Power Rangers: End of Days

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Now on RangerTalk...


Voiceover as text appears simultaneously on black screen (VO): For over fifteen years, they have faced the most insurmountable odds…

Fade in to Wesley and Eric fighting off Cyclobots in the Clock Tower in The End of Time.

Cut to Leo, morphed, holding Trakeena still with his Battlizer. He fires to finish her off and they are both engulfed in an explosive inferno, from Journey’s End.

Cut to Tommy, Adam, Kimberly, Billy, Aisha and Rocky, standing by helplessly as the Thunder Megazord and the Tigerzord are destroyed in Ninja Quest. Fade out on Kimberly screaming.

Cut to flashes of Chad, Kelsey, Joel and Dana fighting Battlings in the Aquabase hallways in The Fate of Lightspeed.

Fade out to black (VO): ... yet somehow always managed to pull through.

Fade in to Shane, Dustin and Tori summoning the power of air, earth and water, focusing their energies into a beam that sends Lothor into the Abyss of Evil in Storm Before the Calm.

Cut to Andros, morphed, slashing his Spiral Saber across Zordon’s tube in Countdown to Destruction, releasing a wave of energy that wipes out Dark Specter’s forces.

Cut to Mack, Ronnie, Will, Rose, Dax and Tyzonn in their final fight against the Chillers in Crown and Punishment, morphing one by one as they get ready to take Flurious down once and for all.

Fade out to black (VO): Now, as they have all settled into their regular lives…

Fade in to Danny and wife Kendall, walking side by side in a park on a sunny day, pushing a stroller in which their daughter, Elizabeth, is peacefully sleeping.

Cut to a music studio where Tanya and Kira are together, recording their first collaboration.

Cut to Casey, Lily and Theo throwing a football around on the beach as we get a glimpse of RJ and his father catching a wave in the background.

Cut to Madison, walking around the Rock Porium, her camcorder in hand as she films Vida, Xander and Chip. As she approaches Nick, she turns the camera onto herself just in time to catch a quick kiss on film.

Fade out to black (VO): …those same lives will spin out of control

Fade in to an establishing shot of S.P.D.’s Delta Base. Cut to the command center, where Supreme Commander Anubis Cruger and Commander Sky Tate are facing off, their tones rising.

Sky: “I can’t believe that you had this information and never once acted on it.”
Cruger: “You know it isn’t our place to meddle with the past, Sky.”

Sky: “But it is our place to cover this up? I don’t think so, sir.”

Sky turns around to walk away, but Cruger grabs his shoulder.

Cruger: “Stand down, Sky.”

Sky: “Not gonna happen.”

Light flashes through the room, leaving Sky standing as the Shadow Ranger. He quickly renders Cruger unconscious.

Fade out to black (VO): This Fall…

Fade into the cover page of a newspaper. The main headline reads: Brutal murder shocks community.

Fade into a close-up of Adam. As the camera pulls out, we see he is dressed in black and stands beside a tombstone, on which the name is hidden by a large bouquet of flowers. He is surrounded by the Rangers of the MMPR through Jungle Fury eras, all dressed in black.

Adam: “A brave and courageous leader, a loyal friend, a brother in arms to all of us here who’ve carried the responsibility of the Power.”

Fade out to black (VO): …the stakes have never been higher…

Fade in to Adam, who is flanked by Xander, Bridge, Kira and Tori.

Adam: “This ends now. Ready?”

Xander, Bridge, Kira and Tori: “Ready!”

Adam: “It’s morphin’ time! Black Ranger power!”

Tori: “Ninja Storm, Ranger form! Ha!”

Kira: “Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!”

Bridge: “S.P.D., Emergency!”

Xander: “Magical Source, Mystic Force!”

Fade to black (VO): …or the odds more against them.

Fade in to Madison and Vida, morphed, in Legend Mode, holding out their Mystic Lion Staffs in front of them.

Madison: “Ready, sis?”

Vida: “Rock on. Let’s amp this up a notch.”

Madison, having dialed the 2 on her Mystic Lion Staff: “Code 2! Tidal Wave!”

Vida, having dialed the 2 on her Mystic Lion Staff: “Code 2! Whirlwind!”

Madison and Vida cross their staffs and keep pouring their energy into the elemental spell, making its power intensify. The sky darkens above and lightning flashes as gale force winds and torrential rains surge.

Fade to black (VO): And they will be tested…

Fade into Dana, who is sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. Carter is by her side, but a force field keeps him from her.

Dana: “Carter, I can’t breathe.”

The fear of the inevitable is clear in her eyes and her voice. Carter has tears in his eyes as their hands almost meet.

Carter: “You’ll be fine, Dana. Just hold on, baby.”

Fade to black (VO): …like never before.

Fade into Lily, sitting on the ground, her knees held tightly to her chest, her eyes red. Wes is sitting next to her and has his arm around her shoulder.

Lily: “I don’t want to die, Wes.”

Wes: “Then don’t.”

Power Rangers: End of Days


It begins now...

Chapter 1: A Parting of Ways

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Chapter 1
A Parting of Ways


San Angeles - 2007

A few days ago, Earth had come under attack by a great evil, Thrax, spawn of the infamous Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. Bringing together the rival factions that were all after the jewels of the Corona Aurora, the legendary Crown of the Gods, Thrax was able to deliver a crippling blow to the Overdrive Rangers by severing their connection to the Morphing Grid, source of their powers.

While the powerless Rangers had been determined to foil Thrax’s plans at any costs, the Sentinel Knight, guardian of the crown, summoned five veteran Rangers from across time and space to assist them: Adam Park, the Black Power Ranger, Tori Hanson, the Blue Wind Ranger, Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger, Bridge Carson, the Red SPD Ranger and Xander Bly, the Green Mystic Ranger.

