Summary: The Dino Gems choosing their owners, but what if the people who owned the Gems weren't who the Rangers were supposed to be?
Dedicated to Sarah.
After school, the three teens met in the parking lot around Krista's hybrid car. "So we're going to Dr. Oliver's?" asked Devin.
"No way is she driving," said Derrick. "And no way am I riding in that thing." He gestured at the car.
"There's nothing wrong with my car, Derrick," said Krista, her voice tinged with impatience.
"It's weird," he said dismissively.
"What kind of mileage does it get?" Devin interrupted, trying to diffuse the impending argument. Krista turned her attention to him, and Derrick rolled his eyes, looking away. His eyes landed on the red Mustang at the other end of the emptying parking lot, and he groaned, remembering that Conner was stuck in detention. But that was just as well. There was no way that Conner would have skived off practice to give Derrick a ride anywhere, and just how exactly would he have explained why he was going out to the middle of the woods to visit a teacher? Hell, he couldn't even explain it to himself. He was skipping out on soccer, all because of a glowing rock and a couple of weirdos.
But nothing had been cooler than that burst of super-strength, and trashing those tyranno-whatevers. It had been the coolest thing he had ever done, no question. And if Dr. Oliver was guaranteeing him more of that crazy high, then to Dr. Oliver he must go. Even if it meant riding in the tree-hugger's tree-hugging car.
With a sigh, he shoved past Devin and Krista, and got in the passenger seat. They both turned to stare at him.
"Are we going or what?" he huffed. "World ain't gonna save itself."
In the front seat of Krista's car, she and Derrick were having a dispute over the radio station, a debate that featured a lot of button-punching and knob-twisting, and fluctuating volume on behalf of both the arguers and the subject of the argument. In the backseat, Devin was doing his best to tune it out, and was poking at his face. Laser eyes. A glowing red rock, a science teacher with a secret, and now, laser eyes. To think, just this morning, he'd been trying to convince Cassidy that Principal Randall wasn't evil—Cassidy. He was supposed to get together with Cassidy after school. And he was missing in action. He checked his watch. That meant he had about five, four, three, two—
His phone rang. He cast a nervous glance at the two at the front of the car, slunk a little further down in his seat, and answered. "Hello?"
"Devin! Where are you! I have been waiting for five minutes!"
"Uh, hey, Cass," he said weakly. "I'm...there's a problem."
"Problem? What sort of problem?"
"I can't make it today. I have—" He saw Krista's eyes in the rearview mirror, looking back at him curiously. The volume had gone down, and Krista must have won the battle, because the music was soft and soothing. Unfortunately, Cassidy's voice was anything but. And was most likely carrying. "—detention," he finished.
"You. Have. Detention?" screeched Cassidy, and wincing, Devin held the phone away from his ear. Yes, no doubt about it, both Krista and Derrick had heard that. Derrick twisted in his seat to look back at Devin. "Devin! How could you! What am I supposed to do now?"
"Um, I dunno, Cass, you could go and research things on your own."
"And just where am I supposed to do that, Devin?"
"I don't know. Hayley's Cyberspace? That's where we've been all week now."
"Just what did you get detention for, anyway?" she asked irritably.
"Listen, Cass, I'm getting the death glare about now. I have to go."
"Devin!"
"Sorry Cassidy see you later bye!" he said in a rush, hanging up. He made it a point to shut off his phone so she wouldn't try again.
Derrick was smirking at him. "Could you be any more whipped?"
"We're here," announced Krista, effectively saving Devin as she pulled smoothly into Dr. Oliver's gravel driveway next to a black Jeep. His house was a squat wooden cabin-type, and hardly looked like the secret headquarters for the Power Rangers. It didn't even look like the headquarters of the Reefside Book Club.
The front door of the house swung open just as they were hopping out of the car. "Right on time, guys, come on in," Dr. Oliver said. They filed in, Dr. Oliver, Devin, Krista, with Derrick bringing up the rear.
The interior of the house was just as rustic as the outside, and it was clear Derrick was unimpressed by his flat comment of, "Nice digs." Dr. Oliver just smiled, and walked over to a model dinosaur skeleton on a wooden table. "Quick lesson. Can anyone tell me which dinosaur this is?"
Devin and Krista both raised their hands, ignoring Derrick's eye roll. Dr. Oliver smiled and pointed. "Devin?"
"Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"Great. Pull the mouth, would you?"
