Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, Saban does. I own all characters, events, and places not found in Dino Thunder.

Chapter 4: Paint it Black

"I've got a lock on the portal," Hayley exclaimed excitedly.

"We're on it," Eric said.

"Remember, you must hit a speed of 536 mph upon entry, otherwise you're never going to get past the security wall and likely get ripped to pieces!"

"You…never mentioned that part, Aunt Hayley," Eric said as he and the others turned around with horrified expressions on their faces.

Hayley smiled sheepishly. "Guess I did," she said. "Never fear; I have the thing for just such an occasion," she said as she input a command and a secret door opened to reveal Blue, Yellow, and White motorcycles.

"Cool!"

"Amazing!"

"This is sweet!"

The three Rangers were gushing over their new vehicles as Hayley stepped forward.

"These are your new Raptor Cycles. They will get you to the portal coordinates in approximately 92.75 seconds!"

"And when we get there," Kira asked.

"Use your Gems to access the Hyper drive. Then head straight through the portal to Mesogog's island fortress."

Ethan saw Eric was still looking at his Raptor Cycle.

"You weren't a part of this," the Blue Ranger asked. Eric shook his head.

" I helped out with most of the stuff in the basement, but not this," the White Ranger responded."

"Tommy asked me to keep it a secret from you, Eric. We both wanted to thank you for your diligence, and once we got started on building one, we figured we'd build more. It was actually a lot of fun," the redhead replied.

"So there are more," Ethan asked. Hayley nodded.

"We also built one for the eventual Pink Ranger, should she ever show up, and one for the Green Ranger. We wanted to get started on building one for the eventual Red Ranger, but then Mesogog attacked, and now here you are."

Eric nodded. "You guys ready," he asked. Kira and Ethan nodded.

"Dino Thunder, power up, ha!"

The Rangers got on their new Raptor Cycles, and they left through another secret passage connecting a cave in the forest to the Command Center.

Mesogog's fortress

"This is your final chance, Dr. Oliverrr. Free the Gem from its resting place, or feel the wrath of my disappointment," Mesogog hissed as he rounded the room.

"Do I have to pick one," Tommy deadpanned.

"Your attempt at levity is as feeble as your attempt at self-sacrifice," the dinosaur replied as he pushed the table with the stone encased Gem over to Tommy, still strapped to the chair with the Life Force Extractor activated. The gem started to glow even brighter as it got closer to Tommy.

Tommy sighed as he could feel the Gem's power. "Will I ever escape this life? When will the Power finally say that I've done more than my share and let teenagers pick up where I left off?"

"If you won't do it for yourself, perhaps you will for your precious studentsss. Elsa!"

The leather clad Elsa approached Mesogog. "Yes, my Lord?"

"The three teenagers! Bring them to meee!"

Before Elsa could leave, an alarm sounded in the lair as an image of the Rangers was brought up on the monitor.

"Master, it's them! On some kind of vehicles!"

"Like obedient dogs! I speak, and theyyy comma!"

"I could save you some trouble," Tommy said. "Good guys always win!"

"I suppose that all depends on who you believe the good guys to beee! Zeltrax, Elsa, go! Bring help! I want no mistakes this trimmed!"

Tommy watched the lackies leave the room and he continued to struggle against his restraints.

Beach

"Whoa, it just stopped," Ethan said.

"This must be where Hayley programmed the coordinates," Kira said. "Look," she said an Invisiportal opened. "There's the Invisiportal! I really hope Dr. O's on the other side!"

"Only one way to find out," Ethan exclaimed.

"You guys ready," Eric said.

"Ready!"

Just as the Rangers were getting ready to activate the Hyper drive, another portal opened depositing Zeltrax, Elsa, a monster, and a group of Tyrannodrones.

"Hey! Nobody invited you to the party," Eric spat.

"I'm crashing, and I brought some friends! Is that rude," Elsa sneered.

"Extremely," Kira responded in kind.

"You're not getting through that portal unless you're in chains," Zeltrax stated as he stepped forward with his sword pointed at the Rangers.

"I might be able to pull that look off, but these guys? No way," Kira joked.

