Fic: If I Only Had a Brain; PG; Dino Thunder
For Meg. It's not perfectly your prompt, but I worked in as much of it as possible!
There was no Tin Man. None of the group had been accused of not having a heart unless you wanted to count Trent while he was evil and none of them did. There wasn’t a Cowardly Lion either since no Power Ranger could be accused of being a coward. So as Conner stood there without a basket or a blue checkered dress, he knew that he was supposed to be in the Scarecrow’s part. He’d often been called an idiot, an airhead, or just a jock which meant the same as the others so it didn’t come as a huge surprise to him. As it was, he just felt a little lonely.
He was lucky that he wasn’t made of straw or anything like that. He was still human and in the same clothes he’d entered the land of Oz in. Another fortunately thing was that he’d seen this movie several times thanks to Kira so he knew to look for Glinda. Unfortunately, this Oz and the Oz that he’d seen on T.V. were completely different. This one was a city though not a large one and Conner didn’t recognize it. He gave another sigh and continued to head down the road.
“Alright. Think. If you were Ethan, you’d have a GPS. No help there. Trent would calmly think and stop before he went any further to figure out a plan,” Conner muttered to himself and stopped. “Kira would just ask someone. Which would be great if there was anyone to ask!”
He stared at the ground for a minute before his mind finally caught up with him. “But there might be a newpaper or something! Anything that has a name on it!” With the endurance he’d built up after a lifetime of playing soccer and a year of being a Ranger, he rushed through the city until he finally found a sign that had Angel Grove written on it. He ran through his memories and thought hard until he figured out where he recognized the name from. “Doctor O’s old city,” he muttered. “Which means I need to find a juice bar. Whoever heard of a juice bar?”
His ramblings brought him to the door of the bar in question which he quickly entered. It was dark and vacant which gave him the creeps a bit. “About time you got here.”
Conner relaxed at the familiar voice. “Hello, Hayley.”
“Glinda,” Hayley scolded him as she was in the pink dress from the movie. She was even wearing the tiara. For a man of supposedly no brains, Conner wasn’t stupid enough to laugh at her.
“Okay. Glinda. What the hell is going on?” He demanded. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a dark look.
“Isn’t it obvious? You need to go talk to Tommy, or the great Doctor of Oz, to get some brains,” she said. “It’s in Emerald City.”
“Okay, first of all? I’ve got brains. Second? I’m in Angel Grove, not Oz,” he informed her.
“Do you remember what a metaphor is Conner?” Hayley asked a little too nicely. He nodded. “Good. That’s what this is.”
“This is stupid,” he informed her.
“Do it anyway,” she said.
“How do I find this place anyway?” He asked. He felt his feet tighten a bit and glared at Hayley. “There is no way in hell…”
“They’re part of the story, Conner,” she reminded him. “And they’ll keep you safe.”
“I’m a Ranger!” He snapped. “I am safe!”
“Good luck!” She finished and disappeared leaving Conner in an empty juice bar with new ruby red slippers. He cursed, but headed out feeling that there was little left that he could do. The slippers did indeed lead the way, but when he got to a field of poppies, he stopped remembering the poppies in the movie.
“Well, we’re going hurry this along a bit,” he muttered and clicked his heels. “I wish I had some help. I wish I had some help. I wish I had some help.”
With that, he heard a large screech echo through sky as a large, yellow pterodactyl landed in front of him. He blinked a few times and it blinked back. Finally, it spoke. “Conner?”
“Kira?!” He started. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Babe.”
“Conner…” she growled at the nickname.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve lost my music,” she answered. “And the more I lost it, the more I began to shift and shift until I became this.”
A large tear fell from Kira’s eye and Conner reached up to comfort her. “Well, I’m going to go see Doc… I mean, the Great Doctor of Oz to ask for some brains which I really have but nobody seems to realize that. You want to come with?”
Kira nodded miserably. “I can carry us there,” she said. “If you know the way.”
