| abstract
| - In a classroom at Angel Grove High, Ms. Appleby faced her students. "All right, class. The assignment was to bring in a childhood photograph and to share with us your most memorable experience at that age," she stated. "Who'd like to begin?" Various students raised their hands. "Jason?" He walked up and showed them a class photo with what appeared to be an Angel Grove Police Officer. "This was taken during Safety Week at Angel Grove Elementary, and listening to Officer Richards was really cool. He taught us a lot of neat stuff, and…" the boy only hesitated a moment before taking the plunge. "It's when I decided that I wanted to be a cop someday," he told them. "Hey, I didn't know that," Tommy commented. He shrugged, but said nothing. "Very, nice, Jason," Ms. Appleby approved and he went to his seat. "Aisha?" She walked up to the front of the room and proudly displayed a picture of herself with an older woman. "This is me after my first dance recital. This is so special because-my grandmother, who was sick at the time-, was able to come and I made her real proud," she told them. "You look so cute," Kimberly stated. There was light laughter. "Kimberly, would you like to be next?" "Oh. Sure." She stood up and switched places with Aisha. "Okay, this is me at my first gymnastics competition." Jason, Zack, Trini, and Billy looked at each other and gave sad, but fond grins. They remembered that day. "Talk about cute." The girl glanced at her boyfriend with mock exasperation at the teasing tone. "Thanks. Um, anyway, I was kinda bummed though because I lost, but you know what? It taught me to be a good sport and that has helped me a lot. Plus I got free ice cream courtesy of Jason, Zack, Trini, and Billy." Again, the class broke out into light laughter. "Very nice, Kimberly." Up on the moon, Zedd was watching the whole thing. "Ah…the dawn of another glorious day, which shall witness the final destruction of those Power brats." He looked down on the Earth. "Hmm. The Pink Ranger as a child. Hmm." Then, "That's it! Why didn't you fools think of this before?" "Sorry! I guess we weren't thinking," Squatt apologized. "Uh…what were we talking about, anyway?" Goldar shook his head. Stop groveling to him, he thought. However, he kept his mouth shut. If the plan to reinstate Empress Rita was to work, he'd have to keep up a pretense of serving Zedd so that the monarch wouldn't get suspicious. "You may sit down, Kimberly." The girl returned to her seat as the others clapped. "Tommy? You're next." He stood in front of the class and held up a picture of a younger version of himself in a white karate gi. "You look so happy and proud in that picture," Ms. Appleby stated in a tone of curiosity and slight confusion. "Um, this shot's really important to me. This is when I learned about dedication and hard work," Tommy began. "Plus, that was the day my parents told me that they were making my adoption official." "Oh, wow. That must've been awesome," Hilary commented. "Yeah, it was," Tommy confirmed. Oh, so that's the story, Jason thought to himself. He and the others had noticed that their friend didn't look very much like his parents but hadn't wanted to embarrass him by asking. "Aw, that's cute," Aisha said. Kimberly laughed and teasingly shoved her. "Not you too," she hissed as Billy went up. "I learned about determination here," he stated, holding up his photo. "It took me four hours to get my mom's vacuum cleaner back together." "I'll bet she wasn't too happy," Tina commented. "Affirmative. The repercussion of my scientific curiosity of how the inner parts of that particular mechanical appliance operated was an immediate loss of all privileges for two weeks," Billy responded. "So in other words, you were grounded," Adam stated. "Affirmative," he confirmed as Rocky took his place. Back on the moon, Zedd was still outlining his plan. "The Rangers met Zordon as teenagers. If we turn back time and return them to childhood, they will be powerless!" he stated. "An excellent idea, my lord, but how will we accomplish it?" Goldar wondered. "You fool, with the Rock Of Time," Zedd answered, pushing past the warrior. "By calling forth the evil powers-" he pushed Baboo out of the way, knocking him into Goldar, who steadied him. "-we'll cause the Earth to begin spinning backwards and time along with it. Those worthless Power Teens will become ordinary children," Zedd answered. "Cool," Squatt stated. That was a good plan. I bet those Rangers won't have any idea of how to fight, he thought to himself. "We will stop them before they can grow up to be Power Rangers," Goldar enthused and then laughed. It's not the best idea I've heard from him, but it should at least be interesting, he thought to himself. "Yes, exactly," Zedd replied, sitting in his throne. Ah, yes. With the Rangers as children, they'll be too frightened to take on my putties and monsters, and I can ''finally'' conquer the Earth, he thought to himself and began to laugh horribly. