"Hey Billy!" a happy voice cried.
"Hmm?" Billy asked, turning around to find the voice's source. Suddenly, a gorgeous woman with long dark auburn hair was standing before him. "Hi," Billy said.
She touched his hand, and a strange look crossed her face. "Billy?" she asked.
"Yeah?" Billy asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said. She yanked her hand back and said, "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Billy said.
"What was that all about?" Rocky asked.
"Do you know her?" Kimberly asked.
"I've never seen that girl in all my life," Billy said in awe.
* * *
"Hey Christina!" David cried as the White Ranger ran past him in a hurry. "Where are you off to?"
"Something is very wrong ," Christina said. "There is somebody in the Juice Bar that looks like Billy, but I don't think it is."
"Who do you think it is?" David asked.
"I have no idea," Christina said. "Would you do me a favor? Go to the Power Chamber and have Alpha see if anything weird is going on. I have something I need to do."
"Sure thing," David said. He checked to see if anyone was around. When satisfied that the coast was clear, he teleported away in a red streak of light.
* * *
Christina ran into Billy's backyard. Her boyfriend and Skull were circling each other, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "You two can spar later," Christina said. "Billy, did I just talk to you at the Youth Center."
Billy gave Christina an odd look. "Are you feeling okay?"
"There is somebody in the Youth Center that looks just like you!" Christina cried. The communicators suddenly beeped.
"We read you, Zordon," Billy said.
"Actually, it's David," the voice answered. "Alpha just ran some kind of check. Anyway, he said that there is evidence which suggests someone or something from a different dimension has come to Angel Grove very recently."
"I knew it," Christina remarked. "Alpha, have everybody meet me at the Juice Bar, right now."
* * *
"Oh my goodness," Katherine said. "She looks just like me."
"Do we just go up to them?" Adam asked.
"Yes," Trey said. "It's not like they're going to attack us."
"Let's go meet ourselves," Rocky added.
* * *
"Hi," David said, approaching the table where the five Rangers sat.
"Hi," Jason said.
"We can't help but notice that you all look like some of us," Billy said.
"Small world, huh?" Kimberly asked.
An unfamiliar girl who seemed to be even shorter than Kimberly with flaming red hair approached her. "I'm gonna cut straight to the point," the girl said. "Are you from this dimension or aren't you?"
"That was smooth," Tanya said.
"We aren't," Billy said. In a lower voice, he whispered, "Are you the Rangers?"
The large group of twelve teens traded looks. "Let's go to the Power Chamber," Christina said.
* * *
"You know the first five, and Gold Ranger, right?" Adam asked.
"Right," Billy said. "But after that...."
"I don't think the rest of you even exist on our world," Jason said.
"If you do, we've never met you," Kimberly added.
"I'm the Purple Ranger," the short redhead said. "I'm Jamie Zedden. My father is Lord Zedd. Long story short, he used to be good, was turned evil, now he's good again and has remarried my mom."
"Jenga," Katherine and Billy said at the same time.
"What?" Jamie asked.
"On our world, Lord Zedd's mother is named Jenga," Billy said. "She's the most evil person in existence, and she has beautiful red hair only she has three blue streaks in it. Her hair has more an auburn look to it, though."
"Do you have a Jenga here?" Kimberly asked.
"Queen Jenga of the Xett Empire," Zordon said solemnly. "I have not heard of her in some time, but I suspect she is still in existence."
"My grandmother?" Jamie asked in awe. "Wow."
"Anyway," a girl with auburn hair said. "My name is Christina Collins. I'm the White Zeo Ranger, and I'm dating Billy on this world." The other Billy smiled proudly. "One thing that kind of makes me stand out is I have... abilities. I'm a telepathic, I have healing capabilities, I can break spells, and I can multiply power."
"You definitely aren't in our dimension," Rocky said.
"I guess I should go next," yet another girl with auburn hair volunteered. "My name is Katarina Petronov, Silver Ranger. I'm from Russia, if you haven't guessed from my accent. And I'm dating Rocky, here."
"You have beautiful eyes," Rocky said, looking into her crystal clear violet eyes. The other Rocky protectively moved closer to his girlfriend.
"I guess I should go next," another unfamiliar voice said. "I'm the Black Ranger, Lillian O'Neil. And since everyone else said who they're dating, I'll mention that I'm dating Tommy."
"Where is Tommy?" Katherine asked.
"He has taken a hiatus from the team," Zordon said. "Physical and emotional stress has taken it's toll on him, and he's taking a break."
"There's also something we have on this world called Morphin Warriors," Billy said. "Those of us who once owned a Power Coin have the ability to call upon the remnants of our power. It's sort of like our Ninja Ranger suits, sort of, but not exactly. I know that's a horrible analogy, but it's the closest one I can think of. We all have different types of suits, but we're fairly well equaled in power."
"I also have the Morphin Warrior power, because of the time loop disturbance thingy from the Orb of Doom fiasco," Skull said. He puffed up his chest and said, "And I'm dating Kimberly on this world."
"I'm dating Skull back home," Kimberly said with a big smile.
"Really?" Skull asked.
"Really," Kimberly said, still smiling.
"And Bulk is dating Dulcea," Rocky said with a smile.
"You're kidding?" Rocky asked.
"Serious as a heart attack," Rocky replied.
"Dulcea is living on Earth now because Catalina gave her the Crystal of Time," Katherine said.
"Catalina is dead here," Zordon said simply. No one knew what to say, until Zordon said at last, "But I suspect many things differ greatly across the dimensional walls."
"Yes they do," Billy agreed.
* * *
"Do my sensors deceive me?" King Mondo asked.
"Nay, sire," Klank said. "There are five more Rangers on the Earth. An' even better yet, they are powered by an unfamiliar source of magic."
"Making them vulnerable to our attacks!" King Mondo laughed.
"Klank! Orbus! Send down some cogs and get our toughest machine ready for battle."
"Aye sire."
* * *
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "Another monster attack!"
"Again?" Billy asked. "That's never happened before."
"King Mondo must be aware of our new friends presence," Zordon said.
"We can help," Jason volunteered.
"Are you powered by the Zeo Crystal?" Adam asked.
"No, Ninjetti," Katherine answered. She noticed the other Billy flinch at this, but didn't pay much attention.
"Is it magic?" Zordon asked, to which Billy nodded.
"You won't do much good," Tanya said. "Cold iron repels magic."
"It doesn't on our world," Kimberly said.
"Isn't the whole Ranger concept based on magic?" Rocky asked.
"The Zeo Crystal is science in origin, kinda-sorta," Lillian said.
"Yet another dimensional discontinuity," both Billys said in perfect unison.
"Uhm, you guys?" Katarina said. "While we're standing here discussing the Zeo Crystal, the Cogs are approaching the city."
"Let's take care of 'em guys," David said. "It's Morphin Time!"
* * *
"Ten Zeo Rangers," Billy said, looking into the viewing screen.
"They look cool," Kimberly said, "although their armor looks an awful lot like spandex."
"Yours doesn't?" Alpha asked.
"Our armor actually looks like armor," Rocky said.
"How so?" Billy asked.
"I'll just show you," Billy said. "TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!" In a sudden flash of blue, Billy was wearing his blue armor. He removed his helmet and put it in the crook of his arm.
"Wow," Billy said. "It's so shiny? What is it made of?"
"A bizarre plastic-metal alloy," Billy explained.
"It looks like it would be hard to move in, but it isn't," Kimberly said.
* * *
"Tyler!" Rita snapped. "Get in here!"
Tommy's evil Dark Reflection quickly made his presence known. "Yes my queen?"
"There are five more Rangers on Earth," Rita said. "Go do something about it!"
"Yes my queen," Tyler said.
* * *
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried yet again. "Rita's attacking now! We're all doomed!"
"Calm down, Alpha," Billy said.
"Rita, huh?" Billy asked. "We could probably fight her monsters, right?"
"I would assume so," Zordon said.
"We can help," Rocky said.
"I've been kind of itching to get back in battle myself," Jason said. "We haven't seen a bit of action since the Beetleborgs."
"I'll also dispatch the Morphin Warriors," Billy said. Billy put the call out over the communicators, and then said to Skull, "Ready?"
"You know it," Skull said.
"It's Morphin Time!" Billy shouted.
"Triceratops!"
"White Tiger!"
"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS --- COUGAR!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!"
"BACK TO ACTION!"
* * *
"I think that's Tommy," Kimberly said, upon landing on the battlefield. She saw what she presumed to be a Green Morphin Warrior standing in the park.
"Tommy!" Kimberly cried.
"Kimberly?" Tommy asked.
"Sort of," Kimberly answered, running up to her. "I thought Rita was attacking."
"I thought so, too," Tommy said coldly. "Can I see your face, Kimberly? I know you aren't our Kimberly, or I assume from what I heard from David, but I'd still like to see you."
