Kimberly groaned as she sat down at the table in Tommy's dining room, the aching pain she felt in her shoulder after fighting both Godar and Elsa refusing to go away. Sighing she recalled the past couple of hours before they headed back to Tommy's house, the fight still in the front of her mind. After Conner had vanished Goldar and Elsa grew furious and attacked with all they had, making it all the team could do to push back till they vanished. It wasn't an easy fight for them either as they all seemed to have come back with some injuries, thankfully though they all looked to be minor injuries that would heal up in a couple of days. Just as Kim was about to get up and get herself a drink she felt something cold touch her cheek and she spun around to see Kat standing there with a cup of water.
"You look like you can use this," Kat said handing her the bottle and sitting down.
"Yeah, thanks Kat," Kim mumbled as she opened the cap and poured some into her mouth, "so how are Tommy and Jason?"
"Fine, I think they're mostly fuming that they couldn't defeat Goldar," Kat explained pushing some of her hair back, "can't say that I blame them."
"Neither can I," Kim agreed shaking her head, "And the kids?"
"They're fine too as far as I can tell," Kat replied before frowning, "I think they're mostly worried about Conner."
Kimberly sighed again and set her drink down, looking at the wood table as she did what she could to keep her fears under wraps. Sensing that Kimberly was upset Kat reached out and took a hold of her hand, giving it a small squeeze and smiling at her predecessor.
"He'll be okay Kim, he's your son after all," Kat reminded her making Kim chuckle, "he's a lot like you."
"I'd like to think he's more like Tommy," Kim admitted, "but yeah, he'll...he'll be fine."
"Um...c-can I join you two?"
Kim and Kat looked over at the doorway and saw Kira standing there, rubbing her arm as she waited for their answer. With a smile and a nod, Kim and Kat made some room for her, Kira walking in and sitting down between them as the older rangers situated themselves.
"What can we do for you Kira?" Kim asked with a motherly tone.
"I just wanted to get away from the others," Kira admitted sheepishly, "it's everyday that I get a chance to talk to other female rangers."
Kimberly and Kat nodded, the two older women giving the younger ranger a hug making her smile. Kira sat there quietly as Kat got up again and got her a drink, the yellow ranger gladly taking the cup of water and taking a gulp from it.
"So how did the two of you handle it?" Kira asked suddenly, the two pink rangers looking at each other in shock.
"I'm afraid we don't know what you mean," Kim replied confused.
"Being in a relationship with another ranger," Kira sighed twirling the glass in her hand, "I mean you both dated Dr. O when you were rangers, so how did you do it?"
The two older women looked at each other, both of them knowing what was going on in the younger girl's head, and nodded in agreement.
"Well...I'm not going to say that it was easy," Kim admitted, "we had to constantly remind ourselves that while we were on the battlefield, while we were still boyfriend and girlfriend, we were also teammates and we're there to help each other."
"And with Tommy that wasn't easy," Kat added, taking a drink from her water, "if either of us got hurt he wasn't one to take that lightly."
"It can't be that simple though can it?" Kira asked frowning, "to just agree that were teammates when we're out their fighting monsters."
"We never said it was simple Kira," Kim reminded her, "after I started dating Tommy I had to help him keep his temper under check so he wouldn't go ballistic when we fought someone like Goldar."
"I had to do the same thing when I started dating him," Kat recalled shaking her head, "that wasn't fun."
Kira nodded, looking down at the bottle in her hands as she tried to think of another question for them.
"Okay so it's not simple, and from what you were saying it's not easy either," Kira recounted seeing the two of them nod, "but what makes it easier?"
"Just the knowledge that he'll always be there to help you in a fight," Kim replied with a smile, recalling some of her adventures as a ranger, "and that if you ever get captured he'll be there to save you."
"And the knowledge that they're just human," Kat added, "they're going to mess up, and when that happens you have to be there to help them."
Kira smiled at that thought, knowing very well that Conner wasn't one who liked to fail and recalled many nights that she had stayed up reassuring him that everything was alright. Kimberly scooted over to Kira, wrapping her arm around the younger girl and giving her a comforting hug. Feeling the warm arm around her Kira leaned against the former ptera ranger and closed her eyes as she tried to gather her thoughts.
"It's Conner isn't it?" Kim spoke up, Kira opening up her eyes and looking up at her, "I've seen the way you act around him, it's kind of the way I acted around Tommy when we were younger."
"Yeah, I...I'm just worried," Kira muttered, "worried that he'll get hurt, that he won't be able to come back to us...to me, but mostly I…"
Kira gulped as she trembled slightly, Kim and Kat looked at each other as they took a guess at what she was about to say.
"Mostly I'm worried that I won't be able to tell him how I feel."
