A/N: OK, so as of right now I've decided to extend this story by one chapter. This one includes the fate of Conner's child. The next chapter is the last battle itself, and then wedding at the last. The VR Troopers, who were referenced earlier on in the story, make a brief appearance here in this chapter.

A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers belonged to Saban, then Disney had them, now Saban has them again.

Chapter 34: Rescue

Saturday, April 9, 2005

Conner and Kira's apartment, near the campus of Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

"I got mine, I assume you guys got yours?" Conner asked. Conner and Kira were speaking with their old teammates; one in Reefside, one in New York City.

What he was referring to was the wedding invitation that everyone had waited for. Finally, it appeared everyone had gotten it, although the Dino kids were more than a little ticked off at the slowness of Dr. Oliver and Ms. Hart.

"Yeah, I got it. You know we wouldn't miss it, no matter how late these things got out," Ethan said.

"Now I know what Selena meant when she said Dr. O was always a little tardy with his timing back in the day," Trent said. "He's a school teacher and he still has it!"

"Hey, be careful guys!" Kira said. "He could be listening to us right now!"

Conner then looked at the invitation, and paused for a moment to reflect.

You are cordially invited

As Kimberly Ann Hart

And Dr. Thomas James Oliver

Join their lives in holy matrimony

Saturday, the 18th of February, 2006

At 4:30 p.m. PST

At St. Thomas' Church

740 Government Street

Angel Grove, CA, and broadcast throughout the universe

See you there, and may the Power protect you

"Conner, you there?" Ethan said.

"Yeah, I'm here man. Just looking at the invitation. Did you guys see the last line of the invitation?"

"Yeah I see it," Trent said. "Broadcast throughout the universe. This is big. Really big."

"And we're not even guaranteed to get there," Conner said. "We could still lose and that glorious day could be ruined. Everything we've worked for...comes down to this."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Ethan said. "We're not going to lose though, man. Power Rangers have never lost before."

"Until Adrianna is destroyed and my child is safe with me, I'm not going to rest easy," Conner said as Kira put a hand on his shoulder.

Indeed, there was a lot of pressure at stake, and the four past Reefside by a year could all feel it.

Not just the weight of the world on their shoulders, but the entire legacy was on the line. The fate of Conner's child hung very much in the balance as well.

"Keep yourselves in as good a shape as you can," Conner said. "I know everyone's busy but do not lose focus. My child needs me...needs US to be in as good a shape as possible."

"Selena runs me roughshod every day with workouts, she's ruthless and thank heaven for that," Trent said. "I'm in as good of condition as you can possibly be."

"Doing my best, man. Reefside Tech ain't easy, but I'm there for you, whatever you need."

Then Conner heard one of the more familiar female voices...one of the older ones, a voice of reason.

"She's not going to win, Conner, not after everything we've all been through in the last year or so," he heard the voice of Selena waft over his communicator.

For whatever reason, hearing it from her made him feel quite a bit better.

'Thank God she's for us and not against us,' Conner thought.

"When the time comes, Conner, we're going to kick her butt one last time and she'll wish she'd never heard of us," Selena said. "Just between you guys and me, even when I was my horrible alter ego, I never liked Adrianna."

"Is that right?" Kira said.

"Yep, true story," Selena said. "To be honest, speaking as someone who had evil in her blood for thousands of years, villains hate each other almost as much as we hated you guys. We didn't hate villains personally, it was mostly business. But Adrianna, I hated her personally too."

"And I hated her because she was as arrogant then as she is right now. Granted we're all arrogant, but she's a different sort of arrogant, the know it all type. Nothing is worse than a know it all who thinks they have all the answers, and she was that type," Selena said.

"Oh God, you're right about that. My calculus teacher last year...oh my God yes he was that type. Always had that shit eating grin on his face, always knew all the answers and he had a sadistic sense of humor too. I think he personally loved to see us fail so he could berate us," Ethan said.

Without having realized it, Conner had relaxed. This conversation with his friends had taken a lot of the pressure off that had been building since he got the wedding invitation earlier in the day.

When the day came for the final battle, he would be ready.