Kimberly gave the park one last quick scan. Once satisfied that there were no Tengas, Cogs, Putties, or miscellaneous bad guys, she reached up and inserted her fingers into the crevice which broke the seal of her helmet. She carefully opened it and pulled it away from her face.
"You look just like ... our Kimberly," Tommy said.
"You look just like our Tommy," Kimberly said with a smile.
* * *
Skull dodged an especially angry Tenga and searched for the Rangers. "Where's Kim?" he asked. He quickly realized that the Pink Ranger was not with them. Even though she wasn't his Kimberly, he still felt a great deal of concern for her. "Kimberly!" he shouted.
Kat brought her Shield down in a wide arc, greatly injuring several Tengas who ventured too close. "I don't see her, either!" Katherine called. She spoke directly into the microphone just before her lips, built into the helmet. "Kimberly? Where are you?"
"Did she teleport with us?" Billy the Ranger asked, blocking a Tenga with his Power Lances.
"I'm gonna go try and find her," Skull volunteered. "You guys hold your own here?"
"Yeah, we're fine," Billy the Morphin Warrior said, freezing a Tenga with his laser pistol. Skull quickly ran out of battle, the Rangers and Morphin Warriors holding the Tengas at bay.
* * *
"Tommy?" Kimberly asked. "Where is everyone?"
"Don't worry about that right now," Tommy said. "Let's just talk for a minute."
"We came out here because we thought Rita was attacking," Kimberly said. "I'm going back to the Power Chamber."
"No," Tommy said, leaping to his feet. He grabbed her by the arms forcefully.
"Tommy?" Kimberly asked fearfully. She pushed him away and backed up a step. "What's going on?"
* * *
"Tyler," Skull growled through clenched teeth. He watched, still running toward them, as he grabbed her by the arms. Anger ripped through the White Morphin Warrior at his girlfriend's double's assault. Kimberly yanked away from Tyler just as Skull ran up to them. "Get back Kim!" Skull shouted. "That's not Tommy!"
Kimberly looked the Green Morphin Warrior square in the eyes. "Excuse me?"
"Tyler," he said, grabbing her hand.
"BACK TO ACTION!" Kimberly cried. She jerked her hand back and kicked Tommy in the chest. He stumbled back, for even the Morphin Warriors were not as strong as the Rangers. Before either one of them had a chance to strike, Tyler disappeared in a teleport. "Who was that?" Kimberly asked.
"Tyler, Tommy's evil Dark Reflection," Skull said. "And Rita's newest lackey. He's bad news."
"Apparently," Kim agreed. "Wasn't there a fight going on someplace?"
"Oh, the Tengas!" Skull shouted. "Follow me."
* * *
"Now," Trini said after the fight, "would someone please explain who the new Rangers are?"
"Let's go back to the Power Chamber," Billy said. "It'd be safer for them to tell you there."
* * *
"And we're trying to find our way home," Katherine said. "We haven't had much luck."
"What are the other worlds like?" Zack asked.
"This is only the third world we've come across that had Rangers on it," Kimberly said. "There was a world with superheroes on it called BeetleBorgs. Actually, they have Rangers now."
"There was one world," Rocky said, "where Tanya and Trini were dictators."
Trini's eyebrows shot up at the remark. "What?"
"Everything was yellow," Jason said. "That was not a fun world."
"We didn't stay there any longer than we had to," Katherine said.
"I was almost eaten," Rocky complained.
"Kat and I were nearly raped," Kimberly said.
"I was almost eaten," Rocky said again, not too fond of having the attention taken off of him.
"Rocky was almost eaten," Kimberly said.
"The worst part is, we're almost out of money," Billy said. He immediately regretted saying it.
"But we're doing okay," Jason said, trying to cover for him.
"Do you all need money?" Billy asked.
"No," Katherine said. "We had a bad enough guilt trip over taking Nano's money."
"Who?" Zack asked.
"Nice lady from the BeetleBorg world," Kimberly said. "She gave us five hundred dollars, but we didn't know until we were on the next world."
"What I need is a meal," Rocky said.
"We are hungry," Katherine agreed. "Can you recommend a good inexpensive restaurant?"
"That serves an all you can eat buffet?" Billy added.
"I've got a better idea," Billy said. "Why don't you all come eat dinner at my house?"
"Yes," Kimberly and Rocky said in unison.
* * *
Billy's cooking wasn't much, as either Billy could have told them, but it was food and it was free. After dinner, they were presented with the dilemma of sliding or hanging around to catch up on their sleep. Sleep won out, and Billy offered to let them crash with him. They spent the night talking about the differences between the dimensions.
* * *
The Zeo Rangers and Morphin Warriors were in the park the next morning. After a lengthy series of goodbyes, Billy activated the wormhole. "Maybe the next world is home," Kimberly said hopefully.
"That sounds awfully uncertain," Tanya said. "How do you know the next world isn't some psycho world?"
"There is no way of knowing," Jason said. He ran at the portal and dove into it, sending a brief flash of red light across them. Rocky was close behind.
"How long does it stay open?" Adam cried over the rush of the wind coming from it. "Until all five of us have passed through," Billy answered.
Kat waved goodbye and jumped into the spinning wormhole. Suddenly, a green flash of light blinded them all. "Tyler!" somebody yelled.
"BILLY!" Kimberly screamed. The evil Green Morphin Warrior had her draped over his shoulder and was running toward a smaller, door-shaped green portal of light.
"Kimberly!" Billy shouted. Without taking a moment's hesitation, he tossed the timer into the wormhole and ran after them. Summoning his morpher, he yelled, "TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!" Still running, he pulled the Power Blaster from the holster at his hip and fired at Tyler. He and Kimberly disappeared into the strange doorway which promptly closed behind them.
* * *
"The Zeo Rangers are guarding the wormhole," Billy said.
"We have to get Kimberly back soon," Billy said. "I don't know how long that portal is designed to stay open."
"Where is she?" Zack asked.
"She is most likely in Tyler's personal pocket dimension," Zordon said.
"Oh my God," Kimberly said. "Tyler wanted me to be his... mistress, so to speak. We have got to get her back now."
"Kimberly can hold her own against Tyler," Billy said. "If she can morph."
"If she's even given the chance," Zack growled angrily.
"Let me teleport to the moon and get her back," Billy pleaded.
"The other Billy may be able to stay on the moon for a short period of time undetected," Alpha said thoughtfully. "You'll have to stay close to her mobile home though. The atmosphere probably won't extend very far."
"I'll go too," Jason said. "You might need cover."
"I'll come as well," Kimberly said. "I have an idea."
"Let's go," Billy said. The other Billy quickly punched in a few commands, and the three teleport streams darted out of the Power Chamber.
* * *
Jason, Billy, and Kimberly landed behind the vehicle.
"What's your plan, Kim?" Jason asked. "Tyler has a thing for me, right?" Kimberly asked. "I'll just convince him that I've changed my mind, and give you two time to get the other Kimberly. Just make sure you don't forget about me."
"Good deal," Billy said.
Kimberly left the two men and walked into the vehicle. Goldar and Rito suddenly rushed her. "It's a Power Ranger!" Goldar growled, threatening to filet her with his Sword.
"I'm here to see Tyler," Kimberly said in as cold a voice as possible.
"He's already got one Kimberly," Rito said.
"But I'm the real deal," Kimberly said. "Contact Tyler."
* * *
"LET GO OF ME!" Kimberly screamed, kicking Tyler firmly in the stomach. With a grunt, he fell off of the bed. She scrambled over the other side and ran to the wall. Her hands frantically skimmed the green surface, looking for any way out. She felt just like she had when Adam tried to rape her, days ago on a different world.
Suddenly, a green doorway appeared on the other side of the room. Rito stepped into the small room. "Tyler," Rito said. "We've got another Kimberly out here who said she's willing to be your love puppet."
"All right," Tyler said happily. "Two Kimberlys. You stay here." He and Rito left through the green portal which promptly closed behind them.
* * *
"Go," Billy whispered. Jason dissolved into a red stream of light which darted into the green portal after Tyler stepped through. Fortunately for everyone, nobody saw it. "Tyler," Kimberly said seductively.
"Oh, Kimberly," he moaned. He slowly walked up to her. "Is this for real?"
Kimberly glanced over his shoulder at the green doorway. She had to stall. "This is as real as it gets, baby," Kimberly said in her sexiest voice. She pressed her back up against him and pulled his arms around her. _Forgive me Skull,_ Kimberly thought to herself. She melted in his arms, sinking toward the floor.
* * *
Jason materialized beside the bed. He held one hand out, still stuck in the green doorway. That seemed to be enough to keep it open. "Come on Kimberly," Jason said.
"Oh thank you," Kimberly breathed. She quickly ran over to the portal and stepped through it.
* * *
_Yes,_ Kimberly thought happily as she saw Jason and the other Kimberly step out of the portal. She quickly turned around in Tyler's arms. With a hi-yaah, she kicked him in the stomach, so taking him by surprise he hit the ground.
