Once A Ranger, Forever A Hero
Chapter 3 – Return to Mesagog's Lab

Kira and Tommy returned to the base where Connor, Ethan, Trent, and Hailey were already gathered. The tech had rigged up some kind of charging station that fed into a large platform. The red, blue, and white dino gems were plugged in and glowing while Hailey worked on a laptop hooked up to the charging station. They acknowledged Kira and Tommy with some nods and Hailey said, "Dino gems into those slots guys." The two immediately added the yellow and black gems to the set and the terminal began to glow brighter. "That should do it." Hailey finished typing with an emphatic hit to the keyboard. "So here's the deal," she explained. "The dino gems might have been restored but their power is not infinite. I only feel safe doing this once to go and once to bring you back. Because I have the gems, I won't be able to communicate with you while you're there so I'm giving you one hour to investigate. If you run into trouble, you won't be able to morph but I have upgraded the blasters for you." She handed out the weapons. "These should help you hold out until its time to go. Just get back to the same place you landed and I will do the rest."

"Let's go to work," Trent hopped onto the platform followed Ethan, Connor, Kira, and finally Tommy. Once they were in place, Hailey bid them good luck and sent them away in a swirl of light.

*ORFH*

The team landed hard on a rubble-littered ground and knew just from the atmosphere that they were in the right place. Dusting themselves off, they looked around and saw the ruins of the lab on higher ground while debris lay scattered below. "Seems pretty deserted," Kira observed.

"I hope so, we don't have any time to waste," Tommy checked his watch. "Come on." The team ran up to the remnants of Mesogog's lair and found the place in shambles. The main structure was still standing but everything else was destroyed. They could see some blackened, scorched patches where Hailey's laser had hit directly but nearly everything was frayed and crumbled and broken.

"Are we sure the power surge came from here?" Connor asked. "This place doesn't look like it could power an alarm clock."

"Well someone certainly tried," Trent called from ahead. He gestured to a side room he had been looking into, "Take a look at this."

The team cautiously approached and were astonished to see that portion of the lab look quite functional. Granted there were still holes in the walls and part of the ceiling caved in but the wiring had clearly been painstakingly put back together and work areas cleared of rubble instead bearing scribbled notes and various potions. Ethan picked up the notes, "Can't say for sure but it looks like someone was trying to teleport somewhere far away."

"That would explain the excessive power," Tommy commented. "We'll bring those back to Hailey, along with this," he grabbed a makeshift computer that was on another table.

"It doesn't make sense," Kira shook her head. "Why would someone come here of all places to use broken equipment only to go somewhere else?"

"Maybe they were already here and trapped," Connor supposed.

"I thought everyone was accounted for, Elsa, Zeltrax, Anton, and Mesogog. I don't see a tyrannodrone pulling this off," Ethan countered.

"There wasn't anyone else here when I came to get my dad," Trent insisted. "I had to search this whole place to find him."

"Time's almost up guys," Tommy announced. "Obviously there is no one here anymore and I think we have gotten all we can. Take some pictures of this place to show Hailey and we'll get out of here." The team agreed and a short while later, they were back in their spot staring at the ruins that played so big of a part in defining their lives and then they were gone.

*ORFH*

Hailey meticulously arranged notes like a jigsaw puzzle and copied out the equations onto another piece of paper "The best I can tell, it does look like a teleportation formula but the range is literally astronomical."

"Meaning?" Kira pressed.

"Meaning that if this worked, whoever did it isn't even in the same galaxy anymore," Hailey informed them. "But it's more than that. Based on the pictures you showed me, that trip was incredibly risky. That kind of distance is dangerous. To attempt it would be like suicide."

"I guess being trapped in Mesogog's lab would do that to someone," Trent shrugged.

"But why not just come here, why leave the galaxy?" Ethan asked.

"The only person that would know is either dead or far, far away from here," Hailey drummed her fingers on the table with a frown.

"Isn't there anyway to figure out where they went?" Tommy queried.

"I could plug the numbers in but the calculations are astronomical, the computers would take some time," Hailey supposed. "That's the other thing. This kind of math being done with next to no equipment, they'd have to be a genius."

"A super-smart, potentially alien lifeform was trapped in Mesogog's lab?" Connor said dubiously.

"I don't remember seeing anyone like that ever," Trent shook his head. "Even in the end, I searched pretty much the whole place looking for my dad."

"I hate to say it guys but it looks like we'll have to wait and see with this one," Tommy concluded heavily. Sitting on their hands was not something the rangers did easily. "Either there is nothing to worry about or the threat could hit at any minute but sadly there isn't anything we can do either way."

"Well I'll figure out where they went," Hailey nodded to her machines. "I can finish the zords in the meantime and you can do research, look around if there have been any disturbances, get some training in."

"Great." Kira intoned.

"Sounds -" Connor was about to make a comment but was cut short by his cellphone ringing. "Sorry I'll turn it of…" he trailed off when he saw the caller ID. He gave his team a foreboding look as he answered, "Shane?"

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! I think I worked out a pretty interesting storyline for this one with a great crossover, might require to suspend your disbelief just little but hell, it's power rangers! ENJOY! R&R PLZ!