"Oh Kira," Kim whispered, kissing the top of her head, "how long have you felt like this?"
"Not long after we became rangers," Kira admitted with a sigh, "I was heading over here to train a bit with the others and I kind of sort of stumbled into a conversation that he was having with Dr. O."
"Oh?" Kat asked curiously.
"Yeah, he was worried that he wasn't a good enough leader and that he never would be," Kira explained, "we had just fought against Zeltrax and lost, horribly, and both Ethan and I were hurt so I could understand why he was upset."
"And this is when you started to fall for him?" Kim guessed with a soft smile.
"I was seeing a side of him I never seen before," Kira confirmed, "it was hard for me not to fall for him when I saw that he was more concerned that me and Ethan got hurt then that we lost."
"Well Kira," Kat said hugging her, "I can assure you that Conner will be back after his adventure."
"And once he's back, we're going to help you confess your feelings for him," Kim assured her, happy that her baby boy had someone like Kira to be there for him.
"Okay, let me wrap my head around this," Conner groaned shaking his head, "none of you, not any of the six of you, have ever heard of the power rangers?"
"It's like we said, that just doesn't sound familiar," Tommy replied frowning.
"Yeah it sounds kind of like one of those Saturday morning TV shows that kids would watch," Zack admitted with a shrug, Trini nodding in agreement.
The group had been sitting in his room for about half an hour and Conner had asked them about the power rangers, something that none of them ever heard about. What concerned him was the expression that Conner had as he paced back and forth, a look that was a mixture of confusion, concern, and anger. Running his hand through his hair Conner took a deep breath to calm himself down, something Tommy had taught him, and turned to face the other six.
"And you've never heard of Zordon and Alpha?" he asked, the group looking at each other.
"Nope," Jason answered.
"The Putty Patrol?"
"That sounds kind of stupid," Trini replied.
"Goldar?"
"Not ringing a bell," Billy replied pushing his glasses up.
"And none of you have heard of Rita Repulsa?"
"We kind of already answered that question back at the Juice Bar," Zack reminded him.
"I'm not even gonna ask about Lord Zedd," Conner groaned, sitting down on the bed.
Kimberly frowned and started to rub his back comfortingly, the suppose to be pink ranger feeling a weird motherly connection to him. Tommy joined in, patting his shoulder and giving it a small squeeze as Conner bit his thumb while he thought about what he had just learned. He was in the past, but not just any past but a past that didn't have any power rangers. So how was he suppose to get the powers of the White Tiger Coin?
"I'm sorry that we're not being much help here man," Tommy apologized, Conner shaking his head and standing up.
"It's not your fault Tommy," he assured him walking over to the window.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you care so much about these power rangers?" Billy asked curiously.
"Ugh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Conner admitted shaking his head.
"Well you never know unless you tell us," Kimberly pointed out.
"I...it's complicated okay," Conner explained.
"The way I see it you asked us these questions for a reason," Jason reasoned walking over to him, "and we want to help but if you can't tell us then we can't help."
Conner sighed once again and looked out the window towards the mountains that the Command Center would be in. He knew that it was a long shot but he had no other options to go with. Plus he really didn't feel like walking all the way there.
"Alright I'll tell you," he agreed with a nod, "and I'm sorry, but in order for you to fully understand we're going to need to go somewhere else."
"Where do we need to go now?" Billy asked with interest.
Conner turned back around to the window and pointed out it towards the mountains, determination shining in his eyes.
"To the mountains, there's something out there that I need to check out," he told them, "with any luck, it will be there."
The group looked at each other, all of them mentally debating if they should go or not when Tommy and Jason locked eyes. The two had a silent conversation that ended with a nod of their heads when Tommy stepped forward and placed his hand on Conner's shoulder.
"Alright Conner, we're with you."
"Um...slight problem though," Trini spoke up, "none of us can technically drive, we're all under sixteen."
"I'm not," Conner admitted pulling out his licence, "so as long as we don't get pulled over we should be fine."
"Why would it be a problem if we get pulled over?" Billy asked taking his licence, "as long as your licence is valid it should...why does this say your date of birth is nineteen eighty-six?"
"Because that was when I was born," Conner replied taking his licence back, "one of those things that I'll have to explain when we get there."
"So wait, you're like seven?" Kimberly asked confused.
"Well, the Conner of this timeline would be," he muttered rubbing the back of his neck, "look it's all really confusing and I'm going to have to ask you guys to keep an open mind with what I'm going to say."