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Conner and Kira's apartment

By this time Conner was really focused. Razor sharp level of focus.

And he was really mad too...and so was Kira.

It was now approximately two months before his child was to be born. Not that he didn't know, but he had been reminded of it, and not in a pleasant way.

It turned out that just the previous day, apparently, Adrianna had a baby shower up on M-51 for the upcoming child. Many doers of evil were there to celebrate the incoming child, he'd seen it in his visions.

It had been a joyous occasion for her, as was to be expected. But the one part that set him off was at the end of those visions, she'd left him a message 'wish you were here.'

In the past, those types of visions had thrown him for a loop, and Kira too, but he was way beyond that now. Now, all it did was make him pissed off.

Not to mention more focused. He'd actually thrown himself into his work more. Until school was out, it was his escape, in a weird sort of way, from any sort of intimidation factor Adrianna could throw at him.

Which is why you couldn't blame Conner for suddenly feeling a little distracted when he saw Zordon show up...in his very apartment! This was the same guy who had laid out the rules for the first set of Rangers, including his mentor; keep your identities secret.

So what was up with this?

"I'm sure you're surprised to see me here," Zordon said, as he had Conner and Kira's full attention. "You are right, normally I wouldn't go out of the Dino Lair, but rest assured, no one gets in here while I am here."

Conner nodded. "So what's the problem?"

"It's not necessarily a problem, per se," Zordon said. "It's something I want the both of you to be thinking about in the next two months before this child is born."

"Let me start by saying that it will be a joyous occasion for us too when this child is born, just as it is for Adrianna. Just like it will be when we finally get rid of her for good."

"But have the both of you thought of the aftermath of the battle? Have you thought about actually taking care of the child?" Zordon said.

"I hadn't really thought about it because I've been keeping myself busy but you're 100 percent right," Conner said. "It would be very difficult for me to balance school, soccer, trying to find a job and taking care of my child."

"It would be very hard for me too. My music career would basically be out the window," Kira said.

"As joyous an occasion as any child is," Zordon said, "I also wish to allow the both of you to maintain a level of freedom and go on with your lives. Have you thought about adoption?"

"That would be a great way to go, if we could find somebody," Kira said. "Both of our sets of parents would go ballistic if they both found out we were taking care of a child in college. Even though it isn't mine, technically."

"I know of people who would take this child in," Zordon said. "If you choose to go the adoption route, which I personally feel is the best route, then I can take care of that problem."

"In the meantime, Conner, you're doing great. You have matured so much as a Ranger even since the time Mesogog was defeated and for that, I'm proud of you and the rest of your team," Zordon said. "Don't worry about the unknown. Whatever will be, will be."

Saturday, July 23, 2005, early afternoon

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

As one, they could all feel it.

Something was definitely going to happen today. Their Ranger senses were on edge.

It had definitely been that way throughout the latter half of spring and into the summer time, although things had been rather quiet on the actual battle front. Adrianna as expected hadn't attacked that much although there had been a few surprise attacks here and there simply to keep the Rangers on their toes.

But nothing like today.

Being a Power Ranger gave those associated with the Power a certain set of perks. One of those was the innate ability to sense when something was about to happen.

And, naturally, when something was about to happen, they all descended on the one place where they all knew they would at least be safe temporarily.

The Oliver House in the woods.

With the Rangers being based out of Southern California, about 90 percent of the Earth Rangers were fans of the Los Angeles Lakers. But despite the fact that they had a huge rivalry with the San Antonio Spurs over the years, the Spurs flag at the top of the Oliver home was like a comforting signal.

It had become their home away from home, so to speak.

In particular, there were strange vibes coming off Conner. The first thing that happened when Conner had arrived from LA was he had been immediately checked by Zordon and Hayley. Not long after that, when Cam from the Ninja Storm team had arrived, he had found the same abnormal vibes coming from M-51. He couldn't get a visual but they didn't need a visual to know what it meant.

It could mean only one thing. Today was the big day.

And it could come at any moment. The thought of that had put Conner on the edgest of edges.

The fact that Trey was trying to comfort him helped a little, but didn't ease the tension that much.

"Relax, Conner," Trey said. "I wasn't kidding when I told you that help was on the way."