Eventually, the Overdrive Rangers’ powers were restored and, with the assistance of their new allies, they were able to defeat Thrax and send his alliance scattering.

And now, it was time to say goodbye, something Bridge Carson, a visitor from the year 2027, had never been particularly good at. In the short time he had spent in his past, he had grown attached to his new teammates and he had been captivated by the technological progresses this time had achieved, even though such advances were dwarfed by the innovations he witnessed in his own time in Newtech City.

Unfortunately, nothing lasted forever and, as current leader of B-Squad, he had a responsibility to his team to be there for them. If that meant cutting his stay in 2007 a bit short, then so be it.

“So you’re going to look us up as soon as you get back, right?” Victoria ‘Tori’ Hanson asked him as they followed the others out the front doors of Andrew Hartford’s palatial mansion, which doubled as the Overdrive Rangers’ base of operations.

“Absolutely,” Bridge answered, as he caught a glimpse of the Sentinel Knight, who waited for them in the distance. “With the information and technology I have access to as the leader of B-Squad, I’ll have a lock on you all in no time.”

“And we could have, like, a 20-year reunion,” Dax Lo, the Blue Overdrive Ranger, contributed excitedly from the front of the pack, walking backwards as he said this to see his friends, as they all laughed at the prospect of the event.

“So, one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you, Bridge,” Kira said, falling back, to walk by his side, “is what’s my music career like in 20 years? Am I superstar?”

“You know he probably can’t answer that,” Rose Ortiz, the Pink Overdrive Ranger, slipped in. “Any information about the future might result in us doing things differently and therefore altering our destinies. There’re probably rules prohibiting Bridge from answering that question.”

“Actually,” Bridge corrected, “I could probably tell you.” Kira’s features brightened up at the prospect of finding out what the future held for her. “But then I’d have to wipe that information from your memory,” he specified.

“Well, not to worry, Kira” Xander said encouragingly, “I’m sure you’re going to be huge 20 years from now.” When he caught her glare, he quickly added, “I mean, musically, obviously. And did I mention I’d set up a really cool display, free of charge at the Rock Porium?”

“Smooth, man. Smooth,” Will Aton, the Black Overdrive Ranger, whispered to Xander, giving him a clap on the back.

“He’s totally right, though, Kira,” Veronica ‘Ronny’ Robinson, the Yellow Overdrive Ranger added, smiling broadly. “You’ll be a music star. I’ll be a world renowned race car driver. Dax’ll be a leading man in the biggest Hollywood acion blockbusters. Things are going to be great for all of us.”

“Why don’t we start by defeating Flurious first?” Tyzonn, the Mercury Ranger, interjected pragmatically. “And Moltor, Kamdor and Miratrix and the Fear Cats?”

“We could always stick around,” Adam offered as he walked next to Alpha 6, the fully sentient automaton who’d offered assistance to his team back in Angel Grove and whose role had been instrumental in mending the Overdrive Ranger’s connection to the Morphing Grid.

“We should be fine,” Andrew Hartford, the Overdrive Rangers’ mentor, answered, as he walked, flanked by Spencer, the family’s butler. “The odds aren’t particularly great, but then again, when have they even been?”

Adam nodded silently at that as they finally reached the Sentinel Knight, who stood by a large portal of red energy, the edges of which sizzled with bolts of white.

“Well, I guess this is it then,” Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Hartford, the Red Overdrive Ranger, said as he held out his hand and offered it to Bridge.

“Yeah,” Bridge conceded, then smiled broadly, “but I’ll see you guys soon.”

“Right,” Mack laughed, “what with that whole time travel thing, it’ll be tomorrow.”

Once he’d exchanged parting words with everyone, Bridge walked up to the Sentinel Knight. “Thank you again, Bridge,” the Knight told him. “Our time owes you a great debt of gratitude.”

Bridge nodded, turned around and gave everyone a final wave, then stepped into the portal.


Newtech City - 2027

When Bridge walked out of the portal, he found himself in the S.P.D. Academy’s. command center. His vision momentarily blurred as his body readjusted itself following his travels through time and space, and right then, he wished he hadn’t eaten as many of those buttered toasts Spencer had offered him.

“Bridge, you freak of nature!” came the familiar voice of Sydney ‘Syd’ Drew, the Pink SPD Ranger, seconds before he felt his teammate’s arms wrap around him tightly. “Where have you been?”

“Hey Syd,” Bridge answered, returning the embrace, “it’s a really long story.”
She let go of him and took a step back, allowing his other teammates to step into view: Elizabeth ‘Z’ Delgado, the Yellow SPD Ranger, Jack Landors, recently reinstated as the Blue SPD Ranger, and Sophie, the Green SPD Ranger. With them stood Katherine ‘Kat’ Manx, SPD’s tech specialist and her second-in-command, Boom, as well as the newly appointed Commander of SPD’s Earth division, Schuyler ‘Sky’ Tate.

“Well you have been gone for a few days,” Sky said, stepping forward and giving his friend a firm handshake. “We were starting to get worried.”

“Long story short,” Bridge started, “I was recruited by the Sentinel Knight, the mystical guardian of the Corona Aurora, to travel back to 2007 and fight alongside the Rangers of that time and other veteran Rangers against the combined forces of Thrax, the son of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, and his alliance of evil.”

“Right,” Z said in response, frowning slightly.

“Did anybody else get that?” Jack asked, looking to his teammates for confirmation that he wasn’t the only one who was lost. Seeing their equally confused expressions helped make him feel better.

“Why don’t we discuss this in more detail tomorrow morning?” Sky suggested formally. “The important thing right now is that Bridge is safe and back here with us. We’ll reconvene here at 800 hours and until then, you’re all dismissed.”

As the others filed out of the room, grateful for a chance to get a good night’s rest after the last few worry-filled days, Bridge walked up to Sophie, the team’s resident cyborg.

