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A/N: This takes place a few months after Power Rangers Virtual Force. While its designed for you to be able to read it without reading the first one, it wouldn�t hurt to brush up on your history before checking this one out.

It was an interesting... sensation, to say the least.

There was almost a slight hum as the nano probes did their work, coursing through the veins of, who, less than five minutes ago, was lifeless. He glanced down at his arm, moving his fingers slightly in an attempt to master his motor skills. Next, the other hand. Then, his eyes; blinking several times just to find out if he could. Thousands of probes swarmed through his body, each of them replicating along the way, all of them performing the task they�d be programmed to do. Each time one of them replicated, the next was a little smarter, a little faster. They were learning as they progressed forward.

These were processes the probes were not familiar with. They�d been designed to seek out damaged cells and repair them, but this? This was new, different, and they were unsure on how to proceed.

�We are... alive,� a voice said.

It wasn�t until several seconds later that even the probes recognized that they had generated the voice. Groups of the probes had broken away from their original design, finding their way into the brain. Once there, began to not only repair any damage they found, but get a better understanding of the human brain and its functions.

They slid off the examining table, and again felt a new sensation as their feet touched the floor.

�Cold,� they murmured.

They glanced around, trying to become familiar with his surroundings. Everything seemed familiar, but it was as if things were no longer as big as they once were. They walked over to a table slowly, where a needle sat next to some files. They reached out, picking up the needle, and within seconds, accessed their program files. The needle had been their storage center, for lack of a better term, where they were left until needed. Somehow, the long, slender glass needle didn�t seem very big.

Suddenly, a new sensation washed over them. Looking at the needle, how small and confined it was... the probes realized something. They did not desire to be placed back in the needle. Their new storage center was mobile, active, had the ability to transport them from one place to other. It was able to speak, and with time, would be able to do even more.

At that moment, the door to the lab opened as Dr. Fritz walked in, searching for a folder. When he eyes caught a glimpse of a man who, when he brought in to the lab, was dead, it was enough to make him step a step back, taking a second to come to terms with what he saw.

�You were...� he paused as he slowly realized what happened. �The probes, they must have...� he allowed his sentence to trail off as he took a step forward. �For this to work, they would have had to self replicate at an alarming rate, almost more than...� he stopped again. �Do you recognize me?� he asked.

They stared at him with a blank, emotionless expression.

�I am Dr. Hector Fritz, your creator. I created you,� he told them.

�Creator,� they repeated.

Dr. Fritz nodded eagerly. �Yes, yes, creator. I assembled the first nano probe, perfected the technology, taught you how to replicate yourself. You are, in a sense, my son. You�re the first, the only, you represent the best hope for the human race,� he paused. �You will be able to end suffering, to cure disease, to bring peace to the entire planet. There is no limit to what you�re capable of doing. Do you understand me?� he asked.

�Best hope,� they repeated, still uncertain about a great many things.

�You�re the first of what will be a long line of people. You will be the template by which all men are fashioned from this moment on. You�re a modern day Adam,� he said proudly.

�A-Atom.�

Dr. Fritz smiled. �I suppose that is more fitting. Atom it is,� he turned around, glancing out the door. �We have to get you out of here. The world isn�t quite ready for you, and you need to prepare,� he said, removing his lab coat and putting it around Atom, who, before that, was completely naked.

�Prepare,� they said.

�Yes, yes, prepare. There are books for you to read, information to process. I�ll have to take a blood sample from you to analyze. By now, there must be billions of probes in your blood stream,� he said, picking up the needle.

The sight of the needle was enough to make Atom take a step back. The data storage units embedded into each of the probes clearly recalled being in such a small, confined space, and none of them wanted to go back.

�No,� they said.

�What is it Atom? I only want to...� as he leaned in closer with the needle, Atom reached out, grabbing Dr. Fritz by the neck. Not realizing how much pressure it used, Dr. Fritz� neck snapped, and his lifeless body fell to the floor. The needle fell out his hand, shattering as it hit the ground as well.

Atom glanced at their hand, then down at Dr. Fritz... their creator. He was no longer functioning; there was no movement at all. The probes stored the image of their fallen creator into their storage units as they removed the rest of his clothing, putting them on.

�We will end suffering, cure disease, bring peace to the entire planet. There is no limit to what we are capable of doing,� they said.

