Title: War
Chapter One — Get in Gear
Original Posting Date: May 21, 2010
A/N: This will be a very short story, no more than five or six chapters, that takes place six years after Dino Thunder; or three years after RPM, depending on how you look at it.
The distant future…
The cool night air swept in through the open window, causing the curtains to billow as the breeze swept across the face of the young man seated on the windowsill in the dark. He was no more than twenty-five, his long and wavy brown hair covering his forehead while his deep brown eyes remained trained on the nearby bed and the lump beneath the covers slowly moving up and down. Without warning, a smile crossed his lips as another gust of wind brushed against his skin.
He was wearing only a black tank top and matching boxer-briefs, but the coolness of the air did not even register the smallest of shivers. Only the most bitter-cold and scorching-hot of days could make his body feel differently. Such was the way things were for the man who was not technically a man at all.
Though the sentient computer virus that had once inhabited his body was long gone, it did not change the fact that his body was part machine. For the man known only as Dillon, he had been this way — a hybrid — almost as long as he could remember. It had been several years since the Venjix computer virus had been unleashed, eventually destroying nearly the entire world in the process. Dillon knew nothing of the world before Venjix, however, or the ensuing war that had lasted for nearly three years after Venjix's arrival.
Dillon's earliest memories were of a factory, one of many established by Venjix once he had eventually taken control. Captured by Venjix's robotic foot soldiers called Grinders, it was to this factory where he and his younger sister, Tenaya, had been taken, along with hundreds upon hundreds of other human prisoners.
There they underwent a number of physical experiments performed by this machine army, until one day Dillon had been able to escape. His sister, however, had not been so lucky. She did not have Dillon's fighting experience, and on top of that, she was blind, making it so that he, Dillon, had to do nearly all of the work in getting them out.
Unfortunately, they were ambushed by a group of Grinders and his sister was re-captured. To this day, Dillon still didn't know how he managed to escape, nor did he know why he had chosen to go on without her. Why had he left his sister behind to continue being experimented on? It just didn't seem like the type of thing that he would do.
Alas, he had long since given up trying to understand his past. None of it made much sense, and thinking about it almost always left him wishing that he hadn't, since the answers he desired never came.
All he knew was that he had somehow made it out. His first firm memories were behind the wheel of an old black Chevrolet muscle car, driving through the deserted — and often toxic — wastelands en route to Corinth, a domed city that also happened to be the last remaining stronghold on Earth following Venjix's takeover. He didn't know how he had gotten the car, just that he had it.
He couldn't even remember a single one of the many experiments that had been performed on him, yet the results of them were evident even to this day. While the fear of being controlled by Venjix was gone, the pieces of metal, wire, and circuitry that ran throughout his entire body were not, nor would they ever be.
Still, he mused as he watched the lump beneath the covers roll over, being a hybrid had some advantages. He rarely needed to sleep, he was immune to most human diseases, and when he ate or drank something, it was because he wanted to, not because he needed it to survive. He also had certain physical advantages that normal humans didn't have; his strength, speed, reflexes, and stamina were all augmented beyond any human capabilities. With a smile, Dillon reminded himself just how fond the lump beneath the covers was of that last one.
That was another advantage to being a hybrid. If not for Venjix experimenting on him, he might never have met her.
"Her," in this case, was Summer Landsdown, former Ranger Operator Series Yellow and the woman whom he loved more than anything. She had fought for him, with him, and by his side more times than he could ever count, always there to remind him just what it was that they were fighting for.
"I don't care where you came from. I want to know where you're going."
She had said those words to him in their first real conversation, and he had been infatuated with her ever since. It was the thought of being able to be around her more that had convinced him to join the Power Rangers as Ranger Operator Series Black and defend Earth's last remaining city against Venjix.
In the end, the Rangers had been able to defeat Venjix and save Dillon's sister in the process, the latter of which was something Dillon knew he would not have been able to do without the help of the Rangers. Unable to remember anyone other than his sister, the Rangers had truly become his family, though no one more so than Summer.
Well, there was also Ziggy…
Just thinking about his old friend made Dillon grin wildly. To this day, he could still remember their first encounter. Dillon was driving to Corinth City and had stopped to get a bottle of water from the trunk of his car. Ziggy, who had been in the wastelands for reasons unbeknownst to Dillon, had decided to hijack Dillon's car by taking off the muffler and pressing it against Dillon's back while trying to convince Dillon it was a blaster.