“It’s really great to have you back, Bridge,” she said, a broad smile on her face.

“Thanks Sophie,” Bridge replied, returning the smile. “I missed you guys too.” He paused a moment, then continued, “Listen. I’m going to need your help with something.”

“Sure,” she answered, nodding. “What?”

“I’d like you to hook up to the system and run a search on some people,” he explained.

“Alright,” she agreed. “What for?”

“A reunion,” he said.


To be continued...


I hope you liked that. We're in the setup phase for the first couple chapters, then it's action, drama, mystery and all sorts of awesomeness I hope to deliver on. Thanks for reviewing and commenting!

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[project314]

Chapter 2
In Your Dreams

Mirinoi - 2009

On the horizon, the sun was slowly setting in the cloudless sky, a halo of warm vibrant colors wrapping themselves around it as it seemed to immerse itself in the calm waters below. Darkness would soon come.

Maya, the young woman from the distant planet of Mirinoi and the former Yellow Galaxy Ranger, stared off into the distance, taking in the perfect sunset, as she walked, barefoot, by the water. A soft breeze coming in from the ocean sent stray strands of her hair into her face. The sounds of the waves breaking on the shore soothed her senses, bringing a smile on her lips.

“So what are you thinking about?” her best friend Shondra asked as she walked beside her, her steps mirroring Maya’s.

Maya tore her eyes away from the setting sun and looked down, watching her feet sink just a bit into the cool moist sand as they continued walking along the shore. “The sunset, this place, it’s just, so beautiful, so hopeful,” Maya answered.

“I know what you mean,” Shondra replied thoughtfully. “But it’s going to get dark soon, Maya. You’d better enjoy this while it lasts.”

As Maya turned to face Shondra, she was surprised to find herself alone. A shiver coursed through her spine as she looked around her at the slowly darkening surroundings, her gaze stopping on a familiar object sticking out of the sand, out of place on the deserted beach. She finally knew where she was, in Terra Venture’s ocean dome.

She took a few paces away from the water, her feet feeling heavier in the dry sand, and finally reached a sword, the hilt of which pointed upward. It stood at the same angle, in the same spot, unmoved and untouched, just as she’d left it all those years ago for a fallen friend.

“It never gets easier, Maya” she heard his grave voice intone behind her. She turned around and immediately recognized the centuries-old armor-clad warrior that stood there.

“Loyax?” she asked him, her eyes watering up even as she told herself he couldn’t really be there. “But Deviot destroyed you.”

“Indeed my last breath was rendered on that fateful day,” he confirmed, approaching her, “when you led me back onto the path of good I had abandoned all those centuries ago.”

“I’ve missed you,” Maya said, bridging the gap between them with a few steps. She threw her arms around his neck, careful not to cut herself on the spikes of his armored body, and raised herself on her toes, giving the towering warrior a hug. She soon felt his heavy right hand settle gently on her back. After a few silent moments, he removed his hand and she took a step back.

“You showed me that no matter how desperate a cause, how great the sacrifices, we must never stop fighting, never give up,” Loyax stated, turning towards the ocean, the last few rays of the sun casting a warm glow on his metallic face.

“It’s what heroes do, Loyax,” Maya said, taking a step to stand beside him. “It’s what you did for us that day.”

“And it is why I come to you now, Maya,” Loyax continued. “You must go, all of you, to the planet your friends once called home. Never before has the legacy of the Power Rangers been tested as it will.”

“What’s going to happen?” Maya asked, feeling her throat dry up.

“The end,” Loyax explained, sorrowful. “And while nothing would appease my soul more than your promise to stay away from those who are doomed to fall, I know now that death, if it results in the slightest chance at the safety of loved ones, is not to be feared.”

By now, the sun had gone and what should have been a clear starry night was instead filling with heavy clouds. Thunder roared above as a heavy rain started to come down and the wind picked up.

Loyax turned away from the ocean towards the spot where his sword had been left to rest. Maya did the same, and as she peered through the darkness, she saw that Loyax’ sword was gone, replaced by a blade she was only too familiar with.

“The Magna Blaster?” she asked aloud, recognizing the weapon that Mike Corbett had wielded as the Magna Defender. Currently in sword mode, it stuck out of the sand exactly as Loyax’ sword had. And forming a perfect circle around it were the Quasar Sabers, source of the Galaxy Rangers’ powers.

When Loyax offered no answer, she turned around and saw that he was gone, leaving her alone as the rain and wind built up in their intensity, thunder rumbling loudly in the sky, flashes of lightning providing her with the light necessary to take in more of her surroundings.

All around her, everywhere she looked, she saw them, weapons, arranged in much the same way the Magna Blaster and Quasar Sabers had been. One moment, she caught a flash of a sword with a red hilt, under which an axe, daggers, a lance and a bow were propped up. The next, she saw another blade, this one familiar, as it belonged to a friend, Andros, the Red Space Ranger. Beneath the Spiral Saber, she recognized his teammates’ weapons. Later still, she saw the Lightspeed Rangers’ V-Lancers standing upright in the sand.

“Maya, it’s gotten so dark,” she heard Shondra’s voice say behind her.

“We need to get out of here, Shondra,” Maya started to say as she turned to face her friend. “Something is seriously, seriously wrong here,” she finished as lightning lit up the sky again, casting light on the thing that stood in front of her. “Rykon!” Maya shouted, recognizing the monster that had impersonated her best friend in an attempt to steal the Galaxy Book during her time on Terra Venture.

“Hello Maya,” Rykon said in her real voice, striking at her with a backhand so strong it took her off her feet and spun her in the air for a few seconds before she landed in the wet sand, unconscious.


