Time: 1997
Place: Warner Robins, Georgia
Rich Burnam, a seminormal sixteen year old Northside High student,
was watching his favorite television show, Power Rangers Zeo. He did this
secretly fearing the persecution of his peers. While he sat watching the
Power Rangers thrash another of the Machine Empire's monsters he noticed
a black patch start to develop on his screen.
"How strange, that looks almost like...." he never got to answer.
In a swirling flash of golden light a coin dropped to the floor in front
of the t.v.
"That looks like a power coin from the earlier seasons. Wonder what
it's doing here especially since the Power Rangers are only on television.
They aren't real, are they?"
He decided to pick up the coin. He did and was teleported, more liked pulled,
into the television.
Time: 1996
Place: Angel Grove, California
Rich felt dizzy as he slowly approached consciousness. What am I doing
outside, I was just inside.' He thought to himself and then he remembered
the coin. It was still in his hand. Opening his hand he found the coin
but it wasn't blank as it once had been, it now had an emblem on it. The
emblem was of a spaceshuttle like design facing down.
"I, I, know that emblem, but from where?" he said aloud not caring
if anybody heard him.
Just then everything went black, not that he fell unconscious just that
something had blocked out the sun. As he looked up he saw a gigantic metal
foot being lowered on him, and some type of energy grabbed him.
"Watch out Tommy you almost squished someone back there," said
Kat as Alpha teleported the person away.
"But Kat, he wasn't there a few seconds ago," responded Tommy,
"besides we need to take care of Mondo's latest monstrosity."
Time: 1996
Place: Unknown
As Rich slowly regained consciousness he felt like he had been moved
again, but to where he knew not. He knew he had to get out and find out
anything and everything about his coin. If only I could remember that emblem.
Something to do with the Sci-Fi channel,' he thought not opening his eyes.
If he had opened his eyes he would have seen the Power Rangers Zeo in their
Power Chamber, he never got the chance. "Roboteeeccccchhh," he
mumbles too soft for anyone to hear.
"Aye,yi,yi," shouts Alpha-5 to Zordon. "He's waking up,
Zordon, what should I do?"
"Teleport him back to where you found him Alpha, but keep an eye on
him."
"Right Zordon teleporting now."
"We better go with him to make sure everything is all right,"
says Adam, "besides he looked like he was lost earlier." The
others agree and in five colored streams teleport out.
"That's strange," Zordon says to Alpha, "I seem to have
detected slight amounts of morphin energy in that boy."
"Could it be that he is a Power Ranger, Zordon."
"I don't know Alpha, but we shall see."
Place: Angel Grove
The world blinked in and out as Rich lay there getting his bearings.
The last thing he remembered was someone saying Aye,yi,yi' just like Alpha
of the Power Rangers, That's impossible the Power Rangers don't exist,'
he thought. Just then someone tapped him on his shoulder, he turned around
to see five teenagers, three boys and two girls. He then remembered where
he was. The world went black again.
"He, he, fainted isn't that strange," Tanya said as the teens
moved Rich to a shadier location, "Why would anyone faint by seeing
people?"
"Do you think he knows that we're the Power Rangers?" asked Adam
as he looked at the boy confused.
"I don't know, maybe Zordon does," Tommy said while contacting
Zordon, "Zordon do you think that whoever this is might be a Ranger?"
"It is very likely I did detect the morphin energy within him earlier,
it would be advisable for you to check him for a power coin."
They did and what they found was the coin and a communicator but none of
them had seen one with a grey wristband. They also checked for a morpher
but could not find one. After several minutes Rich starts to get up.
"Did anyone get the license plate for that truck?" Rich said
jokingly thinking that he was the only one there.
"No, but I think we need to have a little talk, mainly about this
coin and why you have a communicator," Tommy said not getting the
joke intended.
"I'm not quite getting why the Power Rangers would want to talk to
me, wait a minute the Power Rangers don't even exist so this is my imagination,"
said Rich not fully realizing the importance of the situation.
"What do you mean the Power Rangers don't exist, didn't you almost
get crushed by the ZeoMegaZord back there," they all said in unison.
"If the Power Rangers exist then you would have to be Tommy Oliver,
Katherine Hillard, Rocky DeSantos, Tanya Sloan, and Adam Park," Rich
said even more confused than before pointing to each one as he calls out
there names respectively.
