The Tainted and the Broken

Chapter 1

Dillon groaned as he slowly came awake, his entire body aching. Damn, what the hell had he been fighting last night? One hand clutching at his stomach, he shifted onto his side. He opened his eyes slowly, looking around. Immediately he knew something was wrong. This wasn't his room; in fact, this didn't look like any of the rooms in the Garage at all. He moved to sit up despite how his body protested, his mind screaming at him. Find out where you are, find the team, find Ziggy.

Before he could get very far, a small, delicate hand pressed against his shoulder, urging him back down. A soft but tense, familiar, voice told him, "Lay back down. You shouldn't move much yet." He frowned, trying to place the voice and looked up.

The young, petite woman standing above him stared back at him, her blue eyes sharp with intelligence, pain, and wariness. "Doc?" he asked, finally allowing the much weaker girl to push him down. Doctor K nodded slightly, reaching down on the bed stand for something. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you Series Black. Tilt your head please." she requested.

He did as asked, wincing when she pressed what felt like freezing cold metal in the curve of his neck, resting just above his pulse. There was the quick sound of rushing air before something pierced his skin, cold flooding through his veins. He jerked away, his gaze moving back towards the woman's cool, focused eyes as she pulled away as well, replacing whatever she had back on the table. "What was that?" he asked, a feeling of unease washing through him. A strange sense of wrongness filled him; something about the young doctor was different, off.

"Pain killer." She replied crisply, not seeming to notice his sudden wariness. "Series Black, what's the last thing you remember?"

He looked away from her, trying to think. After a long moment it came back to him in quick flashes.

Working on his car as Ziggy slept curled up in the passenger seat, unaware of the world around him.

Hearing the alarm blare, shocking Ziggy awake.

Driving out to the battlefield.

Morphing.

Fighting with Grinders and Tenaya, feeling Ziggy backing him up.

Watching as the new attack bot messed around with a large sphere of energy in the middle of the street.

Seeing Ziggy suddenly tumbling towards that sphere and racing to save him, instincts telling him that him hitting it wouldn't be good.

Somehow taking Ziggy's place in the stumble towards the now crackling energy.

Having one second for relief that Ziggy was safe before he slammed into the sphere, pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before racing through him.

Getting a quick look at Ziggy's wide, shocked eyes and hearing a horrified shout of his name before he was falling.

And catching one crystal clear look of those same chocked brown eyes, somehow darker and colder before he fainted.

"I was fighting." He told her, trying to piece together what had happened into words. "There was this sphere of energy and I hit it. I was falling, in a hell of a lot of pain, and then I passed out." He looked up at her for an explanation. She was the scientist, she had probably already figured out what the sphere was.

But the expression on her face was slightly confused and curious, her eyes examining him carefully. "I will have to run a few tests on you. See how the energy affected your mechanical parts." She told him calmly. "You should sleep though; your body could use the rest."

He tried to protest but before he could she pressed the cool metal object from before against his neck. There was the rush of air and cold seeped into his body. Almost immediately it was followed by a strong wave of tiredness. He blinked his eyes drowsily up at her, trying to make his suddenly blank mind to piece together the confusing situation.

She looked back at him, one hand absently coming up to flick her long hair over her shoulders and...- wait, what? He tried to focus harder, his mind finally registering what he was seeing. Doctor K's face had lost what remained of her baby-fat, leaving the oval shape smooth and slim. Her skin had a small tan like she had finally seen some sun. Her once short bob-cut hair now fell past her shoulders and down in back in straight, loose strands. She had lost her white lab coat and school-like uniform in exchange for a light lavender-colored shirt and earth-brown suede skirt that fluttered around her feet and simple white slip-on shoes. This was not the Doctor K he knew.

But before he could do anything with the revelation, whatever she had given him kicked in and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

His sleep was restless this time, intermittent with brief periods of hazy wakefulness. He could remember waking up to Doctor K hovering over him, a small silver scanner in her hands. He could remember hearing a soft, feminine voice that wasn't Summer's or the Doc's or Gemma's but was still familiar whispering to him. He could remember waking up to see chocolate brown eyes swimming above him, blank and cold and seemingly lifeless. He could remember Doctor K's and Ziggy's voice-which was different, empty and emotionless- talking to each other lowly, so low he couldn't make out the words.