“So let me try to wrap my head around this,” Damon Henderson, the Green Galaxy Ranger, said as he and the rest of his former teammates all stood around the stone where they had returned their Quasar Sabers after their defeat of Trakeena in Mariner Bay, “Loyax, who’s dead, comes to you, in a dream, and tells you we need to go back to Earth to avert some kind of apocalypse, and you want us to do it.”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Maya admitted, looking down at the ground.

“Not necessarily,” Kendrix Morgan, the Pink Galaxy Ranger, remarked. “Remember when we became Rangers and Maya sensed the Galactabeasts needed help before we even knew about them?”

“So she has some kind of psychic connection to them, and therefore this dream with Loyax might be a manifestation of that ability?” Mike Corbett, who wielded the powers of the Magna Defender, offered.

“Exactly!” Kendrix answered, enthusiastic that for once, one of her friends was actually keeping up with her.

“I still say it sounds crazy,” Damon insisted.

“We trusted her instincts when it came to the Galactabeasts and that paid off,” Leo Corbett, the Red Galaxy Ranger, reminded Damon. “I say we go to Earth. Besides, we’re way overdue for a visit anyway.”

“I’ll contact Andros,” Kai Chen, the Blue Galaxy Ranger, offered. “If Maya’s dream was any indication of what’s to come, it probably won’t hurt to have the Space Rangers come with us. Besides, the Astro Megaship mark 4 is our best shot at getting to Earth as soon as possible.”

“First things first, though,” Leo said as he aligned himself with his Quasar Saber. His friends nodded, took their places by his side and, all at once, they took hold of the sabers and pulled them out of the stone, energy coursing wildly through their blades.

While Kendrix, Kai, Damon and Mike immediately started to head for Mirinoi’s communications center, Leo noticed Maya was just staring at her sword.

“It’ll be okay Maya,” he reassured her, stepping in front of her and putting his free hand on her shoulder, his features confident. “It always is.”

“When I woke up after that dream,” Maya said, her voice quavering as she looked him in the eyes, “I went to see the Galactabeasts. They normally make me feel good, and safe. But not today. Today, they felt agitated, distraught. They were scared for us, Leo.”


To be continued...


So to be completely truthful, this chapter was supposed to be all about Bridge. Then I had the idea of a dream for Maya, and that scene grew so much and the visuals were really awesome (although I don't know how that will have translated to the written story) that I decided to put Bridge's storyline on the backburner until Chapter 3. So, next chapter, we're back in 2027!

Thanks to everyone who gave the story a read. If you have questions, comments, whatever, post and I'll respond in the following update, or sooner.

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[project314]

Chapter 3
A Brief Mystery of Time


Newtech City - 2027

The command center was empty upon Bridge’s return, save for Sophie who was jacked into the system, running a search for the Rangers he’d met in the past. As he walked in, he saw her standing by the central console, her back to him, unmoving as her systems processed information at unimaginable speeds.

“Didn’t you just eat?” she questioned him although there was no way she could have seen him, the command center being devoid of mirrors or reflective surfaces.

“How did you-,” Bridge started to ask before he gave a little chuckle and started looking around him towards the ceiling. “No wait, I know. You’re wired into the camera feeds and you saw me walk in with my plate.”

“Nuh-uh,” she replied, turning to face him, her palm still on the console’s surface so she could keep her connection to the data feed. “Just heard you chewing, and from the enthusiasm with which you were doing that, I’m going to guess that was, I don’t know, buttered toast?”

“Am I really that obvious?” Bridge asked her, tilting his head to the side.

The look Sophie gave him answered that question better than any words she could have spoken. “You still didn’t answer my first question,” she said.

“Oh,” Bridge realized, conscious of his record for leading conversations to places that were completely different from where they started. “It’s just that, technically, I ate that stack of toast twenty years ago, which it turns out was actually less than an hour ago really, but thinking about all that confused me and I got hungry again. Besides, buttery,” Bridge finished with a smile, wiggling his fingers unconsciously as he’d developed the unshakeable habit of doing every time he said the word.

Sophie shook her head, returning her squad leader’s smile. “Well, it’s good to have you and your quirkiness back here in the present.”

“Thanks, Sophie,” Bridge replied. Pointing towards the console, he continued, “so, what do you have for me?”

She took a moment to shift her attention back to the task at hand and frowned slightly before speaking again. “It’s odd. I can’t find a single trace of any of those people.”

“What do you mean?” Bridge asked, his natural curiosity piqued by her statement.

“I mean I can’t find information on any of those names,” she explained, turning towards the console so they could both see the screen where her searches were running. “I’ve gone through all the sources I have access to, from networking spaces to galactic search engines. I’ve tried common spellings for their names, known family members, places of business, along with the most common misspellings for all of those. The Academy’s archive doesn’t have anything helpful either.”

“I was there, Sophie,” Bridge countered, as he started to pace back and forth near the console, trying to come up with scenarios that could provide a reasonable explanation. “It was the year 2007 in San Angeles, and I was with the Overdrive Rangers and four other Rangers from teams that preceded them.”

“I don’t know what to tell you Bridge,” she said. “I mean, 2007, that’s two years before the strike that leveled this state. Maybe they tried to stop it but weren’t successful.”

Bridge stopped in his tracks and looked in her direction, weighing her words, but he stayed silent.

“Or maybe it’s something completely different,” she offered after another moment’s thought. “Maybe they’re alive, but just living under different identities.”

Bridge’s eyebrows shot up at that, and his eyes lit up as he as he processed that remote possibility, “like some sort of witness protection program, only for veteran Power Rangers, of course. With our past as protectors of the planet, lack of anonymity could lead villains who were thought defeated to rise once more and seek revenge against those who fought them. Not knowing where they are would definitely put a damper on a plan like that. Then again,” he continued, frowning, “it also means I might have to put this whole twenty year reunion deal on ice.”

