"You're likely from one of our rival schools? The juice bar is Angel Grove High's main after-school hangout, and my friend Kimberly used to be on the cheer team. I'd think she would've introduced you at some point..."
He shook his head. "And to think I finally knew this town."
"I definitely go to Angel Grove, I just live out by the mine. And I don't remember any other Kim's on the cheer team, just me." This was weird. Really weird. And she suddenly started thinking about everyone on the team, their names, and no. No other Kimberly.
"I didn't fall and hit my head or something, did I?" She reached up, gently prodding the back of her hand and finding nothing tender or bloody.
"The mine? There's a quarry, and a cave, but I don't remember any mine. The nearest would probably be in Stone Canyon."
Billy tried to run through the town layout in his head. No, he couldn't recall anything similar. "But you might not be the one with the faulty memory, it could be me. Or perhaps one of us is dimensionally displaced?"
"I suppose it's more like a quarry but the signs say mine."
And trespassing was exactly what you shouldn't do that never stopped her. There were some good hiking paths through there. And a swim spot nearby. Plus, it was faster to get to school, cutting through there.
"Dimensionally displaced?" That technobabble went right over her head. "It's 2017."
It was hard not to scoff a little and give an almost nervous laugh. She hadn't even been born in '94, were here parents even together yet? Did Zordon's rules apply here if something went wrong? the only thing she could think of that went wrong was when they'd been defending the zeo crystal but it had been long enough that if anything were going to happen, she'd think it would have happened sooner.
"So... I'm in the past." A brief pause. "I have detention every Saturday, I can't be in the past or some alternate Angel Grove."
Billy sighed. She really was in quite a pickle, but if there was anyone prepared to help her return to her world, the Rangers, Zordon, and Alpha were likely the people best equipped to do so. He stepped a little closer, offering a sympathetic smile.
"Luckily, we may be able to put you back home in a time point before your next detention---like you never left. I think I can help you, but we're going to have to see a few strange places. I'll have to make a call to a friend, but before I talk to him it occurs to me that you told me your name, but I never introduced myself."
He offered his hand, trying to project confidence. "Hey, Kim. I'm Billy, pleased to meet you."
Before finding the coins, Kim would have wanted nothing more than to get through senior year and bail on Angel Grove, now she just wants detention and school out of the way. Less homework was always a bonus. Or none.
"You're gonna have to work hard to out-strange some things." Not that she was saying just what needed outdone. This whole situation, for the moment, didn't count. Instead, she just gave a little smile and shook his hand.
"Billy. Cool. Billy Cranston?" He looked nothing like her Billy. Which actually, in a roundabout way, made her curious. "Hey, if I'm here, are there going to be two Kim's here or did yours end up in my Angel Grove?"
"Actually, yes, and I"m guessing you're Kim Hart," Billy laughed, but as he pulled back he started to frown. He hadn't even thought of that, and the possibility was indeed alarming.
"Hold on, I'll call her." He rolled up his sleeve and pushed the button on a blue watch-shaped device.
"Kimberly? Can you read me, Kimberly? It's Billy, come in." He fiddled with the knobs and waited a few moments longer, then sighed. "She may be inaccessible for a mundane reason, but you're most likely correct that she's taken your place. We'll have to get the two of you restored to your proper dimensions, and for that...do you know a Zordon or Alpha?."
She couldn't help but give a look at his communicator. It was weird but more compact than her cell phone, at least. Not that it was helping at the moment any more than her phone was helping her. Her other self was in for a treat if she'd take her place.
The familiar names though, it was hard not to sigh in relief and smile. Some things didn't change, it seemed. And weird as this was, it was now a weird she could handle.
"Oh, thank god. I definitely know them." Her hand hovers over her pocket but it was too public, she couldn't bring her coin out. "They must have an idea. And I know my friends will get your Kim to the ship if she ended up there."
"I don't know any Tommy but the others? Exactly right, we all found the coins together." Something about it was familiar. Someone at school maybe? She'd been paying so much more attention to dealing with Angel Grove and the putties that she hadn't given any real attention to what was going on socially.
Questions she would answer. Maybe? Probably. To her, there didn't seem like there would be problems with sharing what she knew. Hell, he could even take a look at her phone if he wanted, so long as she got it back in one piece. They got expensive, and she'd learned her lesson after crushing the first.
"Teleport? No. We usually hike to the mines when we need to see them." Teleporting hadn't even been mentioned as an option yet but she'll be annoyed if it was the whole time. How much time could they have saved?
"Hiking? We've done it when we lost our connection to the Grid, but it's a long trek out in the desert."
