SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: Present day, 2005. The team realize something is wrong when they can't pinpoint the DT team. Can they find them before things get out of hand?
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own this adventure and the control of what goes on here. I take property rights toward Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the Cybots and Serena Oliver. So, to all ya'll who try to use them best not without my consent.
A/N: I figured to avoid extreme confusion, if I gotta jump between past and present day I'll split it up by chapters. And as far as I could tell, it'll only get harder for our team. I hope you like it so far. Keep reading and doing what you're doing. Peace.
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"After that last battle, something must have happened. I swear, they were just there. I know they were.
But now, there is nothing. It's like they vanished into thin air. It's almost like they never were even there!
And I do not even know where to begin searching for them." -Eclyptyk Neo
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Billy Cranston had been sitting in the underground lab monitoring activity around the city of Reefside. Hayley had her hands full monitoring the cyber cafe. When Dinoshade and the cybots had shown up, he had informed the teens to get downtown and stop them before any real damage could be done. He knew though, they couldn't last when they were taking hard hits and being thrown around like rag dolls. But that didn't surprise him as he was still working out new weaponry for the team to use against their enemies.
He had gotten used to the feel of being back in action as a technical director to the ranger team. He had even gotten used to life in Reefside, staying in a guest room over at Hayley's place. It wasn't like he was feeling Hayley as more than a friend, she was just being nice. He didn't want to be much of a problem, but hoped some of his expertise could be helpful for them.
And as much as he knew about Tommy now, and having responsibility for a family, his ranger team needed him. Conner had called him, but when he didn't come, Billy had send out another distress call to the legendary ranger.
And as he watched the team get encased in a strange dome, he worked quickly to diminish it. But he couldn't do it. The technology was beyond his knowledge even after being on Aquitar for so long. He had never seen technology that could match up to it, but it still appeared as if it was created by humans -- way beyond their years, possibly from the future.
And he couldn't even get to look inside the dome. The energy surrounding it was cutting off all visual status on the battle. Communications were also down even for him to get some information through the team's morphers. Nothing. He was at a stand still. And when the dome had slowly demolished, the DT Rangers were nowhere in sight and Dinoshade had escaped through an invisi-portal.
Now, he sat at the computer, vigorously trying to find answers to where they could have gone. But he didn't even know where to start.
And as the forest entrance opened up, he could feel the presence of his black ninja counterpart and another he could conclude had the green samurai powers. Adam had gone to Blue Bay Harbor to find Cam and inform him of the situation the current team was in. Cam had agreed to share his expertise in the ranger field, especially with the zords, which was still under repairs.
Through Adam's and Tommy's help, they had triggered the wolf spirit within Billy. And since that day, he had been able to feel the unique connection he held with the other Ninjetti Rangers. It was a connection a person could not really describe, but they knew it was there among them—the six original ninja rangers. Though, Billy had made it clear he didn't want to be seen on the battlefield since he had been gone from it for so long. They didn't drive him to do it. Tommy didn't want to drive any of the other rangers of the past to hop into battle knowing they had lives outside the ranger circle. If they wanted to help, they'd be there. They would always be there wherever they could.
Billy turned to the two, the look in his eyes ran with fear and worry as his eyes locked with the black ninja. "We got bad news."
Adam exchanged a look with Cam before racing over to the main computer console, Cam not too far behind. They were both pondering what the technical advisor meant by it. "What do you mean?"
Cam looked over at the screen reaching over to enter in a few keys as the screen was blanketed with a grid. A line of colors, blue, yellow, red, white and black-gold where the rangers were last spotted. "There. It seems there is still some residual energy of each of them before they seemed to have vanished. The satellite is picking up something, but beyond the energy, no lifeforms that match them."
"Meaning?" Adam looked over at the technical director of the Ninja Storm team.
Cam took the main seat as Billy moved behind him to see what he was doing. Adam and Billy watched as Cam ran a few more codes and keys across the plaza where the rangers were last battling. "They're just not there. And they're not in the immediate area. It's like they disappeared. I could run a worldwide search, but I highly doubt this Mindshatter guy will try something like sending them to an uncharted island." He thought for a moment turning to look at the other rangers. "Something like this happened with the other Ninja Storm Rangers. Choobo had sent them to an uncharted island that disrupted the weather patterns in Blue Bay Harbor. For awhile, I couldn't find them but I managed to after running through the satellite systems. But it seems the satellites have been acting up lately."
