Back in time
Chapter 9
In the Command centre, Jason had a very big dilemma. He was trying to get changed and wash some of the dirt off, but he couldn't look at Kira's body, and he got extremely grossed out if he accidently touched it. He was currently struggling with putting on the bra that Kira had left in her room, as he was beginning to notice the discomfort that came from having no bra on. Eventually, he gave up and pulled out a yellow sports bra similar to ones he'd seen Kim wearing at the gym and pulled that on. Once he thought it was in place, he opened his eyes and looked down to check, only to freeze when he saw the black and blue bruises covering the majority of Kira's torso.
"What the hell?" He whispered, moving over to the mirror and looking at the mass of bruises, noticing that only small portions of Kira's skin remained unmarked. He looked at her arm and saw multiple hand prints on both arms, where it looked like someone had forcefully grabbed her multiple times, the highest bruise being on her shoulders and the lowest being just below her elbow. He turned and looked at her back, seeing a cut extend from the lower left to the middle of her back. "What happened to you Kira?" He asked, frowning at the injuries as he registered the dull pain radiating from her ribs.
He quickly pulled on the rest of the clothes Kira had there and walked back to the command room, trying to act normal in case Kira's teammates didn't know about her injuries. As he got there, he saw that the others were already waiting for him, Conner and Trent grumbling about being stuck inside again.
"Right. Kira, sorry, Jason, told me a bit of what happened. Does someone want to give me a bit more detail?" Dr O asked, giving the Red and White Dino Thunder rangers a look that clearly meant shut up.
"We were training when Zeltrax and a monster attacked us. He called it Brainasaur. During the fight, some of the Mighty Morphin lot came and helped, I was fighting the putties with Kim and Zack. Conner, Trent, Kira and Jason were fighting Zeltrax and the monster. I don't know exactly what happened, but it somehow made Kira and Jason switch minds." Ethan said, still looking confused, but slightly amused at the same time.
"Trent, what happened?" Dr O asked.
"The monster let off this beam from a gem on its head, and it hit Kira and Jason. He tried to fire it again, but it just blasted the floor. It blasted us back and knocked us out of morph. When we looked up, Kira and Jason seemed to be really unsteady, and Kira answered a question for Jason. It switched their minds somehow." Trent said, still looking slightly confused.
"Zordon, have you ever heard of a monster that can switch people's minds?" Dr O asked, avoiding looking at the yellow clad teen.
"I have heard of potions and future technologies that can displace a being's mind in another's body, but not a monster. Do we know who created this monster?" Zordon asked.
"It had to be Zeltrax. It looked like a dinosaur, and the gem looked like our Dino gems." Conner said, making Dr O freeze.
"What do you mean it looked like a Dino gem?" He asked.
"Yeah, it looked like the gems when we found them in your lab, but it was clear. It didn't even look white, it was just, clear." Ethan said, making Dr O's head fall.
"That makes this more difficult." He said.
"What do you mean?" Jason asked, still frowning at the feminine voice that came out of him.
"A few years ago, not long after the mission to the moon-" He started, only to get interrupted.
"Mission to the moon?" Jason asked, looking more confused.
"In your future. Some red rangers teamed up and went to the moon to defeat what remained of the machine empire. Also in your future." He said, seeing more confusion in Kira's eyes, before he reminded himself that it wasn't Kira. "Anyway, after the mission to the moon, I came back to Angel Grove on an archaeology trip and found what seemed to be a meteor, not far from here. What caught my attention was the readings it gave out. Andros, the red Space Ranger, also your future, gave me a device that detected power similar to the power in your coins, ranger power. I took it home and analysed it further, and when I dug into it slightly, I found 3 gems, 3 crystal clear gems which gave off the same energy as a ranger's morpher. Zeltrax must have found one of the gems, but it is in the wrong time and place. It hasn't fully connected to the morphing grid."
"So how did they gain their colours?" Conner asked, leaning against a console.
"You guys. When I took them to Reefside and began the teaching job, the gems found you, and changed colours to match your attitudes and personalities, giving you your ranger colours." He said. "They were already attached to the morphing grid, which I think is due to their proximity to here, and the white and black gems were connected to them, which also tied them to the morphing grid."
"So what does it mean for Zeltrax to have one, and before it's attached to the grid?" Ethan asked, making Dr O sigh and look at Zordon.
"Any ideas Zordon?" He asked, clearly showing that he didn't know.
"The gems will still hold their power, even if not connected to the grid. It seems to be unstable, not having bonded with an individual. In its current state, it is possible for the individual it is destined for to be bonded to it, but they would have to touch the gem." Zordon said, which only made the Dino Thunder teens more confused.
"But none of us can switch minds. Our powers are linked to the dinosaur the gems replicate." Ethan said, still frowning.
"In this state, the gems haven't chosen their power yet. The dinosaur DNA is embedded in the meteor, and the gems haven't absorbed it yet. So its powers are unknown." Dr O said.
"But what about the white and black gems? They're in Reefside and not in a meteor." Trent said.
"Not meteors, but crystals. The black gem already absorbed the Brachiosaurus DNA when we found it from the crystal it was in, and Mesagog had already altered the White gem by the time you bonded with it Trent, so we don't know where that one got it's DNA from." He said, crossing his arms. "But now we have to find a way to get the gem away from Brainasaur."
"Let's hope Kira's having better luck at school." Conner whispered to Trent as they began to suggest ideas.
Meanwhile, at Angel Grove High, Tommy, Zack, Kim and Kira in Jason's body ran into the building just in time. The bell rang as soon as they rushed through the doors and they quickly sped to their classroom, Tommy dragging Kira along as he did.
"Just try to act like Jason." He hissed before they opened the door and quickly sat down.