"Uh...okay." Devin clamped his fingers around the jaw of the miniature beast, tugging to open its mouth.
A panel opened in the floor.
The three students stared, all in various stages of shock and disbelief, and Dr. Oliver waved his hand in the direction of the hidden staircase deep into his basement. Devin hesitated only about half a second before he descended. He found himself in the strangest room, part cave and part space station. There was an elevated stage at one side of the room, containing a keyboard and a wall with six computer monitors. The carved rock walls had many nooks and crannies, and also deep archways that presumably led to hallways and more chambers. Devin suppressed an awed whistle, thinking that this was a lot more appropriate for a secret headquarters.
"So where are our morphers?" said Derrick.
"Impatient, much?" muttered Krista.
"Oh, like I really wanna spend eight hours sitting around, admiring a cave. We're all here for the same reason, and it isn't to appreciate the interior decorating."
Dr. Oliver nodded. "Derrick's right. If Mesogog has returned, then Earth is in danger. Ever since I found the dino gems, I've had these waiting, in case I ever needed to harness their powers. Your gems are from the asteroid that crashed into Earth millions of years ago, wiping out the entire dinosaur population. When I found them, I recognized their power and hid them, so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands." He smiled, pulling a silver briefcase from the console. "And it looks like some good choices were made, because the gems have already bonded with your DNA. That's what's giving you your powers."
"Dr. Oliver," said Devin nervously, and the teacher looked over at him. "If they've bonded with us, how come this Mesogog guy still wants them?"
There was a slight pause before the answer was given, "The only way these powers can be taken away is if you're destroyed."
He was met with silence. "'Destroyed?'" said Krista, stumbling over her syllables. "Do you..."
"He means killed," said Derrick flatly.
The trio of kids glanced at each other. The nervousness in Krista's face matched the twitch in Devin's gut. Derrick, however, was looking passive and bored. Devin, struggling to maintain his calm, turned to his teacher once more. "That's what I mean," Dr. Oliver admitted.
"I didn't know this when I signed on," said Krista.
"Well, c'mon, what did you think," said Derrick.
"Oh, you really want to die?" she demanded. When he didn't fire back with a retort, she sighed. "I never asked to be a superhero. I was asked."
"The gems wouldn't have bonded to you if you didn't already have something inside you that could handle the power." Dr. Oliver managed to keep his distress to a minimum as he at last opened the briefcase and held it out towards them. Inside were three peculiar devices, each bearing the brightly-colored profile of a different dinosaur. "Please."
A long silence fell over the eerie room, and Devin grabbed the middle morpher. It was red, with a crude Tyrannosaurus Rex head. Devin affixed it to his wrist, and in the back of his mind, he heard something like a tiny roar. The eye on the Tyrannosaurus flashed.
To his left, Krista picked up the yellow morpher, with a pointed face. "It's a Pterodactyl," she remarked, strapping it on.
On Devin's right, Derrick moved quickly to grab the remaining morpher, casting surreptitious looks at the other two. His was blue, in the shape of a Triceratops. The words "This is crazy," had barely left his mouth when the eyes of the three dinosaurs flashed at the same time, and the morphers turned into wide silver bracelets, each bearing one of the colored gems from before.
"Neat," remarked Krista.
"Why do we have to wear tacky jewelry?" said Derrick with obvious distaste. "Like being stalked by dino-pineapple monster things isn't bad enough?"
Dr. Oliver and Krista both rolled their eyes.
Devin, on the other hand, was frowning at his new ornament. "What is it?"
"It's a communication device. It'll keep you in constant contact with each other, and with me and the base. It'll turn into your morpher at your command."
"How do we morph, exactly?" asked Krista.
"All you have to do is say, 'Dino Thunder, power up,' and you'll be transformed. You'll know what to do."
"'Dino Thunder'?" Derrick repeated. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Sounds like some lame video game."
"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," said Devin.
"That's something only a nerd would say," said Derrick, shaking his head. "Wait, isn't the red guy supposed to be the leader?"
Devin glanced at Dr. Oliver for confirmation. He'd just picked up the red gem and the red morpher without thinking. It hadn't occurred to him that he was supposed to lead.
Dr. Oliver nodded. Derrick huffed.
"I can't believe this. How come he gets to be the leader?" He gestured at Devin. "He's a nerd."
"He's not a nerd!" said Krista.
"Yeah, of course you'd defend him. You're a loser too, just like he is."
Krista reared up to her full height, something dangerous flashing in her eyes. "What did you call me?"
