A/N: Well after a long wait, here is my new story! I hope that everyone enjoys this first chapter.
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A long shadow cast over the smoke filled city. He had finally done it. Angel Grove was in ruins. It was the first part of his plan but it was the most important. Angel Grove had to fall to draw out his targets. Years of planning had bought him to this moment. He basked in his moment before turning his thoughts to his ultimate goal.
He only wished it hadn't taken him this long to strike. His targets were spread out through globe. It would take time for them to gather once again but gather they would. Their bond was more than friendship. It was forged through the morphing grid and interconnected.
His plan was finally in motion and he couldn't wait to reap his rewards. The Power Rangers would finally be defeated and wiped from the Earth. This was just his first step to become the ultimate being.
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Five Months Prior
She couldn't believe him! She never would have thought Tommy would do this to her. Tears streamed down her face as she threw her bags in the back seat. She took one last look at her dream home before she got in her car. Why would he do this? He wouldn't even explain or try to explain anything to her.
She had always wondered if he would try to get her back for that letter she sent in high school. If this was his revenge, then he had chosen well. She was broken by one scene, one moment that would be forever etched in her mind.
Starting the car, she backed out the drive and turned towards the East. There was only one place she could go; it had been her home but she had chosen to move back west. Thankfully, she still had friends in Florida that she could crash with until she found a place.
Nothing but a disaster would bring her back here. If her friends wanted to see her, they would need to meet her somewhere other than the state of California. Tommy could have the entire state as far as she was concerned. She couldn't fight him any longer; this was a battle he had won without saying one word.
As she got further and further from Reefside, she heard a distant cry from her spirit animal. It was a mournful cry that caused her even more pain. She wouldn't stop though; her crane would just have to learn to live without its falcon. They may be the winged lord and lady of the skies but they would never be together again. She had to learn to live without Tommy. It would be the most difficult thing she had ever done, but she would do it. The strength was in her, she just had to find it.
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Present Day
A disaster! She vowed that only a disaster would bring her back to the state of California and it had. Standing at the edge, she looked down at the rubble that was Angel Grove. How had this happened? Angel Grove was supposed to be safe from the evil trying to take over the world. They had made sure of it a long time ago.
She heard the distant sound of her crane. It was stronger now than when she was across the country, but then again she knew it would be. It was the reason she packed a bag and got on a plane. Her crane had always been with her even though she had given her powers to Katherine years ago. The cry wasn't the mournful one she had come to live with it, instead it was a cry of pain and anguish.
When she had come back after being captured by Dulcea, she asked Zordon about it. He told her the crane was her Ninjetti spirit, not Katherine's. It was only on loan to Katherine for a short time. Zordon explained that she would always be linked to the crane. He also cautioned her not to ignore when the crane cried out. The cry would warn her of impending danger and would likely save her life. Zordon's words had echoed throughout her mind during her flight across the country.
She wished she wouldn't have waited as long as she had. She might have seen who had destroyed Angel Grove or at least why they chose her hometown. She wished she could just teleport and talk to Zordon as she had many times in the past. She needed his calming words and advice at this moment. It had been years since his death, but she still missed him. He had been like a father to her and the rest of the team.
Turning around, she faced the twisted metal and charred bits of the former Command Center. She'd known about its destruction, but it was still a shock to her already exhausted body and soul. Looking at the ruins, she felt a familiar tug of the powers she once held. It was almost as if her powers were calling out to her. She wasn't sure why though, because she had given up those powers years ago and in fact those powers were destroyed not long after she'd turned them over.
Closing her eyes, she took a steady breath and released it. If anyone else had listened to their animal spirit, they would be on their way. The rest of the rangers had stayed connected through the years. They would all journey back to Angel Grove with only a phone call. Once a ranger, always a ranger.
She'd turned her back on everything Power Ranger related to focus on her new life, but her past would not be shoved aside. Something told her she was about to face that past in full color. A nagging worry made her realize that her time in spandex may not be over just yet. This new threat had made this battle personal by attacking Angel Grove. They wanted the Original Power Rangers in this fight.
