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

/> "I'm getting to that. So, during the final fight, the three of us and another friend of mine were sent through the Multiverse by way of the M'Kraan Crystal, the nexus of all reality. We all were teleported away from my home universe, and we were separated. I made a life for myself in New York City, and Kim and Zack returned to Angel Grove with their new powers. While I was in New York, I met up with another team of mutant heroes called the X-Men. But, they weren't the same X-Men I knew from back home. Ever heard of them?"

"They're in the news from time to time," said Tom.

"Right. So, I got involved in this major battle with Onslaught, a monster with unsurpassed psionic abilities. When he was destroyed, his psionic power was released into the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane is constant throughout the Multiverse, so from there Onslaught could go anywhere. The Zeo Crystal, being a fragment of the M'Kraan Crystal, can easily be used as a doorway through the Multiverse, and since the yellow Zeo shard was attuned to psionic energy, it was the perfect escape route for Onslaught. I think Trevor was either touching the Zeo shard or was too close to it, so that the outburst of energy enveloped him."

"You're telling me he's...he's..." Kimberly's words stuck in her throat as she let the tears fall freely from her eyes.

"Let me finish, Kim," said Nate, standing up. "He's not dead."

"Then, what happened to him?" asked Tom.

"The psionic energies pulled him into a temporal hole, like the one I came here through. But that hole wasn't focused, so Trevor fell aimlessly into the Multiverse. He should have died, because no unprotected human can travel safely through the Multiverse, but his body bonded with the psionic energies of Onslaught, creating a new super-villain -- Solar."

"Solar!" said Tom, leaping to his feet. "That's impossible

! We battled Solar ages ago, back when I was the White Ranger! He was the one that created those teleportation holes, kidnapping me, Adam, two Sailor Scouts, and two Spectrum Enforcers. We destroyed --"

Realization hit Tom immediately, stopping him in mid sentence. He looked down at Kimberly, who stared up at him in horror.

"He... he had sandy blonde hair and... and aqua eyes, just like Trevor," he said quietly, sinking into his seat, "I... I didn't realize the resemblance before now. He... he must have traveled back in time to destroy us all as teenagers, but he underestimated us." He turned to Kimberly, clutching her trembling hands in his. "Oh, God, Kim... I'm so sorry..."

Nate telekinetically lifted the couch off the carpet, trying to get the attention of the three sobbing Rangers. When they stared down at him in surprise, he lowered them to the ground and let out a huge sigh.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? He's not dead. You and the other five heroes managed to overload his telekinetic powers, but you didn't kill him. Almost a year passed since then before he returned, planning to get his revenge."

"But, I don't remember fighting him again!" said Tom.

"The second battle happened after the critical point."

"The what ?" asked Katherine.

"The critical point! It's kinda like a fork in the road, but in the timestream. You see, the timeline I live in now is much like yours. In fact, it is the exact same as yours, up to the point of December, 1996. In your time, Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa left, and didn't return for ten years. You defeated them, and they left for good. What happened is that they traveled ten years into the future, hoping the Terran Rangers would be out of commission. You guys came out of retirement and defeated them. Zedd and Rita decided to go back to the time they left and continue invading Earth. By altering the timestream, they created a critical point, where two timelines diverge. In the alternate timeline, Zedd and Rita never left in 1996, and so the Terran Rangers never disbanded. That makes drastic changes to your lives. For example: Kimberly, you never went back to Florida. Therefore, although you met Trevor Monroe, you never fell in love with him. That timeline is where Solar exists now. He was severely injured by the Mars Fireball that caused his energies to backlash, and he's been recharging himself for the past year. He's preparing to destroy the Power Rangers, and since they don't know who he is, they'll use lethal force. Either they'll kill Trevor, or Trevor will kill them."

"How do you know so much?" askd Tom skeptically.

"Well, this may be hard for the three of you to swallow, but I was sent here by Roma, the Guardian of the Multiverse. She regulates the interdimensional travel, because it can damage the entire Multiverse. She realized how dangerous Onslaught is, and so she asked me to come here, get you, and stop him. Roma herself has taken a vow not to directly interfere, so she couldn't do it herself, although she is certainly able to. She guided me here."

"What do you need us for?" asked Tom.

"I don't know if I can stop Solar," said Nate, also standing up. "If he's as powerful as Onslaught, he could destroy the Multiverse! Also, my traveling through the timestream severely weakens me. I won't be anywhere near full strength when we get there."

"Okay," said Tom, pulling up his jacket sleeve to reveal his communicator, "Kat and I will teleport to our homes and get our Zeo shards. Kim, contact Jason, Zack, and Adam and tell them to 'port here ASAP. We should be ready to leave in a few minutes."

