DISCLAIMER: Saban, DC, Columbia/Screen Gems, Republic Pictures. This is the beginning of a 6 part tale, Trackdown. Just to let you know in advance, if you're expecting either the Disney version, or the current CW show, you're about to be majorly disappointed. This gives Catherine & Vincent a happily ever after ending while the heroes track down and dismantle the evil organization responsible for all the evil involved in this tale. Rita & Luthor are a part of this…as will be the JLA Investigative Branch in bringing the group down. Lorelei will be after Luthor & Rita, so she will also make an appearance. BTW, The spoken opening for Beauty And The Beast will open each chapter. And now…
TRACKDOWN PROLOGUE: Amazing Reunion
This is where the wealthy and the powerful rule
It is her world, a world apart from mine
Her Name is Catherine. From the moment I saw her, she captured my heart, with her beauty, her warmth, and her courage.
I knew then, as I know now, she would change my life...forever!
He comes from a secret place, far below the city streets
Hiding his face from strangers, safe from hate and harm
He brought me there to save my life
And now, wherever I go, he is with me, in spirit
For we have a bond, stronger than friendship or love,
And although we cannot be together, we will never, ever, be apart.
New York City, Underground
Hal Jordan and Isis were fixing up a new generator for an underground civilization known simply as the Tunnel World. With them were Trini Kwan, Tracy Partridge, Zack Taylor, Chris Partridge, Kimberly Hart-Oliver, Laurie Partridge, Jason Lee Scott, Keith Partridge, Samantha Dean, Jackie Burkhardt, Steven Hyde, Wonder Woman, and both Hawkman & Hawkwoman. An older gentleman, known only as Father, thanked them for their help as they moved into another chamber, where they met another man with long hair, like a lion's mane, a lion's face, and clawlike hands. He was tending to a baby in his crib. Isis asked him "How are you holding up, Vincent? I mean, you've lost so much in the past 6 months."
His response was "I miss her. They robbed her of her son, of her life. They robbed us of a glorious spirit and a loving soul. There is no reason, no excuse for..." He stopped suddenly, set Jacob gently in his crib, and dashed past the shocked heroes towards the upper tunnels.
"What got into him?" Trini asked.
"Yeah, I mean…what gives?" Hyde asked, for once completely surprised.
"He hasn't been the same since...I'll explain on the way, right now, time to find out why he just took off like that." Isis told them.
An hour before, Gotham City:
Tommy Oliver, the White Ranger, was helping the Batman with the capture of an unknown financial crook, and Two-Face, who was being bankrolled by the crook. Together, the 2 heroes stopped a shipment of cocaine from hitting the streets. Having trashed their hideout, they discovered so far a coke-processing plant, mounds of unrefined cocaine, countless hand guns, tons of money, and other items.
Tommy heard a woman screaming "VINCENT!" from the upper-level, and a man yelling "Shut up, bitch, no one's gonna hear you!" followed by a slapping sound. "BATMAN! Something's going on upstairs, I'm gonna find out what it is!"
"BE CAREFUL! We still don't know what these scum are capable of!" Batman yelled to him. With that warning still ringing in his ears, Tommy dashed up the stairs, to a room at the top. Smashing the door down, he discovered a woman tied to a bed, and a steroid case about to slug her.
Red hot anger and instinct took over, and soon the White Ranger kicked him across the room, snarling "So, you get your thrills & kicks beating up defenseless women, huh? Well, here's how I get mine, you no good son of a bitch!" Within seconds, Tommy trashed the man within an inch of his life, finally knocking him out. He then went to check on the woman, to see what her condition was, and got the shock of his life.
The woman, although sporting a black eye and a split lip, seemed to be in good physical condition. Long light brown hair framed her face, blue eyes still alert, voice gentle. However, she was still disoriented by her surroundings.
"You're...you can't be! Hold on, let me get you out of that thing!" Tommy quickly untied her, and helped her out of the bed, taking her downstairs to where Batman had basically just cleaned house. The Dark Knight had the same reaction when he saw her. Her only reply: "Please. You must help me get back to New York."
Tommy spoke up then. "I'd say a quick trip to New York is in order. But, Batman, do you really think that..."
Still stunned, Batman told him "Normally, I'd say no, but oddly enough, my instincts tell me that this woman really is Catherine Chandler."
Presently, Central Park, above the tunnels
"This is not a good place to be at night! Why did you ask to come here?" Batman asked.
"Catherine!" Tommy yelled.
But Catherine Chandler had one particular destination in mind, and nothing and no one was going to keep her from reaching it. Batman quickly took Tommy aside, and explained the one thing that no one else outside of the Tunnel world, Zordon, or the JLA knew.
At the same time, Isis & Hal revealed to the others the bond that Vincent & Catherine had. Jason asked "He could sense whenever she was in danger?"