To say they became fast friends would be patently false. In fact, for awhile, Dillon regarded Ziggy as nothing more than an annoyance and a source for occasional amusement. Ziggy, however, had been the friend that Dillon so desperately needed, and in time, Dillon had come to regard Ziggy more as a brother than just a friend.
Between Summer, Ziggy, and his sister — who was now living with her boyfriend in Omega City — Dillon felt like he had all the people in his life that he needed to be happy. That he could count the other four Rangers and their mentor as friends as well was just icing on the cake as far as he was concerned.
While he continued to watch Summer's sleeping form rise and fall, Dillon could not help but think about the other Rangers, including Ziggy. Following the defeat of Venjix, they had stayed behind in Corinth City while Dillon, Summer, and Tenaya had left with plans to help rebuild the world outside the city's dome.
Though they all communicated fairly regularly, the newly built Millennium City was far from Corinth, and Dillon had not seen any of them since leaving. Deep down, he missed them more than he would ever be willing to admit.
Summer was great, but she couldn't argue with him like Scott, or make shadow puppets like Ziggy. She didn't spout Flynn's random, often hilarious, and always Scottish-influenced expressions like, "For the love of Odin's beard!" She didn't run around finishing sentences and wanting to blow stuff up all the time like Gem and Gemma, although that last one was probably a good thing.
Hell, Dillon even missed Dr. K, the now twenty-one year-old woman who had driven the Rangers crazy with her blunt, sarcastic, and condescending remarks, as well as her early refusal to call any of them by anything except their official Ranger titles.
Being a Ranger had given his life purpose at a time when he had felt that he had none, and while life with Summer in this thriving new metropolis was better than he ever could have hoped for, part of him still longed to be able to strap on his Rev Morpher and shout the words "RPM, get in gear!" just one more time.
"You're staring," Summer suddenly announced, snapping Dillon away from his thoughts temporarily.
Wondering how in the world she could have known this with her face in her pillow, Dillon quietly replied, "So what if I am?"
Slowly, the lump beneath the covers began to unfold itself, Dillon watching even more intently now as Summer climbed out of bed, checking the digital alarm clock on the nightstand to see that it was three in the morning before starting towards him. She was wearing no more than one of Dillon's black t-shirts, which hung well past her knees, her long blonde hair was an utter mess, and she had on no makeup at all, yet to Dillon, she looked even more beautiful now than she did dressed up.
That was saying something, too, since Summer certainly knew how to get dressed up with the best of them.
As Summer grew closer, Dillon stood up to greet her, enveloping her in his well-muscled arms as she laid her head against his chest. "Why aren't you sleeping?" she asked in a tired murmur, stifling a yawn.
"I slept three days ago," Dillon answered with a smile. "Besides, there are a lot more important things to do than sleep."
"What, like watch me do it?" questioned Summer teasingly.
Dillon gave a brief chuckle. "What can I say? You're a hard person to look away from."
Summer's cheeks flushed slightly at that. Not really knowing what to say, she did the only thing that felt natural, an incredible sense of warmth rushing throughout her body the moment her lips met Dillon's. The kiss, however, was interrupted before it had a chance to really get started.
Dillon had only just begun to return it when the telephone on his nightstand suddenly began to ring, causing him to pull back as he looked towards the phone and said, "What the —?"
"Who in the world would be calling at this hour?" Summer wondered aloud.
Dillon shook his head. "No idea," he replied, releasing his hold on Summer before heading for the telephone. As he picked up the phone and brought it to his ear, he smiled brightly at Summer and pressed the Talk-button. "Hello?" he said with a hint of hesitation.
From across the room, Summer watched Dillon for a few moments as he silently listened to whoever was on the other end of the line, smiling back at her the whole time. Then, suddenly, his smile was gone, replaced by a mouth that had fallen open in shock and eyes that were as wide as tea saucers.
Several thousand miles away, three stealth aircrafts were currently in flight over what had once been the nation of Kenya. In the center craft was a young black man in his early-twenties, almost his entire head and face covered by his helmet, visor, and oxygen mask. His name was Scott Truman, former Ranger Operator Series Red and current captain of the Eagle Squadron, the most prestigious team in New America's Air Force.