"Well you know our names can we have the pleasure of yours?"
asked Tommy trying to do his best impression of Rich, but failing horribly.
"My name, you want my name." They all nodded. "Well my name
is Rich Burnam, and if your the Power Rangers and I'm outside Angel Grove
then I will need to speak to Zordon about something."
They all huddled in a circle and Rich could just hear the faintest whispering
"maybe we should".... "we should really contact Zordon first".....
"Teleport here immediately." With that they crowded around Rich
and gave him his watch/communicator. "Just press these two buttons,"
Tommy said as he and the others did so and they disappeared in colored
streaks of light.
"O well I always wanted to know how it felt to teleport," Rich
said out loud while pushing the buttons Tommy had shown him but instead
of heading to the Power Chamber he traveled in another direction.
Place: Unknown (Again)
Rich was in total darkness. "Not again, how many times am I going
to be in the dark about what's going on," jokingly he said yet again.
Well better say something,' he thought but what?' Then it hit him, "Lights,"
he said and a few seconds latter the room was illuminated. "Is anybody
there?" he asked not expecting an answer.
"I am Rich and I have to say you've looked better," came a mysterious
yet familiar voice.
"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Rich said in his
most demanding voice.
"The only twin I had was an imaginary computer named X back home."
"I am he and you are obviously not you, just where do you think you
are?"
"I think I'm hallucinating, or probably dreaming, about the Power
Rangers."
"Sorry to disappoint you but you are a Power Ranger, at least now
you are."
"So just exactly where do I come from."
"The information I've uncovered is that you and I are from another
dimension, one where the Power Rangers don't exist. This is a dimension
where the powers of the Grey Ranger are needed."
"So, your saying that all those powers I dreamed up in my dimension
are real here."
"To put it frankly, yes."
"So where's my morpher?"
"Just where they would be if you were pretending."
"Cool." With a flick of his left wrist the main piece of his
morpher appears, and with a flick of his right the counterpart. Rich then
proceeds to place the coin into the main part while locking it in place,
then cutting away a circular piece with the counterpart, a ring, finishing
the connection.
"Now to see if it will work."
Reeeep, Reeeep, Reeeep, Reeeep.
"X, what's that?"
"It's the alarm, there is a squad of cogs, and a new monster named
Scorpitron."
"Guess these powers won't get a chance to settle to soon huh X?"
"Guess not."
"It's Morphin Time!"
Flicking both wrists, forming an X above his head and then circling counterclockwise
with the right and clockwise with the left he brings the two pieces of
the coin together.
"Robotech Ranger Power!" he shouts feeling the suit form around
him, "Cyclone Armor Activate!"
Meanwhile the Power Chamber has been in a blur trying to figure out where
Rich went.
"We've got to find him," says Tommy still feeling guilty for
almost destroying a new Ranger.
"Don't worry we will," Kat says trying to ease Tommy's pain.
Just then the alarms go off.
"I don't think your search is necessary, look towards the viewing
globe," Zordon advises.
To there amazement there is the Grey Ranger taking on who knows how many
Cogs and Scorpitron. "You must help him, but beware of Scorpitron's
tail one connection could mean the end of you Ranger careers."
"Something tells me he doesn't need help, at least not yet,"
says Adam while looking at the Cyclone Armor, "that Armor looks like
it could do some damage."
"Well let us just see what happens," Zordon says while fascinated
by the new Ranger. I've never seen a Ranger with so much power, where does
it all go,' he thinks while watching.
Now the Cogs have Rich in the middle of a circle effectively trapping him.
"I'm tired of this, targeting system activate," he shouts as
he touches a panel on the side of his helmet. A grid appears on the inside
of the helmet and starts to lock on to the Cogs. "Cyclone missiles
Fire!" he shouts as his chest plate lifts upward revealing a package
of missiles. Twenty missiles fire, one for each Cog, and hit there targets
utterly destroying them.
"You will now feel the poison of my sting!" shouts Scorpitron
while firing everything he has, except his tail, at Rich causing explosions
everywhere and creating a crater in the middle of the park.
"He's down, do you think we should help?" asks Kat worried that
a potential friend and ally may be hurt.
"I wouldn't count him out yet," says Zordon feeling like the
Grey Ranger can handle it.
"Look!" Rocky and Adam shout. Everyone refocuses on the viewing
globe to see Rich standing there like an immovable object.
"That's just what I've been waiting for," Rich shouts to Scorpitron,
"Robotech Graviton Burst!"
