Chapter 15: Missing Bone

As the bell rang, signaling the start of class, Conner, Kira, Ethan and Andy walked up the stairs to their class together.

"You guys heard from Trent yet?" Conner asked as they avoided the other students.

"No, and I'm not sure I really want to," Kira told him with a frown.

"He's so lucky Zoey went to Angel Grove." Jenna joined them, "With her powers so out of wack, there's no telling what she would do to him."

"Girl's dangerous on a regular day." Andy smirked, "She don't need any more powers."

"She doesn't have any more new ones, doofus. She is getting control of her current ones."

"So, without Zoey, it's up to us to keep an eye on Trent." Conner frowned, "There's no telling what that guy's up to."

"We need to make sure he doesn't go off on some poor freshman cause the kid won't give him his lunch money," Ethan shook his head, looking worried.

"I think he's after a little more than a free grilled cheese," Jenna rolled her eyes.

"And when we know what that is, maybe we can deal." Kira shrugged. "But until then, we keep an eye on him," she said to her friends as they walked into their classroom, unaware that Trent was listening to every word they said.

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As they waited for their substitute teacher to show up, the class of teenagers entertained themselves. While Ethan, Andy and Conner tossed paper balls into Devin's camera bag, Kira wrote down lyrics to a new song she was writing, and Jenna sat at the TA desk, writing in her laptop. Since Zoey deferred, Jenna was going to be in the science room from now on. Trent, sitting on the opposite side of the same table as the other four, just rolled his eyes, ignoring them.

"Hey, did you guys hear we're supposed to get a new teacher today?" Ethan asked as he tossed another ball into the bag.

"How many does that make now?" Andy quirked a brow in Jenna's direction, "I mean, she's like the Sub Sinker. She's systematically gotten rid of every one of the substitutes that Principal Randall has brought in. Do you think she does it on purpose?"

"Let's see." Conner chuckled, "The first teacher tried to kick her out, as she wasn't a student, and she didn't work with TAs. Jenna went to Randall and threatened to call the school board." He turned to Andy, "She really have the connections she says she does?"

"Their brothers do."

"The second teacher treated her like a student and made her get up in front of the class to figure out the radiometric dating, whatever that is, of a triceratops bone in rock." Ethan smirked, "Teacher thought she was being smart, but Jenna showed her up and proved why she's a TA and she get's all those A's in her classes."

"Come on guys. Leave Jenna alone." Kira admonished, "She can't help it. Besides, you three have been no picnic either."

"Those teachers are nothing compared to Dr. O." Conner smiled, "But we can promise to be nicer to the new substitute, whoever it is."

"Well, I heard from a very reliable source, that it's this 80-year-old woman who used to teach kindergarten in Silver Hills," Cassidy spoke up as she stood at their table.

"Really?" Conner looked unconvinced by her words, and the door opened. They looked up as Principal Randall walked in, looking down her nose at them.

"Good morning class," she greeted as everyone quickly took their seats. "I would like you to meet your new teacher, Doctor Anton Mercer," all of the Rangers sitting at the table looked up instantly, their eyes wide as the man walked in.

"Morning class," he greeted them with a pleasant smile.

"Hey, she looks pretty good for 80." Andy smirked in Cassidy's direction. Devin burst out laughing, and Cassidy slapped his arm, scowling at him.

"What? I thought it was funny!" he defended with wide eyes.

"Doctor Mercer has graciously agreed to take over until your teacher gets back on his feet. I expect no problems this time, Ms. Scott." She glanced over at Jenna, who looked up from her laptop and just smirked, making her friends smile in response, "I would like you to treat him with the same respect that you would treat Doctor Oliver."

Jenna just rolled her eyes and went back to her essay.

"Thank you," Doctor Mercer smiled at Randall as left the room. "Well, let me start by saying how honored I am to be here." He told them. "What I'm handing out to you now are permission slips. These are for your parents and guardians to sign." He started passing out pieces of paper. "We'll be going on a field trip tomorrow, to a museum." Doctor Mercer explained. "I trust you will all be able to make it."

"Oh, joy." Jenna muttered, meeting Andy's worried glance.

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"Anton Mercer teaching other people's children?" Kira rolled her eyes as they walked away from school that afternoon. "He doesn't even like his own from what I can tell."