Though he had been given the position of captain following Venjix's defeat, Scott would have never imagined that a day like today might actually come. He had been so certain that the world, which had been so close to being totally obliterated, would be more united than ever; peaceful, at long last. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.
The moment Venjix had begun to show his true strength, the intergalactic police force, Space Patrol Delta, shut down their operations on Earth and quickly evacuated the planet. Earth's SPD Rangers had tried to stay behind and defend the planet, but the bureaucracy of SPD had made it impossible to do so. With no SPD to keep them safe, the aliens that had once co-existed with humans were gone just as quickly as the law enforcement agency.
Now that Venjix was gone, however, the aliens had returned in full force. These were not the aliens that Scott had once lived peacefully with, though. These were aliens who saw Earth as a weakened and defenseless planet due to Venjix's destruction, aliens who severely outnumbered humans and thought that they should be able to rule accordingly.
Tonight's mission had everything to do with delivering a message on behalf of human kind, the same kind of message Scott had once thought would never need to be delivered again. In the plains of former Kenya was a large military-type complex established by the Zanarian Rebel Faction, one of the most powerful and well-numbered of Earth's current and many enemies. In five minute's time, no one who came across that area in the future would know the village had ever existed.
There would be some innocents who lost their lives tonight, or at least innocent as far as Zanarians went. They were a race of warriors, both male and female alike; and their young were raised accordingly, raised to hate their enemy blindly regardless of what was at stake.
Scott didn't necessarily like the idea of killing baby Zanarians who hadn't even learned to walk or talk yet, but he also understood what was at stake by allowing the Zanarians to continue repopulating. Zanarians developed into full adults after just five years; at that rate, it would only be two more years before the human race lost any chance at continuing survival.
Destroying their largest complex before that could happen was the only possible choice.
"Eagle-2, Eagle-3," Scott said over the aircraft's communication system, "Check weapons and prepare for deployment."
"Copy that, Eagle-1," two voices replied in tandem.
"Checking weapons," said the first, a female.
"And preparing for boom ti— I mean, deployment," added the second, a male.
Scott grinned broadly beneath his mask. Eagle-2 and Eagle-3, otherwise known as Gem and Gemma, had been Ranger Operator Series Gold and Silver respectively. They were also the most…eccentric of his former teammates. Gem and Gemma had an affinity for completing each other's sentences and they were also particularly fond of explosions; the larger, the better, in their eyes. However, they were also both incredibly intelligent, having helped Dr. K build various weapons and pieces of Ranger technology, and they had both piloted aerial Zords as well, so their flight experience was superb.
At the time, Scott hadn't been sure if bringing them on as Eagle Squadron's newest recruits would be his best decision or his worst. Now, though, he didn't know why he had ever doubted them in the first place. Out of Eagle Squadron's dozen members, Gem and Gemma were the only two that he could trust with a mission of this magnitude.
Within moments, the target was in sight. The second he set his sights on the complex, Scott allowed his mind and body to slip into auto-pilot mode. It wasn't until they were flying away from the complex a short while later that his sense of consciousness returned. He knew that he had given the order to drop the bombs, knew from the cloud of thick black smoke behind him that the explosives had done their job, but he could not remember actually doing any of it.
Truthfully, though, he didn't want to. Even though these Zanarians were a threat to humanity, they were also living, breathing beings. Destroying Venjix's machines had not been difficult from a morality standpoint, but killing living creatures was something else entirely.
Scott was a leader at heart, though, and sometimes leaders had to make tough decisions, even when they didn't necessarily agree with those decisions themselves. It was either the Zanarians or humanity, and for Scott, he had fought far too hard against Venjix to sit back and watch the human race be destroyed completely.
Fortunately, he wasn't given much time to think about it. Just a few miles outside of the former Kenya, a new voice was filling Scott's ears, that of his father, Colonel Mason Truman.
"Eagle-1, do you copy?"
"Eagle-1 here, sir," Scott replied.
"That was good work back there, son," said Colonel Truman. "We saw it all back at base on your wing camera."
"Thank you, sir," said Scott, trying to sound as appreciative as possible.