"I vote we go for it," Eric stated, and the others agreed.

The Rangers got back on their Cycles and sped towards the portal, firing lasers at groups of Tyrannodrones. Eric drove up to Zeltrax and Elsa, who promptly attacked. Eric was able to hold them off as he flipped off his Cycle and blocked or evaded attacks, using the martial arts skills his Uncles Jason, Rocky, and Adam taught him. Using the skills Tommy taught him, Eric went on the offensive, being careful to avoid Zeltrax's sword and Elsa's sneak attacks.

Kira continued speeding towards the Invisiportal, using her pistol to fire blasts at Tyrannodrones.

Ethan fought off the monster, using the lasers from his Cycle to continue blasting groups of Tyrannodrones, and his pistol to hammer the monster, knocking it on its ass.

Eric fought Zeltrax, who was using his sword to call upon powerful energy blasts, trying to knock Eric off his Cycle while he was airborne. He got hit a few times, but manages to stay on the Cycle. He fell off the Cycle when it landed, though. Zeltrax was about to press his advantage when Ethan fired his lasers at Zeltrax, sending sprawling into the water. Ethan helped Eric up and onto his bike.

"Will you be good to go," the Blue Ranger asked.

"For now I should be, but I'll be feeling it for awhile."

Eventually, Kira met back up with Eric and Ethan, and they sped off to the portal. Eric's injuries protested the acceleration, but he bit back the pain as they entered the Invisiportal.

Mesogog's fortress

"Aunt Hayley, we're in," Eric said.

"OK, I'll recalibrate the bikes to your exit. It seems you have about 5 minutes. Good luck!"

"It seems we have visitorrsss," Mesogog hissed.

"I'm going to take a guess that it's for you," Tommy spat, turning his attention back to his restraints.

"There's that wit again! If I had a sense of humor, I might actually enjoy it! I'll handle the intruders mysellllff!" Mesogog walked out the door and turned left, heading straight for Eric, Ethan, and Kira.

"The lab should be just around here, I think! At least we still have the element of…" she broke off as Mesogog turned around the corner and glared at the Rangers.

"Welcome! We've been expecting youuuu," Mesogog said as the door into the room silently shut, trapping the Rangers.

"…surprise," Kira finished in a whisper.

"You remember me, I trusst?"

"Like I could forget that face," Kira responded.

"Uh, what part's his face," Ethan whimpered.

"Obviously, you are in need of some discipline," Mesogog stated as he sent out pain waves in the direction of the Rangers. Fortunately for them, Zeltrax and the creature ported in at that moment and caught the beam themselves. The Rangers didn't waste any time as they dashed around the group of villains.

"Geettt them! Nowww!"

The Rangers arrived in the lab, with Eric holding his waist, the pain from his injuries starting to get to him.

"Hey! Good timing! Hit the red button on the panel," Tommy said as the Rangers freed Tommy from his restraints.

Ethan did as ordered and the door to the lab shut, buying some time.

"Should've known you'd try to rescue me," the veteran Ranger stated.

"Is that your way of saying thanks? Because it needs some work," Ethan stated.

"I'll thank you for real once we get out of here! We can use the main Invisiportal network!" Tommy started typing commands into Mesogog's computer, activating an Invisiportal.

"Hayley gave you the Raptor Cycles, right?" The Rangers nodded. "This way!"

"Wait, we need to talk," Ethan said.

"Now's not the time! I'll explain later!"

"We already know everything," Ethan responded.

"We saw the video diary," Kira added.

"We know you're a Power Ranger," Kira said.

"Was, Kira. Not anymore."

The doors opened and Mesogog and his henchmen entered, livid.

"Ranger or not," Mesogog spat, pointing at Tommy, "you're Minnie now!"

"I hate it when he gets like this," Tommy muttered. He got into an attack stance.

"We can take it from here, Uncle," Eric said. "Ready?"

"Ready," the others stated.

"Dino Thunder, power up, ha!"

