A/N: Chapter 4. Includes Tommy's rescue after the island explosion, and the re-entrance of some old friends.

A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers once belonged to Saban, then they went to Disney and belong to Saban again.

Chapter 4 – Help from Old Friends

Monday, July 7, 2003

Just outside Angel Grove

"And we interrupt your daily programming for breaking news," the anchor said. "Approximately 15 minutes ago, the island renowned scientist Anton Mercer has been working on for the last four months was destroyed in an explosion."

The man watching the news report felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck. To the normal person, the news report wouldn't have mattered that much. But this man was a member of a very secret, very elite group of warriors called the Ninjetti, and they could always sense when one of their own was in trouble.

And this man, with cropped brown hair and a black and green clad t-shirt, could sense the Falcon was in trouble.

"Rita!" he shouted. "Come look at this! I think Tommy's in trouble!"

"Zeddy, you have some nerve interrupting my lunch!" a brunette snapped as she came into the room. "Did you say Tommy? As in Tommy Oliver? What's going on?"

"Listen," the man said as the woman resumed her report.

"According to initial reports, there was a spontaneous explosion, followed by an explosion in the lab, which destroyed both the lab and the island," the anchor said. "Wealthy scientist Anton Mercer and his two interns, Thomas "Tommy" Oliver and Terrance "Smitty" Smith were on the island, but it is unclear if any have survived. We will continue to keep you abreast of the situation."

The expression on Rita's face was one of shock. They understood via Dulcea that Tommy was going off on a dig, but to their knowledge, the guy who was mentoring him, Mercer, was not a guy usually to make mistakes. Something felt off about the whole situation.

"You're telling me that Tommy's going to die thanks to an explosion, an accident?" Rita said in shock. "No, it can't be. He can't end here."

"And he won't. I'm going to go save him and you, Finster and Selena are coming with me," Zedd said. "Finster might be able to heal some of the wounds he has endured. Perhaps he can also give us some information on what happened. This one smells off to me, that there's more than we know."

"Normally, I'd say you're crazy, Zeddy but I agree," Rita said. "I feel we can't let this die. We have to be the ones to do this. How are we going to get there though?"

"First, we have to make sure we bring everyone with us," Zedd said. "Finster, Selena, come here!"

Immediately, a short, well-built man with snow-white hair and wearing a jacket that most doctors might wear came plodding into the room. Behind him was a well-built woman with jet black hair and wearing a sleeveless white workout shirt; it was obvious from the sweat coming down her face that she'd been working out when she was called in.

"You called, Zedd?" Finster said.

"Indeed I did," Zedd said. "Something has happened. Here is what's going on and here is what we are going to do…"

100 miles off the coast, about 45 minutes later…

Tommy Oliver's hopes of survival were fading fast.

The second he hit the water after the island exploded, he was concerned about having to survive with all the creatures at sea who could do harm to him.

And not an hour in, he had come across a humongous great white shark who was also very hungry. Tommy had tried to outswim the creature, but within a few minutes had been surrounded by his friends.

His hopes were dead…gone…buried, and about to be eaten by this cluster of sharks who were hungry for their next meal. He could somehow feel evil laughing at him as he waited for the end.

That was when suddenly, laser fire rang out and struck the sharks one by one, diverting their attention away from Tommy. In the next moment, a razor-sharp tail swung around and struck every single one of the sharks, puncturing a hole in each of them and sending them to the bottom of the sea, dead on impact. Then, he heard a familiar roar that just about knocked what breath he had left out of him.

There, about 20 feet to his right, was none other than the Dragonzord. Tommy gasped; his old friend had saved his life, at least for the time being.

In the next instant, a tractor beam shot from the Dragonzord's chest, enveloped Tommy, taking him and the black box that he was holding out of the dangers of the sea. After that, Tommy's world went black.

Inside the Dragonzord, about 30 minutes later

When Tommy finally came to, he woke up with a massive headache and with the feeling that he had been run down by a truck and needed the license plate. He vaguely heard voices, but had no idea who they belonged to. He wanted to get out of bed and find out who was piloting his old friend, but his head hurt so bad that he willed himself to stay where he was.

That was when the door opened and saw someone he recognized…and someone he really didn't.

"Finster," Tommy said, "I'm inside the Dragonzord, right?"

"Correct, Dr. Oliver," Finster said. "Does any part of your body hurt?"

"I've got a massive, massive headache, and I feel like I need to vomit," Tommy said. "I feel like someone ran me over with a Mack truck."

"I don't want to speculate but I think I may know what's wrong," Finster's friend said as she came over with a bucket…just in time too as Tommy had to vomit right then. "It's nice to meet you on much more friendly terms, Dr. Oliver. I'm Selena, one of the original Ninjetti. I was the White Tiger Ranger before you got the powers."

"May I ask a question?" Tommy said. "Were you Scorpina, by chance? Is that what you meant by meeting me on much more friendly terms?"