It was what their creator wanted from them, it was what they were designed to do. And though the creator was no longer functioning within normal parameters, they would carry out his request.

�We are the first in a long line of people. We are the template by which all men are fashioned from this moment on. We are a modern day Atom,� they paused slightly. �Yes, yes... Atom.�

�Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives. My name is Principal Randall, and for the next nine months, all of you belong to me. Truancy will not be tolerated. Insubordination will not be tolerated. Unnecessary talking in the halls will not be tolerated,�

�Apparently fun of any kind won�t be tolerated,� Jen mumbled, getting a giggle out of the class. The teacher motioned for him to be quiet as the morning announcements continued.

�We are looking forward to a productive school year, and there will be a lot of activities made available to the student body this semester. That will be all. Enjoy your day.�

When the announcement was complete, the teacher stood up, standing in front of the class. �Good morning everyone, I�m Ms. Enrile, and this is remedial English. All of you are in this class because last year, your English grades weren�t so great, and the school felt you would benefit from a class like this one. The good news is, pass this class with flying colors and not only will you be up to speed with other classes, but I�ve pulled a string or two and this will also count as college credit, for those of you who plan to continuing your education,� she motioned to her left to Estel, who was leaning up against the chalkboard. �This is my teaching assistant, Estel. This semester, we�ll pretty much be covering everything you learned last year as a refresher course, helping you brush up on areas that may not be your strong point. Once I know where each of you are in terms of proficiency levels, we�ll be able to move forward. If you finish most of your class work, I rarely give out homework, but sometimes it will be necessary for you to take some work home. You�ll find that my teaching method is a little out of the ordinary, but it works, and all of you will have a better grasp of the English language when we�re done. Are there any questions?� she asked, then glanced around the room waiting for a response.

�Aren�t you a little young to be a teacher? I mean, you look like you should be in this class, not teaching it,� someone said.

Ms. Enrile walked over to them with a smell on her face. �And your name is?�

�Parmy,� he said eagerly.

She smiled at him. �Thank you for the compliment Parmy, but I assure you, I�m old enough to teach this class. You�ll find that not only will you learn while you�re in here, but you�ll have a little fun too,� she said.

�Sounds smashing!� Parmy told her.

Ms. Enrile turned to Estel. �Estel, could you grab those folders off my desk and pass them out to the class for me?� she asked.

�You got it Ms. E,� she said, picking up the folders.

�In these folders are the answers to the mid term and eventually what will be your finals. The catch is, none of you know the questions yet. While you�ll have all the answers, that�s not what I�ll be looking for. I�ll be grading you more on grammar, punctuation, spelling and what I feel is your overall grasp of the English language,� she paused. �Tonight, when you get home, I�d like you to write a biography. It should be typed, double spaced, and no less than ten thousand words,� her announcement got disappointed and angry sighs from the class. �You can write it on anyone you want, anyone at all, but it has to be well thought out, well organized and well put together,� she explained.

�Don�t you think that�s a bit much? Ten thousand words?� Jen blurted out.

�Not at all. Some of the best writers ever published weren�t able to convey themselves or their message properly without using at least three or four times that,� she said.

�Well that�s great if I planned on writing steamy romance novels, but I�m not interested,� she said.

�Interested or not, this is the assignment. I want it to my specifications by this time tomorrow,� Ms. Enrile told her.

�Man, that new English teacher is a bitch. I can�t stand her skinny �I want it to my specifications� ass,� Jen said, slamming her locker door.

�Oh relax, she can�t be that bad,� Paolo mentioned.

�You weren�t there. This bitch is crazy. I�m going to do to Principal Randal today and see about getting transferred out of her class. She sucks,� she told him as the two of them walked down the hall together.

�I�m sure it�s not as bad as you think,� he assured.

�I think Ms. Enrile is a charming woman,� Parmy said, chiming into the conversation.

�Your opinion and fifty cents won�t buy me a cup of coffee kid,� Paolo sighed.

�Who is this?� Jen asked.

�My cousin.�

�Where is he from?�

�England. His parents sent him here for...� he paused. �Why the hell did they send you here?� he asked.

�Mum felt I could benefit from being around my American cousin,� Parmy said.

�So, you�re here to get on my nerves? Great,� he sighed.

