CHAPTER 6: "Some Gallatin in Your Diet"



Melinda (sarcastically): "My two favorite apex predators are back. Lemme guess: it's oxy. Right?"

Winston: "I wish, darling. Fake IDs, raiding HanomCorp R&D, making off with...toys..."

Zack: "Morphers!"

Winston: "Whatever. And they claim there's a third one that got away. They...were getting a bit close. So I'm thinking we should separate these rabbits before they start breeding! Hanom's gonna be infested if we don't get on top of things!"

Zack: "It's....way early to be talking about kids!"

Winston: "Oh, how sweet! The lovebirds still believe in self-control!"

Harrison: "Oh good grief, Winston! This isn't 5th grade!"

Trini: "I don't like this city one bit! Too cynical."

Zack: "Perhaps that Spectral Hare Samurai guy can explain to us how he tolerates it here?"

Harrison: "A Samurai? And we thought that Knight running around was trouble! Anyone care to fill any of us in on what's going on?"

Zack: "Why? You wouldn't believe us anyway!"

Winston: "Funny, Deadshot! The judge probably won't believe you either!"

Zack: "Deadshot?"

Melinda: "Oh please, Winston! He doesn't look anything like Will Smith!"

Zack: "Thank you!"

Melinda: "Though, from a certain angle, he does kinda resemble that one cute doctor from Mighty Med!"

Zack was unsure how to comment on that, electing to remain silent - assuming he even had that right in this universe.



Trini: "I love you, Zack."

Zack: "Same."

The two of them knew that from that point on, they'd be taken to gender-segregated holding cells. It was hard to say which one would be more miserable there: Trini for the sheer ignominy of it, or Zack for being the pretty-faced "kid" who was convinced he'd run into a swarm of hardened gangbangers. Using the powers for personal gain didn't seem like such a bad idea anymore. After all: Zordon never said anything about being arrested in another universe!

Winston: "Hey, Earl! Get pretty boy here some orange. And tell Lucy to get the cup ready for the girl."

Trini:"Cup?"

Zack: "I...think he means a pregnancy test."

Trini: "But...I'm still a virgin!"

She couldn't believe she just said that out loud!

Harrison: "It's...standard protocol. Also how we test for drugs. Fair warning: You won't get a lot of privacy either. Let's face it: You showed up here acting like you're some kind of superhero. There's bound to be something else funny going on!"

For both Rangers, being lost in the EccentriaVerse was proving quite humiliating. Rita's monsters would never stoop to doing anything this degrading!



Trini was soon over the drug and pregnancy test ordeal, and somewhat relieved to finally be put in a holding cell. But the doors closing only further made it clear to her what her predicament had been reduced to. And her new cellmate: could this strange woman be trusted?

Vanna Oversteel: "Hey, hey, what's with the shivers? Apart from me, there's nobody but you in here! Weird, right? Usually, it's over-crowded here! You and I are the last ones not to be transferred to county yet. Which is funny, because it's basically next door to here!"

Trini: "I am...very new to this."



Vanna: "You seem convinced of the worst. Chill. Nobody's gonna rape you here."

Trini: "That's...only a tiny bit reassuring!"

Vanna: "Name's Vanna. I'm local. I take it you're not?"

Trini: "I'm from California. Though...have you heard of a thing called a Percolation Wave?"

Vanna: "Vague talks and rumors of it. Mostly from HanomCorp presentations. Weird science-y gibberish and theory, if you ask me."

Trini: "Hanom must have a lot of influence in this town."

Vanna: "He practically could own the town if he wanted to, honey! HanomCorp has become Bozeman's top industry leader! Though...Fred himself seems to want to hide from the public a lot. Got this R&D security team he communicates with a lot from a secret base. Three elites, and a few others whose names I forget. Ha! One of the elites is Vinny Mason. I've met him before. Strange fellow. Thinks he's the lost Prince Volkonir of Cortascius. But that's crazy! Oh well, he's harmless otherwise. There's a strange knight that prowls around and helps the security team too. I ain't never seen them in a room together. Funny, huh?

Kayla? I've met her. She used to be a jailbird, like us! I heard she punched a CPS guy in the nose! I'll bet he deserved it too. Corrupt leeches, if you ask my one sister! Her kids were taken away on an unfounded rumor. She still doesn't have them back! I have no idea how this Kayla even got hired. Some say she's the Wyoming Cabin Burglar; but no one can prove it. Now, she works to keep expensive stuff from getting stolen! The irony!