There was one person; she wasn't ready to see though. She had only left him a few months ago because he had cheated on her. She never would have thought Tommy would cheat on her especially since they had been working on moving forward. He had even asked her to move in with him, but days later, she caught him with another woman. She asked him about Hayley, but he wouldn't tell her anything, except that it was his business. It was something she never thought he would tell her.
After a week of him not explaining, she left. She refused to be in a relationship where she questioned him and he wouldn't answer her. She flew back to Florida, back to her adopted home. None of their friends knew they were even together. They kept their reunion a secret so that no one could give advice or cause problems.
Apparently, they were not meant to be together. She would get over it and deal with this new threat. She might have to fight side by side with him, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Her friends would be there, too. They would be a buffer between them or at least she hoped so.
A few moments later, her prediction of everyone coming was proven correct. Several cars came to a stop while a cloud of dust followed them. She knew the drivers well and noticed that it was more than the Ninjetti here. It seemed as if Zordon's chosen 12 were finally back home.
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"Kim's already here," Jason commented as he shut his car off before glancing over at his wife.
"How did she know?" Trini asked as she looked out through the windshield at her best friend. "No news station has aired the destruction yet," she stated. Since receiving the phone call, she had called everyone to let them know about Angel Grove. Everyone but Kimberly since she was on the other side of the country, they wanted to know what they were dealing with before calling her in.
"How do you know that?" Jason asked as he glanced at Kimberly. She was standing beside her car in a black t-shirt and shorts. It was odd to him to not see her in pink, but he couldn't worry about that now. They had bigger problems than Kim's choice of clothes.
"Because Billy halted it," she replied. "He didn't want the nation in a panic thinking it was another terrorist attack."
"It could be though," he remarked thoughtfully. It was highly unlikely since the only target was Angel Grove and not the nation's capital or some other big city.
"You know it's not," she voiced. "We know this is something to do with the Power Rangers."
Jason sighed and nodded. He knew Angel Grove's destruction was related to the Power Rangers, but it still didn't explain Kimberly's presence at this moment. "So if it's not on the news, how did she know to come here?"
"Because her crane called her," Tommy stated as he got out of the backseat. Since his Jeep was in the shop, he rode with Jason and Trini to the former site Command Center. He had been at their house anyway when they got the call from Billy. He didn't share that he knew Kimberly would already be here. Everyone would want to know how he knew and he wasn't ready to confess that his falcon had known the moment she stepped onto the plane. They were still linked through their spirit animals no matter how far the distance.
"I thought she gave her Crane powers to Katherine," Trini mentioned. Her confusion to his comment was evident in her expression.
"She did, but the Crane spirit is still hers," Tommy explained. "It never left her."
"How do you know?" Jason asked, finally getting out of his car.
"Don't worry about that, we have to figure out who just destroyed Angel Grove," he said before joining the others. He didn't need them prying into why he knew about Kimberly since they didn't know about what happened five months ago.
Jason and Trini looked at each other before glancing back at Tommy and Kimberly. They knew their friends well so the distance and tension between the former White and Pink Rangers were glaringly apparent. There was something those two were hiding or trying to hide. They would need to settle their problems because the team needed to be solid and unified to battle whoever destroyed Angel Grove.
The sad part was the White and Pink Rangers used to be the center of the team. It wasn't going to be an easy road with Tommy and Kimberly fighting but they would have to make the best of it until those two faced their problems, which hopefully didn't happen in the middle of a battle.
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"You're right, the rangers are back." A voice hissed.
"I knew they would be. Angel Grove was their home and the place where they came together as a team." An evil voice said through the darkness as he watched the rangers closely. He noticed that they were not as unified as the last time he faced them. There were also more of them, but it didn't matter. He would destroy all of them.
"What's your next move?"
"They will need powers."
