The Terran Rangers/X-Men, Heather Ray [best black authors .txt] 📗

Plane? Can we put some kind of shield on him, restricting his use of the plane's power?"

Nate turned around quickly and stared at Kim in amazement. He then smiled and leaped to his feet as well.

"I've never tried it, but it just might work!" exclaimed Nate. "If we contain him in a telekinetic field long enough, his connection to the plane may fade, leaving him with only his own telepathic powers. Follow me!"

Nate started to leap up the cliff towards the summit, with Kimberly right behind him. Once they reached the top, Nate looked down. As he had hoped, he had a clear view of the entire battle.

"Kim, I can't hold up such a powerful TK shield by myself for long --" he started.

"That's what I'm here for, right?" interrupted Kim with a smile. They joined hands, and their psionic energies coalesced into a bluish gold glow. The glow soon became a bubble, and it floated slowly to the ground below, where Onslaught and Zordon were at a standstill. The bubble landed on Onslaught's head, and soon his entire body was trapped within. Zordon cut off his attack in surprise as he stared at Onslaught within the bubble. Onslaught pounded against the sides of the bubble in rage, and his golden power was building. Zordon looked towards the mountain, and saw the two young telepaths hand-in-hand, concentrating fully on keeping Onslaught imprisoned. Zordon smiled with pride.

They both have done very well. Now I shall finish this.

Zordon raised his staff into the air, and then touched the bubble. The bubble took on a greenish glow, and slowly began to shrink. Onslaught roared and pounded against the collapsing surface of the bubble, but it was too strong for him to destroy. Soon, the bubble was so small that it collapsed into itself, releasing a flash of green energy as it vanished from existence. Zordon nodded once at his victory, and then floated up to the summit of the cliff, where Nate and Kimberly were both unconscious. Zordon smiled and knelt down beside them.

Young heroes tire out quickly, he thought, taking both their hands, I shall have to return them to their bodies myself.

In a flash of green light, all three beings vanished.

Chapter Twenty-Five

In the Central Access Complex, Billy and the elder Kimberly told Trevor the entire story of the Power Rangers, Onslaught, and Nate Grey. Kimberly also brought him up to date on her life the past two years, as well as Anthony's and the other rangers. Trevor sat down and held his head in his hands, having difficulty believing everything he was hearing.

"I don't believe you've been a Power Ranger all this time, and I never suspected!" said Trevor, "I'm not very observant, am I?"

"Trev, I was only an active Power Ranger about two months while I was married to you. I gave up the Power before I returned to Florida after graduation from high school. I got them back nearly ten years later, and you vanished about two months after that. This whole thing is my fault! If I had kept the Zeo crystal in my heart like I should have, you never would have been caught in that energy backlash."

"Actually Kimberly," said Billy. "You probably would have died from that energy backlash had the crystal been inside your body. You would have suffered a massive heart attack. The heart is a powerful but nonetheless delicate muscle. It cannot take that much abuse."

"It's no one's fault, Kim," said Trevor, taking her hand. "All that matters is, we're all okay. I lost two years of my life, but I would've been destroyed had I lost you instead."

Billy left the couple and went to Tommy, who was standing vigil over the young Kimberly's still body. Billy lay his hand on Tommy's shoulder reassuringly.

"She'll be fine," Billy assured, "Zordon's with her now, and he'd never let anything happen to one of his Power Rangers."

"I know," sighed Tommy. "So, what did you find out about Trevor's condition?"

"Well, there is no trace of anything residual from his bonding with Onslaught. He is Trevor Monroe again, with none of the powers and ambitions of either Onslaught or Solar. He doesn't have a single memory of what happened the past two years, and his body had actually stopped aging when the bonding occurred. It is as if Trevor were placed in some sort of stasis, so that when Onslaught was removed, he could return to his life as if nothing had ever happened."

"That's good," said Tommy, looking back at Kim. Her forehead suddenly started to glow green.

"Billy!" cried Tommy. "What's happening?!"

Billy stared in awe at the green light, and then noticed that the same light appeared on Nate's forehead. Then, a sphere of green light appeared between the two cots, forming an image of Zordon's head.