The Rangers morphed and the fight was on. Eric took on Zeltrax, while Ethan and Kira took on the Tyrannodrones and the monster. Tommy grabbed the stone with the Gem, while taking on Tyrannodrones and trying to fend off attacks from Mesogog, who was throwing Tommy around like a rag doll.

"Get out of here! I have to get something," Tommy said as he ran back to the stone that was knocked from his hands. He turned back to the Rangers. "Go!"

"We should do as he says," Eric said. The others nodded and leapt into the Invisiportal, getting back onto their bikes. Tommy soon appeared with the stone.

"Do we really need a souvenir," Ethan asked.

"This one, we do!" Elsa ran around the corner with reinforcements. "Go! I'm right behind you," Tommy said.

The Rangers revved their bikes and went through the portal.

Downtown Reefside

The Rangers appeared from the Invisiportal, with Tommy appearing right behind them. Zeltrax and his group weren't far behind, and Zeltrax brought his sword up immediately, firing a beam of electricity at Tommy, who held up the stone. The electricity was strong, but Tommy held on, until a bright flash appeared, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. When they brought their arms down, Tommy was nowhere to be seen.

"Uncle!"

"This can't be happening," Kira said.

"So negative! Don't you know that in our world, anything's possible," Elsa sneered, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Even the destruction of the 'great Dr. Tommy Olive,'" Zeltrax added.

A shimmer appeared, and Tommy's form was seen once more.

"I heard my name! You missed me, didn't you Zeltrax," he said smugly.

"Uncle! You're alright!"

Tommy smiled, and frowned as he saw his nephew limping.

"We're going to have to take a look at your injuries when we get back," Tommy said.

"Wait, what's that," Ethan asked as he noticed Tommy's hand glowing. "A Black Dino Gem! Let me guess: The power of invisibility!"

Tommy nodded. "Looks like it."

"That Gem belongs to my Master," Elsa shouted out.

"There's two things you need to learn about Dino Gems. One, you don't choose them; they choose you."

"What's the second," Zeltrax asked. A morpher appeared on Tommy's wrist.

"They go really well with Dino morphers!" He slammed the Gem into the morpher, making it glow.

"Aren't you a little old for this, Tommy," Elsa sneered.

"I may be old, but I can still pull it off. Dino Thunder, power up!"

Tommy morphed into the Black Ranger for the first time. He may not have wanted to become a Ranger again, but he had to admit that he did miss the feeling of the Power coursing through his blood.

"Just like riding a bike," the new Black Ranger said.

Zeltrax clutched his fist. "One more makes no difference. Attack!"

The fight began in earnest. Tommy fought Zeltrax while Eric fought Tyrannodrones. Kira and Ethan went looking for the monster.

"Where is that petal pusher," Kira asked as she and Ethan had their pistols at the ready.

"Looking for me," the monster asked as it appeared and attacked the Yellow and Blue Rangers.

"Give it up Zeltrax," Tommy said as he and Zeltrax stood facing one another just yards away.

"Never!" He ran up to Tommy and started attacking. He got the upper hand and kicked Tommy away.

"Is that all you got, Black Ranger? You fought better back in the good old days!"

"Give me a break! It's been a while!"

"What did he mean by 'good old days?'"

Elsa attacked Eric, and eventually knocked him down due to the increasing pain. He managed to deflect her sword and got back up gingerly. He struggled to fight through the pain, but was able to fight Elsa off.

"We will meet again, White Ranger!" Elsa disappeared through an Invisiportal.

"Don't be a pollinator hater!"

That comment irked Ethan and Kira, who continued to fight the monster, with Eric eventually joining up. Tapping into the White Dino Gem's power, Eric disappeared in a White blur, savagely attacking the monster with his Drago Sword. Eventually, the monster fell to Eric's onslaught.

Tommy and Zeltrax continued to fight, and Tommy kicked him against a statue.

"Go ahead! I dare you," Zeltrax spat.

"No. I got a message for your boss! Tell him Tommy's back! And no matter what color I am, he'll never defeat me!"

Zeltrax disappeared into an Invisiportal.

Mesogog's fortress

"One of the Rangers was injured, and you didn't finish the jobbb," Mesogog hiss as he closed in on Elsa. "What do you have to say for yourselfff?"