"You could destroy them before they ever come into power." The voice hissed as he pointed out the obvious.
"I know, but I want them to gain their powers," the voice commented. "I want to know that I defeated the strongest force in the world. I want to finally defeat Zordon's chosen. I want to beat the Power Rangers."
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"So does anyone know who could have done this?" Rocky asked pointing down at Angel Grove.
Everyone had gotten out of their cars and gathered to discuss the situation.
"Well Zedd and Rita are good now," Justin pointed out. He was no longer the twelve-year old boy, he had been. He was a grown man standing next to them now. They all had grown and changed over the years but the bond was still evident.
"Divatox was turned good as well," Katherine added.
"Ivan Ooze was destroyed by Ryan's Comet," Adam supplied.
"The Machine Empire was destroyed," Tanya stated.
"Astromeda is now Karone," Tommy muttered mentally running through the list of bad guys that they had faced.
"So we've eliminated six of the bad guys that we've faced as rangers," Trini remarked slowly.
"What about all the other teams?" Zack asked as he looked around the circle of rangers. "There have been several bad guys over the years."
"True, but this has to be someone link to the first ones since they attacked Angel Grove and not any other town that rangers were in," Jason reasoned. Angel Grove was only their home base. All the other teams were scattered around the globe so this monster was connected to them or at least wanted to get their attention.
"The closest one that I know of was Mesogogg, and he was destroyed," Tommy commented as he scrubbed his hand across his face. Frustration was written across his face as well as everyone else's.
They had all thought there would be some clue as to who it was when they got to the ruins of the former Command Center.
"Are we sure about any of these?" Kim asked as everyone looked at her. "Think about it, they have survived thousands of years. They couldn't be so easily destroyed," she remarked slowly.
"Zordon's wave cleansed Zedd, Rita, and Divatox while destroying the Machine Empire," Tommy stated in a snide tone.
"But are we sure?" Kim asked. "We cannot assume they are still good," she huffed.
"Kim makes a good point," Jason broke in because he sensed a fight brewing between them. They didn't need to get off track with a Tommy/Kimberly fight right now. "We can't assume that everything is the same as it was the last time any of us was involved with the rangers."
"So how do we narrow it down?" Aisha asked glancing around at everyone.
"Well, we are at the Command Center," Billy pointed out as he looked at the rubble around them. He placed his hands on his hips as he glazed at the ruins; it was a stance that the rangers knew well.
"Uh, Billy look around, the Command Center was destroyed," Justin reminded him even though it was obvious to anyone standing there. "It's the reason that the Turbo Rangers had to go to space and ask for Andros' help."
"The surface is destroyed, yes, but what we need is not on the surface," Billy stated with a slight smile. He looked back at the rangers with a confidence that gave them a little hope. "Zordon and Alpha made contingency plans for the Command Center. They used it when the first one was destroyed by Goldar and Rito's bomb," Billy explained.
"So where's the entrance?" Katherine asked, looking around ruins. There was no clear sign that said entrance this way.
"Well that's the problem, I'm not sure," Billy replied. "I know there is one, but we have to find it."
"Like we did before?" Tanya asked glancing at the ground, remembering their last trip. "I wasn't fond of that avenue last time," she muttered as she shuddered.
The last time, they had all been glued to the ground as they fell. They then had to search through the catacombs to find the vortex or whatever Zordon had called it. Needless to say, she would prefer a traditional door or stairs this time around.
"Me either," Rocky muttered as he folded his arms across his chest.
"It's probably not the same entrance since we used it last time," Billy remarked. "Let's just spread out and see if we can find it."
"Like a needle in a haystack," Trini muttered as everyone moved off in different directions.
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"Hey Hayley, where is Dr. O?" Connor asked as he walked up behind her.
"Connor?" She asked as she spun around to face him.
They were currently in Tommy's basement as she tried to figure out where he had gone. She had been trying to call him for the past three hours about something odd in Angel Grove, but he wasn't answering his phone. It wasn't weird for him not to answer since it was Tommy, but she really needed to talk to him.