He winced at the thought. "I built these communicators to open a radio channel between our group and Zordon and Alpha, but when I tested them, I discovered that I'd inadvertently tapped into the grid's locator frequency. With Alpha's help, they became teleportation devices too."
It could be unsettling the first time, so he wanted to take this slowly with her. "Take my arm. It might feel strange, but it will pass quickly---and no one's become ill yet."
Okay, the desert was far but why so far out? Although, she supposed not many people wandered out there but no one could get down to the ship in her world either.
"They contact us directly. I'm guess it has something to do with the coins." She wasn't so clever as either Billy though, and just a vague guess. Maybe she should consider paying better attention in science or something.
Either way, it didn't help her now. So she reached and took his arm, hesitating just a bit. At least, where ever they went, then she could pull her coin out without worrying about anyone from Angel Grove seeing. If she was revealed, then it risked her other self being revealed. She was kind of self-centered but not so much as to risk outing her other self or anyone else.
"I've got a pretty strong stomach. Ready when you are."
"All right. Zordon, Alpha, I'm bringing someone you'll want to meet..."
Billy switched communications modes, and the two vanished in streaks of blue and pink. They reappeared on a small platform in a room that seemed to be surrounded by stars, with a glowing blue tube greeting them. The floating head within and a small robot both spoke.
"Billy! Oh no, we've got company! And I haven't even dusted..." the robot lamented, making attempts to tidy the control panels anyway.
"Billy, I've detected a dimensional anomaly...I assume that's why this young woman is here?" the voice boomed from the glowing tube.
"Yes, Zordon...this is Kimberly Hart from an alternate Angel Grove, and we believe that the Kimberly from this time is stranded there," Billy offered tentatively.
"Welcome, Ms. Hart. I am Zordon of Eltar, and this is my assistant Alpha 5. We are well-versed in dimensional anomalies, but before we begin, do you have any questions?"
Her grasp turned just a bit tighter, always conscious of her improved strength, as they teleported and arrived, the woman letting out a gasp as they arrived, eyes going wide in surprise. She wasn't sick but that was... that was something else.
"Whoa..." She took a couple slow breaths and looked around, eyes widening at the robot and floating head. This was all very different from what she knew. This place didn't look sixty-five million years old. And the head- Zordon, didn't sound like the one she knew. He also seemed more polite already but she tried not to let first impressions fully color her opinions.
"Kim is good." For a start. "This place, uh, it's nothing like the ship my Zordon and Alpha are on. Oh man-"
This was weird. She could handle it though, right? How weird was too weird? And how quickly could they get there? She brushed a hand through her hair, taking a moment to try to settle her thoughts.
"Okay... how could this happen? I mean, my friends and I were just dealing with reanimated putties yesterday and now I'm in another dimension? In the past? I'm not even born for five years!"
Billy stepped forward then. "My best guess is that our dimensions share a link to the Morphin Grid...and if an event impacted the grid at a specific time, both Kimberlys might have been affected. Kim, did anything unusual happen with your powers before this happened?"
"Not really? She did give some thought to what had happened over the past couple weeks but, aside from finally tapping into the Morphin Grid, she couldn't think of anything.
"We only learned how to tap into the grid about a week ago, just after our first encounter with Rita. And the only thing since then has been reanimated putties." Wait. Rita. "Rita was still kind of tapped into the Morphin Grid though. Her armor was super messed up but it was recognizably the same armor as ours."
Her eyebrows went up. Good guess. Although, depending on how similar these realities were, they had to have had a green ranger too. Still, he hit the nail on the head pretty quickly.
"Yeah, it was. It was freaky, like thorns. She still believed she was worthy,"
Billy shared a look of disbelief with Zordon before continuing.
"In this world, Rita created the Green Ranger powers, but as far as I know she never used them herself. She chose a champion---another Ranger---to fight us in her place. That was the Tommy I asked you about, but he's our friend now."
Zordon chimed in. "You're correct, Billy. This reality's Rita Repulsa never used the green coin in my battles with her---she prefers to have henchmen do the heavy lifting, as you well know. It interests me that your Rita is so comparatively involved, Kim...but we have other issues at the moment. May we see your power coin, if you have one? If we compare its energy signature to Billy's, we may be able to better locate your reality through the Grid."
Billy heard the implied command and took that moment to reach behind him. He produced a silver belt buckle with a small triceratops coin set in the middle, holding it up for Kim to see.
"Uh, yeah. My Zordon told us she used to be his friend until she betrayed them."
Her power coin? Without much thought, glancing at Billy, she pulled her coin from her pocket and held it up. The pterodactyl in the crystals center finally visible now that all the dirt and stone had come off.
"What- sorry, what's that thing?" Indicating Billy's morpher and offering her coin to either him or Alpha. Not like she knew what to do with it to try finding her reality. This was all very beyond her understanding.
