Sorry, this chapter may be a bit boring because it is a lot of reiteration if you've watched the MMPR episodes.
Chapter Seven
"Ow!" The four teens groaned as they stumbled to the floor again.
Kimberly smiled. "Don't worry, next time we teleport, I'm sure you guys will get it," she said, helping Kira and Trent up.
"Come on," said Billy. "The entrance is over here."
"Wow, everything looks exactly the same!" squealed Kim.
"Call your parents," Tommy said to Kira, Conner, Trent, and Ethan. He pointed to a corner where the pay phones were at. They each rolled their eyes as they out their cell phones and proceeded to call their parents.
The older rangers made their way to one of their favorite tables, pushing two together to fit everyone. They looked around at the teenagers who filled the place.
"I still can't believe we were that young once," said Jason. "That used to be me and you." He looked at Tommy, pointing to two guys sparring on the mats.
"This place does bring back a lot of memories," said Zack. "I wonder..."
"What are you guys doing here?" A voice came out from behind them.
"Ernie!" Kim jumped up and hugged him. "It's been a long time."
"How are you guys?" asked Ernie. "It's nice seeing you all here together again. So, let's play catch up. What have you guys been up to?"
"Growing up, really," answered Jason. "Kim and I went to college down in Florida. I own and manage a few dojos in Florida and Georgia."
"And I'm a coach for the Pan-Global team now," said Kim.
"I saw you in the games after you left Angel Grove," said Ernie. "Congrats on gold again."
Kim smiled. "Thank you."
"And I've actually been working with the United Nations. Went to college overseas and got a job with the UN."
Ernie nodded. "And Billy. You seem to have disappeared off the face of the planet. Where've you been?"
"I'm actually working with the government, which probably explains my disappearance. My dad moved down to Baltimore and I went to college out there and found a job in DC." Billy gave a small smile, hoping his explanation would suffice.
Ernie looked at Tommy. "I went to college and got my PhD in paleontology. Now, I'm a science teacher at Reefside High."
"Reefside?" Tommy nodded. "Aren't there power rangers in Reefside?"
"Uh, I think so," he answered. "Don't know much about them, though."
"Oh. Right."
"Alright, Dr. O," said Kira as she walked up with the three others. "Finished calling our parents."
"And who are they?" asked Ernie.
"These are my students," answered Tommy. "Top four of the class, so I brought them along for a dig in the Angel Grove mountains."
"Oh. Okay," answered Ernie. "I'm Ernie. Your teacher and his friends used to come here all the time when they were teenagers." He shook their hands. "Well, it's been nice seeing you all again and meeting you guys. Stick around, I'll get you all some smoothies and food. It's on the house," he said as he left to prepare the smoothies and the food.
"What'd you guys tell them?" asked Tommy.
"Project," answered Ethan. "Getting in late, getting out early. You know, the usual."
"So, do you think we'll be sticking around long enough to spend the night?" asked Trent. "If so, cuz...I just wanna know...where are we gonna stay?"
"Oh, we should call our parents too," said Jason. Him, Zack, and Tommy stood up to use their phones to call.
Kira sighed and plopped down onto the table. Kim smiled. She felt a connection with this girl, being the only two females amongst a big group of guys. "How you feeling?" asked Kim.
"Sore. Bruised. A little hurt, little tired. But I'm good," she answered with her face in her arms on the table.
"How long have you guys been doing this?"
"Not very long. We got our powers at the beginning of the school year."
"Tommy told me that he met you guys in detention."
"Yeah. For a stupid reason too." Kira looked up and rolled her eyes. "Conner and Ethan probably deserved it, but who's heard of playing your guitar on schoolgrounds illegal?"
Kim smiled again. "You play guitar? Me too."
"Yeah, I do." She smiled. "I'm kinda glad that I got detention though. I never would've found the gem." Kim nodded. "At first, I didn't. Didn't want anything to do with the gems."