"Let's get out of here!" Billy cried, running up to the doorway.
"Take us to the park." Jason and Kimberly latched on to the other Kimberly and Billy and the four teleported away, leaving several very confused henchmen and Tyler.
* * *
Billy and Kimberly hit the ground running. "We don't have time to talk!" Billy shouted.
"Thanks for everything!" Kimberly shouted to the other Kimberly.
"Don't worry about it!" Kimberly answered with a wave goodbye.
"How long has the portal been open?" Kimberly asked as the ran across the park toward it.
"About half an hour," Billy said. Kimberly slipped her hand into his.
The Zeo Rangers moved away from the portal to let them jump through. "Thanks again!" Billy shouted. The two jumped into the portal at the same time. It flashed a bright lavender, and immediately closed.
"Oh man," Billy said as soon as he and the other Morphin Warriors teleported to the park. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and thumped it against his open palm. "I forgot to give them this." He stuck the money that they the Rangers had all collected for them back in his pocket.
* * *
Katherine looked up at the air. "Where are they?" she asked. Suddenly, a much smaller burst of light flashed, and the timer tumbled out of the air. She caught it before it hit the ground. "Billy? Kim?"
"What could have happened to them?" Rocky asked.
"Maybe they're just being lengthy with their goodbyes," Jason said hopefully.
"Uhm, you guys," Rocky said frantically. "We've got company." Dozens of tanned people dressed in various animal skins and leather approached them. All had very dark hair and carried an assortment of primitive weapons.
"This can't be good," Jason said, slowly getting to his feet. He held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Suddenly, a feathered dart struck his neck. He gasped but hit the ground sound asleep before he was even aware of what it was.
"Jase?" Rocky asked, just before he too was shot with the tranquilizer.
Katherine looked up in horror. Several of the savages rushed up to her. Before she could even scream, they stopped at her feet. Dropping to their knees, they all said something in a language that sounded familiar, yet unrecognizable. "Who are you people?" Katherine asked in horror.
They said nothing but lowered their heads in respect. Several of the savage women stepped up to her. The women began to speak in that strange yet familiar language. After conferring on something and agreeing, they picked Katherine up. "Put me down!" Katherine demanded, but the women were much stronger than she was. She struggled to break free, but they lifted her above their head and marched away.
* * *
"Please don't," Katherine pleaded. The four tanned women carried her into a village, comprised of numerous buildings. Some were brick, some were stone, and some where wood, but they all looked more complex than what should have been built by the savages. Katherine was carried toward a white stone building. She was carried through the building, finally reaching a very elaborate bedroom. It was decorated entirely in white. It had every amenity a person without technology could want, including a beautiful canopy bed and a full bathroom. They threw her down on the bed, and the women quickly proceeded to undress her, despite her screams and cries for help. Fearing the worst, they soon had her completely nude. However, much to her surprise and relief, they clothed her again, this time in their clothing. She found herself in a surprisingly comfortable outfit, made entirely of soft supple leather, and was placed gently on the bed. One of the women began to speak. Katherine only caught one word.
"Later."
* * *
Billy and Kimberly flew out of the portal, tangled up in each other's arms. "Are you okay?" Kimberly asked as she crawled off of him.
"Yeah, I think so," Billy said. He sat up and looked around him. "Where are the others?"
"Wouldn't they have waited here for us?" Kimberly asked.
"I would think so," Billy said.
"Is it possible we came out at a different place than them?"
"Negative," Billy said. "They would have come out right here."
Suddenly, he clamped his hand over the side of his neck and hit the ground. "Billy!" Kimberly cried. She darted over to him and pulled the feathered dart from his neck. Before she could do anything else for him, several strong hands picked her up. "NO!" Kimberly shouted, but her captives paid no mind and hauled her away.
* * *
Kimberly hit the ground with a grunt. She spun around in the hopes of getting a glimpse of her captors, but a heavy iron door slammed shut. She was in a small cold cell with metal walls. The floor was covered with a very soft straw. At first, she thought she was alone. However, as she glanced into the back corner of the cell, she saw Jason and Rocky, completely still. "Guys," she said, hurrying over to them. Much to her relief, they had a strong steady pulse. They were just knocked out. Satisfied that at least two of her friends were safe, she immediately began to formulate a plan to escape.
* * *
"Why won't it work?" Katherine griped. She twisted her arm again, concentrating on calling up her morpher as hard as she could. Nothing happened. She tried the It's Morphin Time process again, also producing no results. "Zeo Ranger I, Pink," she said sadly. "Butterfly." Still not morphed, she flopped down on the bed. "What's gonna happen to me?"
The doors suddenly flew open. She looked up in time to see several men carry an unconscious Billy into the room. "Billy!" she cried happily. One of the men set Billy on his feet and held him up by his armpits. The others began to undress him, much like the women had undressed her. She was compelled to watch, but mortified by her thoughts, she turned away, trying to give Billy some privacy. A gentle hand lighted on her shoulder. Katherine turned around to find herself staring into the eyes of a young teenage black girl. "Hell-o," the black girl said, very jerkingly.
"Hello," Katherine said, stunned.
"My name Uhma," the girl said. "You?"
"Katherine," she answered. She immediately realized that this girl knew only a bit of English, and tried to simplify what she wanted to say to the lowest denominator. "What... is this?"
The black girl said something in the foreign language, and then said, "Queen." She pointed to Billy and said, "Keeng."
"Queen and King?" Katherine asked in awe.
"Yes," Uhma said. "Queen and King." She reached out and gently touched Katherine's hair. "Yell-oh." Pointing at Billy, she again said, "Yell-oh." Uhma thought for a minute and then said, "Dark say yell-oh hair from sky Queen and King."
Katherine tried her best to digest the information. She decided she would just say what she wanted to say, and hope that Uhma would understand. "We are Queen and King because we have yellow hair?"
"Yes, yes," Uhma said happily. "Yellow hair. None here have yellow hair. None here from sky like Queen and King. You and he... babies."
"Not again," Katherine muttered.
"Again?" Uhma asked.
"Nothing," Katherine said. She looked over and saw that Billy was now dressed. The men carrying him carefully laid him on the bed and left.
"Queen and King make babies," Uhma said. "Babies...." Uhma paused, searching desperately for a word. "Babies make bridge."
"Bridge?" Katherine asked.
"Babies make bridge," Uhma said definitely. "Queen and King be bridge too maybe. You talk dark good." Billy moaned and began to shift slightly on the bed. "Go now," Uhma said, turning to leave. She stopped at the door and motioned at the bed. "Queen and King make babies soon." She then left, shutting the door behind her.
"Oh boy," Katherine said, sitting down beside Billy.
* * *
Kimberly sat down between Jason and Rocky. "So cold," she whispered. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"Kim?" Rocky murmured.
"Rocky," Kimberly said. She reached over to him and helped him into a seated position.
"What's... where are we?"
"I don't know," Kimberly said.
"Cold," Rocky said simply.
"Me too," Kimberly said. "Come closer." She helped him crawl closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his body. With a yawn, he collapsed against her body and fell to sleep. Kimberly didn't mind the extra weight. Most of it rested against her lap, and besides, he helped warm her.
* * *
"And that's everything they told me," Katherine said.
"Yellow hair from sky," Billy said. "They must have seen us come out of the portal. From the sky."
"And you've gotten a lot more blonde since we've been spending so much time outside," Katherine said. "And my hair goes without saying."
Billy walked away from the door. "We're not getting out of here any time soon," he said.
"What are we gonna do?" Katherine asked.
"I don't know," Billy answered truthfully.
* * *
Jason and Rocky had finally woken up. The sedative that was administered to them left them feeling somewhat groggy but otherwise okay. Their captives brought them some food a few hours after they had woke up. It was pretty simple, mainly just raw fruits and vegetables, but seemed to be safe, so they ate it eagerly. After the meal, Jason and Rocky tried to break out of the cell. Not really surprising, they had no success. Instead of continuing to waste their energy trying to escape the inescapable cell, the three huddled up in one corner of the room to share their body warmth.
* * *
"We've been here a long time," Billy said. "Man, I've never felt this useless."
"I'm starting to get sleepy," Kat said. "I wish there was a window."
"It's surely after dark," Billy told her. "They've fed us two meals. I'm starting to get sleepy myself."
"What are our sleeping arrangements gonna be?" Kat asked.
"Huh?" Billy asked. "Oh, you can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
"That's not right," Katherine said. "We can both take the bed."
"Are you sure?" Billy asked.
"We'll keep our clothes on and stay on our own side of the bed," Katherine said. "I trust you, Billy."
"Okay," Billy said with a sheepish grin. "Let me use the bathroom, and then we'll blow out the lamps and hit the hay."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Katherine said, rolling her head around. "Tomorrow, we'll try and get out of here. We can rush them when they bring us our breakfast."
"Who has the timer?" Billy asked.