"What sort of help?" Conner said.

"You'll see, Conner," Trey said. "You'll see."

"Guys, I managed to hack through M-51's force field," Cam said. "Conner, look."

Conner ran to the screen and gasped.

There, in Adrianna's arms was a child.

His child.

He couldn't believe it was finally here.

"It looks like...a boy," Conner said.

"It is a boy," Cam replied. "I know because I'm getting the same abnormal readings that are coming off of you, Adrianna, and even Kira to a lesser extent."

"This is a momentous occasion, Conner. Congratulations," Dulcea said.

"You know what this means, right guys?" Conner said. "Since that child is born, Adrianna could attack at a moment's notice. Everyone had better be on top of their game."

What he didn't realize was he was about to get some help he didn't know he had.

Two hours later

Adrianna Repulsa's palace

M-51 Galaxy

It had seemed like it had taken forever to get home from the doctor after her child's birth. But finally, she was home. Home, safe and sound...she thought, with her child.

For weeks, she'd had her minions put together a crib, and do other things to prepare for her new child. Her new child was beautiful, and she couldn't wait to start training him in the ways of evil.

The first thing she had to do was get Conner back to her side now. If she did that, she'd have an enormous advantage. That's why she hadn't named her child yet; she wanted Conner back for his input first.

As she put her child in his crib for the first time, she had to admit, her underlings had done a terrific job preparing for the child's arrival. No expense had been spared.

She'd have to make sure to thank them later.

She had just stepped out of the room when suddenly, five figures appeared behind her, preparing for an attack she never saw coming.

Before she knew what happened, she felt something strike the back of her head. She fell to the floor and before she knew it, felt a pair of boots to the back of her neck.

"Go get the child, all of you and let's get to Reefside. Hurry," a strong male voice barked.

A few moments later, when the man who spoke got word that the child had been secured, he kicked Adrianna one last time and said, "This is what happens when you kick a hornet's nest. Don't mess with something special. You mess with one superhero you mess with all of us. Teleport now, guys."

Reefside, CA, same time

Conner's eyes suddenly went wide, as did the eyes of all the Rangers as multicolored teleportation lights suddenly filled the Lair.

It couldn't be, he thought. Could his child finally be safe from that monster?

The answer was yes, as several figures touched down in the Lair. Some were easily recognizable depending on who you were, and some weren't.

"Phantom Ranger! Dex!" Tommy exclaimed, recognizing the two instantly. "You got the child!"

"Hello, Tommy, it's good to see you again," Dex said. "Yes, we got the child. It's funny, when Zordon called Phantom Ranger and I several months ago...and believe me, we were surprised too, we were only too eager to help. I especially owe you guys one for saving my planet."

"And to get the job done, we hired some help. Some superhero help, though not necessarily Power Ranger help," Phantom Ranger said. "She never saw it coming. Like I just told her, you kick the hornet's nest, you get all of us."

"Dex I get, but who else did you hire?" Tommy asked.

"These guys. They grew up like all of you did, but I knew when I asked them that they'd help. Come on out, guys," Phantom Ranger said.

Immediately, three figures, largely unknown to the Power Ranger world, but ones that Hayley knew immediately, stepped out of the shadows.

"Ryan! Kaitlin! JB!" Hayley exclaimed, tears in her eyes at the three VR Troopers that now stood before all the Rangers. "You guys did it again. I can't believe it!"

"I can't believe it either," Ryan Steele said. "But when Dex called us and asked for our help, we couldn't say no. After all, Hayley is one of us, which makes Conner part of us too."

"Zordon of Eltar, Power Rangers of Earth, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Professor Hart wanted to meet you at some point, but we never got the chance because Grimlord and that mess," JB Reese added. "We don't have powers anymore, but it's good to finally be doing business with you."

Conner, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief for the moment. His child was home, safe and sound.

Kira threw her arms around him lovingly, knowing he'd be in a better mood than he was a few minutes ago.

"Have you decided what to name him yet?" Kira asked.

"I have," Conner said.

Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you wouldn't mind. Thanks. Next chapter, Conner names the child, plus the final battle.