Roberto sprinted down the streets of Manhattan. There had been a flagged disturbance earlier today, but he had only just gotten the call from the Power Rangers. Tommy Oliver was missing. And none of them could find him. He hoped that the other Guardians could be of some help, but he was remiss to bring any of them in. Kimberly trusted him and that had taken a great deal of work. He did not want to risk introducing someone at this point. It might be the thing that tipped her over the edge.
He slowed down to a walk as he neared Hayabusa Karate Academy and tried his best to not betray that panic that he felt. He saw the students and instructors going about their class like normal and he closed his eyes to see what he could feel. When his eyes opened again- he was shocked to see Tommy standing in the middle of the class. All of his senses were on high alert. Something was wrong- the Command Center did not detect Tommy and neither did he. The man standing in front of him was most definitely Tommy Oliver.
Tommy's history flashed through his mind. Tommy had been evil. Multiple times. Could that be what was happening now? Could they withstand that happening now? Kimberly was in no shape to bring him back around if he became evil. From what he had heard, it nearly always injured her too.
The man locked eyes with him and motioned for another teacher to step in. He then made his way to the door and fell into step next to him. He could feel the panic rolling off of him, but also knew that this was not Tommy.
"Roberto…where the hell have you been?" the man asked and Roberto ground to a halt. He had been prepared for Tommy to be evil, he had not been prepared for this. This was Tommy, but not the Tommy from this world. "Roberto."
"What do you remember about today?" Roberto asked as he looked over at him. "Just humor me, Tommy."
"See- that's the problem. No one has called me Tommy since I was…I don't know…five? I came down to the dojo and these aren't my students. Those aren't my teachers. I walked back up to my 'home' and that is not my home. Kimberly…she…she's still alive and I married her? And I saw someone- he looked just like me, but that can't be right," the man said and Roberto led him around the side of the building to the secondary entrance. He motioned for him to follow him and stopped in the stairwell as he looked him over. "Roberto…what's happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I am afraid that you may not be in your world anymore," Roberto said and the man shook his head. "What's your name?"
"Thomas Trueheart," Thomas stated as the door opened and Kimberly stepped out and she glanced between the two of them.
"You're not my husband. Where is my husband?" Kimberly ground out as Thomas shook his head. He stared at her, like he was seeing a ghost, and then looked over at Roberto. "Where is he!"
"Kim…he doesn't know. He didn't do this…but I think you may want to call Tommy's therapist. If he saw himself…" Roberto trailed off and Kimberly looked between the two of them- hoping one of them would tell her that this was all a joke. As the moments passed, she felt the dread settle in. Why would this happen? "I get it, but the last thing we need is Tommy checked into a mental hospital in the middle of everything else that is going on."
"Dr. Schutely? Hi…oh you were about to call?" Kimberly trailed off as she listened and looked between the two men in front of her. "Keep him there for me. I'm coming- there's…there's an explanation."
"He there?" Roberto asked and Kimberly barely nodded as she scrolled through her phone to order a rideshare.
"Dr. Schutely didn't say much, but did say he'd keep him there until I got there," Kim said as she looked between the two of them. "Who are you?"
"Thomas Trueheart. And you're Kimberly Hart," Thomas stated as she nodded and he reached out to touch her face and then pulled his hand back to stop himself. This was not his Kimberly and she had her own husband in this place and time. "Why am I here?"
"I'm not sure, but I have a few guesses and that's what I'll help figure out. Go, Kimberly, if he's there- he has to have seen him and thought he was losing it," Roberto said and Kimberly gave him a quick hug before heading out of the stairwell and up to the street. "Your Kimberly?"
"She's been dead for twenty years, she was one of the prophetesses and…" Thomas trailed off as he hastily wiped his eyes. He had never thought he would see her again and now he was faced with the woman he loved and had lost. "She knew, she told me. I wasn't able to stop it."
"We'll figure out why you're here and we'll do what we can to get you back to your world," Roberto stated and Thomas nodded. "Come with me. You should meet the rangers."