"I guess we should be lucky that Zoey's not here." Andy sighed, "She really wanted a one-on-one after the stunt he pulled at the cafe."

"Look, when it comes to academia, Tommy's going to love this idea. Despite what happened with the cafe, Anton Mercer is a brilliant scientist. We could do worse." Jenna said, not looking up from texting Zoey.

"I just wonder whose brilliant idea this whole thing was." Ethan frowned.

"Gotta be Randall's," Kira told him. She looked mildly disgusted. "Did you see them together? It's like they're old pals," she shivered at the thought.

"I really don't need that image in my head, thank you." Andy muttered.

"Better that than Randall at the dig." Jenna shivered, "That was disturbing."

"Hey, no matter how bad we've got it, there's always someone who's got it worse," Conner spoke up, gesturing over at where Trent and his father were arguing loudly. Trent stormed off, and Doctor Mercer yelled after him.

"Huh. What are you guys doing now?" Kira asked.

"Soccer."

"Work." Andy and Jenna said in unison, smiling at each other.

"Computer club. You?" Ethan asked the Yellow Ranger.

"I promised Doctor O that I'd help him inventory some stuff in the lab," she told them with a small smile. "Plus, he'd probably wanna know who's teaching his class.'

"Yeah...I wonder what he'd have to say about that," Conner frowned.

"$10 says he approves of it." Jenna called as they all started to separate, "He'll have nothing but praise for the man who taught him everything he knows."

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"So, how are you doing?" Jenna asked, putting her phone on speaker as she worked on her laptop, "I mean, any progress."

"Lots and lots of meditation." Zoey laughed from the other end, taking some steady breaths, "Not to mention some major Simu-Deck training. I'm currently trying to relax by doing yoga."

"Just don't fall asleep during mediation."

"I am not the only one who does that." The Pink Ranger snapped, "Your boyfriend is such a baby. And a drama queen."

"Why do you two fight so much? I mean, you consider each other friends."

"But it brings me such joy. Besides, I don't treat him nearly as bad I treat Cole, and we made peace with each other last year."

"That's true. Very much."

"How do you think he's going to treat you tomorrow at the museum?"

Jenna didn't have to ask who she meant, "I don't think he's going to treat me like the others. Personally, I'll probably just get ignored."

"With Mercer, that's probably a good thing."

"Tell me about. We've been through too many substitutes already. As much as I don't approve of him, we could do worse."

"Don't like being called Sub Sinker, do you?"

Jenna grumbled, "It's not my fault!"

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"Kiyah!" After flipping one opponent to the ground, Zoey flipped over another coming at her and kicked it back. Without turning, she grabbed the attacker who tried to jump her from behind and flipped him over her shoulder, "Kiyah!"

"Alright, alright!" Jason chuckled as he came into the dojo, "Class is over. Everyone go ice your bruises." Rocky and Adam up behind him, laughing, "Damn, Zoey. Are you trying to kill our students?"

Barely out of breath, she stood up and smiled, "If they can't handle it, then they shouldn't be advanced black belts."

"She's got a point, man." Rocky nodded, clapping the girl on the shoulder, "You look like you're hungry. How about I treat you?"

"Steak protein bowl from Ape Man's?" She smiled coyly up at him.

"With all the works."

"Deal."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. More centered." She looked at the guys and sighed, "I don't know. More calm. Since Billy and Justin created this bracelet to keep me from accessing my magic, thank Zordon for that, I was able to get my Inner Ninja back into focus. I've been letting Vixey out every night, just to release that energy, and my mom has been working with me in my sleep. I'm hoping to go back at the end of the week." She shrugged, "Maybe."

"Your mom is the one who gave you the instructions on making the bracelet, right?" Jason asked, picking up her wrist, "That really came in handy."

"Yeah, she is." She bent over to put on her shoes, "I'm gonna go eat, help Emily out at the Youth Center for a couple of hours, then head to the Sports Center. I need to hit the batting cages. Time to let out some frustration."

"Try not to break the machine again."

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"Kira! Kira!" Jenna, having noticed Kira missing, made the boys go look for her while she stayed with the group. They turned a corner and saw her walking toward them.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Ethan asked as the girl put a hand to her head.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. I just got lost."

