Chapter 3:

It was a clear, sunny day in Angel Grove California; it was usual fare for the fair city. If you ask its citizens, they couldn't even tell you the last time it rained. Adam Park was going to meet his friends, Rocky DeSantos and Tanya Sloan at the "Burger Shack," their current favorite hang out. He couldn't get a hold of their other friend, Kat Hillard and he knew that Tommy Oliver was interning at Dynasystems, a laboratory on the other side of town. "As long as no machines attack today, it might actually be a good day for once." Adam said to himself as he strolled to the meeting place.

Upon seeing their friend, Tanya smiled and waved while Rocky with a mouthful of cheeseburger gave Adam a nod of welcome. Adam laughed as he saw his friend chowing down on the burger. "You've gotta be kidding me Rocky! You couldn't wait five minutes until we all started eating?"

"I worked super hard in the gym today and I was starving! What do you want from me?" Rocky said in between bites. This got Tanya and Adam to laugh even harder.

"So after lunch, what do we have on tap for today?" Adam asked, specifically to Tanya. Tanya was the group's social butterfly so by proxy, event coordinator. The waitress came by and he ordered a burger.

"Well, Tommy gets off at six and Kat will join us in about an hour, she's getting her hair done. After that, I figured we'd catch the new zombie movie at the theater. How does that…grab you?" She replied, grabbing Adam's muscular arm for emphasis. He and Rocky both groaned at the pun.

"Please, no more punishment Tanya." Rocky replied. Adam high fived his friend for the witty response. "Seriously though, that sounds like a good plan. I've wanted to watch this movie for a while since I heard it was coming out three months ago." The other nodded an agreement and worked to catch up to Rocky and his half eaten meal.

Meanwhile, Tommy Oliver was documenting an ongoing experiment as part of his duties as a laboratory assistant. "Thomas, how's it going down there?" A voice called from above. Tommy looked up to see Dr. Peter Taggart waving to him from above. Tommy waved back.

"Pretty good Dr. Taggart, looks like the laser is showing zero energy bleed off. If it holds up, your experiment should be a success!"

Dr. Taggart smiled at his protégé. "In no small part thanks to you Thomas. You've worked really hard and have been a big help in the lab. Don't think this has gone unnoticed. I'll be sure to give you a good recommendation letter for wherever you go."

Tommy smiled bashfully. He appreciated the kudos but it embarrassed him. It was his nature to be humble so he couldn't help it. "Aw man Dr. Taggart, that's not necessary, I just enjoy working here. Besides, your laser experiment sounds really exciting. There's no telling how many applications this laser has. It has great potential to help people or better humanity. I just hope nobody uses it as a weapon. "

"So do I Thomas, so do I." Dr. Taggart replied and went back into his office. As Tommy went back to his duties, the door exploded inward and a stream of "Cogs," robotic minions of King Mondo, an alien despot bent on conquering the Earth, swarmed in.

It was obvious to Tommy what the Cogs wanted. His eyes drifted toward the laser and back to the Cogs. "No way guys, you can't have it!" he shouted and leapt into the fray. Tommy became a whirling dynamo of kicks and punches, knocking the robotic backward and dodging their slow but precise strikes. "Man I sure miss fighting Putties!" He said as he backflipped away from a devastating kick a Cog nearly connected with. "Dr. Taggart, get out of here and call for help! I'll handle these guys!"

"Thomas, what about…"

"Just go!" Tommy cried. His moment of distraction caused a Cog to connect with a punch to the jaw which sent him reeling against some lab equipment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Taggart amble away. Satisfied that he was out of sight, he stood straighter. "Alright, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" Tommy said as he tore off his lab coat and produced his morpher. "It's Morphin Time! Zeo Ranger five, Red!" He said as he transformed into his alter-ego, the Red Zeo Ranger, leader of the Angel Grove's team of super-heroes, the Power Rangers! From normal, albeit very in shape human, Tommy Oliver became a red clad, superhuman warrior with enhanced strength and durability.

The Cogs instinctively backed off for a moment, knowing that there was a true threat on their hands. They looked at each other and then they charged. Tommy shrugged and met their charge. He leapt in with a flying kick that knocked two of the Cogs to the ground. Upon landing, he knocked another off its feet with a sweep kick and never stopping his motion, he hit a fourth square in its abdomen with a punch powerful enough to dent steel. That Cog went flying through the nearby outer wall.

Pain and a shower of sparks caused Tommy to cry out and stumble against a nearby desk. He was glad he was morphed otherwise the sword that the Cog used to cut with him would've killed him. It hurt but he was uninjured and more importantly, alive. "Okay, so that's how you want to play it!" Tommy shouted, producing his Zeo Saber. He again charged this time cutting through all of the Cogs with ridiculous ease.

While Tommy was driving the horde of Cogs back, an errant one produced a blaster. "No!" Tommy shouted as he withdrew his Zeo laser. The two fired at the same time and amazingly, the blasts collided in mid-air, producing an explosion so powerful that it knocked everyone around like leaves in a hurricane. Even through the star shaped tinted visor on his helmet, Tommy was blinded by the flash and then everything went black.

How Tommy felt when started coming to was like he was moving through molasses. He groaned as he got to a sitting position. Surveying the area, he saw that there were multiple holes through the thick stone walls of the lab. Strewn about lab were parts of the Cogs; some of their mechanical limbs twitched while others lay still. Tommy looked down at himself and found that he was de-morphed; he figured the force of the explosion was greater than what his suit could take but he was relatively unharmed save for a couple of bruises.

A low moan from above caught Tommy's attention. Fear gripped his insides as he struggled to his feet, hoping he wouldn't find what he knew he'd find. He found Dr. Taggart half buried beneath some rubble. "No, oh no." Tommy said as he desperately started clearing the rubble off of his friend. "Somebody get some help!" he screamed.