“Unless you could access information on their new identities,” Sophie offered helpfully.

Bridge just stood there quietly for a few moments, eyeing the console. An air of worry soon took over his features.

“Bridge? Are you okay?” Sophie inquired, taking her hand off the console, severing her connection to the Academy’s information network.

“It’s just,” Bridge started, his face the picture of discomfort as he brought his hand to his mouth, “all that toast really isn’t going down so well after all.”


A short while after his initial search with Sophie, Bridge made his way to Sky’s quarters, where he found his friend examining various logs, briefs and reports. As Commander of Earth’s division of Space Patrol Delta, his former teammate could benefit from access to everything available in the command center and much more, thanks to his higher clearance level.

He quickly explained the events of his last few days and followed up with the results of his unsuccessful attempt to track down the former Rangers, only stopping on occasion to take a breath or answer one of Sky’s questions.

“So, you want me to run a search on them and you’re hoping that with my clearance level, you might stumble on something Sophie couldn’t access,” Sky summarized once Bridge was done.

“Look, Sky,” Bridge pleaded, “I know that if you can access that kind of information, then that means it’s classified information that only you have the rank to see, but all I really want is to know that they’re okay.”

“I’ll do it Bridge,” Sky said, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Just give me the names I should be looking for.”

“Here,” Bridge said as he retrieved a data card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Sky. “Sophie entered all her search protocols and widened the fields to include the names of other veteran Rangers that I heard of from the veteran Rangers I fought with.”

“Say that again?” Sky asked, puzzled, as he slipped the data card into a slot beneath one of his consoles.

“Since Adam told me all about his team,” Bridge explained as Sky keyed in his access codes to start the search, “and Tori, Kira and Xander too, I was able to get the names of a bunch of other inactive Rangers.”

“Oh,” Sky answered simply. “Alright then.”

Bridge and Sky didn’t have to wait long to get results. In almost all cases, results were impossible to access, which seemed to indicate that even Sky’s clearance wouldn’t be enough to gain access to more information.

One item however was presented differently and Sky quickly selected it, causing a holographic viewscreen to shimmer into view before them. On it was what appeared to be the front page of a local paper, dated June 17th 2009, on which the main headline read: Brutal murder shocks community. Beneath the headline was a large picture of the crime scene crawling with police officers along with a page reference for the full article.

Sky advanced to the page in question and started scanning the text. “No,” he heard Bridge say next to him, “it can’t be.”


Reefside, June 16th 2009

Thunder cracked in the black night sky as rain came down in droves on the otherwise deserted streets of Reefside. Struggling to keep his umbrella stable, Tommy Oliver was grateful when he finally found himself at his destination, the Cyberspace café, the local student hangout. Though it was closed for the evening, he was supposed to be meeting with its owner and manager, Hayley Sullivan, a close friend of his, who incidentally seemed to also be running late.

Pulling a spare key Hayley had given him for emergencies from his pocket, Tommy walked over to the front door, hoping to seek temporary shelter inside. When he arrived at the door, however, he saw that it was slightly ajar.

Knowing that Hayley wasn’t the type to forget to lock up, Tommy assumed the worst and gently pushed the door open wide enough so he could step inside, closing it behind him and setting his umbrella down.

Trying to see through the darkness, he reflexively took a few steps to the side and raised his hand to where the light switch was supposed to be. He flicked it, but to no avail as the café remained bathed in darkness.

Even though his eyes quickly began to adjust to the lack of light, allowing him to see that there seemed to be no one there, Tommy felt differently.

He took a few steps forward, thinking that maybe if he could reach the computer stations, he could turn the machines on to have a light source when he was surprised by a strong gust of air behind him.

Tommy spun towards the spot the wind had seemingly come from and took a defensive stance, looking towards the door and seeing it was still closed.

The silence was broken by the familiar chime of his cell phone’s ring tone and, as Tommy fished the device out of its case, he relaxed, realizing he was probably making a big deal out of nothing.

It was then that two pairs of hands grabbed him, their grip like a steel vise on his arms.


To be continued...

As always, thanks to everyone reading, and remember comments are always most welcome. =)

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[project314]

Chapter 4
From Out of Nowhere, Part I


The Temple of Power

In a place the existence of which only a chosen few were aware of, hidden and protected by the perilous secrets of the Desert of Despair, stood the legendary Temple of Power.

It was there that Zordon’s first modern team of Rangers had traveled years ago after a battle with Rito Revolto had ended with the loss of their Thunderzords and the powers bestowed upon them to protect Earth from the relentless forces of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd.

Fortunately for the Rangers, Ninjor, the keeper of the Temple rumored to have created the original Power Coins had been able to help them, by giving them new powers and Zords.

Over the following months, Ninjor had often assisted the Rangers in battle, something for which the ancient warrior had been grateful for, having spent several millennia living in seclusion.

Eventually, there came a time when the adventurous lifestyle that inevitably came with the fight against darkness lost a bit of its shine and he returned to his preferred life of quiet, introspective solitude in the Temple of power.

Years had since passed, and just as he’d felt a special connection form with the Rangers of Angel Grove when they first called on the powers of the Morphing Grid, he subsequently felt that very same bond every time a new chosen group or individual rose to the same challenge, whether it be in Turtle Cove, Mariner Bay, Ocean Bluff or countless other places. He’d even felt a connection to Rangers displaced from their time upon their morphing in the present and that bond was still there, regardless of their return to the future.

Now, as he floated several feet above the floor in a cross-legged position, meditating, surrounded by the flickering flames of dozens of candles burning softly in the darkness, Ninjor’s mind was clear of all thoughts. Focused solely on his breathing, he let his senses take over, feeling the warmth of every flame, the slight breeze that came in through the temple doors, hearing the sounds of a waterfall that ran outside the temple near its gardens. Feelings of serenity and inner peace flowed through him as he felt as one with his surroundings.