Carlos? He's the funny one! I think he's kinda cute. But...he's got some bad family karma to run from."

Trini: "I don't understand."

Vanna: "Oh, honey! His mom's a drug queen down in Mexico! He doesn't want to inherit the throne. Can't say I blame him! The Modis are bad news! They've ticked off everyone from the Zetas to the Triads! How he wound up at HanomCorp is anyone's guess though. That place is so strange; the lot of it! And they're obsessed with Cortascius!

It's just a dead planet to me, in the middle of nowhere in the galaxy! Why does anyone care so much about it? Whatever civilization it had, died out a long time ago!"

Trini: "I've heard of other worlds with civilizations on them. Edenoi, Eltar, KO-35...but Cortascius is a new one by me!"

Vanna: "So...you a Percolation then?"

Trini: "I must be. The officers said Angel Grove doesn't exist! So your California can't be my California. I also don't remember it being 2016."

Vanna: "All that talk of CalExit if Trump wins?"

Trini: "Donald Trump runs for president??? I...must have been under a rock since 1994!"

Vanna: "Oh, honey! You are the lucky one!"

Trini: "If this could be called luck."

Vanna: "If you knew what becomes of Bill Clinton. If you knew of all the scandals Hillary would have to ward off... Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if that pizza shop really is a front! So much fake news, it's hard to know who's even telling the truth about what anymore!"

Trini: "So...DC is in worse shape than ever?"

Vanna: "Both parties have gone off the rails, sweetheart! Only downside to me is, I can't vote anymore to fix it! So, dimension-hopping and time travel? Warn your world that elections will have consequences! Or else...they'll be just as screwed up as we are!"

Trini: "So...how'd you end up in here? My friends and I found ourselves on HanomCorp property. The Wave sent us there. We had no choice. The police...were less than understanding. A monster attacked too. Zack's in one of the male sections, and Jason's missing."

Vanna: "Ever hear of Carrie Underwood?"

Trini: "Who?"



Vanna: "Country singer. Of course...you wouldn't know. You don't remember a time after Reba McIntyre had a TV show! Well, there's this song about wrecking a boyfriend's truck. I...did everything described in the song! Except, then I set the thing on fire! And I shot his annoying poodle, because it bit me while I was torching the vehicle! Cheating lowlife!

Hindsight 20/20, I probably would've gotten away with my stunt if I hadn't shot the dog. The bullet made too much noise. In my defense, he was more upset about the truck."

Trini: "Ouch! Well, I hope he learned his lesson, at least! And that poor dog!"

Vanna: "Oh, everyone hated that dog! I did him a favor, if anything. Can't say the local law sees it that way. They now look at me like I'm Michael Vick! Only...I think you and I are gonna get a lot more prison time than he got! I don't think what you're getting is fair. But everyone else in this story got what they deserved, trust me!"

Winston: "Trina!"

Trini: "TRINI!!!"

Winston: "Whatever. Time to take you to booking!"

Trini: "She was here-"

Winston: "Oh, don't worry about Vanna there! After we're done putting Miss Fake ID HanomCorp Raider in her actual cell, I'll deal with Psycho Poodle Killer here!"

Vanna: "Your pops, Winston!"

Winston (taken aback): "Oh...you degenerate! If you really got with him, you wouldn't be in enough pieces here to be mouthing off! Don't you forget that!"

Vanna: "Your third cousin eight times removed, too!"

Winston (rolling eyes, hauling Trini away): "My family ain't that screwed up!"

Vanna: "And his college roommate!"

Winston and Trini: "Oh, stop it already!!!"

Trini had gone from feeling she'd made a friend, to being completely disgusted with Vanna, all in a matter of minutes! She'd seen all she cared to see of the jail culture in Volkonir's Bozeman. But who would get her out now that she was locked in?



So it has come down to this. Bozeman PD in the EccentriaVerse were pretty sure that Angel Grove doesn't really exist. Who was this strange woman? None other than the Yellow Ranger, that's who! But that universe had never had any contact with the EccentriaVerse before, so how were Bozeman police to know that?

How were they to know the morpher was hers, and not just some piece of tech that was stolen from HanomCorp - like what happens so often when the Gwirdons and their sympathizers are around?

What could not be disputed, is that she was on HanomCorp R&D grounds without permission. But how, and why? She clearly seemed like she didn't mean to be trouble - except to those clay things and those giant mosquitoes that nobody liked!