"Yeah. We haven't been able to work around it or possibly try to contact other planets for any news on this guy," Billy concluded.
"Exactly. He's trying to use our own systems against us. Pretty soon, he'll have the entire planet under an electronical seize only he could control," Cam began looking deeper into the theory around their newest enemy. "Do you have any idea where we could begin searching for the Rangers?"
Adam thought for a moment. "Hey, wait a minute. Yo, Billy, remember when Zordon and Alpha had told us about those sporadic time holes?"
"A tear in time," Billy nodded remembering that day like it was only yesterday. Kimberly's teleportation system had failed when it came in contact with a time hole, sending her back to the Wild West years ago. "It could send someone into the future or into the past. But then there was that time with the Wizard of Deception, too. But there has got to be more to it. Before the Rangers disappeared, they were engulfed in a strange dome. I tried to break it, but the technology is beyond anything I've been able to crack. I don't even know what went on in that dome, but after it cleared, the Rangers were gone."
"Gone? As in vanished. You know, I'm not liking this whole deja vu thing. You don't think they would have gone that far, do you?" Adam looked over at his friend in blue. He, too, remembered those days like they had been only a few days ago.
Billy shook his head, not convinced. "I don't know. This guy has been tough. Real tough, and I'm not sure how much more we could take of this without anymore outside help."
Cam was running a few more tests, trying to see what he could do to pry any useful information from previous battles. "So, guys, fill me in. Tell me what I'm working with so I know exactly what I'm looking for."
The two slowly began to describe the situation to the green samurai ranger. They told him about the arrival of Mindshatter, the capture of Anton Mercer, the little switcharoo fiasco, anything and everything that could provide useful information for the search of the DT Rangers. And as Cam was running another check through the time barrier, alongside Billy's help, they had been shut down.
The computer began to go haywire as it beeped loudly. A system meltdown. The lights in the lab flickered off then back on and sparks flew from the main hard drive to the system. The three rangers ducked away from the electrical storm as the last of the systems completely failed.
"That's not a good thing," Adam breathed as he picked himself off the ground. He looked around the room, acknowledging the damage to it. And it didn't look good at all. "So, what happened?"
"We must have overrode the system," Billy said as he raced to the main computer. The monitor came on with the DT symbol on display. But as he tried to punch in the access code, it was denied and the system locked again. "Now, I can't even get into it."
"It seems the glitches have already begun," Cam sighed. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a device that looked much like a PDA system. "I can start running a diagnosis over the system to see what the problem is. The only problem with that is it could take us a lot longer to find out where the DT rangers have gone. We can only hope they're in a safe place until we get things rolling again."
Billy and Adam had exchanged a look. They knew if Tommy hadn't informed Kim about the situation, let alone knew where he might have gone, they would be the ones to break it to her. And with all the mayhem that has gone on, they weren't sure how much more she could handle. Especially in her state of pregnancy. They had to get the system back up and running and find the team before anymore problems could be laid out.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Island fortress.
Mindshatter growled as he threw his trustee robotic henchman across the room. It was clear he didn't like what his commander had done. "You what! You sent them back into time without taking their powers?"
Dinoshade growled as he got to his feet, shaking his head. "But, sir. They are already weakened even with them. They have failed to win several battles against us. It will only be a matter of time before they're all destroyed."
Mindshatter stopped for a moment and turned to the monitor. He used his powers to play back a battle. A battle that was in the out reaches of space beyond a distant planet with a green hint. The battle sent debris all over space, and nearly all was lost, except for the selected few survivors. "Yes. Before they're all destroyed." He turned around and grabbed the tin can he called his second-in-command. "But I need those dino gems. If we get them, we could finally put an end to those Rangers and rule this planet as our own." He pushed Dinoshade back as he turned to the shadows.