"It's in my shorts pocket," Kat said. "We'll have to find wherever they stashed my clothes."
"I wonder where the others are," Billy said as he walked into the bathroom, which strangely enough had running water. After Billy was finished, Katherine also got ready for bed. Billy carried one of their oil lamps over to a bedside table. He set it down and looked at his friend on the other side of the bed. "This is weird, isn't it?" he asked.
"I just realized that," Katherine said.
"I think I will crash on the floor," Billy said.
"No," Katherine said, lifting up the covers. "That's not fair. Us sleeping side by side under the covers is no different than us sitting side by side on top of the covers. We're both adults, sort of, and besides, we're both seeing someone else, so we don't have to worry about any sort of weird sexual tension thing. Right?"
"Right," Billy agreed. He lifted up his side of the bed and slipped beneath the warm blankets.
They were in such a bizarre world. It was almost like the savages had just been dumped into a modern day world. Home made leather clothing, but running water and porcelain toilets. It was very bizarre. Billy slipped beneath the covers. He placed his hand over the top of the oil lamp and blew the wick out. The room was immediately cloaked in total darkness. "Good night Katherine," Billy said, turning on his side and facing away from the bed.
"Good night Billy," she said. Silently, the two wondered if they would be spending the rest of their lives on this bizarre planet.
* * *
"So cold," Kimberly whispered.
"I don't know what else to do for you Kim," Jason said. He and Rocky had already given her their t-shirts, but she was still shivering.
"I've got an idea," Rocky said. He immediately began to dig in the straw. Despite the fact that it was pitch black in their cold cell, he worked quickly. He wasn't that cold, but Kimberly was starting to worry him. He soon had a fairly large hollow dug out in the soft straw. "Jase, Kim, you two scoot over this way," Rocky instructed. Kimberly reluctantly removed her arms from around Jason and crawled over to Rocky's voice. Rocky sat down in the hole. "Kim, you can sit in my lap, and Jason can sit right against us. Okay? Then we can pile this loose straw up around us.
"Ss-ssounds good," Kimberly said through chattering teeth. Rocky didn't mind Kimberly sitting his lap. He didn't mind that at all. He wasn't real pleased with the fact that Jason was so close, but he reminded himself that he was trying to keep Kimberly from getting too cold. Jason guided Kimberly into position. He then plunked down next to her and began to shovel the straw in around them. He wrapped an arm them, and quickly got the rest of the straw in position. Kimberly buried her face against Rocky's warm chest, relishing the feel of his body heat. Jason's body pressed firmly against her back, and his muscular arms wrapped all the way around her body and partially around Rocky's. She began to finally feel warm and slowly began to drift off to sleep.
* * *
"Billy, please," Katherine sighed.
"Huh?" Billy asked. He sat up in the bed, trying to make out any form in the darkness.
"I'm so cold," she said. "I don't know why, but I am."
"Do you want me to wrap my side of the blanket around you?"
"I g-guess," she stuttered.
Billy reached out to touch her arm. She was really cold. "I don't think that's enough," Billy said. "Forgive me, Tommy and Trini," Billy whispered. "Here, scoot over closer to me," Billy said. Katherine did as she was told. Billy wrapped his arms around her and pressed the full length of his body against hers. He realized, somewhat surprised, that they were the same height. "Is this better?" Billy asked.
"Yes," she said, still shivering. "It's better." He awkwardly tucked the blanket around them tightly, trying not to move away from her. "It's much better. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said.
* * *
"They've gotten new captives somehow," Major Rimes said.
"How?" Lt. Thurman, his attractive partner, asked. "I don't know," Rimes said. "But look here." He pointed at the red outline of the building on the screen. "See, three dots here in the holding cells, and two here, in the Master Bedroom."
"Isn't the Master Bedroom reserved for their King and Queen?"
"I thought so," Rimes said.
"I guess you're gonna tell me know that a blonde man and woman came from the sky to unite us all?" Thurman asked with a half-cocked grin. "I'm not totally sure, but I think we made that up. End sarcasm."
"You think?" Rimes asked. "It's obviously some of our people that must have gotten too close and were abducted."
"Bi, maybe?" Thurman suggested.
"Perhaps," Rimes agreed. "That would explain why they've just recently joined, but not why they're in the Master Bedroom. Give me a sec and we'll have a thorough scan run on them."
A few minutes later, an overweight man walked into the room with a shocked expression on his face. "You aren't going to believe this," he said.
"Try us," Thurman said.
"The three in the cell are white kids, and the two in the Master Bedroom are white kids with blonde hair," he said.
"What?" Rimes and Thurman asked in unison. "You mean light-skinned black people, right?" Thurman asked.
"Caucasians, ma'am," he said. "Sir," he added for Rimes.
"What is their level of contamination?" Rimes asked. "Zero, sir."
"Zero?" Thurman asked. "I don't have a single white ancestor and I'm two."
"I can't explain it. I did the scan twice, just to make sure," the scientist said. "All five kids are zeroes."
"Heck, I'd be willing to accept the three kids in the cell are okay," Rimes said. "But the blonde kids. Are there even any left?"
"No sir. The last blonde died four years ago."
"We should get a rescue party in there very soon," Thurman said. "As in now."
"I agree," Rimes said. "Let's do it."
* * *
"Billy," Katherine said softly. She shook him slightly, trying to wake him up. "It's morning and there are people staring at us." Billy snorted and looked up. Several of the savages were gathered around the bed.
Uhma stepped forward and said, "Dark here. Speak want Queen and King."
"I don't understand," Billy said.
"Oh my God," a voice said. A black woman suddenly pushed through the savages. "You speak English."
"So do you," Katherine said in awe.
"I can't believe it," she said. "Lieutenant Thurman. How long have you been here? Rimes, get in here! They're white, they're blonde, and they seem to be okay!"
"Since yesterday morning," Katherine said.
"Yellow hair from sky," Uhma said.
"How did you get here?" Thurman asked.
"You probably wouldn't believe us," Billy said.
"You're blondes and you are alive," Thurman said. "I'll believe anything now."
* * *
"Are you still cold?" Rocky asked when morning finally came.
"Actually, I'm okay now," Kimberly said. "I have to pee like nobody's business, but I'm not cold anymore."
"Please don't pee in my lap," Rocky said sincerely.
"I used the corner," Jason said, pointing to the farthest corner. "Either that or pee on myself."
"I'm gonna wait a while," Kimberly said. "I'd like to keep my dignity for as long as possible."
"Well, if you'll excuse me," Rocky said, "I'm gonna have to use to the corner."
* * *
"Our clothes!" Katherine cried. She hurried over to her denim shorts and pulled the timer out of her pocket. "Yes, oh thank God."
"Cell Phone?" Rimes asked.
"Timer," Kat said.
"Is that how you travel?" Rimes asked.
"We call it sliding," Billy said. "Our friends. Where are they?"
"We've got some people trying to get them out," Thurman said. "These savages are fairly safe, but it's best to do things as calmly as possible."
"What is going on?" Billy asked. "What's with this world?"
"About a decade ago, there was a major war," Rimes said. "Australia attacked with germ warfare, and it turned out to be much more serious than they thought. The germ cloud got in the atmosphere, and in a matter of a few weeks, every person had been exposed to it."
"The disease, called K-46, killed anyone with a Caucasian or oriental background. Especially Swedes, or pretty much anyone with blonde hair. They died nearly instantly," Rimes said.
"I assume K-46 attacked by altering the genetic code?" Billy asked.
"Correct," Rimes said. "The only race that seemed to be unaffected was the Africans."
"But all of these people here are white," Kat said.
"They're not right," Thurman said. "Some white and Orientals weren't killed, but they were so messed up, they reverted to what you see here. They're harmless, they're just not quite all there, if you know what I mean...."
"There weren't even that many survivors," Rimes said. "There were about five thousand whites and Orientals to survive. So we gave them California. They have a wide range of climates here, they're happy, and we're happy."
"And we just had the bad luck to land here," Billy said. "What's the deal with yellow hair from sky?"
"We've appeased them by telling them that it was their destiny to be here," Thurman said. "We told them that two beings with yellow hair would come to them from the sky to unite them with the rest of the world. We didn't actually think it would happen. We've got some of our best translators trying to explain it to them now."
"How did you find us?" Kat asked.
"We monitor California from a Military Base in Nevada," Rimes said. "We detected five new beings, two of which were in the Throne Building. We ran a scan on you, found out you were blondes with no contamination, and hot-footed it out here."
"Rimes, Thurman?" a man asked, sticking his head into the room. "Can we see you two for a minute?"
"Sure," Rimes said. The two left Billy and Katherine alone.
"Should we ask them why we can't morph?" Katherine asked.
"We better not," Billy said. "They probably don't have Rangers here. It probably just has something to do with electricity, or magnetism, or something. We're bound to the rules of whatever universe we visit. Maybe magic doesn't exist in any form on this world."