"No, son, thank you," said Colonel Truman. After a brief pause, he went on, "We have an incoming transmission for you. Are you prepared to receive?"
"An incoming transmission?" asked Scott, "Who's it from?"
When Colonel Truman answered, Scott's plane veered wildly.
In the heart of downtown Corinth City was a large auto repair shop called McAllistair's. At five o'clock in the morning, the place was dark and seemingly unoccupied. Above the shop, however, was a small apartment, the bedroom of which was currently being used by a sleeping young man in his twenties with closely shaved brown hair.
This was Flynn McAllistair, former Ranger Operator Series Blue and current namesake of the repair shop below. Sleeping on his back, Flynn suddenly gave a loud snort, flipped over onto his stomach, and muttered, "Get in gear" into his pillow.
His current dream was the only one he seemed to have these days. Flynn didn't mind though, since it was only there, in his dreams, where he could safely tell Gemma how he felt about her; and when he did, it was the most wonderful thing imaginable.
If only life in the real world could be so easy…
Unfortunately, Gemma's relationship with her brother was different, to say the least. The only life they had ever known prior to joining the Ranger team was in a government think-tank where they had been abused, both mentally and emotionally; as such, they were dependent on each other in ways that the average siblings would never want to even think about.
With all of them living in the same city, Flynn still saw quite a bit of Dr. K, Ziggy, Scott, Gem, and Gemma; and in rare moments where he and Gemma were alone, he was certain that he was not alone in his feelings. They never acted on them, though; or, rather, Gem usually interrupted them before either of them could do anything.
More than once, Flynn had had to stop himself from ripping Gem's head off with a silent reminder that Gem was not your average person. Some situations required that he and his sister be treated with kid gloves, and this was certainly one of them.
In his dreams, he and Gemma were building some new invention together like they had often done in their Ranger days. They were laughing and joking and, most importantly, free from Gem.
Then the telephone next to his bed started ringing and Flynn was awakened to the realization that Gemma was not with him, and would probably never be with him. Groaning as he blinked himself back into consciousness, Flynn reached out wildly and started slapping around his nightstand until he found his phone.
With his face still buried in his pillow, Flynn brought the phone to his ear and, in his heavy Scottish accent, muttered, "I swear on Mjöllnir, this better be important."
A few moments later, Flynn was wide awake.
Just a few blocks away from Flynn's apartment was yet another auto garage; or, rather, what looked like an auto garage. Inside, however, was vastly different from what one would find in Flynn's garage. Yes, this one had all the necessary tools and equipment one would need to work on any type of automobile imaginable, just like Flynn's, but there was so much more than that.
Flynn's garage certainly didn't have an adjoining kitchen, nor did it have multiple sets of blast doors leading to different rooms. Flynn's garage also didn't have seven glass display cases against the wall, inside of which were six of the Project Ranger suits, nor did it have computer systems capable of hacking into the universal bio-field to power up the suits, corresponding weapons, and accompanying Zord Attack Vehicles.
Much like Scott, for the young woman with the black bob cut and white lab coat sitting behind one of the many computers throughout the garage as she typed away frantically, today was the day that she had hoped would never come.
The lights in the garage hadn't even been turned on in years, yet Dr. K now had every system in the place up and running as if they had never been turned off at all, praying that she would find the necessary evidence to prove her theory wrong. Resting nearby was an open silver briefcase, inside of which were six Morphers and an empty slot in the very center for the seventh. Slowly, Dr. K looked away from her computer screen, her eyes moving to the left where the Series Red Cell Shift Morpher was currently undergoing a scan in what looked like a miniaturized CAT-Scan machine.
"Well," she muttered to herself, looking back at her screen, "that's one piece of good news."
No sooner had she said the words than a burst of vibrant green light appeared just feet away from her, immediately garnering her full attention. When the light dissipated a moment later, she was looking at Dillon and Summer for the first time in three years. Even though the reason for their meeting was an unpleasant one, she could not contain the smile that overcame her upon seeing them again.
To Dr. K's surprise, as she got up to greet them she noticed that both were wearing their black leather jackets, emblazoned with their respective Ranger colors and call numbers, that she had given to each of them upon first joining the team.