A figure emerged from the shadows as Mesogog made his way to the center of the room. Again, his appearance looked as dark as ever, if not more. His arms were covered with a black-armor similar to the design of Dinoshade. His clawed hands appeared more razor-sharp and deadly. His face glinted in a dark fury that appeared to have but one objective, follow orders.
"Mesogog," Mindshatter acknowledged his presence with a bow. "See to it to collect what information you can from the remaining help to the Rangers. You can't be seen."
Mesogog bowed. "Yes, Master." His voice carried a metallic tone as he turned and left the room.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Principal Michelle 'Elsa' Santos had been sitting in her office looking over some papers regarding work needing to be done around the school. Though, it had been well into third quarter a lot of work had to be done to keep the school in check.
But it was hard. For as long as she could remember, for a month, now, the ranger team had been working to keep Mindshatter at bay. They had tried to seek out Anton, but only made the discovery that he had returned to Mesogog. She wasn't sure if it was permanent or if it merely was from the time being until they could finally set him free.
She pulled open one of the drawers looking through the office supplies to the bottom of the drawer. She found a CD marked with the DT symbol and looked it over in her hand. It had the very information that Tommy had displayed, a video diary of where the legacy of the Power Rangers had gone through in the years.
She knew they had been trying. Working hard to keep the city safe, but with the news reports she had seen and the things she had been told by Tommy, Trent and the others, they had not gotten very far with this war. They had their hands full, and she felt even more sorry for the teens. It was their senior year, and they had so much to worry about alongside protecting the city/planet.
She had wished she could offer some of her expertise, but even as she tried to recall some of her evil past, it hurt to remember it. It was like once she had been drained of her powers, of being Elsa, a part of her left with it and now it was missing. She could only focus more on running Reefside High.
She got to her feet and looked out of the window into the fields beyond the school. She saw the tree in the distance that had sparked up controversy about conserving the beauty of nature. She forced out a breath wondering when she could have a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She had to admit that Trent was really trying, almost treating her sorta like a mother, but there was just something missing. She had known that she and Anton had gone back, even before she had become Elsa, but couldn't recall it. That ever since she had become her old self, it really was a new life for her. A new beginning, and she still hadn't gotten used to it.
Time passed as she found herself outside by that very same tree that sparked up controversy on the school grounds and in the battlefield for Earth.
"A spring," she said quietly to herself. "With unlimited powers that could have ended everything, but started something new."
Then a strange wind came into the area as she rubbed her arms looking around. She was alone. It was late into the afternoon. Much of the staff at Reefside High had gone home hours ago, but she was also crunching numbers for Anton while he was away. She knew that Trent couldn't do it all, and had offered her assistance in the business field.
But there was something different about that wind, the strange roar that came to it. And she could only conclude it coming from one person. She walked farther into the field where a line of trees were set almost like a gate to cut off the area for the school. Then the strange wind blew again as she rounded a tree stump.
She had to admit at times she felt weak and scared, lacking what power she had when she was Elsa. But she still knew how to defend herself, just not against any evil beings from space.
"Anton," she called out, knowing that the roar could only come from one person. She walked deeper into the forest-like gate looking around. "Mesogog. I know you're out here. Show yourself. Please, Anton."
Then a shadow emerged from beyond the trees as the sinister face of the dino-faced menace walked out into the opening. Elsa stopped for a moment, catching her breath as she saw the fiery evil running through his eyes. She took a small step back as a cold chill ran down her back.
"Stay out of this, Elsa. This isn't your battle anymore," the dino menace replied darkly in his unusual metallic voice, but held some compassion in it.
Elsa forced air back into her lungs as she approached the dino menace. With every step she took, she could feel the aura around him grow darker. But she didn't care. She had loved this man. Strangely enough there was some attraction there when she had been evil and he as he was now. The way he had respected her, even if she failed. The loyalty she had given. And even now, it had made no difference. It crushed her to see the man before her standing in his alter ego, much darker than usual, but for some strange reason he couldn't bring himself to attack her.
By the time she had been within arms length of her lover, he had stiffen up. He became a statue as their eyes locked. She couldn't see anything more in his eyes but anger, rage and betrayal. But the sincerity and compassion in her eyes seemed to almost soften him up, even just a little bit.