The group looked at each other again, all of them having confused expressions this time but nod in agreement as they head out. After telling his mom that he would be back later Tommy was able to borrow his mom's car, which luckily had enough room for all seven of them, and Conner climbed into the driver seat. The ride there was quite, Conner pulling into the mountain range and following the trail upwards. After about an hour and a half later he came to a stop and climbed out of the car as he looked around as the others walked over to him.
"So why are we out here?" Zack asked looking around.
"Okay so here's the thing," Conner said turning to face them, "like I told you before I'm technically seven at this time, that is the Conner of this timeline is, I'm from a completely different timeline."
The teens all looked at him in shock, not sure if they should believe him but recalling that they promised to keep an open mind. Pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose Billy cleared his throat before speaking up.
"As much as I would like to believe that, scientifically that shouldn't be possible."
"And yet here I am Billy," Conner retorted walking over to him, "you saw my licence, you saw my date of birth."
"Man you could have just as easily made that yourself," Zack pointed out.
"I'm good at sports, not counterfeiting," he stated, "I promise you, I'm not making this up."
"I think we should give him a chance guys," Kimberly said coming to his defence, "I mean he did ask us to keep an open mind."
"Kim's right," Tommy agreed, "we're already out here so let's just hear him out."
Conner smiled at the two of them, giving them a nod and continuing.
"It gets even weirder from here, the timeline I come from, there's a group of heroes known as the power rangers, and the six of you were the beginning of that legacy."
The group all stood there in shock, none of them sure what to say at this proclamation.
"So what you're saying is...the six of us are heroes where you're from?" Kim asked frowning.
"Oh you're more than heroes," Conner replied smiling, "you're legends, Tommy here, trained me when I became a ranger."
"I trained you?" the supposed to be green ranger said grinning.
"As amazing as this all is," Jason interjected, "we're not heroes, we're just a bunch of teenagers."
"I have a hard time believing that from you Jason," Conner said looking at him, "tell me, how many times have you stood up for those who can't fight back?"
Jason found that he couldn't reply to that question, knowing full well that he's helped out a few kids who were being bullied. Conner patted his shoulder and turned to look at the path they were about to trek.
"I know you have more questions but I promise you, all your questions will hopefully be answered just up this path."
The group started up the path, following Conner closely. After what felt like a good hour the group came over the last hill and Conner felt his heart racing at what he saw. The Command Center standing there, true and proud, looking bright and pristine in the evening sun. The group looked at it in awe, never having seen this building before, and wondering just how long it's been there.
"What is this place?" Jason asked looking at the building.
"No kidding?" Trini whispered.
"This is the Command Center," Conner answered, "the place where the ranger legacy started."
"The door is shut tight," Tommy pointed out as he tried to open the door, "how are we supposed to get in?"
"Normally we'd have to have a power coin to get in," Conner explained walking over to the door, "and unfortunately none of us have one."
"So we can't get in?" Zack asked confused, "then why bring us up here?"
"Because even though we don't have any power coins, with any luck this will get us in," Conner replied holding up his arm to show them his bracelet, "This is my dino gem."
"And that's suppose to get us in here?" Billy questioned as Conner ran his hand over to door.
Conner didn't reply, running his finger down opening in the middle, trying to think of what he could do to get inside. As Tommy and Jason stood next to him, he was about to have them help him look around when his dino gem flash catching the teens off guard as the door opened up.
"Okay so that just happened," Trini said hesitantly walking over to the door.
"The door's open, so let's go in," Conner told them, heading inside before the others could say anything.
A million thoughts ran through his mind as he walked inside the main area of the Command Center. It hadn't been his first time at the sight of the Command Center, Tommy had taken them there to show them where it all started, but it was his first time inside of it. He was amazed at the sight before him as the others walked in behind him, it was just as Tommy had told them, the lights, the computer council in the center of the room, Zordon's energy tube, everything.
"It's just like he said it would be," he whispered looking around.
"Have you never been here before?" Jason asked confused.
"No this is the first time I've been here," Conner admitted, "the Command Center was destroyed before I became a ranger."
"What?" Kim gasped, "This place was destroyed?"
"Yeah it was originally destroyed by Rito and Goldar but it reformed for the next team, it was then destroyed by a space pirate known as Divatox and was never put back together," Conner explained sadly, "it's a shame really, this place looks amazing."
A door opened up and the teens turned around to see a blue, red, and gold robot walk in, looking around to see what was going until he spotted them.
"Aye yi yi yi, how did you get in here?" the robot asked in shock.
"Alpha!" Conner said running over to him.
"H-how do you know me?" Alpha asked confused.
"It's a long story Alpha," Conner laughed shaking his head.
"And a story I'm sure that we are all willing to listen to Conner," came a booming voice from behind him.
Spinning around, Conner's eyes went wide as he came face to face with the one being he never thought he'd get to meet.
"Zordon!"