some fun with this, Kira. And seeing how you're holding out, but I think you're doing fine," Tommy replied as he leaned into the rails.
"Yeah, I guess. But this is a whole lot harder than I thought. I mean, I know I have Coach for class, but being her is another thing. How about you? How you holding out being Trent, Dr. O?"
Tommy shrugged. "It's okay for now. But let's just hope we don't run into anymore surprises before the day is done. We can't afford anymore mix up. Just do what you gotta do, Kira. You'll be fine. I'll catch you later."
"See you later, Dr. O," The gym teacher saluted as she watched the artist leave the deck.
Tommy slowly walked back over to the science hall, and he knew he had to get back to being Trent, and get himself that education. He casually walked back to the classroom, jumping the stairs as he came to a halt as he rounded the corner. He saw himself –Conner–sunk on the ground covering his face. "Um... Dr. O?"
Conner looked up at him, letting out a breath. "Oh, man. I am so glad you're back. Those guys were asking me far too many questions on my personal life. Well, more so yours, Dr. O, but... oh man. I didn't know what to say."
Tommy pulled Conner to his feet patting him on his shoulder. "Yeah, welcome to my world. But, what did I tell you. Names, bad thing. Remember, you're Dr. O. I'm Trent."
"But, Dr. O..." Conner began.
Tommy growled, covering his mouth shaking his head. "No..."
But he was cut short when he heard footsteps and they slowly turned to see the principal coming their way. She greeted them, but when they had fell silent she questioned what was going on.
"To keep things simple, Elsa. We got into a spot of trouble. It seems somehow Mindshatter set a spell on us to have us switch bodies. I'm Dr. Oliver," the artist replied as the principal raised an eyebrow with confusion.
"And this is?" Elsa looked over at the science teacher.
"Conner," the artist replied.
"And the others?" she asked.
"We all got switched," the science teacher replied as he shook his head in dismay.
"Well, I know you guys will figure this out. Hang in there." she reassured the two.
They thanked her for her encouraging words as they retired into the room, knowing they had to try and play this off as normal as possible.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
By second hour, Conner was so relieved to take a break from the constant badgering of the students in Dr. O's AP Bio class. And he didn't know how his teacher had managed it, he was just glad that he had his teacher there to guide him.
The entire hour was set around trying to pinpoint what exactly was going on and if they could find any solutions to the problem, but they couldn't seem to find one that could work.
They even hit up Hayley via webcam at the cyber café and briefly and in code, the situation they had to deal with.
"No way, I don't believe you guys. C'mon, Tommy stop playing around," Hayley laughed as she shook her head.
"We're not kidding around, Hayley. You're talking to Tommy and Conner here," Tommy stated from inside the body of Trent as she shook her head again.
"Well, I see you, Tommy. But I see Trent right beside you," Hayley said.
"Hayley, he's not lying. You may be seeing Trent talking to you, but you're talking to Dr. O. And when you look at me, you may think you're talking to your college buddy, but you're really talking to me, Conner McKnight," Conner said.
"Okay, fine," Tommy said, knowing that through the camera she was in fact looking at the science teacher and the artist. He had to come up with something only he knew about his college buddy. "Hayley, going back to the day we met. Remember, you were the one to approach me in Biology class that day. You said that you needed to ask me something important, or tell me something really important that only I could know. So, we went to the local café to get something to drink. You began to mention about someone in class really liking me, a friend of yours as you put it, but it was a way for me to talk to you. And you never told me you were actually feeling me until your graduation day at MIT. And even during that conversation, you had mentioned you had put two and two together and tied me into the Power Rangers. You said you had clips and information that could prove it true, and you did. And I couldn't deny it. I still remember it all."
For awhile it fell silent as the technical director was shocked to hear those words coming out of the white DT ranger. But that was evident enough to say that he wasn't lying–they weren't lying–about what did happen to them. She knew that only Tommy knew about that, and couldn't deny it now.
"Tommy?" she breathed as her eyes centered on the white DT ranger.
The artist nodded slowly. "Mr. Legendary in the flesh right here. So, do you think you can look into this situation and possibly find a way to get us out of this mess?"
Hayley nodded firmly. "I'll let Billy know and we'll get right on it."
"Thanks, Hayley. Keep us informed," Tommy stated with a nod.
Hayley said she would try to get answers as she left the two alone to attend to the problem at hand.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
The rest of the day was okay for the most part. But it was still a slight challenge.
When Tommy and Kim had taken their place in History to complete the test for the unit, under the look of Trent and Kira, it was sorta hard to pull off. Tommy wasn't much for history at all, and Kim's memory was slightly jogged around the line of late 1890s to the early 1920s. And even they were confronted about their pencil use. They were right handed, but in reality, Trent and Kira were left-handed. It surprised them to even have people recognize the difference. And it was just so hard to just ditch class and hold each other and enjoy each other's company as husband and wife. But, they weren't now. Well, physically.
Trent had to play off like he knew a lot about computers and computer games, and that was a slight set back. He didn't know a whole lot about computer games as he would like, and being asked about codes or info on them put him at a stand still. He also had to avoid any indication of drawing, and even he was confronted about the use of his pencil. Everyone knew Ethan as a right-handed person and here he was using his left-hand like it was no problem at all.
Ethan still hadn't gotten used to the surprise signs of affection that he was getting from Krista. He had to tell himself that she had seen him as her boyfriend, and that's how he had to play it as. He was Conner for the day. He had to play off being affection and protective over his girlfriend. And he also had to know the basis of talk among the jocks. And he was slightly surprised to hear such a thing as being asked about when he had screwed Krista or if he did, and he dropped it and walked away. He didn't say anything or didn't want to apply anything hoping they'd leave it alone. He had hoped that Conner really wasn't using Krista as a puppet to make himself look good, and wondered really how his friend in red really handled such pressures as asking if he's gotten Krista in the bed yet or asking about the next time they'd all get drunk.
Kira had it probably the easiest. The gym classes would be running laps around the track and come in and shoot hoops to pass the rest of the time. The athletic trainers were all watching a video on proper techniques to wrap an injury. She didn't say that she could get used to playing off as a P.E. teacher, it was kinda fun. The only problem was when she had been asked some slightly personal questions that weren't meant for other ears, or should be heard by other ears but by husband and wife. She couldn't even believe some of the conversations that went on in the locker room. Not that she had a chance to listen in when she herself was in the locker room as an actually student, but they were far beyond her reach. TMI. Too much information. But it was clear that being the teacher vs. being the student were different in a lot of ways.
Conner had to constantly tell himself that he could handle the hardship. But that was his problem, he had to actually teach the classes about things regarding science. The 9th graders were learning about genetics. The geology classes were discussing the geologic time scale. The AP Bio students only had a diagram to do regarding the connection between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. They would ask him a few questions, and it was hard to make it sound like he knew what he was talking about. And again, personal questions would come up about his life–or Dr. O's–and many were slightly shocking to hear.
But that was it. It was finally the end of the day and they had made it. Without really thinking about anything else once that final bell rang to end the school day, they all raced to the lab to get this all figured out.
To be continued...
A/N: Whoo. I am finally done with this chapter. I hope I didn't confuse you completely. It was really hard trying to figure out how to write this chapter. Surprised? I hope you were. Read on and find out how the team finds a way out of this mayhem before it's too late. Later dayz. May the Powers Always Protect You.