With them was a fully morphed Ziggy — the former Ranger Operator Series Green — who had used his suit's teleportation capabilities to save Dillon and Summer from having to drive the eight hundred or so miles between Millennium City and Corinth.
"Summer, Dillon," said Dr. K as she walked towards them, beaming, "I've missed you both so much."
While Ziggy de-morphed behind them, wearing his own Ranger jacket, Summer smiled back and enveloped Dr. K in a warm hug as she replied, "We've missed you too, Dr. K."
Looking to Dillon, Dr. K teasingly said, "Even you, Ranger Series Black?"
"Don't push it, doc," Dillon chuckled, giving Dr. K a hug of his own.
"Hey," Ziggy interjected, rejoining the group, "Does, uh, does me having my Morpher again mean you're going to stop calling me by my real name now?" he asked of Dr. K.
Before she could reply, though, Dillon was speaking. "What are you talking about?" he said, clasping Ziggy on the shoulder. "You'll always be Ranger Series Green to us."
"Oh, that's real funny —" Ziggy started, but the sound of a car pulling into the front garage stopped him short.
"Who's that?" asked Summer curiously, looking between Dillon and Dr. K.
Holding up a single finger for silence, Dillon listened carefully to the rumbling engine for a few moments. Slowly, a grin spread across his face as he looked up at Summer and said, "Flynn."
Indeed it was. By the time the three former Rangers and Dr. K had made it into the garage, Flynn was already out of his parked blue Hummer and well past the kitchen. The second he set his sights on Dillon and Summer, however, he froze on the spot, staring back at them as though he was unsure they were real.
"Bloody hell, is it really you?" he asked, causing Dillon and Summer to laugh.
"Yes," said Summer, nodding. "It's really us."
Next moment she was running towards Flynn, throwing her arms around him and hugging him with every ounce of strength her body could muster. She, Flynn, and Scott had been Rangers for almost a year before the others had joined the team; for Summer, Flynn and Scott were very much the brothers that she had never had.
"It's great to see you, lass," said Flynn, returning Summer's embrace as Dillon approached from behind her. "And you as well, mate," he added, releasing Summer to greet Dillon with a handshake and brief hug. "What brings you two back to Corinth?"
Neither said anything, they merely turned sideways and stared at Dr. K. Sighing, Dr. K shook her head and said, "I'll explain when everyone's here."
"Everyone?" said Flynn.
"You mean, the others are coming too?" asked Summer.
"Yes," said Dr. K, nodding. "Gem and Gemma should be here with Scott shortly."
Flynn felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Gemma's name. Immediately, he could picture her face in his mind's eye, but he quickly forced himself to think different thoughts. Dwelling on Gemma never left him feeling very good inside.
Thankfully, the arrival of Scott's red import came just in time to distract Flynn. Even though it meant that Gemma was here now, he wouldn't have to worry about her with everyone else around to keep him occupied.
Again, similar greetings were shared amongst the group, particularly when it came to Dillon and Summer. With Ziggy at her side, his arm draped loosely around her shoulder, Dr. K watched from a distance as Scott and Summer embraced, knowing that they only had a matter of moments before their joyful reunion was disturbed.
"Wait," said Scott, holding up his hands as he looked around at all of his friends and former teammates, "What is everyone doing here?"
Only one person knew that, and the looks of confusion and uncertainty that the Rangers shared amongst each other confirmed this.
"I believe I can answer that," Dr. K announced, instantly commanding everyone else's attention. "If you'll please follow me," she added, turning around and heading back through the blast doors.
"Well then," said Flynn, shaking his head, "Good to see some things never change."
Laughing, the other Rangers followed after Dr. K. Catching up to Ziggy, Dillon asked in a near whisper, "What's going on here, Zig? The doc had to have told you something. I mean, you guys are engaged."
Ziggy froze on the spot, staring up at Dillon with the most shocked of expressions as the other Rangers filed around them. "H-how did you know that?" he asked frantically. "I — we — no one's even been told yet."
Dillon shrugged and said, "Saw her take off the ring and slip it in her lab coat right after we teleported in." Ziggy looked as if he had just been told that Fresno Bob, the leader of the Scorpion Cartel, had decided they were no longer even. Smirking, Dillon clasped Ziggy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Ziggy nodded, straightened his jacket out, and said, "Right. Well then, that's settled. Lucky for you, or I would have had to ghost you otherwise."