The Rangers look in awe as Rich begins to float in the air. Then a giant
explosion occurs, the shock wave even reaching the Power Chamber. When
the dust clears the Rangers see Rich kneeling on the ground, exhausted,
and the remains of Scorpitron.
"I will not have my best robot to date destroyed by some fly-by-night
Ranger!" shouts Mondo in his Sky Base, "Klank get down there
with Orbis and do something."
"Right away ye highness," seconds later, "around and around
and away ye go."
"Time for a little pick me up," says Orbis turning Scorpitron
giant.
"If you Rangers are listening I could use some assistance," Rich
says into his communicator hoping they would be able to hear.
"You heard the man it's Morphin Time."
"Zeo Ranger I, Pink."
"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow."
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue."
"Zeo Ranger IV, Green."
"Zeo Ranger V, Red."
With that they appeared next to the Grey Ranger. "Would you care to
clean up?" Rich asks not knowing when to not joke about a situation.
"Sure, but you need to get to the Power Chamber and talk to Zordon,"
says Zeo Ranger V to Rich, "but first......"
"We need SuperZeoMegazord Power NOW!," they shout in unison.
"X, teleport me to the Power Chamber," Rich says and sails off
in a Grey colored beam.
Upon reaching the Power Chamber Rich deactivates his Cyclone Armor and
takes off his helmet.
"Zordon of Eltar, I presume, it is an honor to meet you," states
Rich as he gives his customary salute of two fingers of his right hand
off of his right eyebrow.
"The honor is knowing that there is a power such as yours for good
in the Universe," says Zordon quite impressed with the fly-by-night
attitude of this new Ranger.
"That's one thing I need to talk to you about, you see......"
Reeeeep Reeeeep Reeeeep
"The Rangers are in trouble, look toward the viewing globe,"
Zordon suggests but Rich is already teleporting to give his assistance.
"I'm sick of this monster and in particular Mondo," shouts Rich
before calling his Zord'.
"Then you should face me Grey Ranger, then your powers will be mine!"
shouts Mondo as he appears in front of Rich.
"So the mighty Machine King decided to show up," Rich says in
his most sarcastic voice.
"Sarcasm is not a response I expected from such a new Ranger, prepare
to be terminated." With that Mondo throws lightning at Rich striking
him in many places putting a strain on his power coin. "So the mighty
have fallen."
"Not quite just yet, it's TIME," shouts Rich while his morpher
appears. This time it is reversed with the other side of his power coin
showing. "Temporal Ranger Power!" shouts Rich as an infinity
symbol appears on his Ranger costume.
"This can't be, you can't exist, the Temporal Ranger is just a myth!"
"Do I look like a myth," with that Rich pulls all the inner strength
he can muster and forms a greyish blue fireball between his hands shouting,
"Temporal Fire!," while letting it loose, but to no avail, Mondo
has vanished and Scorpitron is still fighting. The SuperZeoMegaZord begins
to spark heavily from the blows it's receiving.
"Finally," says Rich, "I need Veritech Power NOW!"
With that a fighter jet appears with Rich at the controls. "Let's
see how you handle my missiles, Scorpitron," Rich says while releasing
a barrage of missiles stunning Scorpitron but giving the Rangers time to
regroup.
"You think those puny missiles can hurt me puny Ranger," yells
Scorpitron then releasing his own barrage of weapons which the Veritech
dodges easily.
"No but how about this, convert to Battleoid," Rich shouts as
the jet begins to transform into its humanoid form, and Rich's body is
put into suspended animation. "Now you will see the real power of
Robotech," the Battleoid, with Rich's mind controlling it, shouts.
Unfortunately the Battloid is about three fourths the size of the monster.
"You think a puny runt like you could stop me?"
"Not at this moment but, Veritech Armor power up," the machine
shouts as body enhancing armor appears and connects to the Battloid making
it just the right size. "Now I think it's a fair fight." With
that Rich starts after the monster.
The battle rages on, neither opponent gaining the upper hand until Scorpitron
decides to use his acidic tail. The acid starts to dissolve the hull of
the Battleoid right in front of Rich's suspended body. Before it could
eat all the way through though the SuperZeoMegaZord appears, almost fully
repaired, and defends the MegaVeritech. Just when Scorpitron was about
to unleash an acidic blast at the MegaZord the MegaVeritech grabbed it's
tail and held it long enough for the SuperZeoMegaZord to cut it off with
it's power sabers. This really made Scorpitron angry and he started going
after both Zords at once. By this time Rich had had all he could take of
this monster and reconfigured his Veritech to combine with the SuperZeoMegaZord.
