A/N: I am truly sorry about taking so long to post for you guys. I have been extremely busy with PROM and well, my graduation. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say I have officially graduated from high school on May 14th, 2005 and am free to enter the real world...well, sort of. I have to go through college first, but that has really kept me in a bind in the last few weeks since my last post. But, for now, here it is, or what I have thus far and what I've gotten around to in the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy. May the powers always protect you. (Oh, and just to let you know, I may be in a craze with Star Wars in the next few weeks just cause...well, you know. Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith is out in only a matter of days, and I'm just so excited about it. Sorry, Star Wars fan...not geek. Just fan. May the Force be with you Always.)
'TIL I COLLAPSE - PART TWENTY-FOUR: BACK IN TIME
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: The team makes a startling discovery about where they are. Can they find a way out of it?
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. Just the adventure our DT team has now gone through, along with the other rangers throughout the years. I know you're liking it or you wouldn't be asking for more, so thank you for your reviews. And I wanna welcome aboard all the new faces to my production. Enjoy your stay. It's only beginning.
A/N: So, where exactly has the team gone? There has been a lot going on this year in Reefside. Oh yeah, I figured I'd bring back some elements from the past—hint. Wink. Wink. One being, Mesogog is now under a curse to follow just Mindshatter's orders, similar to how Tommy was under the evil spell. Dinoshade gets rather jealous of Mesogog, kinda how Zeltrax did with Elsa and the evil White Ranger. And a few others... but I'm not telling. Just read on to find some answers.
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"I almost thought we could have won that battle. But now, something has gone wrong. I am not liking this war against Mindshatter one bit. Where are we supposed to go from here? I will not go out this way. None of us can." -Eclyptyk Neo
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Dinoshade walked through the halls of the island fortress. In his mind, he was sure he had finally did something right that Mindshatter wouldn't completely badger him about. But he was growing rather angry at the lack of attention or praise he had done to keep the rangers down. Mindshatter had been focusing more on keeping Mesogog in his permanent state rather than on giving gratitude to him.
"I have been doing most of the work," Dinoshade growled to himself. "Mindshatter has done nothing but sit here and watch. He has to worry more about that pathetic excuse for a dinosaur, Mesogog..."
"Do I hear some jealousy?" a voice said from behind him in a low and dark voice.
Dinoshade turned around to see Mesogog standing there, head down. But when Mesogog looked up, the hint of red in his eyes lit up like a fiery rage. It made Dinoshade somewhat hesitant, but he wasn't afraid of the other dinosaur. He was still merely a man underneath it all. And no human ever could compete with him, as the Rangers seemed to fail almost every time.
"You don't scare me, Mesogog!" Dinoshade growled as he pushed his way through.
Mesogog turned toward him, hand outstretched. He was using his mind control to lift the robotic dinosaur off the ground and pinned him against the wall. Slowly, Mesogog strode over to him, eyes fixed on the robo-dinosaur. "Mindshatter does not take jealousy well. If you think you will overthrow him, you'll have to go through me."
"Who do you think you are?" Dinoshade glared at the dino menace. His own eyes glowed with a bright angry red. He pushed Mesogog's hand away, but Mesogog planted it back on his neck.
"I am your worse nightmare, Dinoshade. And you will soon learn that Mindshatter will no longer need you," Mesogog hissed.
For a moment longer the two could only glare at each other. Mesogog slowly let Dinoshade go as he turned and headed up the hall. Mesogog watched him go and turned and headed the other way.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Ethan groaned quietly as he quick shot up, his eyes flashing open. The sun from up above had beat down on him, causing him to air out his blue flannel. The heat slowly picking up. He looked around slightly confused, unsure what exactly happened.
He scratched his head, trying to remember what exactly happened.
Then when he saw the figure laying next to him, he remembered.
He felt time pass slowly around him as he raced over to his fallen mentor. He checked a pulse, felt a faint one as Conner and Trent called out to him. He had to get the device in order to get them out of that dome and free from Dinoshade in order to morph or possibly flee. He had gotten it, but Dinoshade also targeted him and the impact of the laser blast next to where he stood sent him into the ground. And he remember his world turn black and he fell into a deep slumber.