"Us too. When we got our morphers and power coins, we didn't believe Zordon and Alpha. Jason sort of did, but the rest of us actually walked out on them and into an attack of putties, our version of Tyrannodrones."
"Really?"
Kim nodded. "When we used our morphers for the first time against those putties, we were hooked."
"How was that? I mean, finding out you were chosen to be a Power Ranger. And being the first ones. Did you ever imagine it would get this far?"
Kim shook her head. "I never thought it would. And I certainly never would have thought that I'd be going back to the power after being gone for so long."
"How long has it been?"
"About eight and a half years."
"Do you miss it?"
"Everyday," she answered wistfully.
"How'd you guys become power rangers? We saw a video diary thing of Dr. O's that sort of explained a few things, but..." Kira quieted down as Ernie returned with the smoothies and some burgers and fries. Zack, Jason, and Tommy also came back and sat down.
"Thanks Ernie!" chorused around the table.
"No problem, guys! Enjoy!" Ernie walked back to the bar.
"So, what have you guys been talking about?" asked Tommy as he took a sip of his smoothie.
"We've been talking--" started Conner as Trent, Ethan, and Billy rolled their eyes.
"I was actually just about to tell Kira how we became power rangers," interrupted Kim.
"Wait, we wanna know too," Trent said as the boys turned thier attention to Kimberly.
"Well, it started out like any other normal day," began Kim. "We were hanging out here--right over there, actually--" She pointed to a particular spot in the place. "There was this big earthquake. Everyone ran out except for the four of us and Trini. We were then teleported to the Command Center."
"The five teenagers with attitude," said Ethan. Jason nodded.
"Five? Where's Dr. O?" asked Trent.
"I come in later, Trent," answered Tommy. Trent nodded.
"So Zordon and Alpha were telling us about the Power Rangers and all that good stuff," continued Zack. "We thought he was crazy. We thought we were crazy."
"Why?" asked Conner.
"Well, would you believe a giant head in a tube and a talking robot?"
"Exactly," said Kim. "We rejected it at first, got attacked by some putties, and used our morphers. We then agreed to protect the earth."
"And when do you come in?" Trent asked Tommy.
"I moved to Angel Grove in the middle of high school," he answered.
"He and I were competitors in a karate tournament," said Jason.
"Who won?" Conner eagerly asked. "Please tell me red won."
Tommy glared at Conner. "It was a draw, Conner."
"Bo-ring," he replied.
Jason laughed. "Shortly after the tournament, Rita Repulsa kidnapped Tommy and gave him the green coin. It turned him evil and he almost killed us."
"You saved me, Bro," said Tommy. "Jason destroyed the evil dagger that Rita gave me and I was no longer under her spell. So I joined up with the Rangers until my powers ran out."
"And then you became the white ranger?" asked Trent.
Tommy nodded. "After a while."
"The Command Center's power went down one day, so I went there to investigate," said Billy. "Upon further investigation, I found Alpha and Zordon in one of the lower chambers constructing what looked to be a new ranger."
"We all hated the idea at first," added Kim. "We thought Zordon was gonna pick someone new and Tommy was the only one that we wanted." She smiled at him. "And it turned out to be him. And we were really surprised."
"I think we were just surprised," said Jason. "You were really surprised." Kim rolled her eyes. "She fainted when she saw him." He smirked again. Tommy smiled.
"That actually happens quite often," cut in Billy. "Kimberly has a natural affinity to fainting spells."
Kim shook her head as she blushed. "Whatever, guys. It hasn't happened in a while."
"Tommy hasn't been around in a while," Jason whispered underneath his breath, loud enough for only Kim to hear. She shook her head again.
"So what happened then?" asked Ethan.
"Then Jase and I, and Trini, were selected to go to a peace conference," answered Zack. "And we left behind our powers."
"So, who became the new rangers?" asked Kira.
"We did." A new voice entered the conversation.