The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6 - Heather Ray (read novels website TXT) 📗

light brown hair and wire-frame glasses. He had a warm smile on his face.

"Dad!" Rebecca exclaimed happily. "You're here!"

The Terran Rangers were forced to take a second look at the image, after his identity was revealed. In particular, Billy found he couldn't take his eyes from the screen.

^I opened up the com-link as soon as I got your page,^

Will replied. ^Are you all okay?^

"Absolutely," Micah responded, limping toward the globe. "Just a little sore. Small price to pay to save the Terran Rangers."

Will's smile stretched with obvious relief. ^I'm very proud of all of you. You've come through when your parents needed you the most.^

All five Starlight Rangers smiled proudly at the compliment. Micah puffed up his chest slightly, while Regina slid her arm around Anthony's waist. Brittany crossed her arms and grinned the almost cocky grin that her father made famous. Finally, Rebecca remained very conservative, but she did feel her eyes sting slightly at the praise of the man she respected more than anyone else. "Um, what do you want us to do here, Mr. Mitchell?" Billy found himself saying once he found his voice. Afterwards, he realized how silly it sounded addressing himself in that manner.

Will chuckled. ^Mr. Mitchell is so formal, especially considering that you are me. Just call me Will.^

"Okay," Billy said.

^Anyway, I'm getting ready to send a portal. Send the Starlight Rangers through, along with Tommy and the two arrowhead halves.^

Tommy glanced at all his friends in surprise, and then at the globe.

"Why do I need to come Mr. Mit -- uh, Will?" asked Tommy.

^You and David were destined to unite the arrowhead, and I don't know what the consequences would be of someone else doing it. It may be that the arrowhead wouldn't magically combine. I don't want to take any chances. Since your David doesn't have the Power, he cannot travel through the Multiverse. So I'm betting that our David can unite the arrowhead with you, since our Tom is...incapacitated

.^

^Besides,^

said a gentle female voice from behind Will, ^someone has to bring the arrowhead back to you.^

On the Viewing Globe, Trini Mitchell's serene face peeked into view beside Will's. Oddly, Billy found himself startled by her sudden appearance.

^Aisha,^

Will called, turning his head from the Viewing Globe, ^do you have the Multiversal Transporter programmed?^

^It's ready to go!^

Aisha Drew exclaimed from somewhere to the side. Regina's eyes widened in surprise.

"What's Mom doing in the CAC?" she inquired.

^She came as soon as she found out the Terran Rangers 'died'

.^

Will answered. All the Terran Rangers cringed at that choice of words.

"Should we be worried?" Adam asked. "Could the same thing happen to us in the future?"

Will pursed his lips pensively. ^It took decades of constant use of the Power to create the condition our Terra team is in presently. The best advice I can give you is this: don't keep the Power longer than you have to. It wasn't meant to be used by human beings for so long.^

Adam and the other Terran Rangers nodded, and Will's face vanished from the Viewing Globe. Seconds later, a black portal irised out from the center of the CAC. The Starlight Rangers snapped on their helmets in unison, and stepped closer to the portal. But before they stepped through, the Pink Ranger turned back to the Terran Rangers.

"I...want to thank you again for all your help," she said gently. "We know that you're making a great sacrifice by letting us unite the arrowhead now. You could have kept it for an emergency, when you need this healing power."

"We could have," Kimberly said, approaching the petite Ranger and embracing her warmly, "but then we wouldn't be Power Rangers."

It was impossible to see the expressions the Starlight Rangers wore, but it was clear that they were greatly effected by Kimberly's simple response. Those ten words, stated with such gentle conviction, completely encompassed what it meant to be a Power Ranger.

"We'd better get going," Anthony said after a brief silence. "Our parents need us. Tommy?"

"I'm right behind you," Tommy said, placing his helmet in the crook of his arm. Anthony nodded, waved briefly at the other Rangers, and jumped through the portal. In order, Regina, Micah, Rebecca, and Brittany leaped through the hole, the blackness of the Multiverse flashing with red, pink, green, blue, and yellow light with each Ranger. Tommy turned to his friends, and hugged Kimberly tightly.

"I'll be right back," he said, kissing her on the cheek. Kim smiled up at him.

"I know you will," she said.

"Here," said David, approaching his brother, "you'll need these."

Tommy bowed his head, allowing David to draw both arrowhead chords around his neck.

"Don't go anywhere," Tommy told his new-found sibling. "You and I have some catching up to do."

David smiled, and hugged Tommy. "Be careful, Brother."

Once they broke, Tommy pulled his helmet over his head, took a deep breath, and jumped through the portal. It irised to a close behind him.