"Guys, I've reconfigured my Zord to combine with the MegaZord. Together
we will be ten times more powerful, Veritech combination," Rich says
as the armor drops off the MegaVeritech and the Battleoid is converted
back to fighter. Then the fighter attaches itself to the SuperZeoMegaZord's
arm as both a shield and weapon.
"Now, Tommy, say Omega Fire Arrow and push the button marked experimental."
Tommy does this and the Veritech flies off the arm and fire erupts from
the MegaZords chest enveloping the Veritech causing the temperature around
it to reach that compared to the inside of a star. The Veritech connects
with Scorpitron cutting a hole in it rendering it useless. It falls and
explodes in a colorful flash of light.
Once the monster is defeated the Rangers, including Rich, teleport to the
Power Chamber.
"Welcome back Rangers," said Zordon, "it seems that the
Grey Ranger has some abilities that he hasn't told us about."
"Yeah like how come you faced Mondo all alone, and why at the end
was he afraid of you?" asked Rocky.
"He is afraid of me because I control the one thing he can't possibly
control, which is also the only thing that can destroy him."
"What could that possibly be?" they all ask in unison.
"In certain instances I am giving the power to control time itself."
"You mean you can manipulate time to do anything you want?" asks
Adam.
"To put it basically, yes, but there are limitations on my powers,
at least while I'm in Ranger form. You see, my power coin was created by
the excess energy of the twelve previous power coins that were destroyed.
Since my Zord doesn't run off of the power coin this gives me too much
power so there had to be an alternate outlet for this extra power. The
Time Master powers were the result. But, like time, the Time Master Powers
are balanced by both good and evil so in Time Master form I would be considered
neutral, fighting on the side that is destined to win or staying out of
a fight all together, no favorites, most of the time."
"Well let's just hope our side wins," says Tommy as the others
nod there heads.
"That remains to be seen," says Rich partially being controlled
by the Time Master powers.
"By the way how did you just appear in front of the MegaZord like
that?" asks Tanya.
"I believe I can answer your questions," says Zordon, "for
Rich's powers were considered a myth until he used them just now. In this
myth it said that the holder of the Time Master powers would not be of
this world but of an alternate one."
"You mean like an alternate Earth, where it may be the same year,
but everything is different?" asks Adam in one of his rare displays
of intellect.
"Yes, but maybe Rich can tell you more of this world."
"Okay Zordon I'll give it a try. On my Earth the Power Rangers don't
exist except in a television series. The city of Angel Grove doesn't exist
in my world just like my home of Warner Robins doesn't exist in this world.
I'm a big fan of the television series and watched it constantly. Then
I started having these dreams about you and your adventures, at some time
or another I started pretending that I had powers like yours. It was about
at this time that I found a blank power coin, it just appeared out of the
television. I picked it up and was pulled into it and that is when the
MegaZord almost squished me. Any questions?"
"So how long are you going to stay?" asks Tommy.
"That remains to be seen, could be a week, could be a year, could
be forever, who knows?"
"So where are you going to stay if you hometown doesn't exist?"
asks Adam.
"I have accommodations suitable for my needs for as long as I am required."
"Just where would that be?" they all ask in unison.
"I'll just say somewhere outside Angel Grove I'll invite you guys
over after I have had a while to break it in. By the way if your wondering
about school, school is still in right?" the others nod yes in unison,
"I have already passed the grade I was in, it was summer vacation
when I was pulled into the television. If your wondering I will be a junior
next year. Well I suspect that we should be heading to our homes according
to my watch it is midnight."
"Rich it is most certainly not midnight it is only nine p.m."
says Rocky.
"Oops, I forgot about the three hour time difference between Georgia
and California, well for me it's late so I'm going to hit the sack and
try to readjust my internal clock to California time, night Rangers."
"See ya later Rich," they say in unison. Rich then teleports
out in a greyish beam.
"He seems nice, what do you think Zordon?" asks Kat.
"I believe we have made a good ally this day Rangers, one that might
also help with your waning powers."
"Yeah who knows when Mondo will release that power drainer again?"
they say in unison, "we could all use some extra help."
The End (more to come)