"Yeah, it's me," he replied. "I need to know where Dr. O is."
"I don't know which is why I'm here trying to locate him," she murmured. "Why are you looking for him?"
"My morpher went crazy a few hours ago and it sort of scared me," he revealed.
"Crazy?" she asked as he nodded. She didn't remark on the fact that it scared him. She wasn't sure he knew what scared was, anyway. "What kind of crazy?"
"Well it's hard to describe, but it started flashing and vibrating. Kira, Ethan, and Trent said theirs did the same thing," he supplied.
"Where are they?" She asked as she turned back to the computer to see if there was a link between their morphers and Angel Grove. She knew that Tommy had her to link them to the morphing grid, which was connected to Angel Grove. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now with something happening in Angel Grove, it wasn't.
"They should be here in a few minutes," he responded. "Is Mesogogg back?"
"No, but I fear it is something far worse than Mesogogg," she whispered. "I think it has something to do with the Original Power Rangers." She was more than sure, it did, but she needed the data first before she would tell anyone.
"Like Dr. O and his friends?" he asked as she nodded. "They're all out of the business though. I mean they are too old now."
"Tommy helped you guys," she pointed out. "His friends are his age and can still run circles around you," she mentioned. The Dino Thunder Rangers always thought that Tommy couldn't do too much, but he proved them wrong time and again. The Original Rangers would do the same thing if it came down to it.
"Not with my super speed," he quipped.
Shaking her head, she didn't turn around but she did address his comment. "You do realize that they didn't have powers when they fought their monsters and yet they still manage to defeat them."
"They had those spirit animal things though."
"It still wasn't super powers," she remarked. "You may want to sit down until the others get here. I'm pretty sure; you four will be taking a journey to Angel Grove."
"Why Angel Grove?" he asked as he sat down.
"Because it was just destroyed by an unknown enemy," she responded as the data scrolled on screen. This was worse than she would have ever thought. If Angel Grove was destroyed, the enemy meant business.
"So much for retirement," he mumbled as she slowly nodded.
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No one was sure what they were looking for but that didn't stop them. They had seen many things that were beyond believing so they knew not to question Billy. He was the one to work closely with Zordon and Alpha, and if anyone would know about their plans, it would be him. They also didn't question him because it was the only link of hope they had right now.
Kim slowly walked around as she tried to listen to her crane. The cry was almost silent, but she could still hear it. The cry sounded like it was in a tunnel or something, but at least it was still with her. She picked through the rubble and listened as the cry grew louder and louder. Her spirit animal was trying to tell her something. She had to be close to that entrance for the cry to be louder; it was the only explanation.
Closing her eyes, she tried to picture the entrance. All she saw was her crane though. It was glowing pink and looking right at her. Flying next to her crane was Tommy's falcon. She knew his spirit animal well since it flew with her crane most of the time when she was a ranger. The two animals were the only winged spirit animals so it wasn't hard to figure out. Sighing, she opened her eyes and saw Tommy standing in front of her. She knew that his falcon was never far away from him just as her crane was never far from her.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"I'm fine," she retorted. She didn't want to get into their problem right now. It wasn't the time and it sure wasn't the place.
"Kimberly, we are going to be working together until this problem is dealt with," he reminded her. "Do you think you could set aside whatever drove you away from me until then?"
"Whatever drove me away?" she gasped. "Thomas Oliver, you know very well what drove me away," she bit out.
"Actually I don't, since you refused to tell me before you packed up," he whispered back. He really had no idea but he would find out.
Grinding her teeth, she stared at him. Was his memory that bad that he couldn't remember why she left? Shaking her head, she brushed past him. They didn't have time to rehash this.
"Tommy, we don't have time for this. I want to find this entrance so that we can see who destroyed Angel Grove," she stated.
"Then what?" he growled.