"I wonder why they keep it so cold around here," Katherine wondered.
"Maybe the seasons are reversed and it's actually winter," Billy said. "Anything is possible. Maybe they even have air conditioning. Or it might have had something to do with that tranquilizer they gave us."
"They didn't tranquilize me," Katherine said. "Maybe that's it."
"Could be," Billy said. "Man, I want to get out of here. Go someplace safe."
"I hear that," Rocky said.
"Rocky!" Katherine cried.
Rimes and Thurman guided the three teens into the room. Kimberly looked particularly relieved. "Thank you," Kimberly said, hugging Thurman. "I really needed to go to the bathroom."
"Can you leave from this room?" Thurman asked.
"We sure can," Billy said. "Hit it Kat." Katherine held the timer out before her and pushed the button. The bright portal opened up on the wall. She bundled her clothes up and handed Jason the timer.
"We can get dressed on the next world," she said.
"I'm never going to wear leather again," Billy said.
"Thank you so much for rescuing us," Kimberly said.
"Good luck," Thurman said as they all jumped into the wormhole.
Five days later....
"This is weird," Jason said.
"Billy?" Kimberly asked. "Any suggestions?"
Billy slowly climbed to his feet. They were standing in the heart of some city. It wasn't quite right, though. Everything was damaged. Buildings stood only half as tall as they should have normally. The street was covered with cracks. Weeds poked up through the sidewalks. "Armageddon world," Billy said. His voice echoed eerily in the quiet city.
"Looks like it happened some time ago," Rocky said.
"We should be safe here," Katherine said thoughtfully.
"So long as the aliens that did this aren't still hanging around," Kimberly said, half-joking half-serious.
"Anything could have happened," Billy said. "A war, evil space aliens, a plague of some sort... I'd say it happened over twenty years ago though. This place is in rough shape."
Later that afternoon....
Yellow light temporarily flashed in the Command Center. I looked up just as the beam of light touched the ground. Yellow sparkles rained off of it as Tara resumed her physical form. "Running late, aren't we?" I asked.
"We had company I couldn't get away from," Tara said. "Now what's the dilemma?"
"Somethin' freaky's happening to the Dimensional Barrier," Omicron said.
"Where's Sigma?" Crystal asked, looking up only momentarily from the flashing computer screen set into the console before her.
"He's out trying to find the disturbance himself," Dana answered.
"He's been gone for hours," Allison said. "He should have contacted us earlier." A minor alarm went off.
"Shoot," Beth said. She hurried over to a nearby console and immediately acknowledged the alarm. "Omicron, come check this out."
"I'm kind of stuck here," Omicron said. She latched her fingers under the edge of the console and pulled hard.
"I'll check," Dana said.
"Would you come help me?" Omicron asked.
"Sorry," I said. I quickly paused what I was doing and went to help her. "What are you doing this for?"
"I'm just gonna make sure the Power Cells are working," Omicron said. "They haven't gone bad yet, but there's always a first time for anything."
"Wouldn't that be ironic," Allison said.
"The last thing we need is to be down on defenses," Crystal agreed.
"Whoa," Dana said in awe. "Omicron, you really need to come see this."
"Power Cells are okay," she said. She motioned for Tara to help me get the panel back in place.
"Omicron, come see this," Dana said.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Omicron said. She hurried over to the attractive blonde and looked at the console. "What is it?"
"Five lifeforms," Dana said. "Three male, two female. And look at this."
A gasp came from Omicron's mouth. "They have the Power," she said in awe. We all stopped cold in our tracks.
"Run that by us one more time," Allison said.
"Power Rangers," Omicron said. Another alarm sounded. "Shoot! They're being drawn right to us!"
"I'll bounce the signal," Crystal said.
"Don't bounce them too far," Dana said. "They might be good guys."
"Okay," Crystal said. She pushed the round button before her. "They ain't comin' here."
"They're about to land," Omicron said. A few seconds later, she announced, "Crystal Onyx Park. With the buffaloes. Who wants to volunteer to check this out?"
"I'll go," I said.
"Me too," Dana volunteered. We stood next to each other and pressed our left thumb to our left middle finger. Blue light overwhelmed my body. I felt the familiar tickle of a teleport in the pit of my stomach. A few nano-seconds later, my body was just light. With a whoosh, I lifted into the air, discarding the customary blue sparkles of light. Dana in her green teleport stream flew tandem with me, and we darted out of the Command Center.
* * *
"Ow," Rocky said. "Ow. Thorn."
"You big baby," Kimberly said. She crawled over to him and pulled the tiny green briar out of his thumb.
"We're in the country," Katherine said happily.
"Hey cool," Jason said. "Look. Buffaloes."
"Maybe they aren't rare on this world," Billy said.
"Uhm, you guys?" Rocky asked. "Check that out." He pointed at the sky. A blue and a green teleport stream landed far off from them.
"Rangers?" Kimberly asked.
"I guess," Billy said.
"What if they aren't friendly?" Jason asked.
* * *
"We'll just walk up to them very slowly and casually," Dana said.
"Just be ready," I reminded her.
"They've seen us," Dana said. The five figures were walking in our direction.
"Do you recognize them?" I asked.
"No," she said. "You?"
"I don't think so," I answered. However, as we all walked closer to each other, I realized I was very, very wrong. We were within two hundred feet of each other when I made the connection. "No way."
"No way what?" Dana asked.
"I'm gonna go closer," I said. Pressing my thumb and middle finger together, I melted into a blue streak of light and horizontally teleported before the group. Dana was close behind me in a streak of green.
* * *
"Maybe everybody can teleport on this world," Rocky suggested.
"I've never seen a teleport like that," Jason said. The two teens had melted into their teleport streams, but instead of darting up into the sky like teleport streams were wont to do, they were floating toward them at a high of about two feet above the ground.
"Please be friendly," Katherine whispered.
* * *
Dana and I materialized within ten feet of the group. "Hi," I said in awe.
"Hello," Billy said. "My name is Billy."
"Billy?" I asked. I shot Dana a look.
"You mean...?" Dana asked, just as awe-struck as I was.
"They look like them," I whispered. To the group, I said, "Are you sure you aren't David Yost?"
"David who?" Billy asked. "No, I'm Billy Cranston."
"Jason Scott," Jason said, extending his hand.
Dana took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Dana Warder," she answered. "This is Jeremy. Or Jeremy Ray. Whatever he's in the mood to be called today."
"I'll answer to anything," I said in awe.
"I'll save us a little time," Kimberly said. "I'm Kimberly Hart, this is Katherine Hillard, and that guy in back is Rocky DeSantos. We're kind of lost."
"Actually," Rocky said, "we're just passing through."
"Are you Power Rangers?" I asked, finally finding my voice.
"We could ask you the same question," Rocky said. "What's with the teleport?"
"He asked you first," Dana said. She put her arm behind her back and twitched her fingers.
"Yeah, we're Power Rangers," Billy said. "Why?"
Dana gave me a pressing look, to which I just shrugged. "So are we," I finally answered. "This is just down-right weird."
Dana pressed her thumb and forefinger together. She brought them up to her mouth and said, "Omicron, teleport us and our friends here to the Command Center."
"The girl is talking to her thumb," Rocky said. "This is another freak-show world. I knew it. I just knew it." Before anyone could say another word, we melted into seven teleport streams and darted into the daytime sky.
* * *
"How weird is this?" Crystal asked.
"Are you sure it's them?" Tara asked.
"It looks like them," Omicron said.
"I've watched the show with Jarred enough," Allison said. "It's them."
"Here they come," Beth said. The five females turned away the Viewing Screen. The silver and black gridwork wall slid over the large screen. Three blue, two pink, one red, and one green teleport streams lowered into the Command Center.
"It's just like ours," Kimberly said.
"This is unreal," Allison said.
"Would someone please stop acting shocked and tell us what is going on?" Rocky pleaded.
Beth stopped forward. "My name is Beth Berry. That guy over there with his face dragging on the ground is Jeremy, my partner a.k.a. the Blue Ranger. The blonde with him is Dana, my best friend. She's the Green Ranger, I'm the Pink Ranger. This lovely lady here is Crystal Mills, the Red Ranger. Her partner is Purple Ranger Allison Caswell. And lastly we have Tara Logsdon, Dana's partner, also known as the Yellow Ranger. Jeremy and I are sort of like the leaders, but only technically. The reason why everyone is so stunned is because...."
"Hold up," I said. "That may be too much for them to absorb at once."
"He speaks," Crystal said in mock awe.
"I'm Omicron," the last girl said. Jason was immediately struck by her looks. She had blonde hair that hung straight down her back, reaching her waist. "Omicron Pi, actually, but everyone calls me Omicron. I'm sort of like your Alpha."
"How do you know Alpha?" Billy asked.
Omicron shot me a pleading look to which I just shrugged.
"Only one guy Ranger?" Rocky asked.