He tapped the figure in white, trying to wake him up. "Trent! Trent, wake up!"
Slowly, the teen in white felt reality wake up around him. He slowly groaned as he opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself to sit up. He looked around as he looked over at Ethan, slightly confused. And when he saw the confusion and fright in the computer gamer, he had remembered what happened in their last battle.
He and Conner had kept Dinoshade away from Kira, but he still managed to swipe Kira off her feet. But he couldn't see how she was doing since he had his hands full with Dinoshade. They called out to Ethan to get the device, but he, too, fell victim to Dinoshade's blow and lost it. Dinoshade got the device back and sent Conner and him flying. They hit the wall of the dome and felt the electric shock run through them as they hit the ground and his eyes grew heavy, his world turn dark around him.
And now, here he was in some alleyway with Ethan. And they weren't sure how they got there, but it didn't look like any alleyway they were familiar with.
"What happened?" Ethan asked as he looked around, slowly getting to his feet. He reached over and helped the artist in white to his feet, brushing off his white flannel shirt.
Trent looked around shaking his head. "I don't know. But how come I have a feeling we're not where we're supposed to be?"
"Meaning?" Ethan asked as he followed him out of the alleyway.
The two came to a halt as they saw a building across the street. They looked at each other slightly confused and back at the building blinking slowly.
"Trent, am I seeing this right? But does that building over there say 'Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar—Youth Center'?" Ethan forced air back into his lungs.
"Yeah, you're seeing it right. "Cuz I see it too," Trent nodded.
The two looked at each other again, before racing across the street over to the building. They scurried into the building looking around, slightly confused. Some people stopped to look at them as they passed through the hall into the work-out area. Other people were working out on the weight equipment, while there were a few conversing. But many of them appeared a little older than them, like they were in their early 20s.
Ethan and Trent slowly stepped up onto the juice bar level, still looking around with confusion. Compared to their style, the other occupants in the room appeared to have styles from years ago.
"Can I help you guys?" a voice called out from behind the counter.
Trent and Ethan slowly turned around to see where the question came from. The man was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with an apron, and was rather big. And they could only conclude was the guy who ran the place, Ernie.
"Uh...we're just sorta visiting," Trent began unsure what to say.
"Visiting? A friend?" the man asked as the teens nodded. "The name's Ernie. And, well, many of the teens hang out here. But as of now, they should be in school. Who are you looking for?"
The teens stuttered still confused at what was going on. Ernie looked at them slightly confused, asking if everything was okay.
"Oliver," Ethan finally blurted out, that had Trent look at him with more confusion. "Tommy Oliver, ya know, skilled martial arts guy."
"Yeah, I know him. But, he won't be at the Youth Center until late afternoon. He's at school right now. You could probably catch him later. Should I tell him you stopped by?" Ernie asked kindly with a smile.
"No," The teens said quickly, making the man jump back uncertain what to make of their gesture.
"No, it's cool. We'll just catch him when we can. Um...thanks, Ernie. But we gotta go," Trent said as he slowly pulled Ethan toward the door.
"Are you sure I can't interest you two in anything to drink? You guys look a little exhausted, like you were running for awhile or something," the man asked as he pulled up two cups from under the counter.
"No, we're fine. We gotta go. But thanks anyway, Ernie," Ethan nodded and turned and followed the teen in white out of the room.
The two of them raced out of the youth center. They briefly looked back at it, then at each other before racing out of there, hoping to find some answers before saying or possibly seeing too much.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Kira had finally found some feeling return to her body as she felt the soft prickly grass under her. She groaned quietly as she slowly rolled to her back. The sun beamed down on her as she shielded it and slowly sat up.
It almost hurt to open her eyes, but she managed to pry them open as she looked around. The entire area was literally nothing but grass, but as she looked around some more, she could conclude that she was in a park. But when she looked again, seeing the lake—the lake she swore was only located in one place— she turned to the figure laying beside her.
She shook the tall athletic soccer player awake as he slowly came to. "Conner! Conner, wake up! You gotta see this!"
Conner groaned as he shielded his eyes from the sun beaming down, feeling hands gripped around his shirt shaking him. He slowly opened his eyes to see Kira staring down at him. He sat up looking around. "What is it?"