He glanced down at his ruby shoes. “Yeah,” he said. “I know the way.”
She leaned down and he got on her back. She flew up and they soared through the air safely over the poppies. When they reached the other side, however, a large storm hit and forced them to land. Kira gave him a slight shrug. “I can’t get us there quicker,” she told him.
“It’s okay. At least we’re past the poppies,” he told her. They continued in what they were hoping was the right direction when they ran into a very nervous Ethan. Conner looked at him. “Hey Ethan. Lost your confidence?”
“How did you know?” He asked looking downtrodden. His normally blue clothes were grey and even his skin color looked paler as if he wasn’t all there.
“Lucky guess,” Kira said sardonically.
“So, Kira and I are going to the great Doctor of Oz,” Conner said. At Ethan’s incredulous look, he just glared. “Go with it, Dude. She wants her music back and I’m supposed to want some brains. We can try to get you some confidence.”
“Okay,” Ethan said and joined the small party. They continued to make their way when the flying monkeys showed up. Kira snatched a few in her beak, Ethan half-heartedly struck at a few. Conner fought them off, clicked his heels, and asked for more help. The monkeys began to fall to the ground as Trent rushed in. There was little style to his fighting and when it was over he just stopped and looked at Conner who spoke up.
“Hi Trent.”
“Hi Conner,” he answered. “Where are we off to?”
“The Great Doctor of Oz,” he answered. Trent looked confused. “We’re in Oz. It’s a metaphor or something.”
“Oh,” Trent answered.
“I thought you liked this stuff,” he started before sighing. “What did you lose?”
“My creativity,” Trent answered. Conner shrugged.
“Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else,” he said. “Fine. We get Kira her music, Ethan his confidence, and you your creativity. Sounds good.”
“What about you?” Trent asked and Conner glared at him.
“Don’t ask, dude,” he said. “Let’s go.”
The rest of the road there was pretty vacant and quiet. It led to a weird green landscape with Rangers doing various things and in the center of it was the Command Center. They passed through pretty easily though a large pterodactyl did cause some looks, it was also the Zord for one of the first Rangers and since it was yellow they just assumed the four were Rangers. They made their way into the building, though a few people protested, and into the inner chamber of the Command Center. Where Zordon would have been, there was a large chair that Tommy sat it. He glanced up at Conner and looked unpleased.
“Hey Doctor O? Before we get started, I’m not killing any witches for you or anything. I made it here, I want our wishes, and I want to wake up in time for breakfast,” he informed him. “So, please make with the magic.”
“Conner…” Doctor O started but Conner held firm.
“Come on, Doctor O,” he said and pointed to Kira. “She wants her music. Trent wants his creativity. Ethan wants his confidence.”
Tommy sat back. “What do you want?”
Conner started to open his mouth to give the answer that he’d been giving when he paused. Standing tall, he finally answered. “Respect.”
“I was hoping you’d figure it out and know what we’ve know: You’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for,” Tommy said. Kira shifted into a human once more and gave him a quick kiss. Ethan pulled him into a man hug while Trent gently held him from behind. Tommy walked over to him and put his hands on his shoulders. He gave him a small smile and whispered. “Done.”
Conner woke up and groaned, rubbing his head.
“He’s up, Doctor O!” Kira called. She reached over and gently pushed him down. “You have a concussion. We were worried you weren’t going to wake up.”
“You really scared us. When the car hit you, we thought we’d lost you,” Ethan agreed. “Trent hasn’t been able to do anything since you fell asleep and Kira nearly lost her voice singing to you.”
“Sorry,” he whispered. Tommy headed into the room and looked his student over. “Hey, Doctor O.”
“How are you feeling?” Doctor O asked softly. Conner gave him a slight smile.
“Better than I’ve felt in a while,” he answered, thinking back to his dream. He added to their growing confusion by adding: “Thanks, guys.”