Zordon sighed quietly. "I wondered once if we could have been allies instead of enemies...but perhaps that path was always doomed to failure. Alpha, activate the morph analysis."
"Activating now, Zordon." With a few button presses, the air around them took on a strange electric feeling, almost like the Grid's energy. Billy swallowed his concerns and pressed the open switch on the morpher.
"This is a Power Morpher. It helps us focus the grid's energy when we morph. You don't have one?"
Kim could feel the hairs on her arms standing on end at the feeling in the air, just like each time she and her friends had tried to access the Grid themselves. It felt weird not being the one doing it but not unbearable.
"Sorry I couldn't give you some kind of closure." She did feel a little bad. It really sucked when you realized nothing could have changed. Or probably couldn't have.
Her focus returned to Billy though, eying the morpher, curious. It sounded useful, focusing the Morphin Grid's power but their way seemed to work pretty well so far.
"No, nothing like that. We just have the coins to connect us."
Zordon smiled down at her from within the tube. "Do not worry yourself, Kim. Let us focus on restoring you to your team. Alpha, status report?"
"Her energy is similar to our Kimberly's, but I've detected small differences. But how do we use those to find the other world?"
Billy spoke up then, staring at the swirling viewing globe. "And do you think anything else has fallen through the wormhole? I've been worried that things are a little too quiet. The calm before the storm."
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He shook his head. "And to think I finally knew this town."
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"I definitely go to Angel Grove, I just live out by the mine. And I don't remember any other Kim's on the cheer team, just me." This was weird. Really weird. And she suddenly started thinking about everyone on the team, their names, and no. No other Kimberly.
"I didn't fall and hit my head or something, did I?" She reached up, gently prodding the back of her hand and finding nothing tender or bloody.
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Billy tried to run through the town layout in his head. No, he couldn't recall anything similar. "But you might not be the one with the faulty memory, it could be me. Or perhaps one of us is dimensionally displaced?"
He tapped his chin in thought. "What year is it?"
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And trespassing was exactly what you shouldn't do that never stopped her. There were some good hiking paths through there. And a swim spot nearby. Plus, it was faster to get to school, cutting through there.
"Dimensionally displaced?" That technobabble went right over her head. "It's 2017."
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Billy digs in his bright blue bag for a notebook and scribbles a few messy lines on a page.
"And that's our first clue, because according to my calendar, it's 1994."
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"So... I'm in the past." A brief pause. "I have detention every Saturday, I can't be in the past or some alternate Angel Grove."
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"Luckily, we may be able to put you back home in a time point before your next detention---like you never left. I think I can help you, but we're going to have to see a few strange places. I'll have to make a call to a friend, but before I talk to him it occurs to me that you told me your name, but I never introduced myself."
He offered his hand, trying to project confidence. "Hey, Kim. I'm Billy, pleased to meet you."
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"You're gonna have to work hard to out-strange some things." Not that she was saying just what needed outdone. This whole situation, for the moment, didn't count. Instead, she just gave a little smile and shook his hand.
"Billy. Cool. Billy Cranston?" He looked nothing like her Billy. Which actually, in a roundabout way, made her curious. "Hey, if I'm here, are there going to be two Kim's here or did yours end up in my Angel Grove?"
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"Hold on, I'll call her." He rolled up his sleeve and pushed the button on a blue watch-shaped device.
"Kimberly? Can you read me, Kimberly? It's Billy, come in." He fiddled with the knobs and waited a few moments longer, then sighed. "She may be inaccessible for a mundane reason, but you're most likely correct that she's taken your place. We'll have to get the two of you restored to your proper dimensions, and for that...do you know a Zordon or Alpha?."
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The familiar names though, it was hard not to sigh in relief and smile. Some things didn't change, it seemed. And weird as this was, it was now a weird she could handle.
"Oh, thank god. I definitely know them." Her hand hovers over her pocket but it was too public, she couldn't bring her coin out. "They must have an idea. And I know my friends will get your Kim to the ship if she ended up there."
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He'd have to do further research. They were from worlds with a few bizarre similarities, and he had quite a few questions about the 21st century.
"It won't take long to get to the Command Center. You teleport, right?"
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Questions she would answer. Maybe? Probably. To her, there didn't seem like there would be problems with sharing what she knew. Hell, he could even take a look at her phone if he wanted, so long as she got it back in one piece. They got expensive, and she'd learned her lesson after crushing the first.
"Teleport? No. We usually hike to the mines when we need to see them." Teleporting hadn't even been mentioned as an option yet but she'll be annoyed if it was the whole time. How much time could they have saved?