He looked around the green display of grass throughout the area and swore they weren't in a park last time. And he knew that the sun wasn't shining this brightly, it was partly cloudy.
He remembered their last battle as if it was a nightmare, but as he ran a hand across his chest, he still felt the pain and electrical shock run through him and knew it wasn't a dream. The team had failed to win another battle, and somehow, he and Kira ended up in the park. He didn't know how, but something didn't feel right.
"You cannot tell me that that lake over there doesn't look familiar to you," Kira asked as she turned his head toward his left.
Conner looked at the lake slowly, trying to recall what the singer in yellow was telling him. He had to admit it looked nice, but couldn't put his foot on where he had seen it before. "It is a lake."
"Conner, that's the same lake we saw Dr. Oliver and Coach get married at!" Kira nearly screamed.
Conner looked at her as if she had said something wrong, but when he looked over at the lake again, it all began to fall into line. She was telling the truth as he got to his feet. He shook his head, not believing what to say. "No, wait. Time out! That could only mean one thing."
"We're in Angel Grove," Kira concluded as she slowly got to her feet. Conner had helped her to stay more stable as they looked around again.
"But how?" Conner protested as they slowly walked onto the cement walkway to one of the shaded pavilions.
"I don't know," Kira shook her head as she looked down at her morpher. It still looked intact and operational, but glowed lightly with a yellow hint. "It must have been Dinoshade and that device he had."
Conner planted himself beside Kira on the table looking around the park again. There was no one in sight, and he figured the best thing they could do was sit put until they got more answers to what was going on. "Yeah, let's hope we get answers soon."
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Tommy swore he almost died in that last battle. He wasn't sure what happened except only that he had been growing tired. The entire team was. And Dinoshade had teased them about the device he held in his hand. Tommy knew that was their ticket to freedom outside the dome and being able to morph again. They couldn't take anymore punishment and they needed a way out of there. He used what energy he had left to take down Dinoshade, but it cost him.
He could only remember tackling the robotic dinosaur to the ground, but had no time to react as he felt the impact of a punch on his chest and his knees locked. He felt the air being forced out of his lungs and he hit the ground. The last thing he saw when his eyes grew heavy was his team, hearing them call out his name. And then he fell into a deep slumber, almost feeling like he would never wake up.
He felt time stop. But, now he could feel the feeling of movement return to his legs and arms. The pain had slowly gone away, but his head was hurting extremely bad. He groaned quietly as he turned his head and slowly opened his eyes, rolling over to his back.
He saw the top of the ceiling. A ceiling? He thought. The last thing I remember was being out in the open on the plaza.
He sat up and looked around, now realizing he was inside a school gym. But as he looked closer, and the colors that resided in the gym, they were purple and yellow. Banners of sports played at the school hung on the wall above the basketball hoops, all of which dating no more than 1995. He looked down, at the basketball court, center court and saw the wings residing to Angel Grove High.
He forced air back into his lungs shaking his head. "Oh man. This can't be what I think it is, can it?"
He got to his feet and raced into the guys locker room, where he was sure no one was. He raced over to a mirror and looked himself over. He still had his usual spiked hair, a line of hair under his lower lip and his appearance had slowly aged through its years. He was still looking his usual self at the age of, now, 27. He let out a breath as he sighed.
"Okay, at least you still look and feel your age. But what about this setback? What am I doing at Angel Grove High?" he asked himself.
Then he heard voices in the hall. His eyes shot to the entrance way as the voices got louder. He could only conclude it was the basketball team back from training outside. He disappeared behind a row of lockers, using his dino gem, which he realized was still operational, and watched as several teens, many of them tall race into the locker room. As the last of the members slowly came into the room, he shot out of the door, not being sighted or heard by anyone.
He made his way into the main hallway where several other teenagers had been. Still cloaked by his dino gem, he slowly maneuvered around them. He may not have been seen, but it didn't mean that people could feel him if they ran into him. And that's what he had to avoid. But as he looked harder at the teens around, things slowly began to fall into place.
He had remembered several of them from his years in high school. And that could only mean one thing.
I've been transported back in time. He thought to himself. But how? And why?