Shaking his head, Dillon let out a brief chuckle and then motioned for Ziggy to follow as he said, "Come on, Ranger Series Green."
Looking stunned for a moment once more, Ziggy quickly shook his head clear and chased after Dillon. "Hey, I haven't been called that in three years, you know! Now's not the time to start —"
"— the Venjix virus was not completely destroyed in the final battle," said Dr. K from her chair, where the other Rangers were surrounding her.
"What?" Ziggy blurted, everyone else turning around to face him. "What do you mean it wasn't destroyed? We all watched the control tower crush him into a pancake."
Dr. K sighed. "Venjix was more than just his bodily form, Ranger Gr — I mean, Ziggy. Sorry, having the team around again is bringing back old habits."
"Yeah, yeah," said Ziggy, with a dismissive wave as the others shared smirks, "Just keep going. How is Venjix still alive?"
"That's hard to say, really," answered Dr. K. "There are a number of possible explanations, all of which are statistically more improbable than the next. I can't say for certain, but somehow the Venjix virus was able to upload itself into one of your Morphers."
General murmurs of disbelief chorused throughout the group as Summer asked, "Whose?"
Looking to his right, at the open briefcase on the table filled with Morphers, Scott suddenly knew the answer. "Mine," he murmured hoarsely, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. Raising his eyes slowly, he looked to Dr. K and said, "What does this mean, Doctor?"
"It means that, if the Series Red Morpher were to be activated again, the Venjix virus could be unleashed in full force once more."
"How did you even find this out?" asked Scott.
"Well, that's part of why you're all here," said Dr. K, looking to each of the Rangers individually. "You're needed again; for another mission. All of you."
A few of the Rangers looked confused, not Gem and Gemma though.
"But that means —" started Gemma excitedly.
"— boom time!" finished Gem, giving his sister a high-five.
As Gem and Gemma made noises and hand gestures to simulate explosions, Dillon looked at Dr. K and said, "What kind of mission are we talking about here, doc?"
"The kind of mission that requires you to travel a century and a half into the past," said Dr. K seriously, leaving everyone else, including Gem and Gemma, staring back at her blankly.
"Uh," began Ziggy, "Am I the only one who thought they heard her say we have to travel into the past?"
"Odin's beard, woman, you must be mad!" declared Flynn. "Traveling in time, you say? It's not even possible."
"Oh, it is possible," said Dr. K. "It's very, very possible. In fact, I've been spending every day since Project Ranger ended working on a way to accomplish time-travel. Using the electrical bio-field that surrounds the planet, I was able to access the space-time continuum long enough to create a spacial wormhole capable of successfully sending things back and forth through time. I know it was successful because I've tried it already."
Ziggy looked to be in total disbelief, unable to fathom how Dr. K could have done something like that while still having time to run the children's school they had opened together following Venjix's demise. The others, however, seemed none too concerned with this.
"But Dr. K," Gem began, scratching the side of his head, "Why would we need to go —"
"— to the past?" finished Gemma, looking equally confused.
"Yeah, what the Boom Happy Twins said," added Ziggy.
"Because your existence in the present day depends on it," answered Dr. K. "If you aren't successful in this mission, your present day selves will cease to exist."
"Ah, there's the silver lining I was — wait, what?" said Ziggy, staring at Dr. K with a dumbfounded expression.
"Here," said Dr. K, turning around in her chair to face her computer. Typing away for a few moments in silence, she then went on, "Watch this."
As the Rangers gathered around Dr. K's chair to see the screen, a video started playing of a man in his late twenties or early thirties, with chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair done in small, stylish spikes. He was wearing an un-tucked white dress shirt and blue jeans, and his expression was clearly tired.
Seated on a black couch in a dark room, the man looked directly into the camera and began speaking.
"My name is Tommy Oliver, and for over fifteen years I have led or been a part of several different teams of Power Rangers, super-powered humans tasked with protecting the planet from any and all invaders. In the year 2004, I mentored my own team of Power Rangers, the Dino Thunder team, and also served as the Black Brachio Ranger under Conner McKnight, the Red Tyranno Ranger. Along with the rest of the team, we were able to defeat the evil Mesogog, a dinosaur-human hybrid determined to revert the Earth to the Jurassic Era.