"Then I head back to Florida," she muttered as she walked away from him. The crane was silent now. "Crap."
"What's wrong?" he asked walking behind her.
"My crane was crying out and now it's silent," she replied.
"Probably because you are not dealing with your problems," he remarked.
"You know what; I didn't have to come back here. I didn't have to get on a plane and see this," she said motioning to the destruction of Angel Grove. "I chose to come back."
"You also chose to run away in the first place," he barked.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Jason asked walking over to them. The others were looking over at them but chose not to join them. They knew Jason could handle Tommy and Kimberly or at least get them settled.
"Nothing," Kim muttered. "Just leave it alone, Jason."
"If it's going to affect the team then I can't," he stated. "We don't need two of you fighting against each other."
"Well tell him to stay away from me," she growled before storming off.
Jason sighed before looking back at Tommy. "One day you will need to tell me what's going on between you two."
"If I knew I would tell you now, but I'm in the dark as to what's making her so mad," Tommy said. "Jason, I'm not sure Kim told you but we had been trying to get back together."
"So something happened to cause her to go back to Florida," he remarked as Tommy nodded. "I wondered since her hate is fresh."
"Don't tell anyone since we were trying to work through our differences by ourselves."
"I won't but you two need to settle this," Jason suggested. "We don't know who has attacked Angel Grove so we have bigger things to worry about instead of Kimberly trying to murder you."
"She won't murder me," Tommy muttered. "Don't worry we will not interfere with trying to figure out who the bad guy is."
"I'm not too sure about that but I'll let you two figure it out."
"We will," Tommy promised. "I'm just worried about who we are facing."
"Me too," Jason admitted. "Most of us haven't touched powers in years so we are already at a disadvantage."
Tommy nodded as he glanced over at Kimberly. She was alone and away from the others. It was like there was a barrier between her and the rest of the team. They couldn't afford for the team to be broken. If the ruins of Angel Grove were anything to go by, they would need to present a unified front to defeat this evil.
"Jason, promise me that you will watch over Kimberly," Tommy stated as he looked back at his best friend.
"You know you don't even have to ask," he stated looking over at the former Pink Ranger. "I have watched over her my entire life and I'm not going to stop now."
"Okay, good because I'm not sure she will let me."
"In her current mood, probably not," he remarked. "Don't worry Tommy; you two will be talking again in no time."
"Don't bet on that, Jase," he stated. "She has never been this mad at me."
"Battles have a way of changing people's minds," Jason remarked. "She has a way of always rushing to your side, no matter how mad she is."
Tommy sighed before turning away. He heard and understood Jason's words but something told him there would something big to happen before Kimberly would open up to him. He just hoped it wasn't anything that they couldn't come back from.
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Trini shook her head as she watched Tommy and Kimberly put as much room as possible between them. It was really Kimberly walking away but Tommy didn't close the distance. Something was wrong with them and she would find out what it was because she knew that they had to be unified against this evil.
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"Okay so what's going on with our morphers?" Kira asked as she rushed into the basement. Ethan and Trent were hot on her heels as they stopped behind her.
"I'm not actually sure," Hayley replied. "It has something to do with Angel Grove being destroyed."
"What?" Ethan asked. "Angel Grove is destroyed?"
"We need to contact Dr. O," Trent stated.
"I've tried but I can't get in touch with him," Hayley remarked.
"You don't know where he is?" Kira asked looking around the basement. They had never known Dr. O to be unreachable unless he was captured.
"No, but I think I know a way to contact him," she said as she jumped up.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Connor asked as he jumped up from the chair next to her.
"To call Jason Scott," she replied.
"The Original Red Ranger?" Connor whispered.
She turned to stare at the four rangers and nodded. "The one and only," she answered.
"We're going to meet the Original Power Rangers," Connor stated.
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So what did everyone think? Please let me know. Since my job is somewhat time consuming, I will try to update as often as I can. It won't be as quick as it has been in the past, but I'm not going to drag this out forever either.