He rounded the corner, only to run into a man dressed in a suit. He hit the ground, knowing he had to cut the control on his gem as he fell. Luckily, no one seemed to pay attention as he let out a breath, getting to his feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I must really watch where I'm..." Tommy began to apologize, but as the man turned around, he lost all train of thought.
It was his high school principal, Mr. Kaplan, or is standing only a few feet in front of him. And according to the graying hair and mustache upon his slightly slender face, he still— looked just like he did during Tommy's high school years. Now, Tommy was certain he had been transported back in time.
"Well, that's quite all right, young man. You must be new around here, shall I direct you toward the main office..." Mr. Kaplan began.
"Actually, no. Just passing by as a teacher," Tommy corrected trying to act calm and collected. "I hear Angel Grove High has some exceptional students."
"Why, we have a lot of people here who will do great in their futures. And actually, now that you mentioned it, there is a teacher who just called in sick today. Mr. Owens, one of our science teachers. I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble for you to fill in for him, Mr. ..." the principal held out a hand for a proper greeting and pondering what his name was.
Tommy looked briefly down at the bracelet around his wrist. He could only hope that if the teens were around, they were somewhere safe. And he knew if he went off and hinted at any name prior to students attending AGHS he would be screwed. He grasped the principal's hand firmly and nodded a greeting, quickly thinking of the first name that came to mind. "Mercer. Dr. Mercer, actually."
"Doctor? Wow! I never would have thought. But I swear I'm having the strangest feeling of deja vu right now. Are you sure we haven't met somewhere before?" the principal asked giving the man a once over look. He furrowed his eyebrows, but couldn't put a finger on where he saw the man that stood before him.
Tommy lowered his head as he shook it. "I don't think so. This is my first time in Angel Grove. Just sorta passing by, I guess you could say."
Mr. Kaplan looked at the man again and nodded solemnly. "So, I see. But what's a guy like you wanting to do in a high school setting, anyway?" the principal seemed impressed by the position the man before him had. "I mean a person of your stature should be teaching at a college level."
"Just trying to settle down a little from the college life. It wasn't what I wanted," Tommy shook his head, sounding convincing.
The two slowly began to converse a little more about the school. Mr. Kaplan had mentioned a few bright students, and how the school held some strict orders towards getting a good education. Tommy had listened intently, looking like he cared, when really he didn't. He knew this stuff, just a little rough around the edges. He hadn't been in high school himself for almost ten years now. They came to a stop in front of one of the science classrooms. The halls were slowly decreasing with students, a few slackers bringing up the rear.
"Well, this is it. There are a lot of bright minds in this class. But if any of them seem to be any trouble to you at all, don't hesitate to send them down to my office," Mr. Kaplan announced with a gentle smile.
Tommy nodded a 'thank you.' "Well, I must say I should have things under control. I've worked around many..."
But he stopped short of his sentence when he heard voices up the hall. And not just any set of voices, ones that seemed all too familiar to him. He looked up briefly to see three teens heading his way. One was dubbed in white, another in blue and the last in black. And it only meant one thing. His younger self, with a teenaged Billy and teenaged Adam close behind.
"I told you guys we're gonna be late. There is approximately 15 seconds before the bell..." the teen in blue began in a panic. He had constantly looked down at his watch as they raced through the hall.
"Billy, relax. As long as we don't run into Mr. Kaplan, we'll be all good," the teen in white said.
"Yeah, well, if you weren't sucking face with Kimberly, we wouldn't have to be tripping over being late," the teen in black protested. "One of these days you're gonna get caught and be sent to detention for a week 'cuz of it."
'Dr. Mercer' lowered his head and sunk his shoulders as he shielded his face and melted against the wall. The principal turned to look at the three laggers as they came to a halt in front of him. Each greeted him with a light smile, but it wouldn't cut it. The serious look on the principal's face had shut them up before any of them could say anything.
"Late as usual, you three?" Mr. Kaplan asked in a stern tone.
The teen in blue looked down at his watch again. He shook his head, shoving his friends into the classroom. "Actually, it's not considered late if we're in the classroom."