"So spending all your time with plants and not people makes you not a loser. I see."
"Well, I can understand how intellectual pursuits aren't really your thing—"
"Guys!" cut in Dr. Oliver, and they all looked up sharply. "Look, I get that you three are from different worlds. But you're going to have to work together, otherwise, this is never going to happen. It's not going to be easy, and trust me, nobody knows that better than I do. But you have to learn to work together. Got it?"
Krista and Derrick had already resumed glaring at each other. From the way they were sizing each other up, Devin knew that they were both thinking it was completely impossible for them to work together. He certainly agreed.
"Don't worry, Dr. Oliver," he assured the science teacher hurriedly, although he didn't quite believe what he was saying. "We can get it together."
Conner's folded arms didn't provide him with the best pillow, but he was starting to fade out regardless. He stared out the window, down at the field, where the sun was beating down on the bright green grass. He could see a couple of the guys practicing passing. The grass had never looked softer or plusher, to collapse on after a good pickup game. He could swear that the net of the goal was pulled just a little tighter, that the soccer ball dancing across the field was just a little fuller. Conner couldn't get comfortable, arranging his long body at his miniscule desk. He thought he could hear some birds chirping, and a light breeze rustling, mixing with the soft, faraway shouts of the others...
He sat up abruptly, rubbing at his forehead, where the button from one of his sleeves had made an imprint. "Dude, are you going to Hayley's after this?" he asked Ethan. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. He looked over.
The computer genius was sitting, staring at him slightly slack jawed. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, glancing quickly around the room—-in search of what, Conner didn't know. Behind Ethan, Kira was looking equally confused.
Conner was as clueless as they were. "What?"
"You just asked me if I was going to Hayley's...how do you even know about that?" said Ethan.
"Who's Hayley?" asked Conner.
"You just get weirder and weirder," said Ethan, cocking one eyebrow before returning his attention to his laptop. He shut it, sliding it into his backpack with ease. Kira was also packing up her stuff. What was going on?
Conner glanced at the clock—-it was four. Detention was over. Had he been asleep that whole time? The last thing he remembered was watching practice going on without him.
And a flash of a brick building, with a green awning and enormous picture window.
Conner rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, following the others out of the room. There it was again...that pinprick feeling. That notion that something different, something was wrong. Though he was loath to admit it, Ethan was right. Things were getting weirder and weirder.
Mesogog paced in front of his soldiers. They were both wary of his wrath, now that the gems had been activated. They weren't entirely sure what the rocks were capable of, merely that they were a great source of power, one that would be beneficial to their plot.
The failure of the Tyrannodrones was one Mesogog took personally, since he'd been instrumental in their creation and re-programming, and hadn't expected them to be so easily defeated by a handful of wayward teenagers. Of course, the art of science was the process of trial and error. Now that he knew the error, it could be fixed. The drones were locked away in the modification chamber, being rewired once more, but they were inconsequential, now that their main weapons were operational.
"Zeltrax, is our aerial attack craft in position?" he demanded of his first officer with a hiss.
Zeltrax gave a curt nod, lowering his head respectfully. "It is."
"Good. When the BioZords have completed the first strike, launch an aerial assault. The citizens of Reefside will think that idiot Lothor has returned to town. They won't know what's hit them...until it's too late." He snarled in delight. The inability to acquire the gems was a minor setback, one that could be easily rectified once the city was in a state of panic. He wasn't terribly concerned. Everything was falling into place.
Derrick settled into his chair in the back of homeroom the next morning, glaring at the other kids. Devin, of course, was up in the front with Cassidy, nodding along to some nonsense about fluorescent lighting making her look pasty. Derrick couldn't believe that the spineless geek was supposed to be leading the team, because he couldn't even stand up to his own girlfriend. If Derrick had had the opportunity to pick and choose his teammates, Devin would be so far removed from the list. As would Krista, who thankfully had a different homeroom, and was out of his face. She'd spent the entire drive home from Dr. Oliver's cabin babbling away about saving the trees and the whales and the whatevers. He'd practically fallen asleep.
Dr. Oliver came into the room, followed closely behind by a handful of students, including Conner, scrambling to their seats just as the bell rang. The teacher was clutching a wad of papers under his arm, which he plopped dramatically on his desk, and clapped his hands for attention. "All right, who can tell me when it all began?" he asked.