"Unfortunately, it was just four years later when a new and more powerful threat appeared on Earth. With the Dino Thunder powers destroyed in the final battle against Mesogog, and no current active team on Earth to defend it, I turned to the only people I could trust; those I had served with as leader of the Mighty Morphin', Zeo, and Turbo Power Rangers. Luckily, I was able to contact one of my former teammates, Billy, on the distant planet of Aquitar. Billy was our resident genius during the early years and I knew that I would need his help if there was to be any hope of stopping this new threat.
"After months of work, Billy was able to tap into the Universal Morphing Grid in order to re-power the five original Power Coins, as well as the White Tigerzord Coin created specifically for me. By that time, however, the damage to Earth had been done. Several major cities were — and continue to be — destroyed, and though my teammates and I continue to fight back every day, I don't know how much longer we can hold out. I know you probably won't be able to help us, and that we will all likely be long dead before you even see this video, but I want the world to know that we never stopped fighting. Let the history books show that Jason Scott, Adam Park, Billy Cranston, Aisha Campbell, Kimberly Hart, and myself kept fighting until our very last breaths."
With that, the screen went suddenly black. Before anyone could ask any questions, though, Dr. K was already typing away again, bringing up a screen with a white background and black text running across it.
"In the year 2010, Earth came closer to total destruction than it had in its entire history, and closer than it would ever come again until the Venjix virus was unleashed nearly one-hundred and fifty years later," said Dr. K, reading directly from the electronic history textbook on her screen. "Two years prior, aliens had begun to emigrate from their home worlds, initially in very small quantities so as to remain undetected. However, the alien presence on Earth was eventually brought to light, and with it came the Earth-branch of the intergalactic police force, Space Patrol Delta, in May of 2010.
"For nearly two years, the aliens of Earth were able to co-exist with humans, primarily by living in same-race communities, or large metropolitan areas where their presence would be more accepted. The final months of 2008 brought about a change, though. Several of the alien races began to unite under the shared goal of controlling the entire planet, eventually unleashing a reign of terror that lasted well over a year. The resurfaced Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fought valiantly, but their technology was vastly inferior to what would come to be collectively known as the Alien Rebel Collective, or ARC. All hope seemed lost.
"It was only in February of 2010, as the Rangers of Earth did battle with the ARC yet again, that hope was finally restored. Arriving to aid the Mighty Morphin' team was an unknown and never-before-seen team of Power Rangers. Like the Mighty Morphin' team, their identities were never learned. They stayed for only fifteen days, with weapons and Zords unlike anything the world had ever seen before, and though their presence was short lived, it was more than enough to sway the favors of battle back to humanity's side. With the ranks of the ARC severely diminished, and their arsenal severely damaged, the group was rendered unable to continue launching large scale attacks, and by the time they had regrouped their forces, SPD had already evolved into a law enforcement group big enough to thwart any future attacks against the planet.
"Still, it goes without saying that humanity's very existence today is because of these two teams of Rangers: the Mighty Morphin' team, who never stopped fighting for one moment; and this unknown team, who bravely intervened in a fight that was not theirs. Though it is almost certain that we will never know the true identities of the men and women underneath the helmets, anyone who is reading this today has them to thank for it; they, the unknown soldiers."
"You have got to be kidding me," said Ziggy, looking around at the other Rangers with a disbelieving expression. Finally, his eyes settled on Dr. K and he went on, "You can't seriously think that this unknown team is us, can you?"
"I hate to say it Dr. K, but it does seem pretty far-fetched," Summer added, looking almost regretful about it. "I read all about the Rangers of the 20th and 21st Centuries in my high school history class. A lot of the teams never lost their powers, and just as many stayed active long after their own threat had been defeated. I mean, there had to have been at least half a dozen teams with active powers at that time."
Dr. K slowly looked around at Summer and shook her head. "No, there weren't. The Space team was dealing with an off-world crisis at the time; Operation: Lightspeed Rescue was abandoned in the fall of 2004; the magic of the Mystic Force was useless against the alien invaders; and Operation: Overdrive was disbanded following the defeat of Flurious."
"Wasn't there another team?" asked Summer.