The bell rung as Billy slipped into the classroom turning to look at his principal. The two other teens smiled with a shrug as Mr. Kaplan glanced over at them. He excused them for the time being as they slowly headed to their seats. He turned back to the substitute teacher, shaking his head.
"Yes, well, there are a few of them who can be running a little late, but they still manage to get an education," Mr. Kaplan sighed, tapping the man in black on the shoulder.
Tommy nodded slowly, but still covered his face. He knew now that Mr. Kaplan had a good look of his younger self, he could possibly put two and two together. And that's not what he needed. What he needed to do, was get out of there and fast. "You know, something just came up and I really have to get going..."
"Oh, nonsense, Dr. Mercer," Mr. Kaplan shook his head as he pat the other man on the shoulder again. "These teens can be tricky, but you just gotta be smarter than them. But I should let you get in there and teach them what you know."
Tommy had protested that he could not stay, but the principal didn't hear him and headed up the hall. Tommy cursed internally, knowing he just couldn't bail, but nor could he just go straight into the classroom looking like he did. He would be giving too much and there was no way he could get away knowing such a face as a young Billy Cranston in the room. He would connect it too easily, and seeing his younger self could spell disaster.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Trent and Ethan had made their way into the park, making sure to keep a low profile and hope to find answers to why they were in Angel Grove, and possibly exactly what year. Then they saw two familiar colors, red and yellow, that could only belong to their friends.
They started up a run as they raced over, calling out their names. Sure enough, it was Conner and Kira sitting on a table under a roofed area. They caught their breath as they stopped to catch their breath beside their friends.
"Guys, what's going on?" Kira asked, hoping the two had some answers to the situation at hand.
Trent and Ethan looked at each other, but shook their head as they turned to look at their red and yellow counterparts.
"I can only conclude that we must have fell into some inter-dimensional gateway and somehow ended up in the past," Ethan concluded.
"In other words, it's one of Mindshatter's crazy tricks. Have you guys heard from or seen Dr. O?" Conner asked.
Trent shook his head. "No luck. Our communicators seem to be down. We've been trying to contact you guys, but have not gotten anywhere."
Ethan popped a seat behind his comrades, pulling off the bracelet. He looked it over, examining the contents. "According to this, they should just need a few minutes to beginning operating again. There must have been a glitch in our communicators once we got here."
"Wait," Trent breathed, thinking through the situation. "We aren't quite sure what year we are in. But we do know that Dr. Oliver is here now, or at least his younger self. Which could only mean another thing."
"We get to see the crew when they were younger," Kira finished up on Trent's theory as she nodded. "But that could spell disaster if they see us."
"No doubt. Have you guys seen Back To the Future?" Ethan proclaimed as he took it a bit deeper. "The space-time continuum will be altered and could change all outcomes of the future."
"Well, it's not like we're gonna run into our younger selves. Besides, I was only like seven or eight during this year," Conner shook his head.
"Well, maybe we'll have some luck if we could get ahold of Dr. Oliver," Trent said.
"Yeah, and soon. Being here for too long...who knows what we'll get back to. If we ever do," Ethan nodded.
But all they could do now was wait. Ethan had continued to look over his bracelet, but there wasn't much to see. It was hard to really say what was what. He hadn't been able to familiarize himself with some of the technology resided around the morphers and weaponry. He just knew they looked operational and possibly give them a chance to morpher. But they just hoped they could contact their mentor before things got completely out of hand.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Tommy paced the hall trying to think of something, when he heard the humming of someone coming down the hallway. He looked around the corner to see a guy heading his way with a box of props for the drama class. He thanked the gods above and quickly jumped the teen, telling him he needed to use some of the props for a demonstration in class. The teen didn't say much as he allowed the man to look through the box.
Minutes passed slowly, but Tommy was sure he had found something that could keep his identity more secure. It didn't quite fit the description of 'Mercer', but he didn't care. He figured he'd just change up the name. He had found a Jamaican hat with a line of long dreadlocks, and a beard much like an Asian monk would have. It didn't quite match, but it sealed his identity behind it, which was all he was hoping for. He just had to get through most of the day and seek out his team, if they were even here.