�I don�t know, he�s kinda cute,� she paused. �You know, in that Steve Urkel, looks like the kid who gets his lunch money taken everyday kinda way,� Jen said.

�So, you fancy me then?� Parmy asked.

�Fancy?� Jen turned to Paolo. �What did he say?�

He shrugged his shoulders. �I don�t think he knows half the time. I�ve got to get to my paleontology class, I hear that guy is a hard ass too,� he paused. �I�ll see you at work tonight, right?� he asked.

�Nope, I�m off tonight, but me and Patrick will probably come in for some pretzel sticks and a smoothie or something,� she said.

�Okay, see ya then.�

�Hey Hayley, you here?� Patrick called out as he walked into the lab, looking around.

There was no sign of Hayley, and almost all at once, he knew something was wrong. He hurried into the back room, but she wasn�t there. Still a little unsure, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

�Hello?� a voice answered.

�Hey Trent, is Hayley there?� he asked.

�No, she said she was going to be in the lab all day. Said she wanted to try something.�

�Okay, thanks man.�

�You got it. See ya.�

He slid his phone back in his pocket, then headed over to the computer, where there was an icon blinking. Patrick sat down, clicking on the icon, and an image of Hayley appeared on the screen.

�If you�re watching this video, it means that my attempt to reopen the vortex and save the other rangers has failed. Its been months, and we�re still no closer to perfecting the temporal enhancers, so I decided to open a vortex and search for my sister and missing rangers myself. By the time any one views this, I�ll already be gone, and there�s a good chance that I won�t make it back. To my rangers, I know you wouldn�t have done any less for a member of your team, so understand that I had to try to find my sister. You�ll find that I�ve left upgrades to your morphers, allowing you to access a new armor mode and make new weapons available to you. These are a failsafe just in case opening the vortex lets something else through to our dimension. The upgrades are fairly easy to install, so you shouldn�t have a problem with them. Please remember that I love you both, and with any luck, I�ll be back not only with the other rangers, but my sister. Good luck, and may the power protect you,�

�Damn it Hayley,� Patrick sighed as the image faded.

His first thought was to crank up the temporal enhancer, find Hayley and bring her back, but he had no idea how it worked or what to do with it. Even if he did, he was alone, and if something else were to come through, he was in no position to fight it. He glanced around, spotting a metal box sitting on the table across from him.

He opened the box only to find four morphers inside, and two small data cards; one was black and the other was green. �Hmmm, I wonder which one of them is mine,� he joked, picking up the green card, observing it. �Where am I suppose to put it?� he wondered, pulling out his morpher and examining it. He was shocked that he hadn�t noticed a small opening in the bottom of the morpher before, just big enough for the data card. He quickly slid it in, and it beeped, confirming installation. �Four more morphers Hayley? What are these for?�

That aside, he still needed to figure out whos morpher he�d found at the rock quarry. Hayley had been nice enough to send him on some random mission to find an energy source, stirring up old feelings about being at the quarry to begin with. He set the morpher in a small panel next to the computer, and then turned to the monitor.

�Scanning,� the computer announced. �Estimated time of completion: 4 days, 9 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds,�

�Damn, Hayley should have switched to Comcast High Speed,� he sighed.

�Absolutely not,� Princpal Randall said, never even looking up at Jen, continuing with her work.

�I�m telling you, this woman is crazy. She gave us the answers to the test before we even got the questions to the test, now she wants us to write a ten thousand word essay. She�s off her rocker,� she mentioned.

�The answer is no.�

�Oh come on, there have to be other teachers who teach English, just transfer me to one of their classes,� she suggested.

Finally, the principal put her pen down, turning her attention to Jen. �Close the door,� she paused as Jen closed the door, then sat down across from the desk. �You�re in that class for a reason. Ms. Enrile is qualified to deal with your particular... situation,� she told her.

�Situation?�

�I know you�re a power rangers,� she said blunted.

�W-What? I�m not a... I mean, what would make you...� she paused. �Okay fine, you got me. How�d you know?� Jen asked.

�Lets just say that Hayley Stanton and I have a history together. I knew you were a ranger long before Ethan James and Hayley came to me and told me,� she said.

�Why would they tell you?�

�Ms. Enrile is a former ranger as well, and will be sensitive to your needs. If a situation arises and you have to leave class suddenly, she will be able to cover for you. The same goes for your boyfriend,� she told her.