"Good guess. That Ph.D. came in handy," Selena said. "Yes, Vile and his wife corrupted me into that horrible monster."

"Adrianna Repulsa, right?" Tommy said. When Selena nodded, he asked, "Is she dead, just like her husband?"

"I'm afraid not," Selena said. "In fact, she can be very much a threat to your dream, and to peace on this planet, but that is for another time. Right now, Finster and I want to look at you to see if you have any more damage to your body. I have medical training as I have a doctor's license here on Earth too, so I know what I'm doing."

Tommy nodded absently as he just lay back and prepared for whatever was coming next. He could tell this part of the Zord was reserved for a medical wing…all sorts of medicines and treatments lined the shelves.

"What do you remember about what just happened, Tommy?" Finster said.

"Barely anything, except an explosion, saving the rocks, and almost getting eaten by a predator and his friends," Tommy said.

After about an hour, which seemed like ten hours, Selena finally said, "You're a lucky, lucky man, Dr. Oliver. You may have a slight concussion, you had a lot of water in you, and your insides got busted up a bit, but that's nothing a couple days off won't fix."

"Other than that, I'm OK?" Tommy said.

"Yeah, believe it or not…I was expecting quite a bit worse," Finster said. "You could have died right there if we hadn't come and saved you."

"I personally think that island didn't just explode by accident, but that's for another time," Selena said. "I've got some very interesting readings here that Rita and Zedd printed out right before we got to the island that you may want to see some day. Data that may build your case for getting the Crane back."

"Give me the gist for now," Tommy said. "What do you think it might be?"

"We suspect it may be a missile that hit the island…and if it was, then it was a very small but very powerful missile; one that could destroy things for miles," Finster said.

"There is certain cloaking around the origin that keeps us from detecting where the origin of the missile might be, but that type of missile we suspect is only used by some of the most evil creatures this galaxy has ever seen," Selena said. "They use that missile when they are absolutely desperate to stop someone. You should be very proud of yourself, Dr. Oliver; the fact that someone would use that missile on you should be considered a compliment."

"I'm not a threat to anyone; why can't people just leave me alone?" Dr. Oliver said. "I'm not even a damn Ranger anymore, at least not technically. If a monster was to attack me today I'd probably get skewered, like I almost did by that shark. All I want is to find the truth and get my girl back some day."

"Should we tell him what we think is the truth?" Finster whispered to Selena.

"No, he'll figure it out for himself sooner or later. We'd almost ruin the moment. Besides, it's just a theory on our part," Selena said.

Selena then turned to Tommy and said, "I have no doubt that you'll get your girl back. But I have my theories on why you were taken from each other in the first place, and my theory is that it has everything to do with you and the Rangers."

"It's just a theory…and you don't know the whole truth, is that correct?" Tommy said.

"No, we don't," Finster said. "Master Vile indicated when we were staying on M-51 during the Machines' attack on Earth that his wife may have been up to something, but even he was not sure. Adrianna can be very cryptic about the way she does business."

"But we think the reason you two were taken from each other, no matter who did it, had something to do with the Rangers," Selena said. "We also think the perpetrator of that may have been behind that explosion, no matter who it may be."

"Some of us ex evildoers like the former Divatox think that whoever was behind that letter caused Forever Red too," Finster said.

"You know, for a brief few moments as I went back to Boston after Forever Red, I thought about it but kind of dismissed it as a coincidence," Tommy said. "Maybe it…wasn't a coincidence? All I know is that if your theories are correct this person is dead when he or she gets in my sight."

Suddenly, Tommy smiled as two more people entered and smiled right back at him.

"Hey Rita, hey Zedd," Tommy said. "Looks like you guys brought the whole crew with you."

"Once a Ninjetti, always a Ninjetti, Tommy," Rita said. "I see you and Selena have been re-acquainted."

"Yeah, she's real nice," Tommy said. "I had no idea she was the original White."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she was the original owner of Saba and the Tigerzord as well; your version of the Tigerzord was not near as powerful as hers was, as hers was Ninjetti. I mean no offense, however if anything you were nothing more than a caretaker. You did that well though," Rita said. "Right before she turned into Scorpina, Selena lent some of her energy to Zordon; she had that ability because Zordon was her older brother. That's how you got those powers."

"Wise move; you're a smart one," Tommy said. "Then again, I got that sense when I first met you after Rita had me on her side for a bit. And if my Zord was nowhere near hers, then I can only imagine what hers was like because mine kicked ass."

"For the record, thank you for taking care of my powers," Selena said. "Part of the reason I left after that whole fiasco with Adam was that I wasn't going to fight a White Ranger, since I was one myself. Sort of like a brother or sisterhood, if you will. You could say that Zedd fired me, but if he did it was for our own good."

"Yeah, I get the brother or sisterhood part, in fact I'm still close with my college fraternity brothers, and, well…Forever Red. Now, I assume one of you is the Dragon, that's how my old friend is back?" Tommy continued.