No one got the chance to answer, because the room started shaking. Derrick's backpack fell to the floor, and behind him, a few beakers slid out of their cabinet, smashing glass everywhere. His stool wobbled underneath him, and he grabbed at the lab table to keep himself steady. They'd had plenty of earthquakes before, but there was something different about this one.
The lights flickered, and then went out completely, leaving the room eerily black. It was peculiar, because there should have been sun from the open windows.
A few tense seconds later, the school's emergency generator kicked in, bathing the classroom in orange light. Chaos had taken over in the few moments of darkness. No one was in their seat. People were slipping out into the hallway to see what was going on in the rest of the school, and anyone who wasn't at the door was at the window, looking out into almost complete darkness. Derrick numbly got up and joined the window crowd, hearing scattered conversation all around him.
"The sky just went black in the middle of the day," Cassidy chirped hysterically next to him.
"Actually, Cass, it's still the morning," said Devin.
"Dude," someone announced, taking off one of his headphones. "There's some kinda whack report about mechanical dinosaurs attacking downtown."
Now that was definitely unusual. Derrick glanced over towards Dr. Oliver questioningly, but then jumped back, lost in the crowd, when a jolt of white lightning struck nearby.
"Grab your camera," commanded Cassidy, grabbing Devin's arm. Her reporter's instinct was clearly a stronger force than her apprehension. She darted towards the door with her hapless sidekick in tow.
"Wait. Hold it, you two," said Dr. Oliver. Cassidy jerked to a stop, Devin half-smiling gratefully at Dr. Oliver.
The intercom system still worked, apparently, because the one in the room crackled to life with Principal Randall's voice. "Students, remain calm. The mayor has declared a state of emergency. Please report to the front of the school for immediate dismissal. Again, remain calm."
"Sweet, free day," said Conner, already shouldering his backpack.
"Idiot," muttered the freaky singer chick under her breath.
Cassidy hurried out with the crowd, not noticing that Devin wasn't at her side. Instead, he went to Dr. Oliver's desk to join him and Derrick.
"What's going on?" asked a breathless Krista, breaking off from the throng of people rushing through the hallway, and coming into the classroom. "Does this have anything to do with the...the...you know?"
Dr. Oliver nodded gravely. "If Mesogog revived the BioZords, we've gotta act fast. Come with me."
Although they were only a few minutes behind, the school's parking lot was nearly empty. The students followed Dr. Oliver to a black Jeep. "See, this is the kind of transportation I'm talking about," said Derrick approvingly. "Shotgun." But Devin was already climbing into the passenger seat. "You've got to be kidding me," said Derrick. "Move, squirt."
"Would you get over yourself for five seconds?" said Krista. "He's supposed to be the leader, let him ride in front."
"And you're supposed to be the tree-hugger," retorted Derrick. "Why don't you walk."
"Guys," said Dr. Oliver sharply. "Get in the car."
Glaring at each other, Krista and Derrick hopped warily into the backseat.
"So these mechanical dinosaurs," Krista yelled up front over the roar of Dr. Oliver's madcap driving. "You know them?"
"BioZords," he called back. "Machines fused with dinosaur DNA."
"You build these too?" said Derrick.
"I'm afraid so."
Derrick leaned forward so that Devin could hear him better. "You ever wonder why some teacher guy is going off and making giant attack beasts?"
The Jeep screeched to a stop in an abandoned parking lot, practically at the feet of where three enormous machines were roaring and thrashing. "Okay, this is it," said Dr. Oliver as they climbed out.
They looked up at the beasts. Landing on top of an office building with a flap of huge wings was a Pterodactyl. She glanced down at her bracelet, remembering the yellow face from yesterday. Suddenly, she understood why the three of them were needed. She opened her mouth to confirm her theory, but a red portal opened up in the sky a few feet away, and a man-sized creature emerged.
He was humanoid, but clearly not human, seeing as how he was made completely out of metal. There was a black reflective mask where his eyes would be, but it didn't prevent Krista from feeling his nasty glare.
"Did Mesogog find a new goon to do his dirty work?" asked Dr. Oliver.
"You are not fit to speak my master's name," the guy responded. His voice was low and gravelly. "You'll have to get past me before you get those Zords."
Derrick smirked. "That's the part I'm looking forward to."
Devin stepped slightly ahead of the other two. It was time. "You guys ready?" he asked.
"Ready," they agreed, and with a small flash, their three bracelets transformed into the morphers from the day before.
"Let's do this," said Devin.
"Dino Thunder, power up!"
