The Terran Rangers/X-Men by Heather Ray (short books for teens TXT) 📕

be a Power Ranger! And why is Kim wearing the Yellow Ranger costume?"

Tommy's eyes widened at the last question. "She never told you?" he asked incredulously.

"Told me what?" asked Trevor angrily. Tommy sighed to himself.

"This is going to take a while," he started, walking over to both Kims, "and since everyone else is out cold, it looks like we have the time. This is February in the year 1997. You've been transported into the past. Your last memory was of the gold light, right?"

"Right."

"What was the date of that, if you don't mind?"

"Uh...February 18, 2007. You expect me to believe that this is ten years in the past?!"

"Actually, it's twelve years from your time. You see, that golden light sent you to the Astral Plane, where a being called Onslaught bonded with your body, creating the super villain called Solar. You have existed as Solar for two years now."

Trevor looked absolutely dumfounded, and Tommy sighed again.

"Okay, maybe I should start from the VERY

beginning. I'm Tommy Oliver, and I believe you've met my older self."

Trevor's eyes widened, and his chin dropped.

"I knew you looked familiar!" he declared. "So, you're a Power Ranger, Tom?"

"Yes. And so is Kimberly, your...wife." Tommy had difficulty uttering the last word.

Trevor looked back to see his injured wife. His eyes glassed over slightly as he once again knelt beside her and stroked her golden-brown hair.

"What happened to her?" he asked quietly, looking up at Tommy. "Who did this to her?"

Tommy looked down to the stone floor, not wanting to look at Trevor's pained eyes. He really does love her,

he thought, I can't tell him the truth! If someone told me that I'd caused Kim any harm whatsoever, I'd probably jump off the nearest cliff! How would he take it?

"Uh," said Tommy aloud, "Onslaught did it. Don't worry, though, she should be okay. As long as we get her back to Earth pronto."

"So, what are we waiting for?" asked Trevor, rising to his feet, "Let's go!"

"We can't! Not without Nate and Kimberly."

Trevor arched one eyebrow, and looked to the throne. "Is that Nate?"

"Yes."

"And that girl there is the Kimberly you're referring to, right? Or are there more Kims running around here?"

"No, that's her."

"So why aren't we leaving?! They're both right here!!"

Tommy looked at Trevor as he thought, and mentally slapped his forehead. Of course! Why should we wait for them? If we bring their bodies to Earth with us, when they get done in the Astral Plane, they'll return to their bodies anyway! Duh! But, how did they get here? I was kidnapped by Holocaust, but I don't know about the others. Could they have teleported?

"Billy?" asked Tommy into his wrist communicator. "Do you read me?"

Since Onslaught was busy battling Nate and Kimberly in the Astral Plane, he was no longer keeping a psionic barrier around the Moon Palace. Also, Zedd and Rita were gone too, along with their magic shields. There was nothing to prevent the signal from reaching the CAC.

^Tommy?^

cried Billy's voice in shock. ^You're alive!^

^We've been really worried about you!^

said Alexis' voice. ^Your time was up over an hour ago!^

"Yeah, I know. Kim and Annie managed to save me."

^How are you, Bro?^ asked Jason's voice.

"None the worse for wear," he said. "Well, except for a few minor injuries."

^How 'bout Kim and the others?^

asked Aisha's voice.

"Well, Ki--uh, Annie is really hurt. Trevor's fine, and I think Nate and Kim are okay. They're fighting Onslaught on the Astral Plane. They're unconscious. Billy, can you teleport us back?"

The communicator was silent for a few moments, and then Billy's voice returned.

^Yes, I think I can. The shield surrounding the Moon is completely gone. Even the weaker shields Zedd and Rita usually have up are gone. It should be as easy as falling off a log. But, I don't know if the teleporter has enough power to bring back the Thunderbird.^

"What's the Thunderbird doing on the Moon?" asked Tommy in surprise.

^Solar had a psionic shield surrounding the entire Moon. The only way for them to reach the Moon without being detected was to fly there in a ship equipped with psionic cloaks.^

"Can I fly Kim's zord?"

^No, you can't. It will only activate to the voice-print of the Yellow Ranger.^

^But, didn't you create a device to let anyone fly the machine?^

asked Katherine's voice. ^After all, that's how Annie was able to fly the ship. Right?^

^Well, it's not as simple as that. I device was...specially designed for Annie. It won't work with Tommy. Anyway, Tommy, I'll teleport the five of you first, and then wait for the transporter to build up enough power to bring the Thunderbird home. Prepare to teleport.^

Tommy turned off the communicator and put his helmet back on. He then carefully lifted the teenaged Kimberly into his arms and walked over to the throne. Trevor, who had heard the entire conversation, gently lifted his wife in like manner, and stood on the other side of the throne. The five people vanished in beams of red, blue, yellow, gold, and aqua light. In seconds, the five rematerialized in the Central Access Complex, with Nate still sitting on Zedd's throne.