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban, Fox Kids, and Disney. I only own the subplots. I know in Zeo, Tommy states that he was adopted and most fans surmise that he was adopted as a baby, but I decided to go with something else. Reference to "For Whom The Bell Trolls". "This is my dog Buster," the Gold Ranger announced, proudly displaying his photo. "I learned about responsibility here." After Rocky was Trini, who, like Aisha, held up a picture of herself and an older woman. "This was the day that my mother gave me my favorite doll-" she began. "Mr. Ticklesneezer!" Zack interrupted. "That's right. Mr. Ticklesneezer," Trini confirmed with a laugh. "When she gave him to me, my mother said that he had been passed down from generation to generation for many years and that I should always take care of him, which I promised to do and I still keep that promise." When she was done, it was Adam's turn. "I like this picture because it shows my dad and me doing stuff together. He loves to work on cars." After that, Bulk and Skull went up together, with Skull dangling an arm around Bulk's neck. "And that's when I discovered that Bulk and I were meant to be life-long pals," Skull said, punctuating each word with a small tug on his neck. "No. No," Bulk corrected. "That's when you stuck a grape popsicle down my back and I decided not to clobber ya," he corrected. "Exactly my point," Skull said amidst laughter. Finally, it was Zack's turn. He somberly held up a photo of himself and the rest of the original five, who appeared to be very sad. Zack was sitting between Trini and Kimberly who were holding him closely. Jason, Trini, Kimberly, and Billy all tensed and looked at each other. Why had Zack chosen that memory? It wasn't a good one for him. "You all look so sad in this picture Zack. Why did you choose it?" Ms. Appleby wondered. "Because it symbolizes how close we all are and what a strong friendship we have. This was taken shortly after I learned that one of my favorite uncles had died, and the whole gang just dropped what they were doing and came to be by my side. I never told you guys this, but I really appreciated it," Zack answered. "You didn't have to tell us. We knew," Kimberly said. He headed back to his seat, only pausing long enough to give the girl a hug. "Ohhhhhh. Aren't they all just so adorable?" Zedd asked with sinister sarcasm. "When you activate the Rock Of Time, they won't be talking about their childhood, they'll be reliving it!" Goldar stated and Squatt and Baboo laughed excitedly. "Well then, there's no time like the present. Or should I say…the past!" With that, Zedd used his staff to thrust electricity at Earth, striking the object, which glowed various colors. "Now…all we have to do is wait for spin back into time reducing the Power Rangers to puny, powerless children." "At last, the final victory will be ours!" Goldar kept his tone triumphant, not betraying his annoyance with the overlord. "Watch. Any moment the Rock's power shall take affect." As Zedd said this, the Earth began to move in the opposite direction of its natural rotation. "Ah, yes. Say good-bye, Power Rangers, your lives are about to change forever. Now, spin-spin back to your powerless past!" "This is a picture of me with my horse Blue," Chris told the class. "I started riding when I was six-years old and I almost quit when I was seven because I fell off. But my dad always taught me to face my fears and conquer them. So I just kept getting on him until the fear went away." "You don't know the meaning of fear, little boy." "But soon he will!" "Imagine Goldar, no more Power Rangers." Yes. What a universe it will be! Zedd thought to himself. He wouldenjoy enslaving the Power Brats, especially the Red and White ones. "Once again, you'll be Master of the universe." Well, that is, until Empress Rita destroys you, he added to himself. "It all seems too easy. In a moment they will be gone, and I barely lifted a finger!" "You know, he's right. It does seem too easy!" Squatt commented. "Boy, I'll say," Baboo agreed. "Ahhhh. You dare to doubt me?" Squatt and Baboo trembled, hoping not to be turned into hubcaps. "You two will live to eat those words!" Back in AGHS, everyone was unaware what was going on. "Excellent job, everyone," Ms. Appleby congratulated. "Thank you, Ms. Appleby," they all chorused. "It was so interesting to hear about the events that helped to make you who you are today," she continued. "Hey, yo! What's going on with the clock?" Zane wondered. At his exclamation, they all turned to stare at it. "Oh, my word!" Ms. Appleby gasped. This can't be good, Jason thought in concern. What was Zedd up to now? Looking at his fellow Rangers, he saw similar discontented expressions and knew they were wondering the same thing. "What's going on?" "How is this happening?" "Is it the apocalypse?" Some people turned to Skull, who had asked the question, but most ignored him. What? That's a pretty fair question, Zack thought to himself when he saw the strange looks some of his classmates gave Skull. "The apocalypse? Not quite, my boy, it soon shall be!" With that, Zedd blasted the Rock Of Time again, and the earth began to rotate even faster. In the Command Center, the alarm blared. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! There's an irregularity in the Earth's rotation! What could Zedd be up to this time?" Alpha wondered. "I'm not certain Alpha, but I fear it could be disastrous. Check on the Rangers," Zordon responded. "Right away," Alpha agreed. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi. I hope they're all right," he continued, and turned to the viewing globe. "This disturbance in the Earth's rotation will most likely cause a catastrophic break in the space-time continuum with unpredictable results." "They seem okay for now, but I have a circuit feeling that whatever Zedd's planning won't be good." "You're precisely, right. We most figure out what Zedd is up to, for I fear that we don't have much time." "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" With this cry, the robot began working the controls, trying to fix the Earth's rotation, while periodically glancing at the globe to keep an eye on the Rangers. Back in the classroom, everyone shifted uncomfortably. Moments later, everyone was years younger. "All right class, who can divide thirty into nine hundred?" Ms. Appleby questioned. Various students raised their hands. "Kimberly, would you like to come up and show the class?" "Yes, Ms. Appleby." The girl walked up to the board, picked up a piece of chalk and started displaying the equation. "Thirty goes into ninety three times. Three times thirty is ninety." As she did this, Skull snuck up to her chair and put a balloon on it and then hurried back to his seat. "Ninety subtracted from ninety is zero. Bring down the zero. Thirty goes into zero zero times. So the answer is thirty." "Very good, Kimberly. I can tell you've been studying very hard." "Teacher's pet," Bulk muttered and Skull made kissing noises in her direction. "Grow up, Skull," Trini, Aisha, Hilary, and Tina chorused with a roll of their eyes. As she headed back to her seat, the balloon fell off of Kimberly's chair and landed underneath it. Bulk and Skull's eyes widened. Then, they got up from their seats and tried to get it as she sat down. However, it was too late and it exploded in their faces and everyone laughed as they stood up. "Skull, you were supposed to put it on her chair, not under it, you dimwit!" Bulk told him. "I did!" Skull responded. Ms. Appleby cleared her throat and walked up to them. "Would someone like to tell me who is responsible for this?" she demanded, cornering the two. Aisha raised her hand. "Aisha?" "Bulk and Skull put a slime balloon under Kimberly's chair." "Yeah, but…it backfired." "I think I've heard enough." She grabbed the two by the ears. "You tow can spend the rest of the day in Mr. Caplan's office!" "No fair! It was Kimberly's fault!" The class looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Yeah, right. Ms. Appleby apparently didn't buy it either for her only response was to send them out the door. The bell rang. "Class dismissed." With that, the kids picked up their things and headed out. "Remember to study for the spelling test tomorrow!" Billy and the others gathered around Kimberly. "Are you all right?" Billy asked gently. "Yeah," Kimberly answered. "My new outfit-it's ruined." Aisha handed her friend a napkin. "Don't worry. I never leave home without one," she said. Kimberly smiled, took the napkin, and wiped up her dress as best as she could. "Come on, guys. Let's go to the park," Jason suggested. This was met by various agreements as they all headed out. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Zedd's turned them all into children! They won't even know that they're the Power Rangers!" Alpha exclaimed. "Now we know what Zedd's intentions were. He has used the Rock Of Time to send the Earth spinning into the past," Zordon said. "Oh, no. What can we do?" "We must construct a remote molecular descrambler to return the Power Rangers to normal, for only then will they have the knowledge and power to destroy the Rock Of Time." "Wouldn't a machine like that hurt them?" "Not if we take every precaution while making it." Meanwhile, in the park, the children Rangers, Chris, Zhane, Tina, Hilary, and Justin, were enjoying themselves. "Hey, Kim. Check out this move," Aisha said and started doing a simple dance step. "Cool," Kimberly said. "Yeah, it's not bad, but check out this move," Zack boasted and began to do a slightly harder move. Meanwhile, Adam was helping Billy with a kite that he was using for a science experiment. "You really think this is going to fly?" Adam asked. "It should. My dad helped me draw up the plans at home," Billy responded. "I'd like to try to test the wind currents, and then monitor