"Anton," she whispered as she slowly rose her hand to touch the dino face. "Anton, I know you're in there. You got to fight it. Come back with me. I can help you."
"The only one who needs help around here is you, Elsa," he replied as dark as his stance stood. He pushed her hand away before it could even make contact with his face. "Mindshatter will win and none of you will be safe."
Elsa grabbed him, looking into his eyes. "No. You can win this, Anton. He's got you under a spell. Under all of this scaly skin and razor sharp claws is the man I love. Is a man who could change the world with his research. Is a father who wants his son to achieve all he can and more as he graduates high school. Anton, please. Fight it. Not for me, but for your own sake."
Mesogog shrugged her hands away and turned away. He slowly walked back into the darkness of the shadows. "Tell the others if they ever want to see the DT Rangers again, they will cough up any and all powers to Mindshatter. Or I will seize each of you and destroy you myself."
Elsa shook her head as she raced over to him, but he had whipped around, hand extended out. She fell to her knees as a grueling pain shook her mind. But she tried to fight it. "Anton, please. You can win this. We can help you."
"I have but one purpose, Elsa. And that is to destroy any threat against Mindshatter and his plans to rule Earth. And I might as well start with you," he growled.
Elsa winced in pain as she sunk her head to her knees. She began to lose all train of thought as she felt like her brain was caving in.
But as the mind shattering pain continued, three figures had emerged from the shadows to take down the dino menace. The torment had stopped as Elsa caught her breath, her eyes opened up slowly, but grew heavy as she saw her world turn black.
The three figures disappeared back into the shadows as Mesogog slowly got to his feet. He let out a roar that shook the area. Then a red and yellow streak took to the area sending Mesogog to the ground again. Another figure attended to the fallen principal.
Mesogog got to his feet as he raced over to the two figures, but stopped short as two figures, dressed in the garb of their newly modified ninja suits blocked his way.
"Nice try, Mesogog. You wanna get to her, you'll have to go through us," Rocky said with a slight bow.
"You don't scare me, you pathetic excuse for a bunch of old rangers!" Mesogog hissed.
"Go ahead. Try," Aisha said with a confident tone. "We've dealt with your kind for a long time. You make no difference now."
Mesogog looked from the two skilled ninjas to the high school principal and yellow zeo 2 ranger. Then he took several steps back holding in his frustration as he began his retreat. "I will be back, rangers. And next time you won't be so lucky!"
Then as Aisha and Rocky were about to jump the dino menace, he had disappeared through an invisi-portal leaving the area in silence. They glanced at each other, a little line of worry in their eyes as they turned to the other two occupants in the area.
Tanya had lifted Elsa to her feet as she slowly came to. She winced under the pain as Rocky offered his strength to keep the high school principal stable.
"It's okay. You're fine. Just relax," Aisha reassured the young principal.
Elsa looked around in a slight panic only to realize they were the only ones in the immediate area. "But, Anton..."
"He isn't who he once was," Tanya said sadly. "But that doesn't mean we won't find a way to help him."
"C'mon, we should get out of here just in case he decides to come back," Rocky suggested as he slowly moved out of the area.
The group turned and left the area.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Meanwhile, at the park, Kim had watched Serena race through the park chasing the birds laughing and smiling. It brought a smile to her face, relaying any thoughts about what danger could be out there.
But when she had passed her hand across her stomach, her eyes averted to it. Her head spun and she was beginning to get a gut feeling as she pulled her hand away to look at the single band and its mate on her finger.
She had hoped that the battle wouldn't take too long, but that's what she had always hoped more and more now. For another battle to be won, and for her knight in shining black armor to return to her arms in no real time. But it wasn't. That was merely a fantasy since Mindshatter showed up. He had proven to be the team's worse enemy in all their years as Rangers.
She shuddered slightly, scared to find/hear any terrible news that came from her husband and friends. She knew they had a duty to the planet, but even they couldn't go on forever. She knew she had to get back to the lab and see what the status of the battle was. She didn't like feeling helpless though, not just because she was pregnant, but also because she had no powers like the other rangers.
