Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, events, places etc. Anything else should be presumed to be the sole creation of the author.
Rating: T-May be some adult themes and language.
December in the city of Corinth was the one and only time of year that it actually snowed. Being a domed city, one of the luxuries was that everything, even the weather was controllable. They always restricted snow to a couple of weeks across the holiday period for the kids, so that they would have a White Christmas.
It had been almost a year since they had given up their morphers for what they had all believed was the last time. The final battle had been hard, and they were all glad when it was over, believing that Venjix was gone for good and that they could finally get on with their lives. Of course, things were not so simple. They rarely were in the real world, and as it turned out, Venjix had a backup plan. Just before the command centre fell onto his automated body and destroyed him, he had activated a wireless download to the nearest piece of technology that could take his central command code. That just so happened to be the Red Ranger's morpher.
Dr. K had taken the morphers from the Rangers when the mission was over, with every intention of storing them away for posterity. Originally she wanted to put them in a vault, deep beneath the Earth, and seal it forever, thus ensuring they would never see the light of day again, but the prominent families of Corinth had different plans. As the world was rebuilt, they wanted to create a museum to commemorate the past, and to honour the Rangers. Despite her protests, Corinth's parliament ruled that the Ranger technology was far too important as a historical artefact and forced her to place them in a museum exhibit. Unfortunately that was where things started to go wrong. Once they were placed in the exhibit, complete with security technology linked up to the web, Venjix uploaded himself to the system.
He didn't have full access to the forces he once had. In the year since his defeat, the world was slowly but surely being reclaimed, and so most of his then-inert facilities had been destroyed, but it seemed that Venjix had always had a contingency plan. His deadliest creation, one that apparently even he didn't trust to operate while he was in control, and only intended to activate as a last resort, had been awakened. Professor Cog had been waging an unrelenting war on the city since then.
Summer was sitting by the pool table, playing absent-mindedly with one of the pool balls while they waited. Colonel Hicks had been summoned to the Garage by Dr. K while she analysed data from their battle with Professor Cog. It was rare that he ever faced them himself; he was the only vessel for what remained of Venjix's master code, so he generally sent drones into battle, being reluctant to risk Venjix's existence. When they saw that he had left the compound and was headed for Corinth, the Rangers were only too quick to confront him, hoping to end the war once and for all.
"What's taking them so long?" Flynn sighed, running his hands through his hair as he paced intently. He was as impatient as the others to hear what Dr. K had to say on what had happened. Scott just put a hand on his shoulder.
"You know my wife." He reminded him. "She'll tell us what's going on once she figures it out."
Summer just went back to her little game, rolling the ball and bouncing it off the cushions carelessly. She, like the others, was becoming impatient. None of their scanners had registered any sign of Professor Cog once he disappeared, and they had a range of a few hundred miles. It was like he had literally disappeared. If that was the case, they would all be happy to return to their lives, but the fact was that without confirmation, none of them were ready to celebrate.
Mayor Truman and Vasquez came into the Garage, taking off his sunglasses as he did so. He had retired from the military after the initial victory over Venjix, and entered politics, winning the mayoral election by a landslide. As the "Hero of Corinth", it was a foregone conclusion; rumour had it even his opponent had voted for him. Vasquez had also left the military, and was now his personal bodyguard.
"Are they still in there?" He asked. Scott just nodded.
"She just wants to be thorough." He told his father. "She wants to be sure before she tells us what happened."
Ziggy was sitting on Tenaya's lap, holding their son gently in his arms. Life had been pretty good all things considered for him, and he wanted to keep it that way. In the time since the original war, he had fallen in love with the most amazing woman he had ever met, and he had worked with law enforcement to bring down the cartels. When he got together with Tenaya, that was one of the most amazing things that ever happened to him in his life. Once he knew that little Milo was on the way though, he had worked unendingly to ensure that his son was raised in a better world. Although he had always hoped that retirement was exactly that following his Ranger days, he took up the morpher again without a second thought.