"Isn't it cool?" I asked with a laugh. "Now I have something very... very very bizarre to tell you. Can you handle it?"
"You have no idea what we've seen," Katherine said. "We can handle anything now."
"Here goes," I said. "You're a television show here."
* * *
"I told you it would shock them," I said.
The five Rangers pretty much temporarily lost their minds when they learned that the Power Rangers is just a television show on our world.
"It's just a little bit too much to handle all at once," Billy said. He leaned against the pedestal that Sigma's Sword sat atop.
* * *
Billy looked at the seven teens in the Command Center before him. It was identical to their Command Center, except that in place of Zordon's tube there was a large pedestal, adorned with crystals shards, with a giant Crystal Sword shoved into the center. The handle of the Sword was adorned with gold and silver, and it was actually quite attractive. He looked at the guy in the dark red t-shirt. _Blue Ranger, but he wears red,_ Billy thought to himself.
The guy reminded him of Jason, strangely enough, with just a little bit of himself thrown in. Wide shoulders, very heavy stance, and short brown hair. Billy noticed almost immediately that the Blue Ranger wore glasses with a specially polished lens, designed not to show that they were actually coke-bottle thick. His eyes were a vibrant shade of green, much like Jenga's.
He looked at Beth Berry. She had blondeish-brown hair that reached halfway down her back. Her eyes were the most bizarre shade of green and gold. She was about as short as Kimberly, but man alive, she was gorgeous. _What is it about gorgeous Pink Rangers?_ Billy asked himself.
His eyes wandered over to the real Red Ranger, who strangely enough, was wearing a navy blue shirt. He didn't know why it seemed so odd that they would be wearing a color different from their Ranger color. He often wore greens and reds. It just seemed that blue was the most prominent color in his closet. She wasn't anything like any of the Red Rangers he had ever known. For one thing, she was a she. She was the lone black person of the group. She reminded Billy of Aisha when she had first shown up. Her hair was styled like Aisha's had been, and she wore a smile that just didn't seem to end.
_And the Purple Ranger,_ he thought to himself. He wanted to see the Purple Ranger in action. For one thing, she was very cute. She didn't carry the same confident air that Beth did, even though she was just as pretty. Her hair was blonde and only reached her shoulders. Her eyes were her strong point. Even from across the room, he could see their crystal blue color plainly. Dana Warder. Yet another Gender anomaly. He couldn't help but associate green with masculinity, even though Aisha had worn the Green Dragon Armor for a while. Dana was also attractive. And she seemed to be very intelligent. _Good body too,_ he noticed with a half-cocked smile.
Tara Logsdon. He wondered if she and Blue Ranger were related. They looked like they might be. Tara wore glasses, for one thing, although that didn't mean anything. Her eyes were brown, and his were green, so they might be. _Their faces don't look very similar, but that's not really a big deal either. Hair color is identical, though._ Tara's brown hair hung halfway down her back in wavy curls. His eyes finally rested on Omicron. He didn't fully understand her yet. She wasn't a Ranger, but she seemed to be the leader. _Another blonde,_ he thought to himself. _Such a shame I'm attracted to brunettes. And the fact that I'm dating Trini. Somewhere._ An alarm suddenly went off in the Command Center.
* * *
"Nadia," Crystal spat through clenched teeth.
"She must know we have company," Allison said.
"There are a butt-load of Naddies in the park," Dana said, reading the monitor.
"Knotty?" Rocky asked.
"Sort of," I said. _If they're from the TV show,_ I thought to myself, _they'll know what I'm talking about._ "They're mechanical fighters that look like Tengas, only they come in all colors."
"They're called Naddies after our bad guy, Nadia," Tara said.
"Do you need help?" Jason asked.
"Are you all up to it?" Beth asked. "Cause we'd be glad to have you."
"If you'll explain everything when we're done," Kimberly said.
"Deal," I said.
"It's Morphin Time!" Beth and I cried in unison.
"TRICERATOPS!" I yelled.
"PTERODACTYL!" Beth cried.
"TYRANNOSAURUS!" bellowed Crystal.
"MASTODON!" Allison shouted.
"BRACHIOSAURUS!" Dana cried.
"SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!" yelled Tara.
"TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!"
"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS --- COUGAR!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!"
Eleven teleport streams rose up out of the Command Center and darted into the heart of Mammoth Cave National Park. "Now to get Sigma back here again," Omicron said to herself.
* * *
"Whoa!" Beth cried. She dropped to the ground in a full split as a Naddie swung a Sword over her. She somersaulted away and hopped to her feet. "PTERODACTYL BALL AND CHAIN!" A pink chain appeared in her hand, complete with a heavy spiked ball, also pink, at the end. She snapped the spiked ball at the Naddie's Sword, knocking it from the bird's grip. She jumped into the air and side-kicked it in the chest, sending it away.
"Comin' thru!" Tara shouted. She flipped over Beth's head with several Naddies in close pursuit. Tara ran through the trees with six Naddies close behind. She ran up the side of a tree, launching herself into a backwards flip. Tara landed gracefully in the back of the group. "SABER-TOOTHED TIGER BOW AND ARROW!" Tara yelled. A yellow, black, and silver Bow appeared in her hand in a flash of yellow light. "Oh yeah," Tara said. She pulled back on the string, producing a yellow arrow of energy. "Hey Birdies!" Tara shouted. The Naddies turned around to look at her. "Heads up." She let the arrow fly, striking one Naddie square in the chest. She quickly spun the bow in her hand and held it out straight in front of her. "Anyone else?" The Naddies suddenly ushed her. She crashed the bow into the robot bird's chest. She tossed the bow up into the air and grabbed it by the tip. Brandishing it like a baseball bat, she began to smash it into the birds, effectively dismantling them all.
"Ki-yaah!" Crystal shouted. She cartwheeled away from the approaching Naddie. Suddenly, a green Naddie dropped out of the tree in front of her. "Oh boy. TYRANNOSAURUS TALONS!" Instantly, her weapons appeared in her hands. The Talons were a shiny metallic red in color. Each Talon had four long three foot blades, attached to a small red handle. The four blades flared out slightly so as to inflict a wider swath of damage. Crystal spun the Talons in her hands. The Naddies stopped running and stared at her. "Not so brave anymore, huh?" Crystal challenged.
Dana planted her left leg on the ground and kicked with her right in a circle all around her, downing several Naddies. Suddenly, an especially angry Naddie ran at her. "Uh-oh!" Dana shouted. She jumped over the twitching birds on the ground and ran away from the angry red bird. It threatened to impale her on a giant spear. Dana glanced behind her and saw that the bird was dangerously close. "BRACHIOSAURUS TRIDENT!" Dana yelled. Her green Trident appeared in her hand in a flash of light. Planting the pronged end into the ground, she wrapped her hands around the trident's shaft and jumped off of the ground. Her momentum carried her in a circle around it. The red Naddie ran past her, confused. As she completed her revolution, she connected solidly with the bird's back. "Oh yeah," Dana said proudly, landing neatly on her feet. The Naddie flew forward and accidentally impaled itself on its own spear.
"Going up!" Allison shouted, leaping off of the ground. She traveled straight up in the air, landing neatly on a tree branch about forty-five feet above her. A purple Naddie with a Sword was close behind her. "Hey!" Allison shouted, spinning around on the branch. "Don't sneak up on people." The Naddie swung the Sword at her. "Okay," Allison said, backing up to avoid the sharp blade. "You wanna play rough, we'll play rough. MASTODON MACHETE!" A three-foot long purple machete appeared in her hand. She blocked the Sword just in time. "You birds get on my nerves," Allison said. She yanked her Machete back and knocked the Sword out of the Naddie's grip. Allison quickly jumped in the air and executed a perfect 360 spin kick. The Naddie fell from the branch, screaming to the ground. It hit the Earth and exploded, sending machine parts everywhere.
"Oh geez," I said. Four particularly mean yellow Naddies circled around me. Each carried a very sharp axe. I glanced up and saw a heavy limb high above me. "TRICERATOPS WHIP!" I shouted. With a flash of blue light, the Triceratops Whip appeared in my hand. It was entirely contained with a blue cylinder, complete with a wicked looking claw at the top. I stuck my arm straight up into the air. The whip flew from the claw and darted straight up, wrapping itself around the limb. "Goin' up," I said. The whip retracted into the cylinder, pulling me to safety.
"Need a hand?" Allison asked at the top. She took my hand and pulled me to the branch.
"What's with these birds today?" I asked.
"They seem awful strong," Allison agreed. "Oh crap. Rocky looks like he's in trouble."
"Let's go," I said. We took off running through the tree tops, hopping gracefully from limb to limb.
_I will never complain about Tengas again,_ Rocky thought. He had his Arm Blades out before him, blocking a Saber. The Naddie was quickly pinning him to the ground. "Geez," Rocky said. He lashed out with his foot, finally knocking the Naddie away from him. He rolled away and jumped to his feet.