Without warning, he felt an incredible pain in his chest, which broke his concentration. He crashed down onto the cool mist covered floor, knocking down an ancient urn and brass candle stands.

Ninjor had seldom felt this way, and as he lay facedown on the floor, his breathing ragged, his hand shot up to his chest. It was as if someone had torn a part of his soul, of his heart, out of his body, something that had only happened to him once before.

It had been shortly after Zordon’s sacrifice had sent a wave of purifying energy coursing through the universe, an event that he’d also felt, though to a lesser extent because Zordon, having been at peace with his destiny, had embraced his fate, confident in the good that would come out of it. The Pink Galaxy Ranger, Kendrix Morgan, had perished destroying the Savage Sword on the planet Rashon after a heated battle against the Pink Psycho Ranger, who had wielded the sword’s powers and used it to siphon away the powers of the Pink Space Ranger, Cassie Chan. Though she had accepted her own fate as her Quasar Saber had come down onto the Savage Sword, the pain felt by Kendrix in her final moments had been so excruciating that he had felt it, through his intimate connection to the Morphing Grid.

Realization dawned on Ninjor and tears of sorrow began to flow freely behind his visor. Sprawled on the ground, amidst broken fragments of the shattered urn, he raised his head to the heavens and let loose a scream of agony and grief that resonated throughout the Temple, causing candles to go out or fall to the floor, their light swallowed by the blanket of mist that covered it.


Reefside

For a few brief moments, Tommy struggled, trying to break free from those who restrained him, but with no luck. His cell phone had fallen to the floor, where it kept ringing while its screen cast a faint glow.

Thinking quickly, he tried to spread his arms outward and back a bit and locked them in place while he brought his legs together and bent them. He then pushed himself into a back flip, forcing his assailants to loosen their grip on him.

Trusting his instincts in the darkness that still surrounded him, Tommy took advantage of the fact that his two attackers were still recovering and flipped the first into the air, making him land hard on the floor even as he dropped to a crouch and swept the second off his feet.

The moment he was back up, he felt a hand grab a hold of his shoulder. Instinctively, he spun around, his arm extended outward and he managed to connect with something hard that left him in more pain than he suspected he’d managed to inflict.

“Easy there, Dr. O,” came a familiar voice from the last person he’d hit instants before the lights came on.

“Surprise?” Cole Evans, the Red Wild Force Ranger, said tentatively from his spot on the floor.

Tommy cast a quick glance at the people surrounding him. Ethan James, the Blue Dino Ranger, stood in front of him, the arm that had blocked his hit slowly turning back to normal. He was now flanked by another of Tommy’s former students, Conner McKnight, the Red Dino Ranger, who gave him a friendly nod.

A few feet away, Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger, was being helped to his feet by Taylor Earhart, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger. Behind the café’s counter and spread throughout the room were several others of Tommy’s closest friends, most of whom he’d also served as a Ranger with.

“I told them it was a bad idea,” Hayley apologized to him from where she stood behind the counter, “but someone thought this would be more entertaining.”

“Hey, it was worth the bruise I’m gonna have in the morning,” Eric proclaimed as he leaned on his better half, catching his breath but smiling.

“Eric, you’re an idiot,” Wes Collins, the Red Time Force Ranger, stated with a laugh as he and Theodore J. Jarvis ‘TJ’ Johnson, onetime Red Turbo Ranger and Blue Space Ranger, approached the couple.

“Watch your mouth, Collins,” Eric smirked. “Even with a bad back, I can still kick your ass.”

“Hey you,” Katherine Hillard, the girl who’d gone through several team incarnations as the Pink Ranger, whispered from beside Tommy, drawing his attention away from the bickering Silver Guardians. “I think you dropped something”, she told him, her Australian accent shining through as she held up his cell phone.

“Kat!” he said, drawing her in for a kiss, quite conscious of the hems and haws that came from Ethan and Connor, who had apparently reverted back to their high school boy maturity levels and were joined in their teasing by the Yellow and White Dino Rangers, Kira Ford and Trent Fernandez.

When they broke off their brief kiss, Tommy found himself face to face with the rest of his original teammates, Zack Taylor, Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, Adam Park, Aisha Campbell, Tanya Sloan and Justin Stewart.

“Happy birthday, Tommy,” Kimberly, his former girlfriend, offered with a warm smile as she stepped forward and gave him a hug. He wrapped his own arms around her as he looked to his other friends, now joined by Cassie Chan and Carlos Vallerte, the Pink and Black Space Rangers, Carter and Dana Grayson, the Red and Pink Lightspeed Rangers, Jen Scotts, the Pink Time Force Ranger, and Hayley.

“Wow, this is just, way too much, guys,” Tommy thanked his assembled friends.

“You know,” Kira said with a laugh, “I thought teachers were supposed to be more eloquent than that.”

Tommy shot her a mock glare, but they both broke down in laughter, soon joined by the others.

“Okay, okay!” Zack called out, signaling everyone to quiet down with his hands. “I think it’s time, to get this party started. Conner?”

“Way ahead of you,” Conner replied even as he tapped into the latent powers of his dino gem, reaching the sound system in instants.

As music began to fill the Cyberspace, and friends started to break off into smaller groups to chat or dance, Tommy cast one last look around the room.

“Something wrong?” Kat asked, as her hand slipped into his and she started to pull him to the makeshift dance floor.

“No, but uh, where are Jason and Rocky?” Tommy inquired, referring to the original Red Ranger and his successor.

“Rocky offered to pick up some extra ice,” Hayley explained, clearly embarrassed by her party-planning oversight. “And speaking of the devil…”

Tommy turned to the front door and saw Rocky deSantos struggle briefly with it, carrying large bags of ice. “Happy birthday, Tommy!” he called out with a nod of his head even as Hayley walked over to give him a hand.