"That would be me," Zedd said. "I was actually the original holder of the Green Power Coin, and my spirit animal is the Dragon. I have two Zords, one is my old Ninjetti Zord which resembles the Red Dragon but is green, and this one as well as an auxiliary Zord."

"Do you think that's why that old weapon you had while we fought you resembled a dragon?" Tommy said.

"Yeah, I think it had a little something to do with that, and thanks for destroying that by the way," Zedd said. Tommy nodded as if to say 'you're welcome.'

"We put this on autopilot to go back to Reefside, in case you're wondering," Rita said. "We're almost there. You should probably rest at home for a couple days."

"I'd ask what your animal was Rita, but I think that's best served for another time, since we're almost home," Tommy said. Rita nodded as she and Zedd left, once again leaving Tommy with Finster and Selena.

"There is one thing I want to say to you before you depart and go home…that is, until we meet again," Selena said. "Never, ever refuse your heart. It will never steer you wrong. And one last point…never give up on love. True love will always survive, no matter how far you are apart from the one that really loves you."

10 minutes later

As soon as the Dragonzord hit the harbor and Tommy was helped out of his Zord, he was nearly tackled by Hayley Ziktor in joyous celebration.

"Hayley, easy now, I'm not quite myself just yet," Tommy said.

"I don't care, buster," Hayley smirked. "I almost lost you for good, so even if you're not at 100 percent, that will do for now."

"Right now all I want to do is go home and sleep for 10 hours," Tommy said, as he produced a black box. "The only thing I remember is the explosion, the rocks that I saved and almost getting eaten by a great white. I'm a lucky man and I just want this day to be over."

"Well, then, let's go home," Hayley said. "Besides, I've got a couple of people I met recently who called me during this whole fiasco…and they'd really like to see you."

"Is my Jeep where I left it?" Tommy said.

"Yeah it is but you won't be driving it. I will," Hayley said smirking. "You're in no position to drive at this point."

Ten minutes later, they finally got to the parking garage, and right as they reached Tommy's jeep, Tommy noticed a certain Cadillac Escalade that was tinged blue with pink stripes laced around it. It almost made him do a double take.

Then, before he knew it, he was nearly tackled by a pink blur.

"Katherine, get off him now!" a familiar voice shouted. "He just went through a traumatic near death experience. Give him room."

No way, it couldn't be….

But Tommy smiled as he saw his old friend Billy surprisingly standing there.

"Billy, how long have you been back? The last time I saw you was 1997!" Tommy said.

"I've been back only six months, and Kat and I had a rendezvous four months ago. Cestria and I tried, but it just didn't work," Billy said. "I got better in my time on Aquitar, but my true home and destiny was here. When Hayley called me, I knew nothing about her, but when she mentioned you, I knew I had to help. So that's why Kat and I are here."

"You know, six years ago when I started my quest, I told Dimitria that I didn't want any of my teammates to know, that this was my fight. That all changes now. Somebody is blowing up islands and resurrecting Serpentera to get at me, so now this is your fight as well," Tommy said.

"And that quest is?" Billy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Very simply, to get my Crane back and then to come after the moron who was dumb enough to cross us in the first place," Tommy said. Billy and Kat fist bumped; since they'd got back together, they hoped Tommy hadn't forgotten about Kimberly. "That's for another time, but I need to go back home and I need to rest. However, when I'm a little better, I'll tell you about all my travails and where you guys come in."

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003

The Oliver Home

Reefside, CA

Finally, after months of construction, it was all done…the new lab that Tommy and his friends had been working on.

Ever since Tommy had barely survived the island, his sixth sense (or was it Ranger sense) told him that things needed to move even more quickly than they were.

So, within the next month and a half, Hayley and Tommy…with some help from Finster and Billy, had all continuously worked together to help finish the lab so when trouble did come, Tommy would be ready and wouldn't be caught off guard.

"And there's the password. No one gets in without knowing it," Billy, who was currently working at NASADA and was an adjunct professor at Angel Grove University, said. "It's a good thing I found out about this, otherwise this may have taken even longer."

"No doubt about it," Hayley said. "Hey, I just thought of this, 2,750, guys."

"Ah yes, I almost did forget about that," Billy said (Hayley had brought him up to speed soon after the two had met about certain dates being milestones and what they meant). "Another day, another milestone completed. The finishing of the lab."

"Another bonus is that I have teacher conferences before the school year begins starting a week from today," Tommy said. "I think now that this is finished, it's important for you and Kat to hear how this thing started."

"Agreed, Tommy," Billy said. "Kat is out shopping with Tanya right now, but we'll be here for dinner tonight and we can talk about things and where we come into your quest. I'm impressed that you would fight for her, Tommy. A normal man would have given up a while ago."

"Yeah and maybe I should have quit then, but I'll put it this way; I can't. If I did then I'm not who you guys think I am."

Billy nodded, satisfied with Tommy's resolve. He was at full mental faculties once again and still had the same determination he'd obviously had six years ago.

A determination that, Billy hoped, would see him through any challenge put before Tommy.

TBC...