Disclaimer: Power Rangers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Stranger Things are not owned by me

Author's Note: This takes place After the Blip in Avengers: Endgame, Power Rangers Zeo after Jason receives the Gold Ranger Powers, and after Stranger Things Season 3.

More Than It Seems - Chapter 1

*New York Sanctum - 2023*

It had been calm for a long time. Almost too calm. The New York Sanctum was home to the Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Stephen Strange. After he and half of their universe was blipped from existence, the sanctum was primarily guarded by Wong. However, when Strange returned, the pair continued to guard it together. For eight months, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which struck Strange as odd. Though their enemies throughout the multi-verse wouldn't have known that one of the greatest weapons previously at their disposal, the Eye of Agomotto, had been destroyed and lost forever.

It was a routine look into the Cauldron of the Cosmos that began to elevate the concern of the Sorcerer Supreme. As he gazed into it, he noticed an odd anomoly.

"What is this?" He asked himself. He peered down further, raising his hands as if to alter the lens of the Cauldron via magical control. As he went deeper and deeper, he saw a teenage-aged girl with blood dripping from her nose, alongside other teenagers who were frightened. Next he saw a middle-aged man, gruff and husky, who was panicked alongside a young gymnast. And then he saw it. A ferocious beast, a long, dark slender body with a head that almost looked like a five-lipped flower petal. It opened to attack and the surge of energy came through the Cauldron and sent Strange flying across the room. He crashed into the wall, and tried to pick himself up as Wong came running through.

"What is it Stephen?" He asked.

"I don't know," he replied gingerly. He finally made it to his feet, and then swept the dust away from his crash landing with the swipe of his hand. He approached the Cauldron once more, but choosing not to peer inside of it. "Something troublesome."

"Where do we need to go?" Wong asked, readying his sling ring.

"Put it away Wong," he replied. "It won't do us any good yet."

"Why is that?"

"Because what I saw isn't on our earth," Strange replied. "Not yet anyway."

"You mean something had that kind of power from a different part of the multi-verse?"

"Yes," Stephen replied.

"Very troublesome indeed," Wong said, furrowing his brow. "What could it be?"

"I'm not sure. It may not be anything we need to handle, but..." Strange trailed off for a moment. He turned away from his friend for a moment and looked back at the Cauldron he had been peering into. "Something about this felt oddly familiar. It might be wise for us to brush up on our inter-dimensional travel."

*Miami, FL – 1997*

Kimberly Hart raced down the stairs of her dormitory at lightning speed. Dressed in her USA gymnastics garb, she glanced down briefly at her watch to see that she had only 12 minutes to get to the practice facility before she was late. Coach Schmidt hated when they were late, and with the Pan-Global Games merely three weeks away, she knew how he would respond. She also didn't want to let the team down. As she rounded the corner of the first floor, she slammed hard against a larger man. He staggered back while she fell to the floor.

"Oh my gosh... I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, what were you doing, running down the hall like that?" The man asked. She looked up to find that he was a security guard watching over the dorm.

"I'm running late," Kim replied, puzzled at the man's presence. "Thursday night's normally Vern's shift, you new?"

"Yeah, you could say that," the man replied. "You know all the guards here?"

"Well, you guys protect us from the creeps and weirdos who like to stalk us, and you guys are typically pretty nice to us," she grinned. "Kimberly Hart," she said, extending her hand.

"Jim Hopper," he replied.

"Pleased to meet you Officer Hopper," Kim replied in her usual bubbly manner.

"It's just Jim... or Hopper," he replied, a bit of edge in his voice. "You better get going right? You're running late for practice, remember."

"Right... thanks. It was nice meeting you!" She ran out the door and out of his sight. He wandered back over to the front desk near the entrance, and slinked around the opening to find his chair. He sat down and opened the newspaper that had been laying on it.

Just then, the light flickered above, and he jumped out of the chair and pulled his black-plated pistol out. He breathed heavy for a few moments, looked around the length of the dormitory lobby, and then slowly lowered his weapon back into his holster. "You're fine, Hopper," he said to himself, breathing deeply in and out, calming himself down. "There's no monsters here in 1997. At least not demogorgans or mind flayers." He sighed and sat back down and gazed out into the lobby almost mindlessly before looking down at the paper again.

"But I would take the monsters back if I could see one familiar face again," he whispered, a tear slid down his eye.

Kim arrived at the facility right on time and joined her teammates for their practice, but not escaping the notice of her coach.

"Kimberly," Gunther Schmidt cried out in his thick accent. He walked over towards the visibly flustered gymnast.

"Hi coach, I was just about to get in the line for the beam," she began explaining, but he cut her off.

"Kimberly, even though you were on time, you still are late," he began.

"Coach, I swear I was trying to get here as fast as I could."

"I don't doubt that," Schmidt replied. He pulled her to the side away from the other athletes. "Kimberly, you are our greatest hope for the gold in the individual events."

"Thanks for the pressure," she replied sarcastically.

"I don't mean it as pressure, I mean it as a reminder that you serve as an example to the rest of our athletes."