He slowly opened up the door, to meet a line of paper balls and a few spitballs coming his way. "That's never gonna change," he sighed quietly shaking his head. But as he walked further into the room, the students had raced back to their seats and hid their treasures, hoping he wouldn't say anything about it.
"So, this is what happens when your teacher leaves for a day?" Tommy said slowly trying to pull out a Jamaican accent, but sounded more like a Filipino accent mixed with one from the Middle East.
Some students commented on the nice dreads, but when his eyes had averted, growing more serious, the students had settled more. They looked at the sub feeling the heavy, strong and alert gaze as he looked around the room. But he felt a sharp breath escape him as his eyes slowly met with his younger self. He could see and feel his semi-cockiness/semi-confidence attitude in how he sat. He looked down for a moment and saw the seating chart and attendance sheet.
"My name is Tony Mercer. But you guys can call me 'Tony.' That's all you guys need to know about me and I will be your sub for the day. First off, I will be taking attendance, so I hope you're all in your right seats or I will mark you tardy. And some of you may not like that," Tommy began slowly.
Time passed slowly as he looked at the clock located in the back of the room. He could only hope it wouldn't take this long to get through the day. He had to get out of there and as fast as he could. But what he really needed to do was figure out exactly what happened in that last battle, and find a way back to 2005.
He had directed them to take out their science books and beginning reading up on the Geologic Time Scale, as indicated on the sub reports.
But then the familiar chime of his dino morpher went off, and he wasn't sure if it was a glitch, or merely one of his teammates trying to contact him. He covered his wrist dropping it below the desk hoping no one could hear it. But unfortunately someone did.
The teenaged Billy raised his hand before speaking as he looked at the man in front of the room. "Uh... Mr. Mercer, I mean, Tony. I understand you're just a substitute teacher, but we don't allow pagers in school."
The man in the dreadlocks nodded slowly, apologizing. But it had gone off again, and it was clear it couldn't have been a glitch. He knew Hayley far too well to know she wouldn't screw up communications even for the slightest bit. She was precise when it came to their communications systems as a team. "Thank you, Mr. Cranston for your concern..."
"What happened to your accent?" the teen in blue pursed with some confusion and a raised eyebrow.
The teacher let out a dry cough, shaking his head. He spoke slowly as he lowered his voice to another pitch. It sounded rather dark, but seemed to be more effective, even if he added a Filipino accent to it. "I have a cold. I guess I'm not used to this weather. But, you know, this is a really important message that I must take. I want you guys to continue your reading and take some notes. You can expect a quiz tomorrow."
Then he turned and left the room, securely closing the door behind him. He swung around the corner pulling up his dino morpher to respond to the call. "Yeah? Go ahead. But you really caught me at a bad time."
"Uh... Dr. Oliver?" Conner's voice seemed rather confused at the way the response sounded.
Tommy cursed internally over the fact he had slipped using his strange accent to answer the call. He cleared his throat, apologizing in his normal voice. "Sorry, Conner. Kinda got hung up..."
"Um...I noticed." Conner said slowly. "But, no, seriously, what's going on, Dr. O? How'd we end up here? What year are we in, anyway?"
"It seems Dinoshade did a number on us. We're in the year of 1996, and you're not gonna believe where I'm at. Are the others with you?"
"Yeah, they're all here. We're sorta hanging out at the park. Ya know, the one where you and Coach got hitched."
Tommy nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. He was glad that they were all in one place. Now, he just had to get there. But it would be some time from now. "Yeah, okay. Stay there and keep a low profile. I'll have to meet you guys later. I kinda got stuck subbing for a class here at Angel Grove High..."
"No way," Ethan breathed with a chuckle, butting in. "So have you ran into your younger self?"
"Yes, Ethan. I have. And it isn't exactly..." Tommy caught his breath as he swung his arm behind his back, cutting off the transmission. He heard footsteps from up the hall.
And when the footsteps had cleared the corner, a small young petite teenage girl in pink was heading his way. Tommy had to hold his breath just to keep from saying anything to inflict any sorta big changed he didn't need. But it was so hard not to as he watched her soft, flowing brown hair bounce with every step she took. He wanted so badly to just reach over and feel it, smell it and even lay a kiss on those lips. He never really got a chance to fell her lips back in the present day before the battle. But he didn't move as she got closer. And as she did, it gave him new meaning to why he had chose to marry and love her like he did. Now, he was looking at Kimberly Hart, nine years ago, and it crushed him to know it had taken so long to make amends with her after their setback.