“For what?” Tommy asked and Conner’s smile increased.
“For knowing the real me.”
There was no Tin Man. None of the group had been accused of not having a heart unless you wanted to count Trent while he was evil and none of them did. There wasn’t a Cowardly Lion either since no Power Ranger could be accused of being a coward. So as Conner stood there without a basket or a blue checkered dress, he knew that he was supposed to be in the Scarecrow’s part. He’d often been called an idiot, an airhead, or just a jock which meant the same as the others so it didn’t come as a huge surprise to him. As it was, he just felt a little lonely.
He was lucky that he wasn’t made of straw or anything like that. He was still human and in the same clothes he’d entered the land of Oz in. Another fortunately thing was that he’d seen this movie several times thanks to Kira so he knew to look for Glinda. Unfortunately, this Oz and the Oz that he’d seen on T.V. were completely different. This one was a city though not a large one and Conner didn’t recognize it. He gave another sigh and continued to head down the road.
“Alright. Think. If you were Ethan, you’d have a GPS. No help there. Trent would calmly think and stop before he went any further to figure out a plan,” Conner muttered to himself and stopped. “Kira would just ask someone. Which would be great if there was anyone to ask!”
He stared at the ground for a minute before his mind finally caught up with him. “But there might be a newpaper or something! Anything that has a name on it!” With the endurance he’d built up after a lifetime of playing soccer and a year of being a Ranger, he rushed through the city until he finally found a sign that had Angel Grove written on it. He ran through his memories and thought hard until he figured out where he recognized the name from. “Doctor O’s old city,” he muttered. “Which means I need to find a juice bar. Whoever heard of a juice bar?”
His ramblings brought him to the door of the bar in question which he quickly entered. It was dark and vacant which gave him the creeps a bit. “About time you got here.”
Conner relaxed at the familiar voice. “Hello, Hayley.”
“Glinda,” Hayley scolded him as she was in the pink dress from the movie. She was even wearing the tiara. For a man of supposedly no brains, Conner wasn’t stupid enough to laugh at her.
“Okay. Glinda. What the hell is going on?” He demanded. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a dark look.
“Isn’t it obvious? You need to go talk to Tommy, or the great Doctor of Oz, to get some brains,” she said. “It’s in Emerald City.”
“Okay, first of all? I’ve got brains. Second? I’m in Angel Grove, not Oz,” he informed her.
“Do you remember what a metaphor is Conner?” Hayley asked a little too nicely. He nodded. “Good. That’s what this is.”
“This is stupid,” he informed her.
“Do it anyway,” she said.
“How do I find this place anyway?” He asked. He felt his feet tighten a bit and glared at Hayley. “There is no way in hell…”
“They’re part of the story, Conner,” she reminded him. “And they’ll keep you safe.”
“I’m a Ranger!” He snapped. “I am safe!”
“Good luck!” She finished and disappeared leaving Conner in an empty juice bar with new ruby red slippers. He cursed, but headed out feeling that there was little left that he could do. The slippers did indeed lead the way, but when he got to a field of poppies, he stopped remembering the poppies in the movie.
“Well, we’re going hurry this along a bit,” he muttered and clicked his heels. “I wish I had some help. I wish I had some help. I wish I had some help.”
With that, he heard a large screech echo through sky as a large, yellow pterodactyl landed in front of him. He blinked a few times and it blinked back. Finally, it spoke. “Conner?”
“Kira?!” He started. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Babe.”
“Conner…” she growled at the nickname.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve lost my music,” she answered. “And the more I lost it, the more I began to shift and shift until I became this.”
A large tear fell from Kira’s eye and Conner reached up to comfort her. “Well, I’m going to go see Doc… I mean, the Great Doctor of Oz to ask for some brains which I really have but nobody seems to realize that. You want to come with?”
Kira nodded miserably. “I can carry us there,” she said. “If you know the way.”