“Oh, and don’t worry about Jason,” Trini said. “He got held back a bit in Angel Grove, but he should be here any time now.”

“Yeah,” Zack added after a spin, “you know Jase. He wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

To be continued...

I'm really thrilled with some of the developments the story has seen so far, more specifically Maya's dream sequence and the Ninjor scene in this chapter which were both not part of the original design, though they seem to have worked out well enough. The title of the chapter, From out of Nowhere, kind of stems from that, though it also works with the chapter's content.

More to come soon, thoughts? Come on, you know you wanna write something! :D

Power down!

[project314]

Chapter 5
From Out of Nowhere, Part II


Newtech City - 2027

“And that’s all I’m at liberty to tell you, Sky,” Space Patrol Delta’s Supreme Commander, Doggie Anubis Cruger concluded, facing his successor in the empty command center.

Once he and Bridge had found the article depicting the murder, Sky hadn’t hesitated in contacting their old mentor. They needed more information, but every search they had run had ended with a dead end, even with assistance from Sophie.

Doggie had taken little time getting to Earth, as he’d been on his way even before Sky’s call. However what had initially appeared to be a simple coincidence turned out to be anything but. News of Bridge’s time travel adventures had apparently made their way to him quickly and it seemed he had expected the questions that had come to them and their outcome.

“With all due respect, sir,” Sky replied, his usually respectful tone rising and betraying a hint of contempt aimed at the one who’s footsteps he had followed in ever since his enrollment at S.P.D., “I can’t believe that you had this information and never once acted on it.”

“You know it isn’t our place to meddle with the past, Sky,” Doggie insisted. His view was one that Sky had always respected and abided by, knowing that matters involving the time stream were very delicate. Still, there was no justification for what he was expected to do.

“But it is our place to cover this up?” he exclaimed, outraged at the idea of doing nothing when they had the technology, the power, and most importantly, according to him, the duty, to intervene and make things right. “I don’t think so, sir,” he said calmly as he shook his head and looked Doggie in the eyes.

Sky turned around to walk away, their conversation over in his mind, but Doggie grabbed his right shoulder. “Stand down, Sky,” he ordered.

Sky turned his head slightly to the right, Doggie’s paw entering his field of vision. At the same time, his left hand slowly reached for the Shadow Morpher, which was clipped to his belt. “Not gonna happen,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he knew there was no turning back after this.

A flash of light filled the room when he activated the device and, fractions of a second later, he stood covered in the armor Doggie himself had donned when he had fought the forces of Emperor Gruumm by their side.

Caught off guard by the explosion of light, Doggie was momentarily blinded, losing his grip on Sky. By the time his vision started to return, he was too late to dodge the elbow that slammed into his jaw or the kick to his midsection that dropped him to the ground, unconscious.

Sky powered down and looked to his fallen mentor. He then turned away and headed for the command center’s closed doors. When he was close enough, they quietly slid open and he walked through to find B-Squad anxiously waiting for him in the deserted hall.

“So?” Bridge asked hopefully, taking a step forward.

Sky briefly looked down. “Cruger denied our request,” he stated as he looked at his friends. He could see the hurt and disappointment in their eyes.

“So now what?” Jack queried, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice, as doing the right thing had always been more important to him than following the rules.

“We go before he comes to,” Sky answered, getting surprised looks from his teammates and a smile and a nod of approval from Jack. He nodded back and walked past them. As one, they all turned and followed him, flanking his sides, and they headed for the transport bay.


Reefside - 2009

“That’s Samantha on her third birthday,” Dana said proudly as Carter showed Jen and Wes the picture that he carried in his wallet at all times. On the picture, Dana was hugging their daughter and both were smiling towards the camera, the girl a spitting image of her mother. Joy and pride radiated from both parents’ eyes as they spoke of her.

“She’s looks like such a sweetheart,” Jen exclaimed, as she took a closer look at the picture, “and she has her father’s eyes.”

Carter’s smile brightened a little more at that even as Jen gave him back the picture. “So, you two finally decide to settle down?” he asked, nodding towards the engagement ring Jen was wearing.

“Well,” Wes started to explain, placing his hand on Jen’s, “when Jen decided to stay in our time, we traveled. A lot. As a Ranger, she didn’t really get to enjoy the time she spent here, so I decided to give her a real taste of the present when we were finally able to retire, after that whole deal on the moon with the Machine Empire and Serpentera.”

“Carter still talks about that all the time,” Dana admitted with a smile, a hint of forced exasperation in her voice.

“But now,” Wes continued, grinning as he looked his fiancée in the eyes, “with my father retiring, I’m going to be in charge of Bio Lab, and we thought it would be the right time to move on to a different adventure.”

“You’re not?” Dana asked Jen, her eyes narrowing as a smile tugged at the sides of her lips.

“No! No,” Jen answered quickly when she realized what Dana was getting at, her own eyes widening, “not that kind of adventure, Dana. Even that’s a bit too intense for us,” she finished before she broke into laughter, soon joined by the others.

It was at that moment that Zack made his way to the group, his smooth moves making it look like he was gliding over the floor, his limbs moving fluidly and effortlessly to the sounds of the mix CD the Briarwood gang had sent them.

“I’m hearing way too much talking, guys,” he chided them, his whole body pulsating with the beat, “but I ain’t seein’ no dance moves,” he finished, offering his hand to Dana, who accepted it gracefully and stood up along with the others.

As they made their way to the dance floor to join Aisha, Kat and Cassie, they walked by the pool table, where, to his great dismay, Eric was getting schooled by his girlfriend.

“Best four out of seven!” he offered, his ego clearly bruised as he had yet to win a single game against Taylor, Cole looking on from a stool a few feet away, amused by the spectacle.