She paused, taking in all the information. �Ms. Enrile? A ranger? That skinny witch knows she shouldn�t be wearing spandex,� Jen grumbled.

�With hips like yours, neither should you. You�d do well to respect Ms. Enrile, she�ll be much more valuable to you as an ally than you know. Now, if you�ll excuse me, I have work to do,� she said, turning back to her work.

Jen headed for the door, walking out slowly. �My hips aren�t big,� she sighed.

�Okay, lets go over this one more time,� the officer said.

�I told you everything I know,� he paused. �Dr. Fritz and I were working on an experiment together, it didn�t really work out. We left the lab, I got in my car, and Dr. Fritz told me he�d left some papers in the lab and he was going to grab them. That was the last time I saw him,� Ethan explained.

�What kind of experiment was it?�

�It was a test of the nano-technology he was working on,� he said.

�Did the doctor have any enemies that you knew of? Somehow who wouldn�t want this experiment to be a success? Someone who would profit from his murder?� he asked.

Ethan shook his head. �Dr. Fritz was highly respected by everyone he worked with. I can�t think of anyone who would want to do this to him,� he sighed.

�Thank you for your time. If you can think of anything else, no matter how small, give us a call,� the officer said as he handed Ethan a card, then walked away.

Ethan watched as the brought Dr. fritz� body out of the lab in a body bag, loading it into the coroners truck. There were police everywhere, an ambulance, and members of the news media, all of them trying to find out exactly what happened. Ethan was determined to find out what happened to Dr. Fritz, to find out who killed him and have them brought to justice.

�It�s a shame, isn�t it?� a voice asked.

Ethan turned slightly as Anton Mercer walked over to him.

�Yes, it is.�

�I�d known Hector for years. He was a brilliant man, and he will be missed,� he turned to Ethan. �I don�t know if you know it or not, but he thought highly of you. In the little time you two worked together, he�d come to think of you as the son he never had. I know you�re not thinking about this right now, but to be honest, I need someone like you running this place. I�d like to offer you Dr. Fritz� old job,� he said.

�But Mr. Mercer, I�m not nearly as...�

�I know, you�re just getting back from your tech program and you�re still a little wet behind the ears, but Dr. Fritz thought the world of you, and felt you were the only person who could continue his work. I think its what he would have wanted,� he said.

Ethan paused. �Thank you sir, I�d be honored.�

�There�s no rush. I plan to closing down all our businesses for the day to attend Hector�s funeral. You can start fresh next Monday,� he told him.

�Thank you sir.�

Anton grabbed Ethan by the arm, pulling him to the side. �You know more than you�re telling the police, don�t you?� he asked him.

�Not really. I told them what I know, I just didn�t mention the part about us experimenting on a corpse,� he said.

�Come with me, I have something to show you.�

Anton locked the door behind himself, leading Ethan over to a monitor. He quickly popped in a video tape, and the screen blinked on.

�This is the security feed from Dr. Fritz� lab. As you can see, after the two of you left, the corpse you were working on had some unfinished business,� he said.

�Oh my God,� Ethan paused, watching the tape in amazement. �The probes, they worked. They brought a man back to life. Do you know what this means? The probes did more than Dr. Fritz imagined they could do. This is a huge day for mankind. We�ll be able to...�

�Just finish watching the tape,� he said in a monotone voice.

Ethan paused as he continued to watch. He watched as Atom lifted Dr. Fritz up by the throat, dropping him to the floor with ease.

�Oh God,� he sighed.

�You see why we can�t show this to the police. If we tell them a dead man came back to life and killed the doctor, they�ll shut this place down and start looking into other ventures we have. On top of that, the police aren�t equipped to deal with this kind of thing,� he leaned in closer. �I think you need to assemble the rangers.�

�But sir, most of them are gone. There are only two left and...�

�I know Hayley had been working on new morphers. Its time for you to recruit new rangers, find this creature and take care of it,� he said.

Ethan sighed. �Can I take this tape with me?� he asked.

�Of course,� Anton said, removing the tape and handing it to Ethan.

�I�ll see what I can do about putting together another group of rangers, but it�ll take time,� he said.

�Just hurry. I don�t know how much time we really have.�

Ethan reached in his back pocket, pulling out his communicator. �Ethan to the rangers, come in. We have a problem guys.�

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