Morphing was peculiar. There was a sensation of heat and light, and an odd feeling like tapping into something huge and ancient. When they emerged, they were dressed head to toe in bright spandex: Devin in the center in red, Derrick to his right in blue, and Krista to their left in yellow.
"So you're Power Rangers," Mesogog's goon observed.
"Looks it," said Krista. There was a weird rush in her body, like there was something just within reach, wanting her to touch it. She wasn't any different, but yet somehow, she was stronger and faster. She just knew that she could fight.
And it looked like they were going to have to fight. A green portal had opened in the sky, bearing a swarm of Tyrannodrones. There were easily twice as many as before, and they looked uglier and meaner. "Fresh from the modification chamber," boasted the goon.
"Fantastic," remarked Devin flatly.
"Call out your weapons," said Dr. Oliver. "They're in your belt."
"Again," said Derrick, "no one's wondering how he knows that?"
Krista closed her eyes, and the image of two sharp utensils appeared in her mind. Touching her belt buckle, they became real and solid in her hands, two bright yellow daggers. Derrick had called out a blue pointed shield, and Devin had commanded a long red staff. The Tyrannodrones charged.
Krista broke off to the side instinctively, raising her arms and striking out at the two drones closing in on either side. Her blades pressed into their thick shelled skin, and while she couldn't tell if she sliced, there was enough force behind it to knock them both to their sides. She lowered her arms to get some balance, and launched into an impressive spinning jump kick. It was certainly something she'd never been able to do before, something she'd never even considered doing before.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Devin swinging his staff in a wide, low circle, sweeping several drones over. Derrick was charging headlong into his opponents, ramming into them with his shield and tossing them clean over his back. By the Jeep, Dr. Oliver was exchanging blows with the crazy goon, who seemed to be wielding a trident of some sort. Dr. Oliver was clearly a fighter, and a good one at that, but while he was holding his own, in the long run, he wasn't going to be able to defeat the goon. Krista chopped into the shoulder of one of the drones, and when he staggered backwards, she jumped and landed a series of kicks to his chest, sending him flying back into a pile of other drones, knocking them all over and leaving her free to go to Dr. Oliver.
"Devin!" she yelled, stopping short of the battle, and the Red Ranger glanced over. "Help Dr. Oliver!" she said.
Devin took a running leap, and flew through the air to strike the goon firmly across his armored back with his staff. The goon fell to the side, but got up surprisingly quickly for so thick and large a creature. "You shall pay for that," he declared, and two lights flared on the side of his visor, shooting red lasers at the Rangers. The fire exploded around Krista, and all three of them fell back, stumbling to their feet.
"Rangers, combine your weapons," said Dr. Oliver, and Krista glanced at the others. Like the rest of it, the knowledge on just how to do that was completely instinctual, coming out of a part of Krista that she didn't know existed. Derrick lay his shield on top of Devin's staff, and Krista attached her daggers on either side. The device roared to life, and Devin commanded, "Z-Rex Blaster! Ready—"
"FIRE!" the three Rangers yelled. A bright flash of light turned into a thick laser beam, cutting through the blackness, and slamming into Mesogog's goon. He went soaring through the air, and they whooped in delight at victory.
It didn't seem to be over, however. He got to his feet. "You showed me your weapons. Now meet mine!" With an inhuman growl, the goon disappeared into another red portal, and before the Rangers could interpret this, a huge ship sailed through the air, a scorpion-like tail waving lazily through the air behind it. The craft fired lasers from its underbelly, and the Rangers dove out of the way.
"How are we supposed to fight that?" panted Devin.
"You have to tame the Zords," said Dr. Oliver.
"We have to what?"
"Concentrate," he said plaintively. "Your morphers will communicate your thoughts to them."
"Is anyone else listening to this?" demanded Derrick. "The dude wants us to use telepathy on giant robot dinosaurs."
Krista understood, however. She had guessed correctly after all. She stepped forward, looking up at the Pterodactyl, which was flapping its wings to release a powerful gust. It was just a giant bird, really, and Krista loved birds. She'd had a pet sparrow as a child, one that had fallen out of its nest. She'd nursed it back to health and released it into the wild. This was the same thing, just on a much, much larger scale.
"We can be friends," she said soothingly. "I won't hurt you. Just trust me." She raised her yellow morpher in the air. "Please."
With an almighty screech, the PteraZord displayed its full wingspan, its eyes flashing red. A wave of bright light trailed up its body, and its colors changed from mottled gray and brown into bright yellow to match her morpher.