"Where have you guys been?" Trini asked, frowning at the 4 teens. "We were supposed to meet up before school."
"Long story. We'll explain later." Zack replied as Miss Appleby came into the room.
Kira spent the day following Tommy from classroom to classroom and trying not to think about what was going on as she attempted to write notes for Jason. She tried to act like Jason, but considering that she didn't know a great deal about the red ranger from this time, and what she did know didn't paint him in a good light, she had a feeling that she wasn't fooling anyone.
"Hey, Jason." A voice called, making Kim elbow Kira to remind her who needed to answer, as they walked towards their lockers.
"Oh no. It's Bulk and Skull." She muttered to her as they turned to face the two boys. "What do you two want?"
"We wanted to talk to Jason." The bigger boy said, crossing his arms. "So Jason, you think you're so good at karate, don't you?"
"Umm…. Where are you going with this?" Kira asked, not knowing who the boys were, and so not knowing how to respond to them.
"Well, we want to prove to everyone that we are the best at karate in this school!" He said, making Kim and Kira share confused looks.
"Ok…." She replied. "Good luck with that."
"Skull and I challenge you to a fight!" He declared, making Kira realise that it was Bulk talking.
"A fight? I'm not really that big on fighting people who can't hold their own." She said, making Kim try to hold her laughter as they turned to walk away. Bulk and Skull obviously weren't happy with that answer, and tried to swing at Kira from behind, only for her to jump out of the way, the strength in Jason's legs making her move further than she thought, as Bulk and Skull went flying past and into the trash cans in front of them, both landing upside down in them.
"Well, looks like you two need more practice." Kim said as they laughed and walked away. They reached the door, when a shout from Tommy made them turn around.
"Guys! We have to go." He said, running over with the rest of the rangers. "Brainasaurus is back. We need to teleport to the command centre."
"Teleport?" Kira asked, looking weary.
"Ok Jason, what is going on? You've been acting strange all day." Trini said, crossing her arms.
"I concur. You have been acting very abnormal." Billy said, frowning through his glasses.
"Ok, short version. Brainasaur zapped Kira and Jason, and switched their minds." Tommy said as he herded them out of the building and around the corner.
"What do you mean switched their minds?" Trini asked as Billy's eyes widened.
"You're Kira?" He whispered, making Trini realise what they meant.
"Yes, now can you explain how the hell I teleport?" She asked in near desperation. Zack grabbed her hand and placed it on his shoulder.
"Just keep hold of me." He said, lifting his arm and pressing a button on his watch. The rest copied his movements and they vanished in multi-coloured lights. They reappeared again in the command centre and saw the Dino Thunder team stood in the middle of the command centre, Jason in Kira's body standing as far away from Dr O as he could get.
"Jason?" Trini asked, looking at Kira's body. Jason gave a slight wave pushing some of Kira's hair back.
"How the hell do you girls manage with all this hair?" He asked, brushing it back again.
"Just the girls?" Tommy asked, as Dr O raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you obviously got fed up with it, cause it's as short as it can get in the future." He snapped with a gesture towards Dr O.
"Why are you so snappy?" Zack asked, only for a deep laugh to make them all turn, looking at where Jason's body was doubled up with laughter.
"Why are you laughing Kira?" Ethan asked, thinking that the mind swap had done something to her mind.
"Cause I know why he's being snappy." She replied, standing up straight. "It's almost that time of the month." The two other females in the room, Billy and Dr O all showed faces of understanding, Dr O having a big smirk appear on his face.
"What time of the month?" Trent asked, frowning in confusion.
"Kira's about to start her period, and since Jason is in her body….." Kim said, trailing off as the rest of the rangers in the room showed faces of disgust.
"If you have finished." They all jumped and spun around when Zordon spoke. "Please, behold the viewing globe." They turned and looked at the globe, seeing Brainasaur charging through the park, people running in all directions to try and get away.
"I'm going to kill that bastard." Kira spat, her words sounding slightly more menacing in Jason's low voice.
"You can't. He has a Dino gem on his head." Ethan said.
"Then what are we going to do? We can't destroy the gem, and we can't let him run around with the gem in his head!" Conner exclaimed, throwing a soccer ball between his hands.
"Conner, what's the rule about soccer balls?" Dr O asked, not even turning to see the Red Ranger jump and gently put the ball on the floor.
"They're only allowed outside and away from any equipment." He grumbled, standing back up and ignoring the smug looks his teammates were giving him.
"But he's got a point Dr O." Kira said. "How are we supposed to defeat Brainasaur without destroying the gem?"
"We have to find a way to immobilise him and take the gem out of his head." Dr Oliver said. "Since it hasn't absorbed the dinosaur DNA, it can be easily manipulated. And I think there is a way to get it. Zordon, is there a way to match the energy signature of the gem in this time to one of ours?"
"There may be a way. Alpha, please bring the scanner." Zordon said, making the red robot grab a scanner from a corner of the command centre.
"Here it is Zordon." Alpha said, passing the device to Ethan.
"This is an energy scanner. It can be altered to match 2 identical energy signatures, such as the ones from the same gem from 2 different times." Zordon said, making Billy and Ethan begin tweeking with the machine.
"We should have it ready soon. In the meantime, I think the rest of you should get going." Ethan said, nodding to his teammates. "Keep Brainasaur occupied."
"But what is the point of this?" Zach asked. "What is the good in knowing which gem he is using?"
"The gem hasn't bonded to anyone yet, and like I said, in its current state, it is easily manipulated." Dr O said. "We need to find out which gem it is and make sure that only the person it will bond with touches it to avoid the risk of it bonding to the wrong person."
"But how do we get it?" Kim asked with a frown.
"We'll figure that out as we go." Conner said, standing next to the other rangers. "Let's go."