Disclaimer: Saban owns the Power Rangers, and Marvel owns the Avengers.
Author's Note: I absolutely loved Avengers Infinity War, and by no means do I want to change it or change Endgame when it comes out. Because of this, I'm really going to try and finish this story before Avengers Endgame comes out, because I don't want this story to be influenced by Endgame (I all ready let the trailer do a little bit of influencing...)
Author's Note 2: "Death was Arrested" is the title of a song by North Point InsideOut.
Death Was Arrested - Chapter 1
Kimberly Hart had just completed her final practice before the pan-globals. She had given up much to compete. Her home. Her friends. Her boyfriend. The last one still pained her. It wasn't easy penning the letter that she sent to him, but it was clear that she couldn't focus on gymnastics when Tommy had always been on her mind. She knew that if she wanted to truly compete, she needed to leave her old life behind. Boyfriend, and power rangers, gone forever.
'Besides, she knew Katherine had been pining for him for months,' She thought. Her routine was like clockwork: workout, shower, walk back to her small apartment. It was peaceful walk back to her home, though she wished she had considered stopping at the local beach to watch the waves crash at night. Alas, she needed her sleep.
She reached her apartment, and went straight for refrigerator. She opened it to find her leftovers the other night, small bits of salad with grilled chicken. However, when she shut the door to the refrigerator, she was shocked to see a man standing in the apartment with her.
"Oh my gosh!" She screamed. The man was oddly dressed, he wore a dark green tunic and a red cloak, and wore a very large medallion around his neck. His hair and facial hair were dark with streaks of gray, and... was he glowing?
"Sorry to startle you," the man replied. "My name is Dr. Stephen Strange, and I'm from the future."
"Wait... what?" Kim asked. "I... I don't understand. How did you get in here, who are you, and how are you from the future?"
"I wish I could explain everything, but I don't have much time," he explained. "Kimberly Hart, you and Tommy Oliver are the key to saving the universe."
"Uhhh... look, I don't really see Tommy anymore, and even if I did, we are not the type of people that could save the univers..."
"I know that you've all ready saved the planet," Strange countered. "Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, Master Vile. All global treats, stopped by the power rangers."
"How do you know that?" Kim asked.
"I'm the Master of the Mystic Arts, it's kind of my job to know anything and everything that goes on in our portion of the multi-verse."
"Multi-verse?"
"Sorry, I keep saying words that are going to make this more confusing, let me cut straight to the point. In your future, there will come a time when a being named Thanos is going to wipe out half the population on this planet. You and Tommy survive. You'll need to help Tony Stark and Steve Rogers to get us back, and stop him once and for all."
"How? What? I... how does he..."
"I don't have time to explain everything. Just know that you two are the key to getting us back. And you have to work together."
"But I don't even see him anymore," Kim replied, exasperated. "And when exactly is this supposed to happen? In a month? When will I know that Thanos shows up? And how do you even know that I'll do anything about it?"
"Because you'll see all the people you love turn to dust," he soberly countered. "And you won't be able to stand losing them like that."
"I don't..." Kim was at a loss for words, but the mysterious man interrupted.
"Kimberly, I know this is all confusing. But trust me. I've seen the future. The fate of our universe lies on your shoulders. You hold the keys to defeating Thanos." She stood there trying to comprehend all he was saying, but before she could respond, he continued. "I must go. Remember, when you see people turn to dust, it will be time for you to step in." With that, he disappeared, leaving her flabbergasted at all of what had just happened.
She could barely sleep that night, wondering how this messenger from the future could impact her. She woke up the next morning, and wondered if she had just had a nightmare.
"A messenger from the future," she muttered aloud. "People turning to dust. It's crazy talk Kimberly. Just a crazy dream. Probably a combination of all of Rita's monsters in my head." She tried to convince herself that it was only that. Over time, she forgot. It merely blended in with the rest of the things that she had experienced and drempt over the years.
Twelve years later, she was in Angel Grove celebrating her thirtieth birthday. February 14th, 2009. The original team got together to throw a surprise birthday for her. Jason, Trini, Zack, and even Billy, who was back from Aquitar for a few weeks. They went to a nice restaurant, dressed to the nines, and had fun eating and dancing. As they sat down to dessert, the conversation turned to the topic that Kimberly knew would come up: Tommy.
"Have you talked to him at all?" Billy asked.
"He's still in Reefside," Jason replied. "Ever since he mentored the Dino Thunder Rangers..." Kim nearly spit her drink out at this bit of news.
"He mentored his own team?"
"Mentored them, all the while stealing my color," Zack quipped.
"He wanted to be here tonight," Jason added, but then cut himself off.
"What?" Kim asked. "No... why would he want to be here?" Jason was about to respond, but was cut off by Trini.
"Do you guys feel that?" She asked.
"Feel what?" Kim asked. She looked over at another table and was startled by what she saw. A random diner just disintegrated. Turned to dust.
"Guys did you just..." Kim began to say, but then turned back to Trini, who was fading right before their eyes. "Trini!" She looked over to Billy, whose eyes expressed shock and disgust.
"I..." Before he could say anything, he was gone as well.
"What the heck is going on?" Zack asked. "I... I don't feel too good." Within an instant he was gone too.
"Jason what's going on!?" Kim screamed. She got up and grabbed him tightly, him returning the embrace.
"It's going to be ok, Kim. It's going to be..." Jason's voice faded, his embrace left her, and she stumbled to find that her big brother was no longer embracing her. She grasped hold of the chair that she had been sitting in, gazing around the room, her mouth hanging open from the shock of what she had just seen. Others continued to disappear right before her eyes, while some remained. It was then she realized that the visit from a wizard in the future was no dream. It was a reality. She picked up her phone and looked into her contacts, and found the information for Tommy Oliver. She hesitated for a moment, wondering what he would say. She took a deep breath, pressed the dial button, and waited for him to pick up.
