The Terran Rangers/X-Men by Heather Ray (ebook e reader .txt) 📕

he screamed telepathically. *You have no idea what you're doing!!*

But Nate ignored Billy's telepathic pleas. He glared at Holocaust, and his eyes began to glow yellow. The Zeo Crystal suddenly launched itself through the air, its sharp end ripping through Holocaust's outer armor through the back. Holocaust screamed in pain, as his entire body began to glow blinding white. The bright light also encompassed Shadow, Nate, and Forge's body, since they were all within a two yard radius. Kimberly and Zack, who were still across the chamber, shielded their eyes from the blinding light. When the light faded, the Zeo Crystal fell to the ground with a clatter. Everyone else was gone.

"Oh my God," Kim choked. "The Zeo Crystal must've disintegrated them!"

"No," Zack whispered, "Nate. Billy..."

Zack slowly walked to where his friends were standing moments ago, and fell to his knees. He timidly touched the singed ground with his gloved hand.

"They're gone," he said. "They sacrificed themselves, just to save us."

"That's why they came," said Kimberly glancing to the large M'Kraan Crystal, "Roma asked them to accompany us, to make sure we unite the M'Kraan Crystal. We wouldn't have made it this far without them."

"And now, it's up to us to finish what we were sent here to do," Zack said, picking up the Zeo Crystal. "They died in order to make the world a better place...free from Apocalypse's rule."

Both Kim and Zack ran to the M'Kraan Crystal. They both clutched the Zeo shard between them, and plunged it into the hole. It fit perfectly, and the M'Kraan Crystal began to glow brilliantly with white light. The Silver and Gold Rangers each lay a hand on the crystal's surface, and closed their eyes. The entire chamber was flooded with energy, that permeated the entire chamber and instantly blanketed the entire planet with its warmth and blinding light. Then, there was nothing.

First, there was darkness. Then, he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, so he blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. He could make out a face just above him, but he couldn't quite tell who it was, until he spoke.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Adam," he said with a warm smile. "We've been pretty worried about you."

"Doctor Campbell?" Adam whispered weakly, still dazed from his experience. "What's going on?"

"For some reason, your Zeo shard materialized inside your body. It was killing you. So, Billy and I had to remove it surgically. How do you feel?"

"Like I could sleep for a century or two," Adam groaned. "And some aspirin would be --"

Suddenly, Adam's eyes opened wide with realization, and he tried to sit up abruptly. But Doctor Campbell restrained him gently.

"You're going to have to take it easy for a few weeks," he cautioned. "You've just undergone extensive surgery. Even this medical unit isn't capable of healing you completely. You need rest, Son."

"How did you get into the CAC?" Adam asked in confusion. "You know about us?!"

"Aisha came to get me from my laboratory," Doctor Campbell explained. "The only way to remove the Zeo shard was through surgery, and since I'm a heart surgeon, it made sense to seek my help. Don't worry, though. Your secret's safe with me."

"Where...where are the others?"

"I'll get them. You stay right where you are."

Doctor Campbell walked away from the young man, and went to the main computer across the spacious Central Access Complex, where Blue, Red, Green, and Black Terran Rangers stood, without their helmets, surrounding Billy as he continued to type in commands.

"Any luck?" asked Tommy, his voice laced with anxiety and exhaustion.

"The Multiverse is slowly stabilizing," Billy said, "but it's still not quite calm enough for me to be able to perform an effective scan. All we can do is wait."

"Billy, Kim and Zack have been missing for hours," said Aisha. "Is there any way we can determine if they're even alive? We have absolutely no idea where they could have materialized!"

"Negative," said Billy, "all we can do is wait."

"Great," muttered Jason, folding his arms. "What I wouldn't give for some good news."

"Well, I have some," said Doctor Campbell. "The surgery was a complete success, and our patient is conscious and aware."

"Thank goodness," sighed Aisha, as she, Katherine, Jason, Tommy, and Billy hurried across the CAC, and surrounded the cot where Adam lay. He grinned up at them all.

"How're ya doing, Buddy?" asked Jason.

"I feel like I've been run over by a truck, but otherwise, I'm peachy."

"That's good to hear," said Katherine, smiling warmly.

"Where are Kimberly and Zack?"

"They vanished through that portal you went to investigate," said Aisha. "We still haven't found them. But, we're working on it."

Adam looked intently at Aisha, and more specifically her green armor. Aisha looked down at him sympathetically.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "but the others needed some backup, and with Kim and Zack missing --"

"It's okay, Aisha," Adam said with a weak smile. "It's not your fault this had to happen. Besides, I can't think of anyone more worthy to carry on for me. Besides, you look good in green."

