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

"Billy?!"

Kimberly shrieked in amazement, bolting up into a sitting position. "Is that you?"

Kimberly studied her old friend from head to toe. His hair was a good deal longer, nearly reaching his shoulders, and it was also a few shades lighter. His face was stoic, and his usually warm blue eyes seemed as cold as ice. Kim also noticed he was more muscular, as his tone muscles showed quite well through his black spandex uniform. He looked meaner, and older, than when she last saw him a few hours ago, but there was no doubt in Kimberly Hart's mind that this was indeed Billy Mitchell, her close friend since grade school.

"No one calls me that anymore," he grunted. "Now, who, pray tell, are you?"

"What do you mean 'who am I'

?" she asked in surprise. "It's me, Kimberly! You know, the girl that lives a few blocks from your house? We've been friends forever!"

"That's impossible," Billy said, folding his arms and staring at her suspiciously, "Kimberly Anne Hart died three years ago! I know this for a fact, because I was at her bedside when she died."

Kimberly gasped, and rose to her feet. She supported herself on the side of the cot. "Okay, Billy," she said in a voice full of determination. "If I'm not Kim, then who am I?"

"Well," said Billy, "you could easily be a clone of Kimberly. Sinister could've found some of her DNA, and created you in order to eliminate me, one of his best experiments."

Kimberly arched one eyebrow, and folded her arms also. "Well, a clone wouldn't know you like I do. For example, you have a little sister named Stephanie. Your mother Rebecca died when you were only four years old."

"Anyone could've read about my personal history," said Billy, unconvinced.

"Fine," said Kim, looking up at his cold eyes, "you're the shiest young man ever born! You always feel alienated, because of your unbelievably high IQ. You always felt awkward. You didn't feel you knew how to express love, because your father was never affectionate, and your mother died when you were only a kid. But, the day you met Trini Kwan, you knew there was something there. Something you've never really felt before. True, strong, love. A bond that can never be broken."

Billy's cold eyes widened, and a single tear formed in his eye. It slowly streaked down his pale cheek, and dripped off his chin. He wiped his cheek with his hand, and stared at the moisture curiously. This was the first time he'd shed a tear in years.

"But... its not possible," Billy muttered to himself, "I... I saw you die..."

"If you're still not convinced," said Kimberly, rolling up the sleeve of her yellow blouse, "Take a blood sample. Test my DNA, or whatever it is you do."

Billy smiled at her. "Clones have identical DNA as the original, Kim."

"Oh yeah," she said, pulling down her sleeve, "that's right."

Billy leaned over and hugged Kimberly tightly. Kimberly was at first surprised by this display of emotion, because Billy rarely showed his feelings. She then returned the hug.

"God, you don't know how much I've missed you," he said quietly. "All of you..."

"Hey, Ace!" called Nate Grey from across the room. "The guy's waking up."

"Ace?" asked Kim, letting go of Billy and smiling. Billy rolled his eyes.

"Its a ridiculous nickname, I know," he sighed. "But, Nate refuses to let me live it down. Basically, when I take aim, I never miss a shot."

Billy and Kimberly walk over to the other cot, where Zack was just now regaining consciousness.

"So," said Nate, "if Kim here is a friend of yours, who's he?"

"I've never laid eyes on him," said Billy honestly. "And you know I never forget a face."

"Are you kidding?!" said Kim in astonishment. "It's Zack!"

"Zack?" asked Billy, as if trying out the name.

"Present," Zack said weakly, sitting up. "Whoa, Billy! What the heck happened to you?!"

Billy looked from Zack to Kim, and then back to Zack. "I'm sorry, but am I supposed to know you?"

Kim and Zack traded confused looks. "I'm Zack Taylor," Zack said finally, turning around to let his legs dangle off the cot, "I'm your friend and classmate at Angel Grove High. Well, I was, at least, until you graduated."

Billy shook his head. "That's not right. I never made it to high school. Angel Grove was destroyed by Apocalypse's forces in 1990. I was only eleven years old."

Kim and Zack gasped. "Who's Apocalypse?" they both asked in unison. Now it was Billy and Nate's turn to be astonished.

"Apocalypse is only the self-proclaimed ruler of North America!" said Nate. "He's taken over the continent, and he rules it with an iron fist. Only the Homo-Superior that accept him as absolute ruler live with even a small measure of freedom. Those who disobey are hounded like dogs."

"How can this be?" asked Kim. "When we left, everything was fine --"

"Left?" asked Billy.

"Well," said Zack, "we didn't actually leave. We were kinda sucked through a portal, and we ended up here. Wait a minute! Couldn't the portal have been a Multiversal portal?!"

"That explains it!" said Kimberly. "We must be in an alternate dimension!"

Billy blinked in confusion, and Nate just stared at the two young strangers.

