Disclaimer: I own none of this. This is just a story for the enjoyment of others who also love the Power Rangers series, and a good Tommy/Kimberly fic.
Chapter Two: More Power
Dr. Tommy Oliver, Dino Thunder Black leaned against the wall of the basement command center as Hayley explained to the rest of the rangers what she'd told him the night before. She'd just finished upgrading their weapons. Mesagog had been relentless these past few weeks. The monsters he sent out were much stronger than those they'd faced in the past. The upgrade would be able to even the odds for them, or so they hoped.
"What makes our weapons different?" Kira Ford, Dino Thunder Yellow asked.
"I modified your weapons with a sturdier metal alloy. There's no chance of them getting destroyed now. I also used power from your dino gems to infuse a new level of power. I also upgraded your Thundermax blasters. When you switch them into saber mode they have the ability to fire off a blast of energy at your enemies. That's only if you use the Dino Strike Attack. Your blade will light up, and your dinosaurs will charge forth to attack the enemy." Haley explained patiently.
"Dino Strike Attack? Sounds interesting." Ethan James, Dino Thunder Blue said.
"So when do we get to try it out?" Connor McKnight, Dino Thunder Red demanded.
"Relax Connor. You can try your new attack in the next battle. Use caution though because the attacks use quite a bit of power. You may want to save the attack as a last resort." Hayley warned.
"What about combining the attacks? What would that do?" Trent Fernandez, Dino Thunder White inquired.
"I wouldn't recommend it. There may be too much power to even consider such. For now use your attacks separately. I will see if I can work out something." Haley replied.
"Haley, how much power does this new attack take up? Is it as much as the Shield of Triumph?" Ethan asked curiously.
Tommy smiled slightly, amused by Ethan's curiosity. He was no Billy, but he was an intelligent young man. He did have a point though, but Haley had an answer as always.
"No, you'll all still be able to remain in Ranger forms. This attack is just supposed to be able to help us out. It may not be as strong as the Shield of Triumph, but it gives the team an extra boost that we need." Haley added.
"It sounds like we're all set then. Mesagog's goons won't know what hit them when we show up next time." Connor said enthusiastically. As leader of the team, Connor had a lot of responsibility. Since becoming a Ranger, the soccer player had matured quite a bit, and risked as much as everyone else in this fight against evil. Tommy was proud of them all for all that they were doing. He remembered how hard it was at that age to keep up with school, activities, and saving the world. Of course the rest of the Rangers had been there too, and they'd gone through it together. It was the same now with this new group of teenagers, risking their lives to make sure their planet remained safe from the forces of evil.
"Yeah, we'll thrash the next obstacle." Kira agreed. Ethan and Trent chimed in their agreements as well.
"That's a good attitude guys. And you're right. We won't let Mesagog win. Go ahead. We're done with you for the day." Tommy informed.
Once the other Rangers had filed out Tommy and Haley were left by themselves.
"They're hopeful." Haley said pleased.
"As they should be. They're good Rangers." Tommy said solemnly.
"Tommy, when are you going to stop feeling guilty for dragging them into this? They don't blame you in the slightest, and besides the gems chose them." Haley reminded.
"Haley, they're still kids." Tommy said.
"As you were. Do you blame Zordon?" Haley demanded.
"Of course not!" Tommy snapped.
"And they don't blame you! You were all chosen for a reason, and that was because you are the only ones who can save the world. You were chosen to wield these powers." Haley shot back. Tommy opened his mouth, but he closed it again. He sighed in resignation then, and pushed off the wall.
"I suppose you're right. You can head home if you want now Haley. I've got some thing I have to do today." Tommy informed.
"Yeah sure. If you need anything let me know. I'll be at the Café." Haley replied. He watched as she packed up her bag before departing. Left alone in the basement command center, Tommy sat down at the computer. He wasn't a genius like Haley was, but he did know his way around a computer. Now that the weapons were upgraded he expected an attack any day now. Evil wouldn't wait for such, but something told him that trouble would start soon. It was one of those sixth senses that he'd fine tuned over the years. Sometimes he still wondered if he wasn't too old for this after all.
Perhaps Elsa had been right, and he wasn't supposed to be a Ranger anymore. But if he weren't here then who would Connor, Kira, Ethan, and Trent rely upon. They had each other, but they needed a mentor to help them. There were times when he wished that Zordon were still around. Lost in his thoughts Tommy ran a scan on the city, searching for signs of evil. He spent a few hours, running the scan, taking in every piece of the city with no results. It pleased him to see that for now the city was safe. He left the computer to run an automatic scan while he went upstairs to work on grading papers from the latest exam. He noticed that Connor had been studying more recently, and he was curious to see how the boy had done on his most recent test.
Grading tests wasn't one of the finer parts of teaching, but he didn't mind it. It was an eye opener in its own right too. He was able to see how well his students were doing. It gave him the chance to help them improve, and he himself in his teaching methods. He was about halfway through grading when he glanced at the photo on his desk. It was a photo of the original team; Jason, Billy, Trini, Zack, he, and Kimberly. They were all wearing their suits, posed together for the image that Alpha had taken for them. He chuckled at the sight of his ponytail, recalling Kira's words when she'd first seen it. After finding the picture he'd made sure to get a frame for it, and set it on his desk, so he could see them every day. It was a small reminder of why he was fighting. He'd known then what he'd been fighting for, and he knew now too. It was the why that he needed whenever he started feeling too old for the job. His eyes fell over each other their faces, absorbing their smiles. They had been happy then, even though they'd been fighting the forces of evil.
When his eyes fell on Trini, he felt a burst of sadness. The Yellow Ranger had been taken from them all so quickly and violently. It had been a rough time for them all after it had happened. Well, most of them anyway. All of the Rangers who had known her had shown up, except for one. The one woman who claimed to be her best friend had remained a no show, or at least that's what he'd thought. No one could ever erase that day from his mind, or the memory. He hadn't seen her since the events at Muranthias while he was a Turbo Ranger had taken place. At the time of Trini's funeral he had been making his way outside for some fresh air when he spotted her. The service had just ended, and he'd needed to breathe. He'd had a harder time dealing with her death than he'd originally thought. The sight of the dark haired woman wearing black, and just a hint of pink had shocked him. They'd all thought she was a no show, but she'd been there all along.
She had to have stayed in the way back, but the question was why had she stayed out of sight? Of course they had their issues due to the letter she'd sent so long ago, but that didn't matter at the time of Trini's death. She'd been their friend, and they were allowed to grieve together. To this day he still wondered why she'd chosen to grieve alone? He'd only caught a glimpse of her face at the time, but he'd seen the tears. Kimberly had been as devastated as they were. Heck, he still wondered what had happened to her. Kimberly. Just thinking about her brought on more despair, recalling their time together as Rangers. They'd been in a long- term relationship, but she'd ended it after going to Florida to train for the Pan Globals. They'd never even talked about the letter, or why she'd chosen to write instead of telling him that she'd found someone else.
Even after all these years he still hurt because of it. Glaring down the pretty smiling face, he silently cursed out the original Pink Ranger. Some days he wished he'd never met her. Tommy turned back to his work just as the alarm in the basement went off. Just as he thought, Mesagog had struck after all.