And as she looked out into the open grass area of the park, watching Serena having fun, she had to fill her in and several things. She didn't want to do it without Tommy, but she knew their daughter needed to know a few things more about their gifted past.
She called out to the young girl directing her over to the tree. Serena didn't hesitate to ignore the call as she raced over, falling into her mother's arms wrapping her in a hug. Kim was slightly confused by the gesture, but knew it came with the new connection they were making as mother and daughter.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Kim asked her as the little girl nodded with a bright smile. "Your father will meet us back at the house."
"Okay. I want to hear all about your adventures," Serena said as she tugged on Kim's hand. She had been pulling her off of the tree toward the car.
Kim smiled warmly, laying a kiss on the young girl's head. "There will be plenty of time for that, Serena. C'mon."
The two had walked hand and hand out of the park. But as much and as happy as Kim felt at that moment, there was a slight sinking feeling in her stomach. There was something she wasn't liking about all of this. But she prayed that it was nothing too serious.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
Back at the underground lab, the trio of ninja rangers had been putting their minds together to clear up the damage to the system. But it was clear they were getting slightly frustrated with not getting anywhere with the situation.
Billy had been working around the hard drive, picking at wires and setting up new pathways for the electrical current, but got nowhere. Cam was sitting at the computer trying to re-gain access into the system. Until they got it up, there would be no communications among the other rangers—beside phone calls. Adam was trying to retrace where the glitch might have occurred, but found nothing.
Billy let out a breath running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I don't understand. I've re-wired the entire hard drive, and it's still not running."
Cam shook his head from his place at the main computer console.
"Nothing. The computer continues to deny my access."
Adam shrugged as he used the PDA device Cam had brought to scan the remaining equipment. "Until we get this thing running again, we won't be able to find Tommy and the others."
Then the forest entrance opened up. Each of them jumped to their feet falling into a fighter stance, but relaxed to find their fellow ranger counterparts and the high school principal.
They exchanged a quick greeting slightly confused at what they were doing there, but didn't object. They figured they would be needing some help to keep the city intact until they could find the DT team.
"What happened?" Aisha asked with some confusion as she looked at the damage in the lab.
"Systems malfunction," Billy said simply. "It seems Mindshatter is behind it."
"So, where's Tommy and the others?" Rocky asked noticing there were less people in the lab than usual.
The trio exchanged a look before turning to look at the curious faces of the four other occupants in the room.
"That's the problem. We don't know," Cam said slowly, slightly embarrassed about the situation.
"You don't know!" another voice nearly screamed as the group turned to the stairs. The pink ninja ranger stood there at the top of the stairs, a young girl by her side. "Where's Tommy?"
Everyone held their tongues, unsure what more to say. They all knew about her condition, and they weren't sure what they could say in front of the young ears. But Adam was the first to make any move toward the situation. He walked over to the stairs, helping the pregnant woman down as her legs seem to weaken with each step.
"Who's the kid?" Rocky asked quietly, tapping on Billy's shoulder as he watched the young girl jump down the stairs beside Kim and Adam.
"Long story. She's Tommy's kid," Billy replied quietly as the eyes of Tanya, Rocky, Aisha and Elsa widened with shock and surprise.
"Tommy has a kid!" Tanya had to force air back into her lungs after the news.
"How come no one told me?" Aisha asked slightly annoyed at not hearing the news until now.
"He just found out. Just as many of us did," Billy said, keeping his voice low to avoid saying more than he needed. "I'll explain later."
Adam had helped Kim over to a chair as he lifted Serena onto the table beside them. Kim had asked more calmly about where her husband was as her eyes locked with the man with the spirit of the frog. Adam let out a breath as he looked over at Serena, seeing the anxiety race through her eyes. But even as she sat, he knew that she now knew who he was. "During the last battle, the team had taken another hard hit. Dinoshade created a dome around them, and when it was demolished they were gone. We've only concluded that they were sent back in time, but we don't know how far or what condition they could be in."
It fell silent as Kim took in the news like a sponge. A hand came to her mouth as she felt the tears welt in her eyes. She was right. She knew there was something wrong, and now, here she was hearing it true. "No clue?"