The teen in pink stopped, noticing the stare from the man in the dreadlocks. She raised an eyebrow walking over to him with confusion, a notebook held in her hand. "Hey, is Mr. Owens not in class today?"
The man blinked quickly as the words escaped her mouth. He shot back into reality, knowing he would have to make up a pretty strong excuse, hoping she wouldn't figure out who he could be. "No, actually he's sick today. I'm filling in for him. I'm Tony," he held out a hand in greeting.
The teen took his hand in a firm handshake as a smile passed her lips. "Tony, huh? I never met a sub who went by his first name. Interesting. I'm Kimberly." But as her eyes had looked up into his face, and locked with his own chocolate brown alert eyes, it felt silent. She nearly got lost in his gaze, in their beauty, but as he looked away she had shot back into reality, shaking any images she might have with the man in front of her. "Whoa. I'm having the strangest feeling of deja vu. I almost feel like I've seen or met you before, but I've never seen you around town. You new here?"
The man furrowed his eyes in confusion. Why is she asking all these questions? She should be getting back to class. She isn't supposed to know who I am. He thought to himself. He had to tell himself to be the calm one here, if he had given any hint that could clue her into seeing her boyfriend in his stance, or eyes, he could blow his cover and destroy the very basis of the space-time continuum of the past and present. "Shouldn't you be getting to class, Ms. Hart? And where's your hall pass?"
She pulled up the necklace dangling around her neck, the words 'HALL PASS' typed big on the laminated card. "It's right here. Are you trying to be smart... hey, how do you know my last name?"
The man cursed internally realizing she had not mentioned her last name to him. Then he saw the notebook in hand, seeing the names etched on the front along with a picture of her and her boyfriend, as he could only conclude. And he had remembered that she had Mr. Owens later on in the day. "I was looking through the seating chart to see who I might be dealing with in class and stumbled onto your name. And it's also etched into that notebook you hold in your hand."
"Smart guy," the teen nodded, impressed by his gesture. "But I really should get back to class. I'm just here to drop this off for my boyfriend, Tommy Oliver. I figured he would need it to take some science notes in."
The man took the notebook, forcing air back into his lungs. He looked down at it, etched with a crane and falcon on the front with a circle around them, above the picture.
No, it wasn't a heart. It never really was. Hearts break, but circles can go on forever. He thought to himself. "Uh-huh. Or it could merely be a notebook full of personal letters for you two alone." He began to flip through the notebook.
"Hey!" she protested snatching it away. "What gives you the right to go snooping through it?"
The man shrugged as he took it back. "Just kinda being a rotten sub, if I need to be. Besides, I hope there isn't anything inappropriate in here."
She took it back, a glare in her eyes. "And that's not your business to know. Maybe I should just give it to him?"
"No. No." he shook his head, snatching the notebook again, tucking it under his arm securely. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be butting into your personal life. It's not exactly my place. I will give it to him, and I won't read it. I'll even add a 'hi' from you to make things better. How about that?"
The teen looked at him for sometime, wondering if he was telling the truth. And it appeared so as she slowly took a step back. She still looked slightly freaked, as if she had seen a ghost, but the man had said nothing more. "Well, thanks, Tony. But I should be heading off to class now. I have your word though. You're not gonna look through that?"
"You make that sound like you really do have something to hide?" the man raised an eyebrow, though he knew the very contents of the notebook. It was, in fact, filled with a few personal notes or letters to the other. A few sketches, lyrics written by Kimberly, and bits and pieces notes from science class. There was a few things regarding the rangers in there to top it off, too.
"What is this? 21 Questions?" she asked slightly appalled by his comment.
"No. Like I said before, I just hope there isn't anything inappropriate for school in here. I may need to report it, but since I'm a nice guy I won't say anything. Now, as I also said before, Ms. Hart, I do believe you need to get to class and get yourself an education."
