It felt like an eternity but an hour later, Trini and Jason climbed up the same path Tommy and I took. Jason's and Trini's faces were the same as ours when they saw the Command Center. "How in the world is this even possible?" Jason asked, eyeing the building.
"There was a large white light that hit it before we climbed up here. First, it was just a pile of rocks and the next thing we know, the Command Center is standing tall above us." Tommy said. He had climbed back down to his truck to grab a back pack of supplies. It was strapped to the back half of him, three flash lights in hand. He handed one to Trini, Jason and me before pulling another one from his pocket. "We waited for you guys to get here before going in."
"I don't know. Should we even risk it? We don't know what could be hiding in there." Trini said, looking up at the structure.
"No but it's just too much of a coincidence that this happened after the earthquake that only rocked HALF of Angel Grove." I said, turning the flashlight on before walking towards the entrance.
"Kim!" The three of them called behind me. Stepping inside the large stone entry way, all I could see was darkness. Aiming the flash light ahead of me, I walked the familiar path along the corridor. The walls stood tall above me, etches in Zordon's native language were carved into the walls. I heard Trini, Jason, and Tommy's foot steps behind me as they caught up.
"I wish you would stop doing that." Tommy growled, grabbing my elbow gently. "You don't know what's in here and in your condition, you can't really fight them off."
"Tommy, I'm fine. Really." I replied, trying my best to not snap at him. I continued walking again, coming up on the door to the main chamber of the Command Center.
"How are we going to get in? We don't have our Power Coins anymore." Trini said, shining the light up the length of the door. Reaching out, she touched it to get a better look. When she did, the spot on the door she touched began to glow yellow. Shocked, she stepped back away from it and removed her hand. The glowing spot remained though.
"Hmmm." Jason murmured. He did the same as Trini, touching the door next to where she had. Like hers, it illuminated with a red light. I followed suit, pressing my palm again the stone door. A pink glow lit up my face as I pulled my hand back. The three of us glanced at Tommy as he lifted his hand. He touched the space next to mine. As we expected, it glowed white. When he moved his hand though, the white darkened to green. Tommy stared at it, amazed at the change. He went to speak but the door loudly creaked open then, the sound vibrating off the walls. It continued to open until there was a large enough gape for us to slip through. Jason stepped forward first this time, passing between the two slabs of stone. Trini followed, gripping his hand in hers. I followed behind her, Tommy bringing up the rear.
Inside, the room was pitch black. Even with the faint beams of light from our flash lights, we could barely see anything around us. Turning, I went to say something to Tommy when the door slammed shut behind us. Trini and I both let out yelps when the sound shook the room. Under our feet, the ground began to tremble slightly. It felt like a herd of elephants was running nearby, making the ground vibrate with such fierceness. I felt someone reach out and grab my hand. I knew from the long, slender fingers on it that it was Tommy's. I gripped it tightly, trying to see what was going on around us. The darkness was too much on my eyes though. I could just make out the light from our flash lights but it seemed like the black was swallowing it up.
Suddenly, the floor in front of Jason began to glow a bright red. It lit up the area around him before a blast of red energy flew into the air above him. It swirled around the room, it's shape changing as it circled. The same thing happened with Trini, a yellow ball of energy flying out of the ground to join Jason's. At my feet, a pink glow began. Inside of my chest, a warm feeling appeared. It felt safe and familiar as I watched the pink ball of light shot passed me and into the air. It hovered over me for a second while a green light appeared at Tommy's feet. It took the least amount of time to fly out of the stone floor, colliding with the pink light in the air. They flew together, almost chasing each other in a playful way. As the four colors began to dance around, the room began to lighten with each trip around they took. The outline on control tables and tubes began to form and I could make out the large glass chamber that stood tall on the north side of the room. Above our heads, the lights travelled faster and faster. It made me dizzy to watch them at the speed they were going.
From the other side of the lightening room, a black ball of light shot up. It joined with the others, spinning high in the air. Glancing over, I could make out the shadow of a figure. They stood there, looking up at the lights like we were. As the room continued to brighten, I realized Zack Taylor was the person standing there. Our former team mate looked just as surprised as us. "Guys! What is going on?" He asked, sprinting over to us. The African-American dancer was dressed in a black blazer with a white shirt tucked underneath it. Black jeans covered his legs and a pair of sunglasses rested on the top of his head. "I was at the airport waiting for Jase to come pick me up and the next thing I knew, I was standing here."
"We don't know." Jason replied, turning back up towards the lights. "Whatever those things are, they know our colors."
"Why is there a green one instead of a white one, though?" Zack asked, glancing at Tommy who could only shrug. I noticed Zack's eyes lingered on Tommy's grip of my hand, but he didn't say anything. The lights sped up again, a whistling noise joining them. It was so high pitched that it made us all cover our ears in protest. The lights began to glow brighter now, blinding us. I shielded my eyes with my arm, trying my best to not look away. It was too much though, as they glowed so brightly that everything looked white. The whistling increased to until it was almost deafening. And then everything stopped.
Opening my eyes, I turned to look around. The Command Center was fully lit, the control panels flashing like they did when we were active rangers. The tubes around the room were also working, connecting power to various parts of the center. None of us dared to move as we glanced at each other. It had been forever since we had been together here as a team and here we were. Turning towards the chamber that once held Zordon, my hope was dashed when I realized it was lit but empty. The others looked as well, Tommy's hand squeezing mine gently.