"Excuse me," said a cloaked figure, with half of his tan face covered with bionic parts, "but did you say 'alternate dimension'

?"

Kim and Zack turned around, and gasped when they beheld the cyborg. Billy smiled.

"Sorry," he said, "I should've introduced everyone. Kim and Zack, this is Forge, the leader of the Outcasts. Forge, this is Kimberly Hart, a friend of mine, and her friend Zack Taylor."

Forge shook their hands in greeting.

"What are the Outcasts?" asked Zack.

"The Outcasts are a team of rebels, dedicated to do whatever possible to undermine Apocalypse, and free the slaves," said Nate. Kim and Zack looked at him.

"Oh, yeah," said Billy, "Uh, Kim and Zack, this is Nate Grey. He and I were both 'experiments'

of Mister Sinister, one of Apocalypse's Horsemen."

"So," said Forge, "now that we've been properly introduced, tell me more about this 'Multiverse'

."

"Well," said Kimberly, "I'm by no means an expert, but the Multiverse is basically a collection of different universes. Different realities. Each one is different -- some are completely different, and some are mostly the same, except for small changes in history, which cause greater changes as time passes."

"People can travel either cross time or through time," said Zack. "But it's really complicated. The Power Rangers haven't been able to figure out exactly how to navigate through."

"Power Rangers?" asked Billy.

"Yeah," said Kimberly. "Y'see, an interdimensional being called Zordon chose a group of teenagers to wield the power of the Morphin Grid, in order to fight this alien being bent on conquering Earth. The first five were you, me, Zack, Jason, and Trini."

Billy visibly shuddered when Trini's name was mentioned. Zack didn't pay attention, but Kimberly noticed this reaction with interest.

"What powers do you 'Power Rangers'

possess?" asked Forge.

"Well, over time, we gained new powers," said Zack. "At first, we used these Power Coins to become the Power Rangers, but now we each own a fragment of the Zeo Crystal, which gives us command over elemental energy. I control Light, and Kim here controls Lightning."

"And are these crystals inside your bodies?" asked Forge, nodding his head with understanding.

"Yes," said Kim, "how did you know?"

"We picked up some strange energy readings," said Forge, taking a seat at the computer. "We did a scan, and determined that the energy isn't your own. It's coming from objects inside your bodies."

"The world you are from," said Billy, "it's nothing like this?"

"Well, the circumstances are completely different," said Zack, "America is still America, for one thing. No mutant dictator took over."

"This is most interesting," said Forge, "I received a message from Magneto, an ally of mine from years past, a few days ago. He mentioned something about restoring a missing fragment of some powerful gem called the M'Kraan Crystal, in order to repair the time stream. He said that the M'Kraan Crystal is the nexus of all reality, and that the possibilities are infinite."

"Does Magneto have the M'Kraan Crystal?" asked Kimberly.

"I'm not certain," admitted Forge, "I haven't spoken to him for some time now. I'll try to contact his headquarters in what was formerly New York."

Forge activated the communicators, and first made sure the frequency was secure. He tried to send a message, but he received no answer. Forge frowned. "What's happening?" asked Nate.

"Static," said Forge.

"Something's wrong," said Billy, walking over to the table and picking up his helmet, "Erik always leaves at least one of his X-Men to monitor communications and watch over the orphans they care for. We'd better get over to the mansion and see what happened to the X-Men."

"It'll take hours to get to the East Coast!" said Zack.

"Not if we take NightWolf."

"Who?" asked Kimberly.

"The NightWolf is a jet plane Billy and I 'borrowed'

from one of Apocalypse's storage depots in what was once San Francisco explained Nate, "Billy's been playing around with its controls the past few months, and for some reason he called it NightWolf."

"NightWolf can get us to New York in under thirty minutes," said Billy, strapping on his helmet. "It's also equipped with all types of tracking devices, the most advanced communications system I could create, and finally cloaks to hide us from all types of scans. Let's go."

Doctor Benjamin Campbell had seen much in his life. He had lived here in California, as well as the wild savanna in Africa. He even attended school in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Doctor Campbell was a learned man, with access to some of the most advanced medical technology on the face of the planet. But even he was speechless at the sight of the Central Access Complex.

"Salutations, Doctor Campbell," said Billy, stepping forward. "Welcome to the Central Access Complex."

Doctor Campbell nodded in reply to Billy's welcome, and continued to survey the room with the utmost curiosity and confusion. He saw the main computer, with a dwarfing screen and innumerable amount of keys and buttons. He also saw various computer panels that were completely foreign to him. Finally, Doctor Campbell fixed his eyes to a group of young men and women, all lined up beside what appeared to be a cot, with a number of computers attached to it, and a young man lying unconscious upon it. Doctor Campbell walked