Dillon was over by the weights area, benching ridiculously heavy weights. Although as a result of his implants, his strength was not only augmented, but consistent, it was a pointless endeavour, and he knew it. He would never get any weaker or stronger, but any time he was worried, he always worked out. It was therapeutic to him in a way. As the door to the lab opened, and Dr. K came out with Hicks, they all quickly stopped what they were doing and ran over.
"So what..."
"...happened?" Gem and Gemma asked. Despite everything, even though both had grown and matured, whenever times were stressful, they still reverted to their old ways. Gemma was now married to Hicks, and Gem was a captain in the local law enforcement division of the military, but when the threat of Venjix reared its head, they both regressed to their 'boom twins' mentality.
"I analysed the area, and it seems there is a large concentration of anti matter particles." She informed them.
"Anti-matter?" Flynn asked. "Isn't that the stuff that only exists in a Halon collider?"
"That is affirmative Ranger Blue." She replied. This got all of their attention. Since the final battle, she had started to become more emotionally open, even beginning a relationship with Scott that had ended in their wedding only a couple of months previously. She had stopped referring to the others by their Ranger designations long ago. If she was regressing to that, they were sure something was seriously wrong. "How much do you understand of Quantum Physics and Philosophy?"
"I once saw a few episodes of Quantum Leap." Flynn replied honestly. She just rolled her eyes.
"The term 'Universe' is kind of misleading." She began her explanation. "As you know, there is no such thing as fate. Everything that occurs is a result of active choice. Like on a road, you can go left, or right."
"OK?" Summer asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Whenever a decision is made, or a course of action has more than one result, it's kind of like a split in the road." She told them. "There isn't one 'universe'. There are multiple timelines and dimensions. Any time a decision is made or a course of action takes place, a new dimension is created. There are literally billions of dimensions in existence. Each one born from one subtle diversion of causality."
"Does anyone have a co-coda mol?" Flynn sighed. "I'm getting a headache just thinking about it."
"The presence of anti-matter within our universe shows that Professor Cog has jumped across the space-time continuum to another dimension." Dr. K stated. "Whatever he is planning there, he has to be stopped."
"So how are we meant to get there?" Dillon asked her, racking his weights and playing with his wedding ring. "I mean, if it is another dimension..."
"I have been working on new software for the Paleomax Megazord." She replied. "It should allow you to take a train ride into another dimension."
"Well, you said it yourself, there are billions of dimensions." Flynn added. "How can we be sure to find the right one?"
"I tracked the energy signatures across the space/time continuum." She answered. "Your weapons fire signatures have only appeared in one other, so I am confident that is the right one."
"Alright, let's move out." Scott replied.
"Wait!" Hicks blurted out. "Professor Cog isn't the only threat. We can't leave the city unprotected."
"Gem, Gemma, you will remain behind." Dr. K told the twins. "You can form a megazord by yourselves. You are the logical choice to remain. Everyone else will go."
"So...how are we getting there again?" Ziggy asked.
"You're taking the train." Dr. K reminded him. As they all filed in the direction she indicated, Flynn came up to Scott's side.
"Does it not freak you out when she seems to know everything?" Flynn asked him. Scott just smiled.
"You have no idea." He replied.
In their own dimension, the Samurai Rangers were training in the dojo. Due to the weather, training outside was not an appealing option. As they were working hard, the Gap Sensor sounded, and Serena ran into the dojo.
"Guys, something freaky is going on." She told them. "The Gap Sensor is going mental, but there are no Netherworld energy signatures anywhere."
Jayden was puzzled by this turn of events. The Gap Sensors were only meant to indicate Nighlock attacks. He had no idea what, if anything, they were sounding for, but he knew one thing. If the Gap Sensors were sounding, then it couldn't be good.
"We'll figure that out later." Jayden told her. "In the meantime, guys, let's move out!"
It wasn't long afterwards that the Rangers arrived on a motorway overpass, only to find no Nighlocks in sight. There weren't even moogers. They saw a bunch of...things...attacking motorists. They didn't know what they were, but they seemed to be some form of robots.
"OK, so Xandred's caught up to the 21st century?" Mike asked as they arrived, hearing the bleeping and electronic sounds coming from the creatures before them.
"They don't seem so tough." Kevin commented. "Look at them, their attack patterns are so rigid and mechanical. You can see their attacks coming a mile away!