Katherine slashed across the chest of a pink Naddie with her Power Shield. Two white Naddies suddenly rushed her. "WHOA!" Katherine shouted. She jumped into the air and kicked them both at the same time. "These things don't fight like Tengas!" Kimberly cried, smashing her bow against a very nasty pink bird.
"They have no pattern!" Billy shouted, barely blocking a swipe from a sharp Sword. Suddenly, a large crowd of Naddies of all colors began to approach the five Rangers.
* * *
"They're all in trouble!" I shouted.
"You guys, get over here!" Allison shouted into our communication system. "We got Rangers in trouble!"
Allison and I ran through the trees until we were above them. "Ready?" I asked.
She stretched out her right forearm, and we smacked them together, producing that cool whoosh sound. "Let's do it," she said. "Hi-yaaah!" we yelled in unison as we flipped out of the tree. We landed cat-like on our feet and promptly recovered. I jumped into the air and spin-kicked three Naddies.
"They have no fight pattern!" Allison shouted. "Just fight fast and hard!" She slashed at one with her Machete and jabbed another with her elbow on the return stroke.
"They're like the gargoyles in the first movie!" I shouted.
"What?" Rocky asked.
"On Phaedos," I re-iterated, high-kicking a Naddie that got too close.
"Check this!" Allison shouted. She threw her Machete like a boomerang. The Power immediately overtook the weapon, and it began to spin around them in a circle, slashing at each Naddie. Suddenly, all of the Naddies disappeared in streaks of black light.
"Is it over?" Rocky asked.
Beth, Crystal, Dana, and Tara ran up to us. "They just took off," Crystal said.
Suddenly, blue light flashed above us. The forest temporarily darkened, and Nadia dropped out of the sky. She has made herself into the form of my ideal woman since I am the only guy on the team. I'm ashamed to say that I've often found myself distracted during battles. She has long blonde hair, bright blueish-green eyes, and a gorgeous smile. She wears long dark blue robes that drape the ground. Nadia is a demon in the truest sense of the word. She isn't a demon inhabiting a body, she's a demon. Period. She has a very bizarre crew of henchmen, all of who look basically human. "Rangers," Nadia said teasingly. "All eleven of you."
"What do you want?" Beth asked.
"Chill little cheerleader," Nadia said. "I'm just here to visit. Thought I might like to meet your new friends."
"You know who they are," I snarled.
"Yes," Nadia agreed. "Yes I do." Nadia turned from us and began to walk away. "I've decided to invite a friend."
"You wouldn't dare," Beth said, running after her.
"Don't be a fool," Tara said, joining Beth in her pursuit.
"Duran nearly killed you last time too!" I shouted, joining my friends. The rest of the Rangers were close behind us.
"He owes me this time," Nadia said.
"Hey!" Crystal shouted. She ran ahead of Nadia and placed a gloved hand on each arm. Nadia eyed the Red Ranger condescendingly. "He nearly killed us all," Crystal growled. "You included. Why would you do this again?"
"He owes me," Nadia said with a grin. "If I bring him from hell, he will be indebted to me."
"Please," Dana said. "He'll turn against you too."
Nadia pushed Crystal aside. "I've made my mind up," Nadia said very calmly. "I'll let you know... when he arrives." Nadia disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
"God not again," Dana pleaded.
"Who's Duran?" Kat asked.
"Come on," I said. "We'll go back to the Command Center and explain everything."
* * *
"I saw what happened," Omicron said sadly when we arrived. "But you guys beat Duran once. You can do it again."
"It was luck last time and you know it," I said as we removed our helmets.
Billy looked at the six of us. We all wore the same type of muscle-fitting body armor, shiny and almost metallic in appearance. No one had a special shield to signify importance. The Blue, Pink, and Yellow Rangers were identical to the original Blue, Pink, and Yellow Rangers. The Red Ranger's helmet was identical to Jason's, although the body was that of a woman. Purple Ranger's helmet was just like Black Ranger's Mastodon, only purple. Green Ranger was a new design, however. Her Power Coin, the Brachiosaurus, showed a hint of a long curved neck with the dinosaur's face foremost in the coin. Her helmet was a uniform green. The neck of the Brachiosaurus split the center of the visor, much as Pterodactyl's beak split Pink Ranger's visor. The weapons were certainly different, and a few other things. Billy wondered if he would get to see the Zords. If they even had Zords.
"Don't be so hard on yourselves," a deep voice said from the back of the room. Everyone present turned to look. A young man with short brownish-blonde hair leaned against the Sword. He had the same underwater look that Catalina had, indicating that he was a hologram. He wore blue jeans and an ordinary t-shirt, which greatly surprised the five new Rangers. "You were chosen for a good reason."
"Syde River," Beth muttered.
"Coincidence," Crystal said.
"Fate," Omicron said firmly.
"He's right," I said. "We can beat Duran. Somehow, some way."
"Can someone come back to Earth and pick me up because I am totally lost," Kimberly said.
"I guess we do have some explaining," the hologram said. "First off, my name is Sigma."
"Sigma?" Billy asked. The name suddenly clicked. "Do you know Catalina?!"
"Catalina of Eltare?" Sigma asked, raising his eyebrows. "Out of the loop? Blue hair, white gown? That Catalina?"
"Yes!" Jason cried.
"Yes, I do know Catalina," Sigma said. "I haven't spoken to her in several months, though."
"We're from her dimension," Katherine said.
"We're stuck sliding the dimensions, trying to get home," Rocky added.
Sigma looked at the Sword. It began to glow with a soft white light. "I'll set up a message beacon for Catalina," Sigma said. "She'll notice it in a few days, and she can come here."
"They'll know we're okay," Kat said happily.
Sigma smiled. "I suppose you are from a world where Zordon is your mentor?" Sigma offered. "Right? Or do you have Dimitria?"
"Who is Dimitria?" Rocky asked.
"Let me try something," I said. "Does the name Jenga mean anything to you?"
The noticeable shudder which unconsciously passed through the Earth told me everything I needed to know. "Sigma, they're from that fan fic I've been writing!"
"Now how cool is this?!" Omicron cried happily.
"Fan fic?" Rocky asked.
"Here's the basic story," Sigma said. "On this world, the Power Rangers are a television show. Plain and simple, just a television show. The superheroes, who look like you five, wear spandex."
"We went to a world where the Rangers wore spandex," Billy added.
"There was a movie that came out here a few years ago about the Power Rangers," I said. "It was about when Ivan Ooze destroyed the Command Center, and you all wore armor like you are wearing now."
"Here's a question," Jason said. "I'm willing to accept that this is a world where the Power Rangers are just a TV show. But how do you all fit into the equation?"
"We'll get to that in a minute," Sigma said. "Screen on."
A section of the wall slid back and revealed a large wall. It was split into five sections. The pictures of Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, and Austin St. John appeared on the screen. "These are the actors that play you on the television show."
"They look just like us," Kimberly said.
"Yes," Sigma said. "People in this dimension are very psychically sensitive. Extremely so, even though very, very few are aware of it. Because of this psychic sensitivity, a series chronicling your adventures has arisen here. It is a near-identical duplicate of your lives." A few select scenes from the show began to play on the screen, minus the sound. "Coincidence, yes, but there are so many dimensions out there...."
"We've been through sixty or seventy ourselves," Billy said.
"So where do you all fit into the picture?" Kimberly asked.
"Nadia and I battled millennia ago," Sigma said. "She is a demon, I am an archangel. During one last fierce battle, she knocked me out of the dimension just as I banished her. However, the spell on her banishment wore off in September of 1995. I was sent another archangel, Miss Omicron Pi here, to stop them."
"I brought the Sword as a gift to Sigma," Omicron said. "It's one of the most powerful objects in this dimension."
"We thought it would let me leave this dimension of mine," Sigma said, "but it wouldn't. So I wasn't able to teach Omicron how to fight Nadia."
"We decided to get outside help," Omicron said, "so we followed the Syde River. No one but Sigma and I have even heard of them."
"Syde Rivers are powerful lines of magic. Sort of like Ley Lines, but not exactly. For one thing, Syde Rivers are much more powerful. For another, they are much, much more rare," Sigma explained.
"Mammoth Cave is one giant Syde River," Omicron said. "With many, many powerful extensions out."
"We followed the two strongest extensions to their stopping point," Sigma said. "We found that one led through Jeremy's house, and the other led through Beth's house. These Syde Rivers that they had lived on top of their entire lives made them very, very susceptible to magic, even though they never knew. It was just the purest of coincidences that they had lived on the Syde River."
"We monitored them for a while to see if they would make exemplary warriors," Omicron added. "And they were. Both are teen leaders of the community and very trustworthy. We began to look for ideas of how they would make warriors."