The ignominy of Trini's peculiar situation was hitting her harder than ever now. Getting arrested was just not the sort of thing that happened to her, ever! How would she ever live this down? What was next? Would she ever get home?

She also feared that whoever she was about to meet next, that woman would be a lot less tolerable than Vanna - who was already annoying as could be!



Meanwhile, Zack was holding his composition only slightly better. A man of his origin from a city not far from LA being wrongly accused of a bunch of garbage by a bunch of cops who liked to make inappropriate comparisons of him to Will Smith? Why, how much more cliché could this be?

Alas, he didn't want to let Trini down. So he resisted the temptation to do the other cliché thing and flip the bird.



Winston: "You can quit with the waterworks, sister! You're gonna be in Gallatin County here for a bit. And by a bit, I mean it could be a month for you to get a court date! Until then, I don't think anyone's gonna bug you...except maybe me! Let me worry about that poodle perforator!"

Trini: "She wasn't serious about the college roommate part, was she?"

Winston: "Probably not. I dunno. She's disgusting."

Trini: "Well, no argument there!"



As the door slammed shut and locked, there was no denying it anymore.

Trini (thinking to self): "Zordon, please come up with something! And wherever you are, Jason, I hope you're okay."



With all her other non-using-powers options exhausted, Trini herself felt exhausted. Even then, she felt strangely weak. As if the last time she morphed, it was not through the regular Grid. But what substitute was her coin using? And why did her coin not like the substitute?

What was really going on? How much trouble were her friends in? Was she the lucky one, ironically enough?

May as well get some rest. What else could she do?



Zack was beginning to feel the weight too, even though he was able to feel slightly less offended by the degradation.

Zack: "Stay strong, Trini. I will get you out of this...somehow. Even if I'm stuck here for life!"

He was hoping someone - anyone - could come up with a solution to all this madness.

Happy memories to their first kiss put a smile on his face, breaking his misery streak temporarily.



As the Rangers waited for answers in their jail cells, one man was desperately looking to come up with a solution - the man who felt like it was all his fault!

Fred Hanom knew that Vinny, Kayla, and Carlos were not adequately prepared for this mission. He arrogantly trusted them with too much responsibility, neglecting the risks of his own machine. He also failed to predict what would happen if Gwirmalesh or a minion turned it on prematurely!

Replays of security footage of the battle with Slaisionnach, Masato and Carlos' efforts to get Jason to the hospital, and the news footage of Zack and Trini being arrested and booked made Hanom feel like the worst man in the multiverse!

Hanom (thinking to self): "Okay, Fred...no pressure. Just...an entire other universe is in grave danger because of you. Your enemy stole your invention, your stocks could plummet if you don't get a handle on this before it becomes an even bigger PR crisis in more sense than one...your Knight is trapped in the universe you endangered, your only remaining security elite is the dumbest of the bunch, you're borrowing a Samurai from the guys in Japan that want to buy you out, your normal enemy wants his monster back, the other universe wants its heroes back...and I can't figure out how to fix whatever I did the Percolation Wave!

There's only one man I know of who can fix this! But...can he keep his crap together long enough to help?"

That man was Mike Obediah Morrison, the nephew of Stan Woudean in the Dromedeverse. Mike was better known as the Master of Outer Dark Matter, or "MODM" for short. But would MODM's plans make things even worse???



No sooner did Hanom press his MODM distress button, than the Wonka-esque hero sprang to work developing communications between three universes at once! This was video conferencing done to the extreme!

Alpha: "Ai yi yi! There's a strange man on the viewing globe...from another dimension!"

Kayla: "It's Dr. Hanom! Hi, boss!"

Hanom: "Hi, Kayla."

Vinny: "Good to know you're still out there. But I think right now, you should talk to the floating head in the background."

Hanom: "I'm sure we all have a lot of questions as to what happened. I'll let you go first."

Zordon: "We've lost Zack, Trini, and Jason in your world. I in particular demand answers."

Hanom: "I've lost Vinny and Kayla in yours. But apparently, you already know that. I think when King Gwirmalesh had Slaisionnach activate that device of mine, he did so without proper safety protocols. It caused another disturbance in the Percolation Wave, resulting in my Knight and guard swapping places with three of your Rangers. However, my Samurai is telling me that Slaisionnach also vanished. Gwirmalesh doesn't seem to know what happened to him either."

Billy: "Is it possible that Slaisionnach is now the reason the Percolation Wave can't correct itself?"