"Well, let's wrap this up quickly then." Mike commented, rushing forward with his spin-sword at the ready. "Let's turn these things into..."
As he spun around, and his spin sword connected with the breast plate of the first of the grinders, it just stopped dead. The robot looked down to the blade, which had only managed to cause a superficial nick in its breast plate, before looking back up to him.
"OK, that can't be good." Mike commented as it raised its weapon. "Oh fu..."
He was blasted back, landing in a heap several feet away.
"Mike!" Emily screamed, seeing her boyfriend smacked down so dismissively.
"Concentrate." Jayden told her as he turned his Spin Sword into the Fire Smasher and charging the cogs with a savage battle cry.
In another part of town, Bulk was heading to the supermarket for some supplies when the level crossing barrier came down. He looked either way, seeing no signs of a train coming.
"Great." He muttered. "Another pointless waste of..."
Just then, there was a loud explosion and a huge flash of blinding light, at which a strange looking train appeared before him. Each of the carriages looked like a dinosaur of some description. He watched as five Rangers stepped off the train.
"Alright, Dr. K was worried about air quality." Scott stated. "What's the story Flynn?"
The Blue Ranger held up a device, sweeping it around, before looking to it and nodding.
"The air's fine." Flynn told him. "We're fine to de-morph."
With that, they all de-morphed, taking up their civilian forms and the train disappeared. Bulk got out of the car, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"You...you...you're Power Rangers!" He stammered. Dillon just approached him, patting him on the shoulder.
"I'd recommend you don't drive for the rest of the day." He commented. Scott's morpher bleeped, and he checked the readout.
"There's Venjix activity less than a mile away." He told them.
"I'll say." Summer replied, pointing to an overpass as an explosion sounded. They all ran off in the direction of the battle.
"Didn't that guy look a lot like President Bulkmeyer?" Ziggy asked as they ran towards the overpass.
"Don't be daft Ziggy." Flynn commented. "What would the last President be doing driving around in a Skoda?"
Back at the sight of the battle, the Samurai Rangers were giving the Grinders everything they had. They were far more skilled than their mechanical opponents. Their attacks, as Kevin had pointed out, were rigid, mechanical, and predictable, while the Samurai were skilled martial artists. Unfortunately though, that was where they had their sole advantage. Their opponents were not falling to their attacks, at least, not for long. The moogers were organic creatures; they had pain receptors, meaning that they felt pain. These robots however, did not, and far from being merely armoured opponents, where one could hope to find a chink in the armour and strike a vital organ, they had no organs.
Jayden alone was managing to actually take some down. His fire smasher, by nature of its sheer weight, was smashing the robots apart. They were overwhelmed though, and exhaustion was becoming a factor. Jayden knew that sooner or later, they would be over run.
"Hey, you look like you could use a little help!" He heard someone shout. He looked up to see a group of people, all wearing leather jackets standing ready.
"I don't know who you are, but..."
"RPM Get in Gear!" They all called out, morphing into Ranger form. The Samurai Rangers all stood, looking on in awe.
"Mike, you're the Ranger geek." Kevin commented. "Who are these guys?"
"I have absolutely no idea." He replied as the RPM Rangers pulled out their Nitro Swords and started to plough into the grinders. Unlike the Spin Swords though, they seemed to have no problem in damaging the grinders. Indeed, as soon as the RPM Rangers joined the battle, the grinders fell with almost dismissive ease. The Samurai all assembled, watching as the RPM Rangers smashed the grinders into oblivion.
"OK, is anyone else feeling a little redundant?" Mike asked. Just then, the last of the grinders fell. The RPM Rangers all de-morphed, before heading over to the Samurai.
"So you guys are the Rangers?" Scott asked. Jayden just nodded, at which Scott laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "You're welcome."
"So, is there somewhere we can talk?" Summer asked them.
"Aye." Flynn added. "Preferably somewhere a little less public?"
Mia just pointed the direction of the Shiba House, and they all started to walk. Emily came to her side.
"I didn't understand what he said." She whispered. "But I just LOVE that accent!"
Mia just nodded in agreement as they followed the group.