Chapter Fifty-Three

After a somewhat nauseating roller-coaster ride through the infinite expanse of the Multiverse, Tommy fell onto his stomach on a hard navy tiled floor. He groaned inwardly, and lifted his head off the ground. He was startled when a hand lowered, offering him help. The hand itself wasn't startling, though. Rather, it was the person to whom the hand belonged. Her thick black hair was cut very short, with longer bangs hanging over her forehead. Her dark eyes still twinkled with abundant energy, and the few lines near the corners of her lips only made her smile seem wider. Other than the fact that she was obviously older, her identity was unmistakable.

"Aisha?" Tommy asked. She nodded, and helped the young man to his feet.

"You got it, Tommy," she said, lifting her head to lock eyes with the Red Terran Ranger. "It's a good thing you recognized me. I've been told I haven't aged a bit since college."

Tommy shook his head, a grin crossing his lips. It was Aisha, all right.

Tommy scanned the CAC, and immediately recognized Will and Trini from before. Behind Aisha stood a man of Native American descent, with graying dark hair and a pair of glasses. He must have been David. Also there were all five Starlight Rangers, now helmetless and grouped behind David. Tommy was surprised to realize that that was all the people in the CAC.

"Where's everyone else?" he inquired.

"To whom are you referring?" Will asked, rising to his feet. "The Terran Rangers are by the med-unit, and all their family members were sent home. To be perfectly honest, they were getting in my way...and I'm sure some rest would do them all good. Aisha and Trini are here to help me. Aisha's not a doctor, but she's the closest thing to a medical doctor we have on the team, and so she kept an eye on the Rangers with Trini's help. David is here because he will unite the arrowhead with you. I sent everyone else home."

"They were making Will nervous," Trini added with a grin.

Will frowned at the comment. "They weren't accomplishing anything by waiting here," he protested. "Everyone is going through an extremely taxing experience right now, and the Rangers' families need all the rest they can get."

Will started to walk towards Tommy, but Trini caught his arm. He glanced at her face, which wore a knowing smile. He sighed, and began to chuckle. "All right, I admit it! They were making me nervous. Trevor constantly glancing over your shoulder would make even you lose it."

Tommy smiled at the exchange between Trini and Will. Although they had been married for years, they seemed as much best friends as husband and wife.

"Okay, Tommy," Will said, turning back to his guest, "where's the arrowhead?"

Tommy reached underneath his collar, and pulled out two leather chords, each with a half of a stone arrowhead on it. Will nodded, and took one necklace off Tommy's neck. He handed it to David.

"We're going to resuscitate the Power Rangers," Will said, "I'll come with you, and keep an eye on the vital functions of the Rangers. Tommy, you'd better un-morph. The Power may interfere with the energy of the arrowhead, and we don't want any complications."

Tommy nodded, and silently willed the Power to deactivate. His red uniform vanished, leaving him in the attire he wore to school earlier in the day. Will nodded, and turned to his wife.

"Trini, could you make sure to seal off the med-unit area with an opaque force-field? I don't want anything to interfere with this endeavor."

Trini nodded, and began the code to program the force-field.

"Will," said Aisha, "what about the Rangers' families?"

"Could you contact them for me?" Will said, continuing to walk to the med-unit. "Time is of the essence."

"I can't," she replied, her eyes not straying from a small monitor, "I have to keep the Multiversal Transporter locked onto Tommy's home world. He'll probably want to get home as quickly as possible, and if we lose the connection, it could take hours to re-establish. Time travel is far trickier than cross-time travel."

"You're beginning to sound like Will," Trini commented wryly, glancing up from her work. "Kids, you want to contact your families?"

"We'd be glad to," Micah replied, as he and the other Starlights hurried to the communications relay.

Tommy watched as the five Starlight Rangers began informing all the families of the Terran Rangers that the healing procedure was about to take place. He then followed David and Will, who were waiting for him in the corner by the med-unit. He saw the six cots, each with an individual on it. A chill rose his spine when he saw the man dressed in red. He didn't look more than perhaps thirty, although he was over forty-five years old. Tommy blinked in surprise when he realized his older self had short hair, cropped neatly in much the same style as Will's hair. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch his double, as if doubting he was really a person. But as soon as his hand drew close, instead of touching flesh, his hand contacted an invisible screen, about half an inch above Tom. Tommy blinked in confusion.

"They were dying," Will explained, typing in some commands onto the med-unit's scanner, "so I had to place them in stasis. The field around them basically freezes them, so their condition doesn't deteriorate."

Tommy nodded silently, although he had already known that information. Eerily, it felt like deja-vu. Just days ago, Aisha was dying from a mysterious disease, and required being placed in suspended animation while the cure was hunted down.

The hazards of being a Power Ranger were escalating