The Terran Rangers/X-Men, Heather Ray [best fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

fragment of the M'Kraan Crystal, the nexus of reality. By uniting the Zeo shard with the remainder of the crystal, all the damage done to the timestream could be repaired. Most specifically, the mutant Charles Xavier would not have been assassinated decades ago, and the High Lord Apocalypse would not have ascended to power. It was for this reason that these four heroes desire to find the Zeo Crystal, but only the strange teenagers that appeared from another dimension had access to the crystal. These four men of action were forced to do something that they were unaccustomed to. Wait.

"How long can it possibly take them to retrieve the Zeo Crystal?" asked Nate impatiently, "I'm getting stir-crazy in here!"

"KIMBERLY AND ZACHARY MUST PASS THE TEST OF THE CAVES OF DECEPTION,"

said Zordon, the wise alien wizard and owner of the Command Center. "THEY MUST BE TRUE-HEARTED, AND CONFIDENT. NOT JUST ANYONE CAN PASS THE TEST, AND EARN THE ZEO CRYSTAL. YOU MUST BE PATIENT."

"Stay calm, Nate," said Shadow. "This isn't our fight. It's Kim and Zack's."

Magneto couldn't help but smile when he heard those words of wisdom coming from Billy. Magneto had uttered them to the young man many times before, back when Billy was a member of the X-Men. Billy lacked discipline, most likely because of all that he had to endure during his young life. All his friends had died, and he was alone in the world. Magneto decided to take it upon himself to train the young man to harness his bitterness and anger that he felt towards the world, and use it to make said world a better place. Billy did indeed learn from Magneto, and the leader of the X-Men grew very proud of Billy. Billy had succeeded in earning Magneto's respect, a thing which was not easy to do. He didn't let the horrors that happened to him in youth prevent him from taking a stand against evil.

Suddenly, in a flash of light, both Magneto and Nate Grey vanished. Shadow and Forge looked around in confusion.

"Erik?" said Shadow, "Nate?"

"What happened to them?" Forge asked Zordon.

"I AM NOT CERTAIN. ALPHA FIVE, CAN YOU LOCATE THE TWO MISSING PERSONS?"

"I'll try," said Alpha, turning to the computers.

"Here, Alpha," said Shadow, standing beside the small robot. "Let me give you a hand. The basic layout of these systems seems simple enough..."

Chapter Twenty-Four

Kimberly, Zack, Nate, and Magneto stood in a room that was completely white. The floor tiles were as white as newly fallen snow, and so was the ceiling and the walls. The curtains were also white, and where soft as silk. The only thing not white was the view from outside the large window that took up an entire wall. Outside, the sky was pitch black, but for small streaks of colored light that spotted the blackness much like stars illuminate the night sky on Earth. Obviously, the four heroes were not on Earth.

"What happened?" asked Nate. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," said Kim. "We just got here."

"We found the Zeo Crystal," said Zack, "and I guess it sent us here."

"Then why are Nate and I here?" asked Magneto. "We were in the Command Center moments ago."

"You are all here because I sent for you,"

said a voice in their heads. It was like telepathy, but on a grander level. The voice was soft and gentle, but at the same time authoritative and a little intimidating. The silken curtains parted, and a tall, slender woman wearing white robes and golden jewels stepped out. She glided across the room, and stood before her visitors. Her skin was olive, and her dark almond eyes seemed to exude an intelligence and wisdom far beyond that of any human. Her long black hair was tied back in a tight ponytail held by a golden clasp, and her pointed ears perked slightly.

"I am Roma, the Guardian of the Multiverse," she said, "I brought the four of you to my palace in the dimension Otherworld, the center of the Multiverse. From here, one can go anywhere in the Multiverse."

"Why are we here?" asked Kimberly.

"You, Kimberly Hart, and your companion Zachary Taylor are here because you were destined to come. As you know, Apocalypse now has the M'Kraan Crystal. He means to destroy it before it can be united. He learned of the legend of the crystal, and has taken it seriously."

"What is the legend?" asked Zack.

"Eons ago, there was no travel between universes. There should not be, because Multiversal travel is often quite damaging to the timestream. Each dimension has an M'Kraan Crystal, which is the doorway from that dimension to the Multiverse. When the M'Kraan Crystal is whole, there is no travel from one dimension to another, with the exception of the gateway from Otherworld. However, many of the M'Kraan Crystals splintered, because of a great war that took place in one particular dimension -- the dimension Kimberly and Zack originate from.