"I'm not following," Kim replied.

"The rest of your team will follow your lead," he explained. "If you are on time, focused, vigilant in your training, the rest of this team will push themselves harder too. But if you even give the impression of slacking off, though you may do well enough because of your God-given talents, they may see no point in pushing themselves to be better."

"That's not true, Coach," Kim challenged. "I know their character. Shawna and Abby are two of the hardest working ladies I know..."

"I'm not accusing them of not working hard. All I'm saying is that, as our best athlete, you set the pace. And I'm asking you to set the pace higher."

"Right... be a team player in every way you can," Kim nodded. "Thanks coach."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Now get yourself on the beam and get to work."

They trained for several hours until it was well past dark, the sun had only begun to set when she left the dormitory. She found the locker room, changed out of her leotard and showered, and then got ready to head back to the dorm.

"What was coach talking with you about?" Shawna, a young, petite African-American girl asked her. Shawna was the youngest on the team, and was often concerned about whether she was good enough to be with the rest of the athletes.

"Coach and I were talking about how we could continue to focus together as a team," Kim replied as she retrieved her things from the locker.

"You seemed so scared," Abby snickered. Abby had become her best friend since she had gotten to Miami. She was a prankster, though her appearance would never betray her. A beautiful young woman, she was tall for a gymnast, and with flowing blonde hair she was often the one pursued among the ladies. Though a prankster, she was also all business when it came to the games. She refused to date, and kept her joking primarily between her closest friends.

"You're a dweeb," Kim playfully poked her.

"And you're a goody goody," Abby shot back. Though their banter was playful, it was clear that Kim was distracted. Abby thought it best to leave it alone, but Shawna, in her naivete, spoke up.

"What's up Kim? You seem like you're somewhere else."

"Well... I've had a lot of things on my mind lately." A knowing silence came over Abby, while Shawna seemed aloof to what was going on.

"Everything ok, Kim?" Shawna asked.

"I..."

"She's just got some personal things to work through," Abby interjected. "Come on Shawny, let's get back to the dorm."

"But shouldn't we walk back with Kim?"

"Let's go Shawny," Abby insisted. Shawna just shrugged her shoulders, and the pair left with Abby mouthing an 'I'm sorry' to Kim as they left. Kim sat down on the bench in the locker room and pulled up her gym bag with her. She unzipped a side pocket and felt around until she found her wallet. She opened and pulled out a picture and studied it for a moment. It was one of her and Tommy, where she was nestled on his back.

"We were so happy," she whispered. A tear slid down her face as she continued to gaze at the man in the picture with her. "Why did I ever let you go?"

Without warning, the lights in the locker room cut out. Kim jumped for a moment, giving a small squeal due to the shock of it. They quickly came back on, and as Kim collected herself, she slowly stood up from the bench, placed the photo back into her wallet and into her bag, zipped it up, and left the room.

As she made her way through the corridor that let to the exit, once more the lights began flicker madly. Kim felt her blood pressure spike, unexplainable fear began to grip her heart. Before she could do anything, she felt something on her shoulder, and let out a loud shriek!

She turned to find someone who she hadn't expected to see. "Chad?" At that point, the lights returned to normal.

"Hi Kim," he greeted her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He was handsome, tall, and muscular, his tanned shoulders and arms seen by the fact he was wearing a tank top along with his swim trunks. His dusty blonde hair was just long enough that it got in his eyes at times.

"Long day at the beach?" Kim quipped, clearly annoyed that he was here with her. She started walking again towards the exit, but he stopped her.

"Look, I just... I wanted to return this," he held out a camera to her. "You forgot it at my place a couple weeks ago, and I forgot to give it back..." She snatched the camera out of his hand and started walking away once more. "Kim wait..."

"No, you wait!" she responded fiercely. "You flirted with me, you convinced me to dump my boyfriend, sold me on a long-term relationship, and what did you do after that? Make out with another girl, and then dump me a month after I sent the hardest letter I ever wrote! And you have the audacity to come back here?"

"Look Kim, I know I messed up..."

"Chad, you didn't mess up," Kim shot back. "Messing up is forgetting to give me my camera back. You deliberately kissed another woman. You made a choice that hurt me, and there are consequences."

"Look, I won't bother you again," Chad said sheepishly. "I just figured you'd want it back."

"Thank you."

"Look... it's late, can I at least walk you home, make sure you get back safe?" Chad asked.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine," Kim assured him. "Good-bye Chad." She left quickly, leaving him alone.

He waited for a moment, wanting to give her space. Suddenly, the lights went crazy once more. Chad heard a sound in the hallway, and he looked around to see if anyone was there. "Hello?" Nothing, except the continuation of the flickering lights. Suddenly, the lights went out completely. He heard something down the hall, and while he had the urge to run, he felt unable to move.

Suddenly, he heard a loud snarl, and before he could do anything, he was pulled away. He gave a deafening scream, and then silence reigned within the building.

To Be Continued

Thanks for Reading, Feel Free to leave a review!

- Googz333