Keith then asked "Then why couldn't he..."
Trini broke in. "I have an idea. She had just given birth to Jacob, and his empathy for her might have been temporarily transferred to him."
"Well, that explains that, but why is he acting like this now." Zack asked. They were following Vincent, who seemed to go faster.
Above, Batman & Tommy quickly raced after the woman in Central Park. "Is she really trying to get back to...him?" Tommy asked.
"It would be the one logical place for her to..." Batman quickly broke it off and motioned for Tommy to stop. Coincidentally, everyone else had followed Vincent above. What happened next seemed to come right out of an old romantic movie…or a fairy tale.
Vincent raced out into the night, calling "Catherine." To the amazement of everyone there, she ran right into his arms, crying "Vincent."
The Rangers & the Leaguers were in shock as Batman & Tommy quickly tried to explain to everyone what had happened. Kimberly said it for everyone there. "I guess it's really true. Love really does conquer all.
Soon, in father's chamber, Batman did his best to explain what was going on. "From what Tommy & I were able to discover, Gabriel had crooked doctors & scientists in his pocket, and was able to obtain from them a serum that, once in the body, simulates death for 96-98 hours. Once that was taken care of, he combed the morgues to find a deceased woman the same height, age, eye, hair color, & build as Catherine. A little plastic surgery, and you have Catherine Chandler's corpse."
Isis then asked "Why go to all that trouble?"
"I think I know." Jason spoke up. "This...Gabriel...probably wanted to drive Vincent insane, most likely to the point of suicide. That answered, all that remains is: how did he find out about them in the first place?"
"I don't know, but in any case, Gabriel's dead. However, his organization is still up and running, and with Rita repulse and Lex Luthor as part of this. Plus…Lorelei is back, and still gunning for both Luthor & Rita." Batman finished.
"Just what we didn't need, Lorelei's return." Keith said in disgust.
"How's Catherine doing?" Jason asked.
"She & Vincent haven't left each other's side since their reunion. Zack, Kimberly, Trini, Tommy, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, & the Hawks are with them now." Hal told them.
In Vincent's chamber, he, Catherine, and the JLAers present were talking about all that had happened. Zack had a question for them. "How are you going to explain this."
Laurie explained "Zack's right, I mean, you just can't walk back into the D.A.'s office Monday morning and say 'Hi, everyone, I'm back from the dead, how was your weekend?' Can you imagine?"
Kimberly added "Yeah, I can just see people screaming and fainting on the spot."
"Not to mention people calling for their psychiatrists." Chris added.
"Actually, I prefer to stay here with Vincent & my son. I would love to talk with some friends before I leave that life behind, but, are you sure that group won't cause any more trouble for my son?" Catherine asked.
"The League trashed the last of his holdings, so we're pretty sure he won't be causing you any more grief." Trini told her.
Right then, the communicators went off. "We read you, Zordon." Zack quickly spoke into the device.
"Rangers, although I am relieved to hear that Miss Chandler is alive, I do have some distressing news. Gabriel has connections to the one-time Legion of Doom, now known as the Legion of Apocalypse. This means that she is still in grave danger."
"I will not expose Catherine or my child to any more terrors. I have to stop them and make sure they do not bring their evil to this world." Vincent quickly vowed.
"Batman's already got our Investigative Branch checking Gabriel's group out now. Luthor & Rita were part of this…gulag, for want of a better word. It seems that some of their holdings…along with their people are in different parts of the country: Oahu, Hawaii; Los Angeles and Angel Grove, California; Quantico, Virginia; Denver, Colorado; Paris, France; Gotham City, New York; and Madrid, Spain. We're about to get in touch with the 5-0 team and let them know what's up." Black Canary told everyone.
"When do we get started?" Keith asked.
"I've called Charlie…and Dets. Starsky & Hutchinson. Some of us will go there." Hal told them, now in full Green Lantern mode.
"Some of us will have to head for Oahu. Julie, Kris, Dan, the Hawks, Firestorm, and I are going there." Flash told everyone.
"Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Laurie, Chris, Black Canary and I are in LA." Wonder Woman finished.
"GL, Jill, Kelly, Sabrina, Hyde, Jackie, Samantha, and I will head for Quantico. Nightwing and Robin can handle things in Gotham, but just in case…" Batman started.
"Say no more: Keith, Eve, Elle, Isis, and I, we've got Gotham." Jason concluded.
"J'onn, the Charmed Ones, and I, we've got Madrid." Megan told them.
"I've called the Titans, they've got Paris." Hawkwoman told everyone.
"That leaves Denver for Superman, Billy, Bill, Tracy, and myself…along with the Wild Force Rangers. Let's get started." Trini told them.
…AND SO IT BEGINS