He glanced down at his ruby shoes. “Yeah,” he said. “I know the way.”
She leaned down and he got on her back. She flew up and they soared through the air safely over the poppies. When they reached the other side, however, a large storm hit and forced them to land. Kira gave him a slight shrug. “I can’t get us there quicker,” she told him.
“It’s okay. At least we’re past the poppies,” he told her. They continued in what they were hoping was the right direction when they ran into a very nervous Ethan. Conner looked at him. “Hey Ethan. Lost your confidence?”
“How did you know?” He asked looking downtrodden. His normally blue clothes were grey and even his skin color looked paler as if he wasn’t all there.
“Lucky guess,” Kira said sardonically.
“So, Kira and I are going to the great Doctor of Oz,” Conner said. At Ethan’s incredulous look, he just glared. “Go with it, Dude. She wants her music back and I’m supposed to want some brains. We can try to get you some confidence.”
“Okay,” Ethan said and joined the small party. They continued to make their way when the flying monkeys showed up. Kira snatched a few in her beak, Ethan half-heartedly struck at a few. Conner fought them off, clicked his heels, and asked for more help. The monkeys began to fall to the ground as Trent rushed in. There was little style to his fighting and when it was over he just stopped and looked at Conner who spoke up.
“Hi Trent.”
“Hi Conner,” he answered. “Where are we off to?”
“The Great Doctor of Oz,” he answered. Trent looked confused. “We’re in Oz. It’s a metaphor or something.”
“Oh,” Trent answered.
“I thought you liked this stuff,” he started before sighing. “What did you lose?”
“My creativity,” Trent answered. Conner shrugged.
“Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else,” he said. “Fine. We get Kira her music, Ethan his confidence, and you your creativity. Sounds good.”
“What about you?” Trent asked and Conner glared at him.
“Don’t ask, dude,” he said. “Let’s go.”
The rest of the road there was pretty vacant and quiet. It led to a weird green landscape with Rangers doing various things and in the center of it was the Command Center. They passed through pretty easily though a large pterodactyl did cause some looks, it was also the Zord for one of the first Rangers and since it was yellow they just assumed the four were Rangers. They made their way into the building, though a few people protested, and into the inner chamber of the Command Center. Where Zordon would have been, there was a large chair that Tommy sat it. He glanced up at Conner and looked unpleased.
“Hey Doctor O? Before we get started, I’m not killing any witches for you or anything. I made it here, I want our wishes, and I want to wake up in time for breakfast,” he informed him. “So, please make with the magic.”
“Conner…” Doctor O started but Conner held firm.
“Come on, Doctor O,” he said and pointed to Kira. “She wants her music. Trent wants his creativity. Ethan wants his confidence.”
Tommy sat back. “What do you want?”
Conner started to open his mouth to give the answer that he’d been giving when he paused. Standing tall, he finally answered. “Respect.”
“I was hoping you’d figure it out and know what we’ve know: You’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for,” Tommy said. Kira shifted into a human once more and gave him a quick kiss. Ethan pulled him into a man hug while Trent gently held him from behind. Tommy walked over to him and put his hands on his shoulders. He gave him a small smile and whispered. “Done.”
Conner woke up and groaned, rubbing his head.
“He’s up, Doctor O!” Kira called. She reached over and gently pushed him down. “You have a concussion. We were worried you weren’t going to wake up.”
“You really scared us. When the car hit you, we thought we’d lost you,” Ethan agreed. “Trent hasn’t been able to do anything since you fell asleep and Kira nearly lost her voice singing to you.”
“Sorry,” he whispered. Tommy headed into the room and looked his student over. “Hey, Doctor O.”
“How are you feeling?” Doctor O asked softly. Conner gave him a slight smile.
“Better than I’ve felt in a while,” he answered, thinking back to his dream. He added to their growing confusion by adding: “Thanks, guys.”
“For what?” Tommy asked and Conner’s smile increased.
“For knowing the real me.”