Aisha took Adam's hand, and squeezed it gently. She then glanced up at Billy. "When can Adam retake his Zeo shard?"

"I... I don't know," said Billy with a sigh, "Adam's heart has been strained tremendously, with the injury, as well as the intrusive surgery. Only time will tell whether or not he even can sustain the power of a Zeo shard in his body. Right now, he's very fragile, and I don't know how long this will last."

"It's okay," said Adam with a smile that didn't quite reach his dark eyes, "I needed the break anyway."

Suddenly, the alarms sounded throughout the CAC. Everyone groaned audibly, and Billy hurried to the computer.

"What's going on?" asked Katherine. "Did Zedd and Rita send down another monster?"

"I can't tell," he said, "but there are foreign energy patterns being emitted from just outside the Juice Bar!"

"We'd better investigate," said Tommy, strapping on his helmet. "Back to Action!"

"Right!" said the other three Terran Rangers unanimously, as they put their helmets on and vanished in streaks of light. They momentarily arrived just outside the Gym and Juice Bar. The streets were all quiet, since it was past closing time.

"Okay," said Jason, "keep your eyes open. Be ready for anything."

"Split up," said Tommy. "We'll cover more ground that way."

The four heroes went in separate directions, cautiously proceeding through the darkness. Jason drew his Earth Sword when he heard voices in the alleyway. He flattened himself against the wall, and peeked around the corner, to see two figures dressed in highly reflectant form-fitting uniforms, one in silver and one in gold.

"Ow," moaned the gold one, "that hurt even with these suits on!"

"You'd think the Omniversal Guardian can send us home a little more comfortably," groaned the silver one. Jason's eyes widened as he realized he recognized the voices. He stepped into the alley, facing them.

"Zack?" he asked, "Kim? Is that you in there?"

"Jason!" they both exclaimed excitedly.

"What, happened to you?" he asked, putting away his Earth Sword.

"It's a ridiculously long story," said Kimberly, stretching her arms. "We'll tell you all about it later."

Jason turned on his wrist communicator. "Tommy? Aisha? Kat? Do you read me?"

^I hear ya, Bro.^

^I read.^

^Kat here. What's up?^

"You'd better come meet me by the back entrance to the Juice Bar. You aren't gonna believe what I just found..."

Seconds later, the Blue, Green, and Red Rangers ran to Jasons' location, and stared at the mysterious strangers in metallic uniforms.

"Who are you?" asked Aisha.

The Silver and Gold Rangers simultaneously took off their helmets, and the Terran Rangers, with the exception of the Black Ranger, gasped in surprise.

"Kim!" said Tommy, immediately running to embrace his girlfriend. "Where have you been?"

"What am I?" asked Zack with a smirk. "Chopped liver?"

The group all laughed as both missing friends were welcomed with warm hugs.

"Man, am I glad to see you!" said Aisha excitedly. "We had no idea what happened to you!"

"What happened to you ?" asked Kimberly, "Oh no...what happened to Adam?"

"Its okay," said Tommy, "Adam was injured, but he's recovering fine. He'll be good as new in a few weeks."

"Now, what happened to you two?" asked Katherine. "Why are you wearing those uniforms?"

"Its a really long story," laughed Zack, "and I for one haven't slept in seventeen hours. Let's say we go over the whole story, in detail, in the morning?"

"Let me get this straight," said Rocky, stirring sugar into his coffee mug. "You two were transported into a parallel universe, that is ruled over by a mutant tyrant Apocalypse. You were captured by Apocalypse's servants, until you were freed by a traitor, who secretly worked with a band of rebels, including an alternate version of Billy. You then went to the Command Center, with both Alpha and Zordon still there. Then, you went to the moon to retrieve the Zeo Crystal, since there never were Terran Rangers in this dimension, and were transported to a pocket dimension called Otherworld, where the Guardian of the Multiverse granted you new powers, so you can fight Apocalypse's forces, and combine the Zeo Crystal with a larger gem called M'Kraan. Is that it?"

"More or less," said Zack, spreading jam onto a slice of toast. Presently, Rocky, Kim, Zack, Tommy, Kat, Aisha, Billy, and Doctor Campbell were sitting at the Campbell family's dining room table, enjoying a nice breakfast together, and sharing stories of the strange occurances of the previous day.

"Just what kind of powers did Roma give you?" asked Aisha.

"I'm X-Ranger One," said Zack, "I wear Silver, and I control magnetism. I can make magnetic pulses, control