"Hello?" A voice called from the far corner of the room. We all jumped into fighting stances as we turned to see what it was coming from. Footsteps echoed off the walls as a man came into the light. He was dressed in all silver, his fitted pants and a silver and blue sweater looking reflective in the glow of the room. Billy Cranston stopped when he saw us and then gaped at the functioning room behind us. "Incredible!" He exclaimed, pushing passed Tommy and I to look at them.
"Billy, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked, trying to gain the scientist's attention. Billy didn't seem to hear him though as he began pushing buttons and turning knobs on the controls. "Billy!" Tommy yelled, making him jump.
"Huh? Oh! My apologies. I was on Aquitar when I suddenly was teleported here. Are we currently in a functioning version of the Command Center?" He asked.
"Seems that way." Jason replied, stepping towards Billy. The two hugged before Billy turned to face Trini and me.
"You look well, Billy." Trini said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. I gave Billy a small smile as he glanced over at me. His feelings for Trini had always been a topic that stayed between him and me. I had always known that Billy was head over heels for Trini but he asked me to let him deal with it his own way. When we all discovered that her and Jason were seeing each other, Billy took it pretty hard. He met his wife shortly after that however. Though the two were now married, I could still see the emotions in his eyes as he held her. Slipping from the hug, Trini moved aside so I could step forward.
"I missed you." He whispered, pulling me into a tight hug.
"I missed you, too." I replied, kissing his cheek. Holding me at arm's length, he frowned.
"I was informed about your accident. Aquitar has an extensive history of Earth. It keeps files on all of the Power Rangers as well. Your accident was reported. I'm so sorry." I smiled at him.
"It's alright, Billy. I'm fine now." He let go of me and turned to face Tommy. The two spoke as Zack snuck up behind me and picked me up off my feet in a tight embrace.
"Kimmy!" He exclaimed, setting me back down. "You look great! How are you?" He asked, looking down at me. He was only a few inches taller than me, the shortest man in the room.
"Well, I was doing fine until we ended up here." I replied.
"Billy, what is all this?" Trini asked, waving her hand at the Command Center.
"I'm not sure. The Command Center was destroyed years ago. Some greater power has reconstructed it and brought us all back here." He replied.
"There was an Earthquake before all this happened. Could it come from that?" Tommy asked. Billy shrugged.
"Maybe. Or, it could have caused it. I won't know until I do some research." Billy replied, stepping towards the main computer center. He began to press some buttons and turn dials, the same way he used to do when we were Rangers. He looked perplexed as he worked, stroking his chin now and then. Trini stood next to him, gazing over his shoulder at the screens. It looked like a foreign language to me so I stood in the back of the group as we waited for Billy to speak again.
"Hey." Tommy said softly, breaking my thoughts. Turning my head, I looked up at him as he stood over me. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just wish I knew what was going on." I answered, glancing back over at our friends.
"I'm sure Billy and Trini will figure something out. They always do." I nodded, not saying anything. "Kim? What's the matter?"
"When the light came from the floor, it was like I could feel it inside of me. It was so warm and reminded me of something. I can't put my finger on it though. Like I had felt it before."
"Like morphing?" He asked. I nodded, locking eyes with him. "I know. I felt it too. I don't understand though. Our powers are gone. The power coins were lost to the Rangers before they were forced into space. It was the only connection to the morphing grid."
"How else would you describe it then?"
"I'm not sure."
"I think I found something." Billy said, looking over at all of us. Tommy and I walked towards them, his hand on the small of my back. "According to the computer, something with extraordinary power entered the universe and created a ripple in ozone. Whatever it was seemed to land here in the same location of the Command Center. I cannot lock on to what it was exactly though. It's not granting me access to that information."
"A higher power? God only knows what it could be." Zack muttered, shaking his head.
"Maybe we should be looking around. Whatever it was could still be here. It was powerful enough to rebuild the Command Center. That thing could still have enough power to do some damage to the people of Angel Grove." Jason said, glancing at Tommy who nodded.
"Right. Zack, you and Jason take the north wing. Kim and I will take the south. Trini and Billy, keep working on finding some answers. Everyone meet back here in ten minutes. Got it?"
"Yes." The group said. Jason lit his flashlight again while Zack took the one Trini was using. The two walked towards the right side of the Command Center, heading towards the medical bays and the kitchen. Tommy led me towards the opposite side of the room, exiting out the side of the room. The hallways were lit up now, lights illuminating the corridor from the ceiling every few feet. The dark blue color of the floor and the walls made everything feel like we were underwater. Tommy walked first, keeping an eye on the area in front of us but also on me. Rolling my eyes, I stepped in front of him and ignored his protest as I took the lead.
"You need to stop acting like I'm going to break if you take your eyes off of me." I said, not looking at him. We passed the bunkers, the area where we would sleep and spend time when we weren't fighting monsters made out of purses, plants or whatever object Rita and Zedd found appealing that day. The doors to them opened as we walked by, revealing nothing of interest in there.
"I'm not trying to." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want you to do any more harm to yourself."
"Tommy, I know what my body can handle. You need to trust me. I've lived with this injury for ten years now. I've come to understand my limits."
"Okay. But promise me that you won't push yourself too far."
"We have bigger things to worry about right now, don't you think?" I asked.
"No, I don't." Reaching out, he grabbed my elbow and pulled me to a stop. "Kim, I lost ten years with you. I'm not about to risk anymore lost time." He locked eyes with me and I felt my pulse quicken as my heart raced. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you ever again."
"I-." I started to speak but Zack's yell made both of us jump. Spinning on our heels, Tommy and I took off running towards the direction it came from.