"Oops," said Billy sheepishly, "I guess Nathan's signal intermixed with the throne he was sitting on."

"Better than having him collapse on the floor," said Adam, as he and Rocky lifted Nate off the throne and laid him on one of the cots. Tommy gently lay Kim on another one.

"Mister Monroe, please place Annie on this bed here," said Billy, pointing to the med unit. Trevor did as he was asked, wondering why Billy called her "Annie"

instead of "Kimberly"

. Billy immediately un-morphed her, and began scanning her injuries with several devices, under Trevor's surveilance. He also managed to keep her identity hidden from the others by shielding her face with the brain-scanner.

Adam and Rocky watched over Kim and Nate, who lay motionless, but uninjured.

Kat, Aisha, Alexis and Jason were unmorphed, sitting in a corner out of everyone's way. Aisha had bandages wrapping her stomach, and Jason's arm was in a sling. Katherine had a few scratches, and Alexis was slightly bruised, but both were otherwise unharmed. Tommy walked over to them, removing his helmet.

"What happened to you guys?" he asked quietly, taking a seat beside Jason.

"Holocaust," answered Alexis in a low growl.

"Yeah," said Jason. "He got me good on the shoulder. Aisha had a serious cut on her side, and Zack was in a coma. He's asleep now, though. Billy fixed his most grievous injuries, gave him a clean bill of health and teleported him home. He's out of the danger zone, and both his parents work late. When they get home, they'll find Zack sleeping peacefully. I think he also had a broken leg, but the med-unit regenerated the bone. He may limp a little for a day or two, but other than that, he's fine."

"Wow," said Tommy, "that med-unit is impressive. Good thing Zordon left it for us."

"Tommy," asked Katherine quietly, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, compared to what you guys went through, I'm fine. I broke a couple of ribs, but so long as I'm morphed, I can manage. When Billy gets done with Annie, he can fix me up."

"But what about your powers?" Kat continued, "Solar was draining your powers in the same way that Zedd drained Kimberly's. You were pretty banged up, too."

"Trust me, I'll live," said Tommy with a smile.

Adam and Rocky then came over to them.

"Okay, Tommy," he said. "You said you had broken ribs, right? Well, Annie is in critical condition, so she probably won't be off the med-unit for a while. I'll try to mend your ribs with the hand-held regenerator. I'll warn you, though, it takes longer than the med-unit, and it hurts."

"It can't be worse than having your rib scratch at your lungs," muttered Tommy, following Adam to another cot. He un-morphed, and suddenly collapsed to his knees. Adam and Rocky both helped him up, while the others stared in surprise. Jason, Alexis, and Kat leaped to their feet and ran to check on their leader. Aisha would have, but her injury still inhibited most movement.

"What happened?" asked Alexis.

"The only thing keeping him up was the Zeo shard!" said Adam, running a scanner over Tommy's heart. "Somehow, it charged his system, like a rush of adrenaline. When he un-morphed, that surge of power faded, making him extremely weak. But, he's stable. He'll be okay."

Alexis, Katherine, and Jason relaxed a little at Adam's reassurance. They returned to their seats beside Aisha, feeling helpless and frustrated.

"Man, I hate waiting," muttered Jason.

"There's nothing we can do to help," said Kat, gently taking his hand. "We can't join the fight against Onslaught."

"She's right," said Alexis, running her hands through her red hair. "It's all up to Nathan and Kimberly now."

Chapter Twenty-Two

The energy barrage Onslaught released on Kimberly and Nate managed to push them off the cliff. Kim screamed as she fell, but Nate stayed silent, his eye glowing yellow. Both of them slowed significantly, and landed safely on the ground below.

"Nice trick," said Kim, helping Nate to his feet, "I didn't realize we could use conventional TK here."

"It takes a lot of concentration," he said, rubbing his temples.

Kimberly looked up to see the massive form of Onslaught on the cliff. It began glowing its trademark gold, and slowly descended. Nate grabbed Kimberly by the arm, and together they once again began to run.

"What do we do now?" asked Kim.

"You said Zordon was trapped on the Astral Plane, right?"

"Yes." answered Kim.

"Is he a telepath? Does he have mental powers?"

"I don't know. He's a big floating head!"

"Okay. Have you ever contacted him telepathically?"

"Uh...no. He left Earth long before I became a telepath. Why?"

"I'm gonna be honest with ya, Kim. I don't think we'll be able to defeat him without help, and I don't have any telepathic allies in this universe whom I can contact easily. Is Zordon the only one you know who has access to the Astral Plane?"

"Yes. But I don't know if I can contact him from here!"

They continued to run, and the distance between them and Onslaught increased. Onslaught began hurling psionic rays at the two retreating figures.

"We're running out of options, here. Do you think you can reach Zordon from the real world?"

"Billy probably could. Is there