"I'm sorry, Master! I have no excuse!"

Mesogog leaned in. "Just the answer I was looking foorrr! Is the Hydro Regenerator ready yet?"

"Not yet, my Lord. Some Tyrannodrones destroyed the device during a training session," Zeltrax said. Mesogog sent pain waves to both Elsa and Zeltrax.

"Failure after failure! Do not disappoint me!"

A device on Elsa beeped and she looked at the screen. Her face lit up with an evil smirk.

"Master! The innate purity of the Red and Green Dino Gems has been suppressed! They are now ready!"

Mesogog smiled widely. "Good! Bring the condemned here! No excuses this timmmeee!"

Command Center

The Rangers arrived back at their Command Center, and Tommy helped his nephew to a seat.

"Hayley, Kira, Ethan, I'm going to have to ask you guys to step upstairs. I have to examine the extent of Eric's injuries."

The three nodded and went upstairs into Tommy's living room.

"How bad was Eric hurt," Hayley asked Ethan and Kira.

"He was holding his ribs during the battle. They may have been bruised," Kira said.

"Yeah, and I noticed a bit of a limp. He may be out of commission for some time," Ethan added.

"According to Tommy, Rangers powers do accelerate healing, but it still takes time. You may be right, Ethan," Hayley sighed.

Tommy came upstairs after 15 minutes with Eric.

"Well, what's the prognosis, Doc?' Ethan nervously joked, earning a dry look from Tommy.

"He has some bruised ribs and some signs of a concussion. He will not fighting for at least 3 days. I want him to heal, before he gets cracked ribs. I'll call his father and tell him he'll be staying here for a while. He already has some clothes here, so it won't be a problem."

Hayley sighed. "OK, let's just head over to the Cyberspace for smoothies. I closed it early today." The Rangers all headed out to the Cyberspace for some drinks.

Cyberspace

Krista was in the Cyberspace, having helped Hayley close it earlier. She was waiting for Conner while drinking a Honeydew smoothie. Hayley saw her niece had a pensive look on her face.

"Krista, what's wrong?"

Krista sighed. "It's Conner. He's become even more quiet than usual lately. And while he tried to hide it, I saw him wince when putting on his backpack after our Chemistry class. I think the situation at his house is getting worse! I still don't have proof, though," she finished sadly.

Hayley grabbed her niece's hand. "I know. I wish I could find the two Detectives that were in here the other day. But we have to tell someone! Where's Conner now?"

"He's at the soccer field, practicing. I told him it was a bad idea, but he was adamant. He said something about it being all he's good for." Hayley's heart sank as she realized what this meant.

"Great. So not only is he being abused physically, but mentally as well. Why? Who's doing it?"

Krista shrugged. "I don't know. But this can't continue. Sooner or later, he'll be injured severely, if he isn't already!"

Hayley shook her head. She prayed answers would come soon, because this couldn't continue. Krista got up after having finished her smoothie and getting rid of the plastic cup.

"I'm going to head out there. I'll see you later."

"See you," Hayley said.

"Dr. O, how did you have that morpher ready?"

"I got an energy reading on the tracking system, and had a pretty good idea it was a Gem. So I had Hayley build a morpher just in case."

"And the day of my gig?"

"I was coming to tell you the energy signal had moved and we should investigate,"

"When you got nabbed by the goon patrol. And speaking of Gem, your ring tone should now be Paint It Black," Eric cracked.

"Nice to see your dry sense of humor hasn't suffered any," Tommy joked right back. "Well, I have to get going."

"Where are you going," Hayley asked, looking at her watch.

"There's a serious shortage of Black in my closet. That must be rectified," he explained as the others laughed.

Soccer field

Krista had just shown up as Conner was finished practicing, and saw he still winced as he put his soccer ball down. She was about to call out to him when an Invisiportal opened, depositing Elsa and a large group of Tyrannodrones. Conner and Krista's eyes went wide as they saw the creatures which had immediately grabbed the two teens and brought them back to Mesogog's fortress.

"What's going on," was the last thing they thought before being rendered unconscious.