"Lost?" Conner frowned at her.

"Yeah, as in not found." She mocked, rolling her eyes, "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah.

"Fine. Let's go."

Andy scratched his head, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say she's not fine. Something happened to her, and we need Jenna. Now."

"Agreed."

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"Andy!" About to go into the Cafe, Andy turned toward Jenna, "Just got off the phone with Zoey. She's in agreement. It definitely sounds like something is wrong with her."

"That's what I thought. Let's go see the guys."

They go in to see Conner and Ethan walking toward Kira at the bar, "Hey, you wanna go to a movie tonight?"

"No." Kira replied, keeping her head down.

"You know, when someone doesn't wanna hang out with people, they usually come up with some sort of excuse." Conner frowned, annoyed.

"Look, I just don't want to hang out with you guys any more than I have to." She rolled her eyes, "Okay?" She stood up and grabbed her book, "I have to go. I have something to do." She walked off in a huff, ignoring the astonished looks on her friend's faces.

"Wow. You weren't kidding." Jenna exclaimed, walking over to the bar, "Has she been like that since the museum?"

"Yeah, and it's pretty annoying."

"Yeah, well, you were all annoying when that meteor changed your personalities." Andy smirked, "It was not fun to watch. Hey," he turned to their purple friend, "That's it. Something is either controlling her or has changed her personality."

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"So, you think Kira's been acting kind of strange?" Tommy asked as they walked into the lab.

"Kind of? That's like saying Raina has kind of a temper." Jenna laughed at Andy choice of analogy, "Kira's pretty outgoing with us. But something happened at the museum."

"We just don't know what's wrong with her." Conner complained, "I mean, I didn't say anything to make her mad, so Andy and Jenna's theory has to be right."

"Are you sure?" Ethan smirked, "Sometimes you say things you don't think is going to get people angry and things end up getting thrown at you."

"Dude, I promise..."

"Hey, isn't that the..." Jenna trailed off, looking at the case in Tommy's hands.

"Yeah, it is." He looked over, "We have a big problem on our hands."

"Bigger than Kira possibly being mind-controlled?" Andy exclaimed, worried.

Tommy nodded, "Yeah, it is. This box contained the final bone of a creature that was created by Mercer and me years ago."

"What kind of creature?" Conner asked, looking up from the case.

"Fossilador. We were trying to create a dinosaur at one time that had the power of mind control. We scraped it when it got out of hand."

"Great." Ethan mocked.

"As long as I had the main support bone, it could never come to life."

"And that's what was in that case." Andy nodded.

"Yes."

"So, who do you think took it?" Conner asked, looking around.

"Well," Jenna crossed her arms, "it wasn't one of us. Zoey's in Angel Grove and Haley's been at the cafe all day." She paused, "Now, who has been acting strange enough that we suspect is under a mind control?" She looked at their shocked faces, nodding, "Kira."

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Zoey stood on a rock in the park, doing a kata, when a voice called out to her, "I was told I could find you here." She looked over and smiled, "There she is."

"Nick." She jumped down from her rock and right into his arms, "What are you doing here? Don't you have classes?"

"My sister had her baby, so I came down to visit my parents before heading back to school." He leaned back to look at her, "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"What makes you so sure that there's something wrong?"

He put his hand under her jaw and cupped her face, "I know this face. I know those eyes. And more importantly, I know you. You wouldn't be here, away from your studies, your job or your brother, if there wasn't a problem. Ever since your brother's accident, you've been attached to his hip. Except for your time in Blue Bay, but you weren't that far from him and you called him every night."

"I've been calling him every night since I got here." She walked over and sat on the rock, "I don't know how to explain it." At least, without telling him their secrets.

"Give me the highlights. Maybe it will help to talk it through." He sat down next to her, waiting, "You look haunted."

She decided on the truth, but only pieces, "I've been having nightmares. More like, night terrors. And they've been scaring me. To the point that I'm not getting a lot of sleep and it's effecting school and work."

He grabbed her hand in concern, "How long have you been having these?"

She sighed, "Sometime after I moved to Blue Bay. It's just been getting worse."

"Why haven't you told me about this?"

"I didn't know how to tell you, honestly. It started off small, at first. Then it just kind of exploded on me. I can't handle them. I'm so tired all the time."