"No," said Nate, "I don't have enough energy to transport us all. I can barely manage one passenger. Navigating the Multiverse is serious business. Also, there can only be one of each Zeo crystal shard in one dimension at a time. The Kimberly in my dimension is no longer reliant on the power of Lightning, so this Kimberly will be able to morph into the Yellow Terran Ranger."

"No way!" objected Tom, "I'm the leader of the Power Rangers! I take the risks. Kim has never fought Solar before, I have. I know what kind of power he has, and what his limits are. Besides, Trevor and I had become pretty good friends, before he disappeared."

"You may be friends, Tommy," said Nate sternly. "But there is no strong bond of emotion between you. It's more like a mutual acceptance than a friendship, and it's for Kimberly's sake. You both love Kimberly on some level, and so you both decided to accept each other. You had to accept Trevor as Kimberly's husband, and he had to accept you as Kimberly's friend and former love. He may feel nothing but jealousy if he sees you, especially if he recognizes your younger self with the younger Kimberly. I think the teenaged Red Terran Ranger will be his first target. Kimberly is the only one who may be able to reach him."

Katherine stood up and rested her head on her fiance's shoulder. She could feel him tremble under her touch.

"Nate," she asked, "will Kimberly traveling back through time cause another critical point? Will it affect our reality?"

"Your reality has already diverged with the alternate dimension. However, Kimberly's appearance may affect the parallel reality's future, causing a critical point there. The best thing to do is keep Kimberly's identity secret from as many people as possible. We should also refrain from telling them too much about the future."

"What happened in the other reality's future?" asked Tom.

"I don't know, I've never been there. Now, Kimberly, are you ready to go?"

"Should I morph?" she asked, holding her yellow Zeo shard.

"It may give you away. The best thing for you to do is pass through in a disguise. Kimberly, take my hand."

Kimberly reached out and touched Nate's hand. Nate transmitted telekinetic energy through Kimberly, transforming her outfit into a yellow version of his blue-and-silver armor. Her yellow Zeo shard was reabsorbed into her heart, and she wore a yellow mask on her face with a visor over her eyes.

"Ready?" he asked politely.

"Just about," she answered, turning to Tom and Katherine. "Guys, do me a favor and watch Tony 'till I come back? Tell him I had a sudden business trip or something. If I don't get back..."

"Kimberly, don't say that," interrupted Katherine, hugging Kimberly. "You'll be fine. Just hurry! I'd love to see you and Trevor at my wedding."

Kim turned to Tom, who was trying to hide his fear. Kim could see it in his eyes, though.

"Take care, Kim," he whispered, giving her a hug.

"I will," she answered, turning back to Nate, who was creating another portal. Nate reached out and took Kim's hand.

"Time to go!" he called. "Bye guys, I'll take good care of the Yellow Ranger!"

With that, Nate and Kim disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Chapter Four

In an interdimensional pocket in the Multiverse, a shimmering onyx castle floated proudly in the middle of the vast emptiness. The castle was an exact replica of the mythical palace in Otherworld, home of the guardian of the Multiverse, Roma. This castle was the sanctuary for the being called Solar, which was the body of the human Trevor Monroe controlled by the ambitions and memory of the tyrant Onslaught.

Nearly a year ago, Solar made his first appearance, trying to conquer the Multiverse by destroying the defenders of three of the Multiverse's most powerful timestreams, the Power Rangers, the Spectrum Force, and the Sailor Scouts. These three universes have one thing in common -- magic

.

Onslaught had faced both technology and mutant powers, but magic was unfamiliar to him, and was therefore dangerous. So, Solar underestimated the three teams of teenaged heroes, and lost a great deal of energy in the last battle. Now he had recuperated, and had time to think. What Onslaught, the being whose ambitions and memories control of Solar, didn't know was that during his convalescence, the consciousness of the host body, Trevor Monroe, had started to surface. Now, Solar was a true blend of the ambitions and powers of Onslaught and the feelings and concerns of Trevor Monroe.

"It is time," Solar says aloud, standing up from the throne in the middle of the otherwise empty room. He walked to the balcony, staring out at the Multiverse, which looked like a patch of blackness with streaks of colored light, each representing a different universe. Solar created a magical portal, and through it stepped one of Onslaught's most faithful and powerful followers -- Holocaust. Holocaust was truly an intimidating sight -- a blood red skeleton inside a yellow-orange transluscent body armor, making him stand at a height of nearly eight feet. He was super-strong, extremely fast,