"Yeah, there was," said Flynn. "For the life of me, I can't remember what they were called. I think it was something like Jungle —"
"— Fury," said Gemma, Flynn staring back at her with his mouth hanging half open.
She had just finished one of his sentences. Never before had she finished a sentence for anyone else except her brother; not even her oldest friend, Dr. K. He didn't want to think too much of it, but as they locked eyes momentarily, with Gemma smiling back at him, Flynn suddenly felt like they had entered uncharted territory.
"Jungle Fury?" said Dr. K, with something of a bitter chuckle, interrupting Flynn's thoughts. "You would trust the fate of humanity to the Jungle Fury Rangers? I would trust a team composed entirely of Ziggy-clones over the Jungle Fury Rangers. The purple one was the only competent one."
"Y-you really mean that?" said Ziggy, genuinely caught off guard as he held his hands against his chest.
"Yes," said Dr. K, nodding, "But don't get too excited, your ego's big enough as it is already. Besides, like I said, the purple one was the only one worth his weight in more than scrapped Grinder parts."
"Okay, fine, let's say it is us that are supposed to help the Mighty Morphin' team," Scott interjected. "How can we do that if my Morpher is hosting the Venjix virus? That thing you were reading said the unknown Rangers had Zords. Without my Morpher we can't call the Paleo Zords, nor can we form the Road Blaster, the RPM Enforcer, the High Octane Megazord, the Zenith Megazord, the SkyRev Megazord, or the Ultrazord."
Dr. K, who had looked like she was growing increasingly bored as Scott went on, finally said, "Are you quite done yet?" Scott just looked back at her blankly, seemingly unsure how to respond to that, leaving her to go on, "I've known for some time that this day would probably come, so a couple of weeks ago I began checking the Morphers, weapons, and Zords, just to make sure everything was still functional. Initial scans showed that everything was fine, but secondary Morpher scans detected a malfunction within the Series Red Morpher.
"It took a few days, but eventually I was able to uncover the Venjix virus. Accordingly, I began working on a firewall to keep the virus frozen in one location. I've only just finished it, and while it's not completely perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it will suffice for the mission at hand. The only part of your usual arsenal that will not be available to you is your three-second Burst Attack."
"You're absolutely sure?" asked Scott hesitantly.
"I deal in statistical probabilities, Ranger Red, a place where absoluteness is almost never achieved," said Dr. K. "That being said, I am fairly confident that the only deficiency you will notice is the loss of your Burst Attack. Otherwise, everything else should continue to operate as you're used to."
"I don't like the sound of that, doc," said Scott, looking apprehensive. "What happens if the Venjix virus is released in the past?"
Dr. K let out an annoyed sigh. "It won't be. Don't you understand? You and the other Rangers going back in time is supposed to happen. I'm supposed to build a firewall that can prevent the Venjix virus from escaping. In our past, the past that has already taken place, the Venjix virus wasn't released. I've done what I'm supposed to do in our present to ensure that. Now it's up to the seven of you to ensure that humanity survives long enough to —"
"— be decimated by the Venjix virus a hundred and fifty years later?" Dillon supplied, his eyes narrowed in a way that refused to reveal his position.
"Well, when you put it that way…," said Dr. K.
"Alright, look, let's say we do this and go back in time," said Scott, looking directly at Dr. K. "How do we make contact with the Mighty Morphin' team? And, more importantly, how do we get back once the mission is completed?"
"As leader of the team, Ranger Red, the first question is yours to answer," said Dr. K. "As to how you'll get back to the present…I'll be able to monitor you from here through your Morphers, and you'll still be able to use them to contact me. When your mission has been completed, I'll reopen the wormhole to bring you back into the present."
Sighing, Scott shook his head and said, "I don't know about this." Looking around slowly at his teammates, he asked, "What do you guys think?"
Flynn shrugged. "It's your call, mate. I'm with you either way."
With Dillon's hand on her shoulder, Summer took hold of it and said, "Us too."
"We just want —" started Gem.
"— to blow stuff up!" finished Gemma.
"Well, I can't exactly say no when everyone else has said yes, can I?" said Ziggy.
Looking down, Scott shook his head and muttered, "I guess that settles it then." Slowly raising his eyes as he looked around to Dr. K, he quietly asked, "So, what do we do?"