"What are these terrors about?"

Tricky. "Um, I couldn't remember everything at first. Then they got more detailed. I'd start seeing images from the attacks here in Angel Grove." Somewhat true, "It kept blending in with what happened with Tommy." More true. "Then it was mixing up things I was going through. Dealing with the monsters in Blue Bay, now in Reefside." Again, partially true. So, not directly lying to him. "I'm just overwhelmed. I took a deferment from my TA position and came here. I just needed to reset. Hopefully, get my mind back into a place where I can deal with it better."

"Have you thought about seeing a doctor?" He squeezed her hand in support.

"First thing I did when I got here." Not a lie at all. "Dr. Grayson prescribed me a mild dose of benzodiazepine and a mild antidepressant."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

"Well, I've been doing a lot of yoga and Tai Chi to help re-center myself. I've been relieving my aggression at the batting cages and beating up on the students at the dojo."

"Ouch. Those poor kids. Send anyone to the hospital?"

"Not since day one. Jason's been monitoring me."

"Well, I'm not leaving until tomorrow. So, how about we race through the skate path?"

"Sounds like a great idea. Let's go get our skates."

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Jenna and Hayley ran toward the museum, hoping to find Kira. "Locked." Jenna growled as they tried to open the front door. They went to go find a back way in when they were stopped by a security guard.

"Ladies. I'm afraid the museum is closed. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

Jenna nudged Hayley to take the lead, "I understand. But I think that there might be a high school student locked inside."

"That's impossible. I've checked the building thoroughly."

Hayley smiled, "Couldn't you look, just one more time?"

His grin made Jenna look down, rolling her eyes, "Well, I suppose I could."

"Aw, shucks mister. That's awfully swell of you." Jenna giggled, ignoring Hayley's elbow to her ribs, "We really appreciate it."

"Oh, well, it's no problem girls." He led the way inside, coyly, cause Jenna to have to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

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"Kira!" the Yellow Ranger groaned as she was jarred awake, "Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Hayley asked, lift the girl's head. Jenna bent down beside them, worried.

"I'm fine," Kira groaned. "What happened?" she asked, before it all came flooding back. "Oh no, I set that thing-"

"Are you ok to get up?" Jenna interrupted her before she could say anything.

"I think so," She pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing.

"Should I call a doctor?" The security guard asked as he squatted beside Hayley.

"Uh, no. No, I just need to get home." Kira stood up and ran out the door. Hayley and Jenna shrugged and ran off to catch up with her.

"I can't believe I was responsible for bringing that thing to life!"

"It wasn't your fault," Jenna told her gently. "In your civilian form, you couldn't stop him from controlling your mind. Luckily the others' Ranger powers will protect them."

"I'm going over there."

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked, concerned.

"Nobody messes with my mind and gets away with it."

Jenna smirked as the girl stormed off, "True Yellow, coming through. Time to Ranger up. Catch you on the coms, Hayley."

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Zoey laughed as she shot past Nick on the skate path, "Come on, Nomad! Catch up."

"You did not just call me that!" He called out as he sped up to her, catching her around the middle, "I tolerate it from that psycho, I don't need to hear it from my girl."

"Your girl, huh?"

"You'll always be my girl." She smiled shyly up at him, "What?"

"I like being your girl. I like it better than just saying that I'm your girlfriend. Saying that I'm your Girl is more... special."

"You are special. Not just to me, but to everyone around you. You've helped a lot of people with just being you. It makes me love you all the more."

"Just how much do you love me?" She smirked.

"See, now I'm scared to say anything. When you get that look in your eyes, it makes me nervous, and I don't know if I want to say."

She leaned up and whispered in his ear, making him pause, "On the other hand, sometimes that smirk is a good thing." He looked down at her with a smirk of his own, "Where do you want to go?"

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"So glad you're back to normal Kira.," Ethan grinned as they walked down into Tommy's lab. "You were really scary for a while."

"I'm so sorry I was mean to you guys." She smiled, still feeling bad.

"Don't worry about it, seriously," Ethan insisted.

"Yeah, I mean we're kind of used to it." Conner laughed, making Kira frown in response.

"You see? That would be one of those things you say from