"A Thunderous Return"

Angel Grove Mountains.

A range of grayish-blue craggy peaks set against a sky of the lightest blue. White tufts of clouds played in that same sky, making puffy designs in the vast expanse. A soft lilting wind blew through the valley at the base of the mountains, slowly moving the foliage on the sparse group of trees. The breeze caught the corners of the red and white-checkered blanket splayed beneath the dome of two trees. A vast array of fruits and vegetables along with plastic containers of various sauces and dips littered the blanket.

Tommy Oliver and Katherine Hillard sat on the blanket, noisily snacking on carrot sticks and cauliflower heads. They silently exchanged glances while chuckling lightly. Kat was the first to speak after finishing a carrot stick.

“I’m really glad we decided to go on this outing, Tommy,” Kat said, wiping her mouth with a napkin in the same design as the blanket. “It’s been so hectic lately. It’s nice to get away from it all.”

“Yeah,” Tommy answered, “Boy, Mondo and Machina have really been keeping us busy.”

“Well, nothing’s really changed, has it? From Rita to Zedd to Rita AND Zedd.”

Tommy nodded, chuckling softly. “Then Rito came along followed by Master Vile. It’s like…we’re a big magnet for danger - All kinds of villains, all kinds of trouble.”

“’Magnets for Trouble.’ Yep, sounds like good title for a romance novel.”

They both broke into a laugh before stopping awkwardly. Their eyes locked. The space between them closed slowly. The emotion was so tangible; it hung like a heavy fog. As their lips met, an electric charge sparked around them. They quickly pulled apart, staring at each other in amazement.

“Wow!” Katherine breathed.

“Did you feel that?!” Tommy exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Kat said. “Who knew?”

Tommy noticed, however, that the electricity didn’t diminish. The air seemed charged – before his eyes, flicks of energy danced about.

He grabbed Kat by her hand and helped her to her feet. Kat seems to notice the same change in their atmosphere.

“What is it, Tommy?”

“I don’t know, Kat. I hope it’s not Mon-…” He stopped, staring at the space before them. The air started to congeal and flex like a bowl of gelatin. As if someone had smashed it with a large hammer, the air fell in on itself. Large flashes of energy converged on the hole, outlining the doorway. Swirls of color played around the orifice.

Raising his communicator to his lips, Tommy pressed the transmission buttons. “Alpha, we’ve got a problem here!”

Twenty miles away in the strategic Power Chamber, Alpha-5, the android keeper of the base, typed commands on the multi-colored command panels. From his new vantage point, Zordon, the interdimensional being from the planet Eltare, gazed at the small android as he worked the computers.

“Ay-yi-yi-yii! Tommy, we’re detecting severe distortions in the space-time continuum!”

“We’re looking at it, Alpha!” Tommy’s response echoed from the speakers.

“Tommy, I…I’m not sure, but I think something’s coming through!” Kat said, flabbergasted from the background.

“TOMMY, EXERCISE CAUTION,” Zordon boomed. “IT MAY BE A TRAP BY MONDO!”

“Right, out.”

Kat moved closer to the tear as Tommy closed the channel to the Power Chamber. She peered into the “tear” and gasped slightly. She swore she saw something in the far end of the distortion.

But she heard before she saw.

A scream, like the kind one hears from the echoes in an enclosed space if one were falling, issued forth from the tear. It grew closer and louder with each passing second.

“Uh, Tommy?” Kat asked nervously. She moved closer to the Red Zeo Ranger and took his hand in hers.

Tommy tried to make out anything in the tear, but he couldn’t. The scream got closer…

…And closer…

…Until…

“What the…?!” Tommy exclaimed.

Violently expelled from a shaft of golden light with the fissure, an ebon draped figure fell to the ground with a bone-jarring thud. A moan escaped him on impact. As quickly as it came, the fissure disappeared.

The man sat up from the grass and rubbed his head. His black jeans were torn in various places while his black shirt hung raggedly off his massive form. A gold chain, twisted and bent, cut into his skin, a trickle of blood staining the collar.

“Ugh! What a ride there, eh?!” He said with a slight accent that sounded Canadian to Tommy. “Where am I?!”

The two Zeo Rangers approached him, stopping short and looking at him. Unsure feelings made it difficult to believe this was genuine.

“Uh, are you all right?” Tommy asked.

The man got to his feet and reached for his back, almost instantly. A grimace of pain graced his handsome features, but it was quickly replaced with recognition.

“Tommy!” he exclaimed. “Man, am I glad to see you! I guess Dimension Demon didn’t send me to another dimension after all!”

Tommy and Kat exchanged puzzled glances. The man walked up and clapped Tommy on the shoulder, laughing slightly. When he saw their looks, he stopped and looked at them as well.

“Uh, Tommy,” he started, “what’s with all the red, man? I thought white was your color of choice.” He then looked into the lovely face of Katherine and cocked his head to the side. “And who might this lovely one be? I thought you and Kim were…” He raised his hands as he stopped himself. “Oops, sorry! None of my business!”

Squeezing Tommy’s hand, Kat moved a tad bit closer and shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

“Uh…uh, this is Katherine,” Tommy introduced, still a bit puzzled.

The man extended his hand and Katherine shook it, feeling genuine warmth. “A pleasure, Katherine.” He looked about, absorbing in his surroundings before turning back to the Red Zeo Ranger. “Where are the others? Where’s Aisha?”

Katherine exchanged another look with Tommy and shook her head.

“Tommy? Is something the matter?” the man queried.

Finally giving up with trying to figure this out on his own, Tommy asked, “Just who are you?”

Slowly, the man’s goateed face drained of color. He began to look about wildly – like some caged animal trapped in unfamiliar surroundings.

“No. Aw, no. No, it can’t be! Mon Dieu! Same mountains! Same sky! Nothing is different! Nothing’s changed!” He turned quickly back to Tommy. “Tommy, are you still the White Ranger?!”

Tommy and Katherine exchanged glances again. The man became more agitated with at their hesitation.

“Well, are you or aren’t you?! Are you not the White Ranger, power of the falcon, controller of the White FalconZord?!”

The Red Zeo Ranger didn’t know what to do. Faced with a man who was either insane or one of Mondo’s traps, he’d never been in a situation like this under these circumstances. Kat nudged him. Apparently, she was thinking the same thing.

“Well!?!” the man demanded.

“Before I tell you anything,” Tommy said, picking up his trademark confidence, “I have to know who you are.”

The man grabbed his head again and ran his hand over his low cut hair.

“I am Sean Morissette,” he said with a voice of uncertainty, “and I am the Gold Ranger.”

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V / Part VI / Part VII
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