them." "Okay. Sounds good." "So you're going to hold it, and run with it. When I say 'Let go', let go." "Duh." Billy mock-glared at Adam's teasing tone. Then, they stood up and ran with the kite. Moments later, Billy gave the order. Jason and Tommy were sparring with each other and filling the air with martial art cries. This soon caught the attention of a woman walking through the park with her husband. "Oh, honey. Get a shot of those kids. Oh, they're so adorable," she said and gave a small laugh. He raised his camera; brought Jason and Tommy into focus, and then snapped their picture. At his wife's urging, he took more. Then-two boys with food sticking out of their mouths jumped into frame! With a cry of surprise, they jumped back, the sudden movement knocking them backwards and onto the ground. Bulk and Skull laughed, pounded fists, and then ran off. "What jerks," Hilary huffed. "Those two gross me out," Tina said in annoyance. "Tell me about it," Trini agreed. "Here, let us help you," Jason offered, as he, Tommy, and the others ran up. Together, the kids helped the couple up. "Thank you very much," the man said as Rocky bent down to pick up the woman's camera. "You're sweet, not like those rude little beasts!" the woman fumed. "Here's your camera, Ma'am," Rocky said, handing her the appliance. "Thank you," she answered. After a few seconds, the couple walked off. Then, before they knew what was happening, Bulk and Skull had snuck up and taken Billy and Adam's kite. "Hey, give it back, Bulk!" Billy shouted. "Billy, go fly a kite," Bulk sneered and Skull laughed. "Good one." "Skull, help me get this thing in the air." The others watched as the two began to get tangled and the girls began to snicker. "Hey, Skull," Kimberly said. He turned to her. "How 'bout a little kiss?" His eyes lit up as the others turned to stare at her in shock. Seeing this, Bulk attempted to nudge him. "Skull, don't do it! She's got cooties." "Come get me." Skull took one step and-he and Bulk fell to the ground. Everyone laughed. "Way to go, Kimberly," Trini complimented, slapping five with her friend. "Serves you right," Aisha commented and they all laughed again. Meanwhile, on the moon, Zedd was ecstatic. He laughed maniacally. "Oh, this is so amusing; I almost hate to see it end! But it must," he stated. "Goldar, you know what to do." "Yes, my lord. I have already sent down a legion of Putties." Down on Earth, Jason and the others had been joined by Zack, Angela, Curtis, and Richie, who had brought a large rubber ball and now they were all playing dodge ball. Billy laughed as he was hit and struck out. the game continued as Bulk and Skull watched. "Don't you want to play dodge ball, Bulk?" "Nah, that's a sissy game." However, the two continued to watch. Tommy caught the ball. I'm gonna getcha," he said to the others and threw it. The others cried out and jumped out of the way until Jason finally caught it. "Hey, Tommy! Think fast!" he called and threw it. There was a burbling sound and a strange, gray creature jumped in the air and caught it. When it landed, it had been joined for five other creatures that looked the same. "Who are those guys?" Tommy asked. "And where did they come from?" Kimberly wondered. Her friends stammered. "Another planet?" Chris finally surmised. "Okay, everybody. Stay together," Jason instructed, as he and Tommy protectively stood in front of their friends. A Putty tapped on Bulk's shoulder, who just dismissively threw his hand off. However, a frightened cry from Skull caused him to turn around. The two climbed to their feet and ran off. The kids looked around in fright. "You think their friendly?" Tina questioned. "My deduction is…no," Billy responded. The girls looked around with a whimper and Kimberly buried her head into Tommy's shoulder. "Where did they come from?" Rocky asked. "What do you think they are?" Tommy responded. "Maybe we should ask them if they're lost or something," Chris said. Kimberly shook her head. "My mother told me to never talk to strangers," she told them. "And they look pretty strange to me." The creatures spread out, causing the others to do the same. Adam approached the creature that had stolen the ball from him, kicked it, grabbed the ball, turned around, and hit another one of the creatures on the head. The kids spread out as the creatures advanced. Soon, Jason and Tommy began kicking and punching them. Rocky began doing the same and in the process scooped up the dodge ball that had been forgotten. Seeing Adam trying to yank away from one of the creatures, he threw the ball at it. This knocked the creature onto a bench where it discovered Bulk and Skull hiding under a table. They quickly scooted away, jumped to their feet, and began running. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH! THE BOOGEYMAN!" Bulk screamed. "YOU SAID THERE WAS NO SUCH THING!" "I LIED!" Kimberly ran from the creatures, crawled between the legs of one, turned around and kicked it in the rear, causing it to topple onto the other ones. Meanwhile, Jason and Tommy had started working together in fighting the things. Seeing one approaching, they clasped hands. To their surprise, something surged inside of them. "Huh?" Jason asked. "What was that?" Tommy added. Refocusing their attention at the task at hand and let out a kick at the creature, hitting it squarely in the chest. They watched as it disintegrated. "Cool! It's the 'Z'!" Jason realized. "Aim for the 'Z'!" Tommy added. Immediately, the kids-even including Bulk and Skull-went to work, using kicks, punches, and the dodge ball to hit the weak spot. When they were finally done, everyone but Jason, Tommy, and Rocky were exhausted and collapsed to the ground. The trio slapped each other's hands, clasped the hands at different angles, dropped their arms, and they raised them to hit each other's fists. "YEAH!" they chorused. "Hey, great game guys," Tommy said. The others just groaned in exhaustion. What they didn't know was that Alpha and Zordon had seen the whole thing from the Command Center. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Way to go, Rangers! I'm so proud of you!" Alpha exclaimed. "It is not so surprising, Alpha. Remember, we chose our Rangers because of their intelligence and resourcefulness," Zordon reminded. "Yes, I know. And their friends weren't half bad either," the robot responded. "However, we must hurry to get the descrambler working. Zedd's bound to be furious and send in one of his monsters," the sage cautioned. "Right. Okay, now where were we?" As he asked the question, the robot began once again working on the machine. On the moon, Zordon's fears about Zedd's anger were well-founded. "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" He banged a fist on the balcony. "NOOOO!" That's what happens when you underestimate the Rangers, Goldar thought to himself. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" "I knew it all sounded too easy," Squatt told Baboo. "So, the kids defeated my Putties even without Zordon's help. They won't get away with this!" Zedd roared. "Why don't you send a monster to finish them?" Goldar suggested. "Yes, I need a monster that can freeze them in time forever," Zedd agreed. He perused the Earth until he found what he looking for: a camera that had been abandoned. "A camera! With that, I can create the Photomare and trap the Rangers and their friends in a photograph forever!" Squatt and Baboo laughed. "Victory will be mine in a flash!" A bolt of electricity from Zedd's staff turned the camera into a full-fledged monster. Oblivious to the danger, the kids walked through the park, Bulk and Skull following from a distance. "Those things were so freaky," Angela stated. "Yeah, tell me about it," agreed Curtis. "What do you suppose they were?" Trini asked. "I don't know," Jason answered. Finally, he turned around. "Hey guys, we know you're there. If you're scared, why don't you just say so?" he told them. "Who you callin' a scaredy-cat?" Bulk asked defensively. "Yeah! We're protecting you!" Skull added in the same tone. "Right," Adam said with a grin. "Smile for the camera," Photomare said. "Camera? Where?" Kimberly asked, turning around excitedly. The others did the same. "Hold still everyone!" the monster stated. "I don't think this is like having our class picture done," Aisha commented. "Now…say cheese," the monster continued. "Wait a minute," Billy said warily and Jason and Tommy protectively got in front of their friends. "Big smile for the picture you'll remember for a lifetime!" The kids started backing up as the monster shot rays at them and laughed. Seconds later, they had been turned into a photograph. "Or should I say a lifetime remembered as a picture?" He laughed. Bulk and Skull whimpered and Skull grabbed Bulk's coat, shuddering. The monster studied its handiwork. "Now that''s' still-life photography," it bragged to itself. In the Command Center, Alpha was still working on the descrambler. "If I can just get this wire connected over here like so-" then he cried out in surprised as a surge of electricity went through him and he ran through the Command Center, yelling at the multiple shocks. "The situation has become critical. The young Rangers and their friends have been trapped inside a photograph by Zedd's monster Photomare," Zordon told him once he was finished. "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! I'll keep trying so they're not lost forever!" he responded. "Excellent!" Zedd bellowed and began to laugh. "The Rangers are now trapped in that photograph for all time!" "Perfect!" Goldar exclaimed. He laughed. With the Rangers out of the way, Empress Rita can destroy Zedd and then the world! he thought to himself. "It really worked!" Squatt said in surprise. "Never doubt one of my evil schemes again," Zedd scolded. "Victory is mine at last…and how sweet it is!"
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