"That all?" said Derrick incredulously. "Yeah, big deal." He raised his gaze towards the Triceratops, which was using its powerful front horns to break a few windows. "Hey, big guy. Tell you what, we can kick some butt together, you and me. Sound cool?" he asked, lifting his morpher.
The TriceraZord trumpeted in the air as it turned blue.
They all jumped as the Tyrannosaurus tail, spinning like a drill, toppled a tree like it was made out of toothpicks. "Oh no! Devin, the TyrannoZord is out of control!" cried Krista.
Devin raised his arm, displaying the morpher for the dinosaur to see. "I'm on your side," he promised. "C'mon."
There was a long moment, until the Zord finally tilted its head back with a bellowing roar, turning red. They had done it; they had gotten control of the rampaging BioZords. "Only one more thing to do," said Dr. Oliver. "Bring 'em together."
"Piece of cake," said Devin.
The Rangers jumped into the air, getting sucked into a nothingness before being dropped into the cockpits of their Zords. A large ball appeared in front of each of them, which they discovered they could control with their thoughts, connected telepathically with their Zords. They used this to bring the three beasts together to form a giant Megazord, with a Triceratops head for one arm, and a Tyrannosaurus tail for the other.
"Your robot is no match for me," sneered the goon piloting the aircraft, shooting bullets of laser fire at them. Distracted by the bright lights and smoke as their Zords got hit, the Rangers didn't notice the emerging tentacles until it was too late. The offending appendages wrapped thickly around the Megazord, and transferred an electrical charge down them.
"It's burning up in here!" Derrick yelled.
"I can't break free," said Devin. The Megazord twisted this way and that, but couldn't seem to break the bond of the tentacles.
"We have to get up onto that ship," said Krista, struck with an idea. "He can't hit us if we're on him."
"Good idea," said Devin. "Derrick, can you get us loose?"
Derrick nodded, jerking his hand over the controls. The Triceratops head thrashed, its horns slicing through the tentacle rope easily and freeing one side. Devin then used the other rope to make a running, Tarzan-like swing through the air. The momentum carried them into the sky, and they thrashed free of the tentacle just long enough that Krista manipulated the Pterodactyl wings to coast them down on top of the scorpion ship.
"There!" said Devin, pointing at a series of pulsating blue lights. "That must be the heart of the ship. Let's go through it." He revved the Tyranno tail, and used the Dino Drill to spear clear through the heart, through the ship, and back down to the ground. The Megazord landed just as the aircraft exploded, sending a shower of sparks down on the Rangers.
"We did it!' squealed Krista. "I can't believe we actually did it."
Mesogog, on the other hand, was in less of a party mood. Zeltrax's head was bowed in shame before him, and Mesogog was beginning to severely regret that he had rebuilt the cyborg. "So," he said slowly, savoring the fear etched onto Elsa's face as he lectured them. "Oliver has taught them to become Rangers."
"Our deepest apologies, sir," rasped Zeltrax. "We should have foreseen this development."
"Yes. You should have." All of Mesogog's fury became concentrated on the peak of his brow, where his grotesque reptilian skull curved sharply. From there, he issued a yellow ray, one that went from his head straight into those of his minions, along with a healthy dose of intense, searing pain. They both fell to their knees, clutching at their craniums and screaming in agony.
"Let this be a lesson," he said, raising his rough voice to be heard over their whimpers. "I do not take defeat lightly."
"You guys did great out there," said Dr. Oliver when the four of them had returned to his underground headquarters. "I'm very proud."
"Thanks, Dr. O," said Devin.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," admitted Krista, glancing at Devin and sharing a grin.
"Except I've just got one question," said Derrick. "You seem to know what you're doing. What we should be doing. What aren't you telling us?"
Dr. Oliver nodded seriously. "I'll fill you in. In time." Off of his students' skeptical looks, he added, "I promise."
"Do you think Mesogog and his friends will stick around?" asked Krista.
Dr. Oliver glanced at a spot slightly behind them. "Unfortunately, they always do." He smiled. "But I think you guys can handle it—provided you can put aside your differences long enough to work together."
The three glanced at each other uncertainly.
Conner stood at the window in his room, watching the daylight return to the sky. He knew his weird feeling had nothing to do with the random attack on the city today—and yet, it had everything to do with it. It wasn't just that something was off or weird.He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew.
Something wasn't right. In fact, something was very, very wrong.