"RANGERS,"

he announced, "ONSLAUGHT HAS BEEN DESTROYED ON THE ASTRAL PLANE. NATHAN AND KIMBERLY SHOULD BE WAKING UP SOON, BUT THEY SHALL BE EXTREMELY TIRED. IN A FEW DAYS THEY SHOULD BE AS GOOD AS NEW. I MUST RETURN TO THE ALPHA CENTAURI SYSTEM. THE MACHINE EMPIRE HAS STRUCK AGAIN DURING MY ABSENCE, AND MY FLEDGLING ASTRO RANGERS NEED MY GUIDANCE. I MUST RETURN TO KEROLA IMMEDIATELY. MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALL."

The glow disappeared, and Zordon's image was gone. Trevor and the older Kim hurried over to the others, and at the same time a moan came from both Nate and the young Kim. Tommy's face lit up as he saw Kim's doe eyes flutter. She looked at Tommy and smiled.

"Welcome home, Beautiful," he said quietly, holding her hand. She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks for staying with me, Tommy," she whispered to him.

Nate sat up in his cot, and was greeted by a hug from the elder Kim.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done, Nate," she said happily. "If it weren't for you, I never would have seen Trevor again."

"It was nothing, Kim," he said modestly, standing up. "After all, I didn't have anything planned for today anyway. Besides, I'm always game for a little adventure."

"And Onslaught is destroyed for good this time?" asked Trevor.

"Yes," said Nate with a smile. "That monster is finally history."

"Nate," asked the older Kim. "Are you ready to send us home yet?"

Nate nodded, and created a time portal. Both Trevor and Kim put their face masks on, and moved towards the portal. Trevor waved towards the three teenagers, and leaped through. Annie waved as well, and smiled reassuringly to Tommy. The portal then disappeared, leaving behind Nate, Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly.

"Well," said Nate, "my job here is done. I'd better be getting back to New York."

"How do you plan on getting there?" asked Billy.

"I guess I'll just fly," said Nate with a shrug.

"I have a better idea," said Billy, walking over to the teleporter, "I'll teleport you to New York. From there, you can fly to your headquarters."

Nate nodded in agreement, and Billy began setting the coordinates.

"Take care, Power Rangers," said Nate, waving. "If you need my help, you know where to find me."

With that, Nate vanished in a streak of navy blue light.

"By the way," said Billy to Kimberly, walking over to his desk, "Jason asked me to give this to you when you got back."

Billy handed her the yellow Zeo shard. Kim smiled and reabsorbed the gem into her heart. After the flash of gold light, she hugged Billy tightly.

"Thanks, Billy," she said. "You've really done a terrific job here in the CAC. I'm gonna miss you."

"Hey, I won't be leaving for another six months!" he chuckled. "Don't write me off yet!"

"Let's say we all go home and get some rest," suggested Tommy. "We've all had one heck of a day."

"I'll second that," said Billy, rubbing his eyes.

"Its unanimous!" said Kimberly, and the three friends teleported in streaks of white, red, and gold.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It was three in the morning in New York City, but Thomas Oliver couldn't sleep. He lay silently on the couch in the Monroe family's living room, looking down on the floor. There, he saw the sleeping form of his best friend for years -- Jason Scott Lee.

Zack Taylor, Adam Park, Will Mitchell, Rocky DeSantos, Tanya Sloan, Aisha Campbell-Drew, Trini Mitchell, and Tom's fiance Katherine Hillard were all asleep in the many guest bedrooms upstairs.

Tom and Jason decided to sleep in the living room and wait for Kimberly and Nate to return. They left about nine hours ago, and Tom was extremely worried about them. Of course, Tom was always one to worry easily, but it wasn't the same this time. This time, someone very special to him has gone on a mission taking her somewhere that for once, he couldn't follow. And there was no way to contact her, or in some way discern whether she was alright. Or even if she was still alive. The possibilities were truly endless, and they all passed through Tommy's consciousness one by one, preventing him from even relaxing -- much less sleeping.

As soon as Nate and Kim had left, Tom immediately contacted Jason in Angel Grove and told him what happened. His friends had all dropped whatever it was they were doing to come to New York to wait for Kimberly's return. Trini, Will, Rocky, Tanya and Aisha and her husband Eddie Drew were all in Angel Grove for the wedding, so Jason had called them on the telephone to tell them what happened. Those who had their non-Ranger spouses with them explained that they were going to the bachelor party/wedding shower.

Will, Aisha, Trini, and Rocky teleported with Jason, and five minutes after Tom had sent the first message to Jason, all the present and former Power Rangers were in the mansion. Of course, the only thing the group of heroes could do was wait, and that is exactly what they did.