When he woke up, he was alone.

He shifted, slowly pushing himself into a sitting position. His body didn't hurt like it did before but a small thumping ache was still there. He glanced around, taking a better look at the room. It was white-washed and plain. Not a hospital because he knew the hospital rooms and this wasn't one of them. But someone had gone through a lot of work to replicate the feel of it. He threw his legs over the side off the bed, intent on figuring out what was going on.

Just as he stood fully, the door opened and Doctor K entered the room. Her lab coat was back on her shoulders but she wasn't in uniform yet and her hair still spun down her back in straight, untouched, black locks. He stiffened, his eyes narrowing on her. Something was very wrong here.

This time the young woman did notice his unease, freezing in the doorway. The two stared at each other for a long moment before the Doc asked him, fake casual like, "What's the date, Series Black?"

He stared at her, not understanding the question, then, against his better instincts, he answered. "November 9th, 2060. It's a Tuesday." At least, he thought it was.

Doctor K shook her head at the answer. "Sunday." she told him. "August 24th, 2062."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How long was I out?" he asked. Even he knew he couldn't have slept that long without severe muscle entropy. "There is no way I was asleep for just under two years."

"Since you got here, about two days." she answered. "I examined the residual energy clinging to you. You apparently got thrown through a temporal distortion." At his blank look she sighed and rolled her eyes. And suddenly his Doc was standing in front of him because even the best actors in the world couldn't duplicate that irritated, 'I'm surrounded by idiots' look. "A ripple in time." she explained. "When you got caught in it you were thrown two years into the future."

He nodded slowly. "Nice story. How do I know this isn't a trick or something?" he asked. A scandalized expression slid across her face and she suddenly looked very angry. "You think this is a trick?!" she demanded heatedly. "Trust me, if I was going to play any kind of joke, it wouldn't involve you. We all have it hard enough without dragging up the past!" Her tone lowered suddenly and the next words seemed to be said more to herself than anything. "He has it hard enough."

Finally she shook her head and moved to walk out. She paused in the threshold and looked back at him. "Come on. Ziggy wants to talk to you." she told him.

His eyes widened. "Ziggy?" he asked. She nodded and pointed towards the bed stand. "There should be clean clothes in there for you. It's all we have; even Gem's clothes will be a bit too small on you."

He nodded and dug out the clothes, Doctor K disappearing out the door. He changed quickly into the black shirt and jeans which seemed a bit too small as well but would have to do. After that was done he followed K out the door to see her waiting patiently near the stairs. He glanced around, frowning as he took a good look. "This isn't the Garage." he muttered.

"We changed locations a year and a half ago." She told him. "The lab at the Garage was destroyed beyond repair in an attack. Along with the fact that we couldn't salvage anything, the attack brought to our attention just how defenseless it was against attacks. So we moved here. It's closer to the center of the city anyway."

They were all valid arguments but somehow he sensed there was another reason for the move she wasn't saying. They moved silently towards the entrance where he found the Rangers store of vehicles. Immediately he knew something was wrong. Scott's car, Flynn's truck, Summer's motorcycle, and his own Pontiac were missing. In their place was a smooth forest green Aston Martin, a dark violet Honda sports bike, and a silver Infiniti. There was also an empty space next to the Infiniti where another car could go.

He frowned but before he could ask what had happened to his car, Ziggy's familiar, soft tenor met his ears. "Let's try attack pattern Echo, Gem."

Turning his head, he got his first good look at this supposed future version of his best friend. And suddenly any doubts he had that this wasn't some twisted form of time-travel disappeared. Ziggy stood just outside the building, his back towards them and his head tilted skyward. Ziggy's hair was longer than he remembered, falling just past his shoulders in messy curls. Unlike Doctor K's longer hair, which had obviously been done on purpose, Ziggy looked more like he just hadn't found the time to cut it. He had traded his normal skinny blue jeans and dark green, almost black tee-shirt for light green cargo pants and a tight, long-sleeved black shirt. His Series Green uniform leather jacket was still resting over his shoulders.

Doctor K approached him. Before she could say anything he held up a hand and shook his head. K held her tongue, stepping back by Dillon's side. "We'll be done soon." Ziggy stated, his tone clipped. Dillon's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the curt tone which was so unlike the Ziggy he knew.