"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers : The Movie, came out on June 30, 1995," Sigma said. "This movie made Jeremy a fan of the whole Power Rangers concept. I soon discovered this when I tried to probe his mind for his strategic strong points. "It just made perfect sense for me to create my own Rangers. I didn't make them quite like the movie Rangers, however. For one thing, we have purple and green Rangers. I like colors. So, as soon as I had the entire Ranger concept mapped out, I created six Golden Power Coins. The Blue Coin powered by the Triceratops, Pink by Pterodactyl, Red by Tyrannosaurus, Purple by Mastodon, Green by Brachiosaurus, and Yellow by Saber-Toothed Tiger. I also created the Command Center here, deep in Mammoth Cave to base our operations in."
"We also did another very interesting thing," Omicron said. "We paired the Rangers up. We decided that the Blue and Pink Rangers would be the leaders. Blue as it is synonymous with masculinity, and pink as it is synonymous with femininity. Blue and Pink Rangers were made joint leaders of the team and partners. We also paired Red and Purple up, as we did Green and Yellow."
"We teleported Jeremy and Beth here on September 8, a Friday afternoon, after school," Sigma said with a mischievous grin.
"Beth thought she had lost her mind and I thought I was in heaven," I said with a laugh. "Imagine finding myself here in the Command Center. Blew my mind."
"I can appreciate that," Jason said, to which Billy and Kimberly chuckled.
"We filled them in, gave them the Coins, and asked them to recruit four of their friends for the other Rangers," Sigma said.
"Just like that?" Rocky asked.
"I used my Sword to place a spell of acceptance on them," Sigma said.
"How did you choose?" Katherine asked.
"We suggested so many people," Beth said.
"Dozens," I added.
"We finally narrowed it down to the four you see here when I realized that they also were susceptible to magic," Sigma said. "It's made their morphing process much easier on them."
"I selected Allison and Tara," I said, "and Beth selected Crystal and Dana. We were all friends, to an extent, but we weren't all a big group of friends."
"We still aren't, really," Crystal said sheepishly.
"We're very, very good friends, but not as good as you all are. We have our own lives, and since we've gone to college, we mainly only see each other together as a group during a Ranger emergency."
"We also live in the country," Tara said, "and we don't have a common hang-out within walking distance."
"The closest town is Munfordville, population twenty-five hundred," I said.
"Didn't the public find it very weird that a group of superheroes that look just like some TV show suddenly show up to defend the world?" Billy asked.
"Hew," I breathed out. "That's another thing."
"No one knows about us," Sigma said. "We have no desire to be found out, and Nadia has no idea to be found out. She attacks, we fight, and if anyone sees it, I use my Sword to both wipe the memory from their mind, give them an alternate memory, and repair any damage done during the fight."
"This world doesn't know it's in danger?" Rocky asked in horrified awe.
"No," we all said in unison.
"Some of our friends and family know," Dana said, "but there is an acceptance and denial spell placed on them."
"They accept it no problem," Sigma said, "but invariably deny it. And, if they feel the urge to tell, they physically can't. But only a very few know about it."
"Your Sword seems very powerful," Billy said. "Could you send us home?"
"No," Sigma said sadly. "I cannot. If I could, I wouldn't trapped where I am. Worse yet, I can't even leave Mammoth Cave in this dimension, thanks to a dirty little spell of Nadia's."
"I think we should wait here until Catalina shows up," Rocky said warily. "If no one minds."
"Not at all," Omicron said.
"Of course not," I said. "In fact, my parents are out of town for the summer. You can stay with me for as long as you like."
"This will give us a chance to get rested up," Kimberly said with a sigh.
"Eat real food," Rocky said. "I am so tired of all-you-can-eat buffets."
"Shower once a day," Jason said blissfully.
"And Jeremy gets to stay in the same house with his two favorite Pink Rangers," Beth whispered in my ear.
"Don't you even go there," I threatened.
* * *
"Shower is in here," I said, motioning to the bathroom. "Omicron is going to synthesize you all some clothes and teleport them here."
"Can I go ahead and take a shower?" Kimberly asked.
_Kimberly Ann Hart is going to use my shower._ With a tremble, I said, "Sure."
"Where are your parents?" Rocky asked.
"Virginia visiting family," I said. "I go see 'em every few days. You know, they're just a teleport away. And I really needed to stay here, because Nadia tends to attack wherever we are. Sigma saved Beth's butt nearly every day because Nadia was always attacking at Boot Camp. Crystal too."
"Crystal and Beth are in the army?" Jason asked. "That is so cool."
"Crystal is air-force, actually," I said, "but yeah, it is cool. Tara just lives down the road. We get attacked around here all the time."
"Are you related?" Billy asked.
"No, Logsdon is a common name around here," I answered. "Lot of Irish blood in Hart County." I led them to the back of the house. "I keep my weight machine back here. Feel free to use 'em."
"Great," Jason said. "I haven't lifted since we left."
"Spotter safe," I said. "I'm usually the only one home, so I got something I could lift by myself on."
"Has it got negative resistance?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, just like free weights," I said. "I also have some barbells up to fifty behind it."
"How long you been lifting?" Jason asked.
"Since I was fifteen," I said. "You?"
"Fourteen," Jason answered.
_This is so cool,_ I thought to myself. _I'm talking to Jason Scott about lifting weights._ "Oh yeah," I said. "I forgot the most important thing. If you need to contact the Command Center, press your index finger and thumb together. That opens the radio connections, and you just talk into your thumb."
"Like we saw Dana doing," Rocky said.
"To teleport, press your thumb and middle finger together," I said. "I'll show you how to do the slow teleports, later. And the horizontal. It's pretty simple. Just takes some getting used to, because normally you just let yourself fly."
"Sleeping arrangements?" Katherine asked. "Where will we sleep?"
"We have three bedrooms," I said. "You and Kim can take my bed, two of the guys can take the guest bed, somebody can take my parents bed, and I'll hit the couch."
"That doesn't sound very fair," Jason said. "Why should you take the couch? It's your house."
"But you all are guest in my house," I said. "I really don't mind. And I sleep alone. I tend to kick and thrash around a lot. But anyway, let me go cook some dinner. You all are bound to be hungry."
"Read my mind!" Rocky cried happily.
* * *
The five Rangers looked up at the dark night sky. A blue trail of sparkling light floated across the sky. It landed amongst them. I touched down on the ground in a reclined position, as were they. "Do your parents mind us staying here?" Jason asked.
"They're cool with it," I answered. "They give their regards."
"Even though it's just for a few days," Kimberly said, "I'm glad to be in one definite place."
"Without having our doubles to contend with," Billy agreed.
"I'm glad to have you here," I said truthfully. I think Billy suspected my secret television crush on Katherine and Kimberly, but he didn't say anything. For which I was extremely grateful. I also kind of have a crush on Beth, although I wouldn't say anything to jeopardize our friendship for anything. I don't know what it is with me and Pink Rangers. I'm grateful we don't wear spandex. There is no way I would ever get any fighting done if Beth ran around in pink tights. With the armor, we all look too dangerous to feel any attraction at all. Impressive, but not attractive.
Katherine read the last page of The Earth Crystals. "This is unreal," she said. "It's exactly what happened to us. Well, I can't really say about the stuff with the villains, but it sounds about right."
"Proves the psychically sensitive theory," I said. "I thought it was just a story. It's not even all mine. Kittie told me Tanya's animal guide, Akiko gave me some ideas, as did Ellen."
"Who are they?" Katherine asked. "They're here in the disclaimer."
"Good friends off of the Internet," I said with a smile. "I hadn't planned on writing a sequel, but I believe I will now. Eerily enough, a friend of mine, Cynthia, wrote a fan fic that was sort of like this scenario."
"What are you going to call it?" Rocky asked. "The sequel, I mean."
"I have no idea," I said, "but it's going to be about this. Can you all help me write about your sliding adventures?"
"Sure," Billy said.
"I wonder if we'll ever get home," Jason thought out loud.
"In a way it's sort of cool," Rocky said.
"It is," Katherine agreed. "Traveling on worlds that are parallel to our own, yet can be so completely different."
"Every time we slide I think of Quantum Leap," Jason said. "You know, that whole thing about hoping each leap will be the leap home. I miss Emily."
"I miss Tommy," Katherine said.
"I miss Skull."
"I miss Trini."
We all looked at Rocky with inquisitive eyes. "No response," Rocky sighed. "This has been fun. Sort of. But I'm willing to get off of this parallel world to go home. No offense."
"None taken," I said. "I'd hate to be stuck in Angel Grove. Is Angel Grove in California?"
"Yeah," Jason answered.
"They never really said on the show, but everyone thought so," I said. We were all silent for a few moments. "Was there really a world where the Rangers wore spandex?"
I later learned that the world in question was known to this world as Ellen Brand's Personality Conflicts Universe, even more proof of the psychically sensitive theory.
"I think we'll make a good story," Kimberly said.
"I just hope it has a happy ending," Billy sighed.
"We need a good title," Rocky mused.
"How about Parallels?" Kimberly suggested.
The End... for now