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He winced at the thought. "I built these communicators to open a radio channel between our group and Zordon and Alpha, but when I tested them, I discovered that I'd inadvertently tapped into the grid's locator frequency. With Alpha's help, they became teleportation devices too."
It could be unsettling the first time, so he wanted to take this slowly with her. "Take my arm. It might feel strange, but it will pass quickly---and no one's become ill yet."
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"They contact us directly. I'm guess it has something to do with the coins." She wasn't so clever as either Billy though, and just a vague guess. Maybe she should consider paying better attention in science or something.
Either way, it didn't help her now. So she reached and took his arm, hesitating just a bit. At least, where ever they went, then she could pull her coin out without worrying about anyone from Angel Grove seeing. If she was revealed, then it risked her other self being revealed. She was kind of self-centered but not so much as to risk outing her other self or anyone else.
"I've got a pretty strong stomach. Ready when you are."
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Billy switched communications modes, and the two vanished in streaks of blue and pink. They reappeared on a small platform in a room that seemed to be surrounded by stars, with a glowing blue tube greeting them. The floating head within and a small robot both spoke.
"Billy! Oh no, we've got company! And I haven't even dusted..." the robot lamented, making attempts to tidy the control panels anyway.
"Billy, I've detected a dimensional anomaly...I assume that's why this young woman is here?" the voice boomed from the glowing tube.
"Yes, Zordon...this is Kimberly Hart from an alternate Angel Grove, and we believe that the Kimberly from this time is stranded there," Billy offered tentatively.
"Welcome, Ms. Hart. I am Zordon of Eltar, and this is my assistant Alpha 5. We are well-versed in dimensional anomalies, but before we begin, do you have any questions?"
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"Whoa..." She took a couple slow breaths and looked around, eyes widening at the robot and floating head. This was all very different from what she knew. This place didn't look sixty-five million years old. And the head- Zordon, didn't sound like the one she knew. He also seemed more polite already but she tried not to let first impressions fully color her opinions.
"Kim is good." For a start. "This place, uh, it's nothing like the ship my Zordon and Alpha are on. Oh man-"
This was weird. She could handle it though, right? How weird was too weird? And how quickly could they get there? She brushed a hand through her hair, taking a moment to try to settle her thoughts.
"Okay... how could this happen? I mean, my friends and I were just dealing with reanimated putties yesterday and now I'm in another dimension? In the past? I'm not even born for five years!"
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"We only learned how to tap into the grid about a week ago, just after our first encounter with Rita. And the only thing since then has been reanimated putties." Wait. Rita. "Rita was still kind of tapped into the Morphin Grid though. Her armor was super messed up but it was recognizably the same armor as ours."
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"Was it green, by any chance?"
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"Yeah, it was. It was freaky, like thorns. She still believed she was worthy,"
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"In this world, Rita created the Green Ranger powers, but as far as I know she never used them herself. She chose a champion---another Ranger---to fight us in her place. That was the Tommy I asked you about, but he's our friend now."
Zordon chimed in. "You're correct, Billy. This reality's Rita Repulsa never used the green coin in my battles with her---she prefers to have henchmen do the heavy lifting, as you well know. It interests me that your Rita is so comparatively involved, Kim...but we have other issues at the moment. May we see your power coin, if you have one? If we compare its energy signature to Billy's, we may be able to better locate your reality through the Grid."
Billy heard the implied command and took that moment to reach behind him. He produced a silver belt buckle with a small triceratops coin set in the middle, holding it up for Kim to see.
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Her power coin? Without much thought, glancing at Billy, she pulled her coin from her pocket and held it up. The pterodactyl in the crystals center finally visible now that all the dirt and stone had come off.
"What- sorry, what's that thing?" Indicating Billy's morpher and offering her coin to either him or Alpha. Not like she knew what to do with it to try finding her reality. This was all very beyond her understanding.
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"Activating now, Zordon." With a few button presses, the air around them took on a strange electric feeling, almost like the Grid's energy. Billy swallowed his concerns and pressed the open switch on the morpher.
"This is a Power Morpher. It helps us focus the grid's energy when we morph. You don't have one?"
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"Sorry I couldn't give you some kind of closure." She did feel a little bad. It really sucked when you realized nothing could have changed. Or probably couldn't have.
Her focus returned to Billy though, eying the morpher, curious. It sounded useful, focusing the Morphin Grid's power but their way seemed to work pretty well so far.
"No, nothing like that. We just have the coins to connect us."
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"Her energy is similar to our Kimberly's, but I've detected small differences. But how do we use those to find the other world?"
Billy spoke up then, staring at the swirling viewing globe. "And do you think anything else has fallen through the wormhole? I've been worried that things are a little too quiet. The calm before the storm."
There it was, always on the back of his mind.
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