"A greatly powerful villain sought the power of the M'Kraan Crystal from his dimension, in the hopes that he could gain ultimate power. He managed to steal it from the race granted permission to keep it safe -- the Eltarians. In his battle with the Eltarians, the villain cast a spell, breaking off a piece of it, which is in your dimension called the Zeo Crystal. By doing so, he created a ripple in space-time, and so each and every M'Kraan Crystal in the Multiverse splintered. This created chaos, because for the first time, there was passage from one reality to another without regulation from Otherworld. Since I am the Guardian of the Multiverse, it was my responsibility to restore the various subcrystals to the whole, so unrestricted Multiversal transit could not occur. This occupation obviously took me centuries, since you cannot even imagine how many universes there are. I didn't have the opportunity to punish the vile creature who managed to wreak such havoc upon the Multiverse, but I did manage to track down the crystal and its shard in that one universe, where this mess all began. The evil villain stole the M'Kraan Crystal, and only he knows of its whereabouts. But he certainly searches for the shard, because that is all that stands between him and absolute power. The M'Kraan Crystal is a very potent weapon, and if he should obtain the entire crystal, none will be able to destroy him. Even without the entire crystal, though, he is a mighty foe, and I decided to help the Eltarians find a way to combat him by giving the fragment crystal, now called Zeo, to an Eltarian wizard. I chose Zordon."

"Wait," said Zack, "back up for a sec. I thought by reuniting the two crystals, all the damage done would be undone. If that's the case, then why would anyone be trying to get the whole crystal? Wouldn't that undo this world as we know it?"

"In order to repair the damage done by Multiversal transit, the crystal must be returned to Otherworld. All universes must unite the crystal as quickly as possible, to prevent the entire Multiverse from collapsing. The Multiverse is an extremely fragile web of complex worlds, and a few reckless travellers can easily do extreme damage. Take your appearance here for example, Kimberly and Zachary. When Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd traveled through the Multiverse, they created a shockwave throughout. That is what created the random hole that brought you here. Multiversal transit must be limited because the majority of the beings in existence aren't capable of using the passage responsibly. Changing the timeline creates alternate worlds, and the more worlds that exist, the more fragile the Multiverse becomes."

"Okay," said Nate. "So, you want us to recombine the Zeo Crystal with the M'Kraan Crystal, and return the completed gem to you here?"

"Precisely. Once the gemstone is returned to me, then all the damage done to the timestream because of Multiversal transit will be null and void. In order to do so, however, you shall need power. You four, along with Forge and Shadow, will not be able to defeat Apocalypse unless you are aided."

"My X-Men will be able to help --"

"Only those protected by the Power can wield the Zeo Crystal safely," interrupted Roma. "That is why Kimberly and Zachary are here now. The only problem is that they cannot access their Terra powers in this dimension, because there already is a Zeo Crystal here."

"So, we're powerless?" asked Zack.

"Not if I alter the Zeo shards inside your body, to harness a different kind of power. That is why I have sent for the X-Man and Magneto. Magneto, please take Zachary's hand. X-Man, please take Kimberly's hand."

Everyone looked at each other questioningly, but none dared to question the command of the Multiversal Guardian. Magneto held Zack's hand, while Nate held Kimberly's hand. Roma then pointed one index finger at Nate, and one at Magneto. Ribbons of energy poured out from her fingers, and into the two mutants. The energy passed through them painlessly, and passed into Kimberly and Zack through their tactile connection with Nate and Magneto. When the energy reached Kim and Zack, they both cried out in agony, and fell to the ground, clutching their chests above their hearts. Roma stopped the flow of energy, and turned away. Nate and Magneto watched helplessly as Kim and Zack continued to writhe in pain.

"What did you do to them?!" shouted Nate angrily. Roma picked up the Zeo Crystal, and then turned back to the four humans.

"They are merely habituating to their new powers," said Roma. "So long as these two are in this dimension, they will not be able to call upon the power of Terra. So, they must be given a new power, that is independent of the Zeo Crystal. This new power is bonding with their Zeo shards as we speak."

"And what will the consequence of this transformation be?" asked Magneto.

"Watch and see."

Kimberly and Zack both quieted down, and soon they were completely motionless upon the white marble floor of Roma's palace. Then, Zack floated off the ground, and was planted on his feet. He stood straight and tall, with no expression at all on his face. He opened his eyes, and a silver light shot forth from them. The silver light immersed his entire body, and when the light faded, he was wearing silver armor, with a black stripe going down the middle of his chest. He had arm bands that stretched from his wrist to his shoulder, as well as a large belt. He also had a metal collar, connected to two pieces of armor at his shoulders. The, arm bands, collar, belt, and shoulder pads were of a highly-reflectant black metal. His helmet was black and silver, and his boots, which reached his knees, were black with bands of silver.

Then, Kimberly floated off