“Like that would make a difference?” Taylor shot back defiantly as she reset the balls on the table and exchanged a look with Cole, who smiled right back at her.

“You know I’m just trying to go easy on you because I know you hate losing, don’t you?” Eric tried to excuse himself as switched pool cues.

“Just shut up and break,” Taylor said with a smirk as she backed away from the table, confident she wouldn’t need more than a couple of minutes to make him eat his words.

“You guys want anything to drink?” Trent asked as he walked up next to Taylor and Cole with an empty tray in his hand even as Eric cursed out loud, all the balls having stayed on the table after his opening shot.

“We’re good,” Cole answered, raising his half-full glass in the air. He then continued, winking at Taylor conspiratorially, “but could you get Eric something really strong? Maybe it would actually help his game.”

“Real funny, jungle boy,” Eric said as the three of them chuckled, “but I’ll just have another beer.”

“You got it,” Trent acknowledged as Taylor motioned to him that she was okay. As Trent left the trio, he looked in the stage’s direction, noticing that Tanya and Kira were setting up, with the help of Carlos and Justin, to do a few songs.

“So,” Hayley asked as he arrived at the counter, “everything under control?”

“Yeah,” he answered, placing an empty tray down. “Everyone seems to be having a good time catching up.”

“And how are you doing, Trent ?” Hayley inquired as she started refilling his tray. “You don’t call, you don’t write?”

“Well,” he replied, blushing slightly, “it’s just, you know, I am living my dream right now.”

“Of course I do,” she said smiling, pointing behind her, where the first issue of a comic for which he was one of the rotating artists along with his idol Carson Brady was hanging in a frame. “After all, I did set that up for you, remember?”

All Trent could do was smile back at her as he picked the tray back up. On his way to serve out the latest round of drinks, he couldn’t help but shake his head as he overheard the conversation Conner, TJ and Rocky were indulging in as they sat around a table.

“There’s no contest,” Conner insisted, “I totally had the biggest freaks to fight against. I mean, Mesogog used this funky machine to combine genetic materials. Plus, I got an evil Ranger as a nemesis.”

“Please,” Rocky scoffed, “I replaced the original Red Ranger. That alone should tell you how important I was. Plus Lord Zedd pawns the dino-man any day of the week.”

“Yeah, well if you were so hot, Rocky,” TJ interrupted, “then where were you when we all went to the moon to take down Serpentera?”

“Don’t even go there, TJ,” Rocky warned, waving a finger in the air, “or should we mention the fate of a pair of Megazords?”

“Whatever,” TJ said, rolling his eyes. “We all know I’m the best Red Ranger. Did I tell you guys about the time-”

“If that sentence ends with ‘I was baked in a giant pizza’,” Conner cautioned, glaring at him.

“What? It’s a great moment,” TJ contested as the other two shook their heads, exasperated.

“Seriously, Teej?” Cassie interjected as she neared the table, “not our best moment. You might want to leave it out of your ‘greatest hits’. Besides, Red’s overrated. It’s us Pink Rangers who rock.”

Before either could respond, Cassie turned away and paused by another table, where Billy was helping Ethan figure out a kink with a new piece of software he was working on.

“So if you just reconfigure the algorithmic sequence in this section of code,” Billy explained as he typed away on the keyboard of Ethan’s laptop, before running the finalized program, “that should allow your molecular imaging interface to run more smoothly and it should ensure a greater integrity of the final representation.”

“Cool,” was all Ethan could say as he stared at the screen.

Behind them, Cassie frowned, confused by the seemingly random assortment of tech words, shook her head and resumed her walk to the dance floor, grabbing a soda from the tray Trent held as he made his way towards Tommy and the remainder of his friends.

“This is seriously awesome, you guys, the best birthday present I ever could have asked for.” Tommy said as he took the drink Trent offered him and looked into the smiling faces of his closest and oldest friends. He hadn’t seen most of them in years, ever since they’d all gone their separate ways.

“We were way overdue to all get together,” Kimberly offered sincerely from the spot where she stood opposite him, looking out on the Cyberspace. “How crazy is this?” she asked contemplatively. “This is our legacy. Zordon’s legacy, what we started. All these people, with different lives, who fought like us to make the world a better place.”

“Zordon would be really proud if he could see this,” Trini concurred, saddened for a moment at the thought of their lost mentor.

“He sure would,” Adam agreed as he pulled out his cell phone, which had just begun to vibrate in his back pocket. “It’s Alpha,” he announced with a smile once he’d looked at the screen. “He stayed in Angel Grove to run the dojo while Rocky and I came here.” He flipped it open and brought it to his ear.

“Hey Alpha,” he said with a grin, “do you want me to pass you Tommy?”

Tommy couldn’t hold back a smile as he took a step closer so Adam could hand him the phone, but he didn’t. “Alpha, slow down,” he said instead, his demeanor and voice turning serious. “What’s going on?”

Tommy exchanged looks with Kimberly, who also seemed to have noticed something was off. That was all but confirmed when he returned his attention to Adam and saw that his friend’s face had gone pale.

“I’ll call you back, Alpha,” Adam said before he pulled his phone away from his ear. He flipped it closed and kept it in his hand, his arm dropping to his side. For a moment, his gaze seemed to wander aimlessly as his eyes became misty. Next to Tommy, Trini signaled Zack to kill the music.

The room was soon plunged in complete silence as everyone got closer to where the little group was gathered.

Adam slowly looked up and fixed his gaze on someone who was most likely standing behind Tommy and Trini.

“Adam?” an approaching Kira asked worriedly, as he’d apparently been staring at her, “what’s wrong?”

Adam was silent for a moment, struggling to form the words. He then answered, grimly, “Mack Hartford was killed.”

To be continued...