Zordon: "Very likely so, Billy. But if that world's monsters are as tough as its defenders, Slasionnach will be too much for you to defeat if he teams up with Rita."

MODM: "Not necessarily!"

Zordon: "Who is this?"

Hanom: "Meet the Master of Outer Dark Matter! I'll let MODM speak for himself."

MODM: "Ah yes! See...I was one of the first to be caught in the Wave. And I'm its biggest frequent flyer. It's all really quite complicated and all; but I think you are right that killing Slaisionnach is the key to fixing what went wrong. And destroying Hanom's machine is step 2."

Hanom: "I think Slaisionnach already took care of that. Jason nearly died by Slaisionnach's hand. Brave soul. But he started getting weaker very quickly in that fight."

MODM: "Abdygalan Specifics!"

Zordon and Hanom: "What?"

MODM: "In my world, it's the Abdygalis ruptured to form the Percolation Wave and the XomiaFaeCore! In Hanom's world, Floaty, it became the EccentriaCore and the Tapestry! In your world, it became...er..."

Alpha: "The Morphing Grid?"

MODM: "EXACTLY! And the three similar forces all have the ability to become substitutes for each other...more or less. But something not native to a particular flavor is going to be weaker over time than if it is directly wiring to its native flavor."

Zordon: "I'm not sure I understand."

MODM: "It's simple, really! When I rescued Candace ‡, her powers as the Lemon Witch were gradually getting weaker in the world of Teen in Terror Life. In time, Vinny will be as weak as your Rangers. Your Rangers will be almost powerless in Vinny's world, eventually. Only plus side is...Slaisionnach will get weaker too!"

Tommy: "Then he'll have no choice but to work for Rita! Aw man, that IS bad news!"

Kayla: "At least that way, if Rita does put a spell on Vinny, he'll be no more threat than a Ranger gone bad. So he can help on the next battle. I'll stay in here. I'd only be a liability in Angel Grove, at the moment."

Zordon: "Volkonir...you are admirable in your willingness to engage in this fight, even if it was not originally your own. We will do all in our power to make this like it never happened."

Vinny: "Thanks. Kayla deserves some credit too. She's given me hope even when I was feeling down about past failures."

Zordon: "Indeed. You two are honorary Rangers."

Kim: "Problem is...that means three Rangers and one Knight. And if Rita is propping up Slaisionnach and we're down a few Zords and numbers, what'll we do?"

MODM: "No worries, Pinky! Leave that to me and Hanom! I can bring a handful of others besides myself to your world - with a little help from a certain Jenny Jane I know over at Camelorum Correctional."

Zordon: "Whatever you intend on doing, MODM, do it quickly. We are running out of time."

MODM: "Over and out! You're gonna love this!"

‡Note: In the Camelorum Adventures episode 2-parter "17 and Amphibious," a parody of The Asylum's Jailbait, Candace finds herself trapped inside the graphic novel Teen in Terror Life. Her powers get gradually weaker, until MODM can find a way to bring her back home. Doing so somehow results in Anna Ford (parody of Anna Nix) getting cloned, and the clone getting stuck in Camelorum. The clone is then turned into a bullfrog by exposure to Carly, and is hired as Stan's new secretary.



The CD player suddenly started playing in Hanom's R&D underground facility's basement. A flash of lighting could be seen, as a CD Hanom didn't remember putting in started playing a clean version of "High School Dance" by the Mighty Mighty BossTones.

Hanom: "MODM."

MODM: "Right here, Doc!"

Hanom: "At least you know how to make an entrance. So what's your plan? Carlos and Masato are keeping watch over Jason. I'm gonna try to pay the bail to get Zack and Trini out of jail. The still-operational Rangers and Volkonir are looking for a way to kill Slaisionnach. You might be able to help with that final part. Also, reports are that Trini is inconsolable. I don't want to return her to Zordon too far into clinical depression to function."

MODM: "I can cheer her up, and help the Rangers, and your friend! I'll even do it for free this time! It'll be fun!"

Hanom: "Care to tell me your plan?"

MODM: "I'll get back to you on that. Just be ready to call up a lawyer for them. I don't think they're gonna give those two up, even if you get most of the charges dropped!"

Hanom: "Good point."

MODM: "And don't lose sleep over this if you can't bail them out. Leave that to me too!"

Hanom had faith MODM could pull it off - but still didn't understand why MODM insisted on wearing that ridiculous Wonka costume.