Adam shook his head as his eyes glistened with sympathy. "None.
We were running a search through time, but overrode the system. Now, we've been trying to piece it together to get the search running again."
"But, it could take a few days according to the damage," Billy had walked over to the black ninja's side.
Kim's eyes fell shut as the tears fell. "No, Tommy..."
Serena had moved over to hug the crying woman a few tears had escaped her eyes. "Daddy gone?"
Adam shook his head. "No, Serena. Just lost through time. But we'll find him, okay?" He looked about the room, knowing there was some confusion from the other occupants in the room. He had quickly filled them in on the situation, introducing them to the young girl.
And when information had been exchanged, Adam had given Tanya and Rocky their zeonizers. And as much as they had been hesitate to re-join the fight, they knew they were the only defense against Mindshatter until they could find the team.
"We're the only defense left against Mindshatter until we find the others," Adam said as he handed his teammates their zeonizers.
Rocky and Tanya exchanged a look before slipping it into place on their wrist. They knew he was right as they gave an affirm nod toward his request.
"We're right behind you, man," Rocky said as he tapped his best friend's shoulder. "But I guess I'll be leaving our school to my brother again."
"Don't worry. He knows what's what. Besides, this is more important right now," Adam reassured his friend.
"I decided to turn down a trail for Michael Jackson to do this?" Tanya said with some annoyance, but when a wide smile came to her face she began to laugh. "Works for me."
"So, who died and made you leader?" Aisha teased with a laugh as she nudged her friend in black.
"Someone has to take charge of the operation," Adam shrugged. "Billy and Cam here are gonna have their hands full with getting the system back up and running."
Elsa had sat away from the group, but not too far from Kim. It was clear she was still aching from the recent events at the high school. The images of seeing Mesogog—of seeing her love trapped in his alter ego—and the darkness around him. She wasn't sure if there was any good left in the man, but didn't want to give up. Yet, now she wasn't so sure when she thought he wouldn't attack, but did.
Kim had called out to her, as she slowly moved to sit beside the original pink ranger. Kim couldn't help but notice the emptiness in the young principal and pondered what was bothering her. "Hey, you okay?"
For awhile, Elsa had been caught up in a void. She sat there looking blankly at the floor as she recalled all those times she had been evil. When she had served under Mesogog, and of see him now, in a new line of darkness and evil. When she felt the hand on her shoulder she shot back into reality looking over at the P.E. teacher. She looked away trying to push her tears away.
"I saw him, Kim." she spoke quietly as her voice shook with fear. "I saw Mesogog, and he was much darker than I remembered."
Kim gripped the other woman's shoulder. "We'll save him, Elsa. We'll find a way to free Anton from this madness. Mindshatter hasn't won yet."
Elsa looked over at the woman, seeing the concern and sympathy in her eyes. A light smile passed her lips as she thanked the other woman. "Thank you, Kim. For all you guys do. We'll find Tommy and the others. Be strong for Serena."
Kim smiled at the sympathy and words from the principal. She hadn't looked at the principal's past as something bad, but something to learn from. "Thanks, Elsa."
The two had exchanged a warm hug. And even behind a few scars, they were on good grounds. And that's what they needed in all of this.
Billy clapped his hands together to get the attention of the room. "All right. If we're gonna find Tommy and the others, we'd better get to work."
"Just tell us where we need to go," Rocky nodded as he offered himself to any help he could provide.
"The quicker we work, the faster we could get this thing running," Cam instructed. He began to file out jobs to those present in the room.
And the repairs were beginning. They could all only hope that it wouldn't be too late once they got the system running to find the DT team and bring them back to the right time period.
to be continued...
A/N: There is just too many people to keep track of. Oh man, I am getting a little headache for compensating for all these people. But, that's settled. We got a few thing going on. But that's how it is, right? So, see you next chapter. Oh, and what about that little clip Mindshatter played back at the island fortress? Could it be bringing in more terrible news? Or good? Do you have any clue? Find out soon. But for now, I'm out of here. May the Powers Always Protect You.