"Hello?" An exasperated voice said on the other line.
"Hey Tommy... it's Kimberly."
"This isn't exactly a great time, I'm sorry..."
"They're gone, Tommy," Kim interrupted. "Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini... all of them, they're gone."
"Dust?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, how..."
"I just saw the same thing happen to a good friend of mine... among many others..." Tommy's voice trailed off for a moment. "I don't understand, what's happening? Why did you call me?"
"This might sound weird, but I think I know why," Kim replied soberly. "How far is Reefside from Angel Grove?"
"Maybe a couple hours?" Tommy asked. He wondered how she knew he lived there, but figured this wasn't the time or place to ask about it.
"Ok... I have a rental car here in Angel Grove, I'll come to you," Kim replied.
"Wait... why?" Tommy asked.
"Because a wizard from the future said we would be the only way to save the universe."
*Titan*
Tony Stark was in disbelief. They failed. Thanos retrieved all six infinity stones. The master of mystic-arts, Dr. Strange, caved on his promise to protect the time stone with his own life, and it led to the destruction of half the universe. He watched the Guardians fade away, and Dr. Strange did as well. But it was Peter that destroyed him. He would never admit it, but Peter felt like the son he never had. He grew quite fond of Peter. He held onto him as long as he could, grasping hold of him, hoping that the terror of his exit would never come. Peter's voice echoed through his mind.
"Mr. Stark... I don't wanna go..."
"You've mourned long enough," Nebula scoffed, the only other survivor from the battle of Titan. "We need to regroup, see who else survived." Tony didn't budge. He didn't even flinch. "Come on, my ship..."
"What's the point," Tony interjected sullenly. "We plotted and planned, we had him." He stood up, continuing to stare off into the wasteland that was Titan. "I don't even know who's still alive back on earth."
"Look, we can figure that out when we get there..."
"You don't get it!" Tony yelled. "We lost. I've been preparing for Thanos for six years. He was in my head, I was waiting for him to come. I..." Tony's voice trailed off. "I don't need to explain myself to you." He finally turned to her. "I don't even know who you are."
"My name is Nebula... daughter of Thanos."
"Daughter?"
"Unfortunately," she reviled. "You are not the only one who has lost today."
"No..." Suddenly, Tony stopped. "Do you remember... no, you wouldn't remember, you weren't here for that."
"Here for what?"
"Strange... he went forward in time. He saw... there was one time that we could defeat Thanos. That was it."
"Well, clearly we didn't find the one way," Nebula muttered.
"Right before Strange phased out of existence, he told me that there was no other way. What if this had to take place? What if our one way to defeating Thanos was him sparing my life by giving him the stone? What if we can change this?"
"What if you're wrong?" Nebula challenged.
"Only one way to find out," Tony replied. "You said you have a ship?"
*Reefside, California – Hayley's Cyberspace*
Kimberly walked through the front entrance of the establishment, slowly stepping through as she could hardly see. The lights were out, chairs, stools, and tables were strewn all about, making it difficult to know where exactly she should walk.
"Why would he be at an internet cafe?" she pondered aloud. "What happened to this place?"
"There's been looting all over the town," a familiar voice greeted her, coming from the other side of the room. "I thought if I made it seem like people all ready raided the place, it would be safe." He stepped a bit into the moonlight coming through the windows, revealing that it was, in fact, Tommy.
"Why would you care about keeping this place safe?" Kim asked. "Hayley your wife?" Kim was surprised she said the question so abruptly, and became worried at the answer as he grimaced. "She turned to dust..." She realized. "Tommy, I'm so sorry." He came closer at pulled a stool from off the ground, propped it up to sit in it.
"She's not my wife," Tommy revealed. "My best friend, but certainly not my wife."
"You saw her fade away..."
"I did," Tommy replied. "It started with customers, half of them just gone in almost an instant. She started to run... she has an emergency kit in the back."
"No emergency kit could have stopped this," Kim replied, drawing closer to him.
"Maybe... but this wasn't exactly the run of the mill emergency kit. It had remnants of the dino thunder powers as part of a emergency morpher. Who knows if maybe that would have helped... if..."
"You can't blame yourself, Tommy," Kim consoled him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "She helped you design the Dino Thunder powers, didn't she?" Tommy nodded. "Tommy, there's a way to get her back. Just like there's a way to get Jason and the others back."
"How?" Tommy asked. "Who did this?"
"Thanos," Kim replied.
"That's what the wizard said?" Tommy said, a slight hint of disbelief tainting his subdued voice.
"Dr. Stephen Strange," Kim replied.
"Do you think he has a connection to Tony Stark?" Tommy asked, his voice perking up. He wandered over and clicked on one of the computers, and pulled up clips on the computer from the earlier attack on the news. "There's four of them fighting off those aliens, is he..."
"Oh my gosh... he's right there, wearing that big necklace," Kim gasped.
"He was the one that was kidnapped," Tommy replied. "Stark flew up to the space ship to stop them. Do you think that had anything to do with what happened here?"
"Strange knew what was going to happen. In fact... he knew what, and when..." Her voice trailed off. "He said we would need to help Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. And that we would know when Thanos accomplished his plot, when we would see those we love turn to dust. Dr. Strange was right." Kim's voice trailed off for a moment, pondering for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure what to do next though."
"I have an idea," Tommy replied. "But we'll need to go back to my home. Hopefully looters don't find their way out to my neck of the woods."
"How far away do you live?"
"About twenty-five minutes out, almost in the middle of nowhere," Tommy replied. "Follow me."
To be continued...
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- Googz333