The teen thanked the man greatly. Yet, the look in her eyes held some uncertainty, but had trusted the man. There was just something about him—possibly his eyes—that held trust. She slowly turned and headed back to class.
Tommy looked back down at the notebook as he began to flip through it. He smiled to himself recalling the memories around some of the things in the notebook. "Man, I remember this thing. And I have every right to look at it since you're looking at the guy you'll be waking up to in nine years, Kim."
Then his dino morpher chimed again as he realized where exactly he was in this setback. He pulled it up to respond. "Sorry, Conner. Got held up. Kinda ran into a younger Kim."
"No, it's cool, Dr. O. It's all about keeping a low profile," the teen had responded. "So, now what?"
"Stay at the park, like I said. Keep a low profile. And by all means, try to stay out of trouble 'til I get there. I'll be over there as soon as I can. And don't contact me. I can't afford it."
"Copy that, Dr. O," the teen confirmed. "Conner, signing off."
The teacher breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had to get through the rest of the day, hopefully with no more troubles, but he clearly doubted it. He walked back into the classroom, to find the teenagers reading, which he seemed slightly surprised about. He knew they were a lazy bunch.
He slowly walked through the class, watching to make sure they were actually reading. And as he passed his younger self, who was clearly day dreaming, he slipped the notebook onto his desk. "You got a one-of-a-kind sorta girl, Mr. Oliver. I hope you don't lose her." He patted the teen on the shoulder.
The teenaged Tommy looked over at the sub as he continued to walk through the class. And for a moment, as his eyes settled on the man, he felt a little strange. For a second, he felt energized with something else, almost like a new power, but also drained and tired. Almost weak. He shook his head, destroying all thought he had about what connection he felt with the man in the room.
Adam looked over at him, with some concern. He leaned over to whisper to his friend in white. "Hey, Tommy. You okay?"
Tommy looked back at the man and shook his head before looking at his friend. "I don't know. I almost have this strange feeling I've seen that guy somewhere else before."
Billy turned to face his friends, hoping to put some insight into the situation. "Funny how I've never seen him before. Most of the subs we get are old, fat guys who yells at you for just breathing. Kinda a strange character though."
"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Almost like he's hiding something. I don't know. What did he tell you when he gave you that notebook?"
"Well, he must have ran into Kimberly in the hall. But he said something about saying she was a 'one-of-a-kind' and he hopes I won't lose her."
"Yeah, with as clinging as you two are, you might even get married," Billy laughed.
"Now, don't jump the gun. It's too early to tell even if we've been going out for nearly three years, now," Tommy shook his head.
"I'd have to agree with Einstein here, buddy," Adam tapped Billy's shoulder with a nod. "It's gonna happen."
Tommy scoffed, though had to admit that he and Kim had jokingly talked about. They even acted as if they were married to just see how it felt. But he didn't want to assume anything even if he loved her enough to possible present a promise ring to her in a few months. He slowly slipped the notebook into his backpack and went back to reading.
The man in the dreadlocks stopped in the back of the room and watched intently at the trio of teens he knew too well. He had heard the entire conversation, remembering it almost like it was yesterday. He knew how much his friends would joke about it—about marriage—from the very beginning of his relationship with Kim back in freshmen year of high school.
For awhile, he knew and felt the unique surge of energy residing around them, the connection they could only make through being rangers and of having those ninja powers that made them each unique in their own way. And what seemed to scare him more was how was life back in the present day of 2005.
And how much of a change could come to it, if anything drastic happened now. He could only hope they wouldn't run into trouble, but he doubted it. He had looked down at his hand, at the single band around his left ring finger and almost felt tears escape his eyes. He shook his head and forced out several breaths as he made his way up to the front and sat at the teacher's desk, waiting for the class, and day, to be done.
to be continued...
A/N: So, now that we got that squared away. The DT team has gone back in time, and not just any time, but the year of 1996. Whoa, now. That's just crazy, and what sorta danger will they run into? And will they get back to their own time? And what about the team in the present day? I'm glad you asked that. You're just gonna have to read on and find out. Either way, I hope you're liking this, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. So, I thank you for sticking by me. And I'm outta here for now. See you next chapter. And May the Power Protect You Always.