Ziggy's eyes continued to scan the sky as he ignored him and Dillon finally dragged his gaze from his drastically different friend to whatever he was looking at. A small fighter plane flashed through the fake sky, pulling maneuvers Dillon would never try with a Zord. After another minute Ziggy asked the air in front of him, "What do you hear Gem?"

Although Dillon didn't hear anything Ziggy nodded like he had gotten a reply. "Alright. Grab the guns and bring in the cat." He ordered, making Dillon frown in confusion. Once that was said, the Ranger Green turned to them, his eyes cool and detached and startlingly lifeless. He stared at Dillon blankly for a long moment then turned his head to look at Doctor K. "He check out?" he asked, ignoring Dillon.

She nodded. "He's clean. According to him it's Tuesday, two years ago. My tests confirm it." she replied. She paused slightly and told him, "I'm sorry Ziggy." Ziggy shrugged and waved away the apology. "Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." He replied.

He moved, walking towards them then brushing past them silently. By now Dillon's head was spinning and he really wanted the world to go back to normal. "Ziggy!" he called. The younger man's pause seemed reflexive, his head turn unintended, and his gaze unwilling. Now that he had Ziggy's attention, Dillon found he had no idea what to say. He had to settle with a plain, "Hey."

Ziggy turned towards him fully and approached him, his stare cutting, cold, and relentless. It was like he was searching for something. They stayed like that for a long time, no one moving or saying anything. Dillon resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably under his friend's stare, waiting for him to finish his examination. The tense moment was broken when a burnt golden Jaguar rolled easily into the building, parking in the empty space next to the Infiniti. Dillon was surprised to feel faintly relieved when the familiar, unchanged face of Gem stepped out, jogging over to them.

"Hey Doc." he greeted with a smile. "So, boss, what did you think? Can we keep the shift? I know Gemma's really excited about learning to fly." He asked in a rush. Dillon felt shock ripple through him when he realized Gem wasn't talking to Doctor K but to Ziggy. Since when did Gem call Ziggy 'Boss'? Since when did Gem speak in complete sentences? Since when did he and Gemma not do the whole twin talk? And on that note, where the hell was Gemma?

"She's out." Ziggy told him, not glancing his way at all. Dillon frowned, pretty sure he hadn't said anything out loud. Gem jerked slightly, spinning to stare at him with wide eyes suddenly filled with caution. "Um, hi Dillon." he greeted nervously, making Dillon wonder why they were all so scared of him. Gem looked back at Ziggy questioningly. "Boss?"

Ziggy looked at him again with that searching gaze, measuring and assessing him. "He's good." Ziggy said and tension Dillon didn't even realize was in the room drained out as both Doctor K and Gem relaxed. Ziggy remained unchanged though as he turned to leave in a clearly dismissive gesture to them all.

Before he could get very far Doctor K called out to him. "Ziggy!" The young man stopped again and looked back at her. A conversation seemed to pass between them before Ziggy sighed through his nose. "Gem, go... wait for your sister outside." he ordered. "Kat, take 'Aya and go examine the area where he appeared. Let's get him home."

The two immediately moved to follow the instructions, leaving him and Ziggy alone together. Ziggy met his eyes squarely. "I'm going to be as succinct as possible here Dillon. I don't like you. I don't like the fact that you're here. I can't wait to find out how to get you gone. I am only dealing with you because I have to. But hurt a single member of my team and the protection my acceptance of you gives you will be gone."

"That's pretty succinct." he agreed, unable to stop the choking sensation he was getting. What had happened to the Ziggy he knew? The innocent, naive, kind-hearted Ziggy who would never say that to anyone? What had made him so cold? They stared at each other for a long time, neither speaking. It was strange because normally Ziggy would be scrambling to find a topic of conversation to fill the silence, anything that would get him to respond. He didn't quite know how to fill the silence now that Ziggy wasn't trying.

Ziggy's lips thinned and he jerked his gaze away suddenly. "Two years is a long time. People change." he told him. There was a moment's pause as Doctor K ran past them to leave the building, a young woman he didn't know following her. She was wearing black dress boots that traveled up long, muscled legs to the knee, where a pair of black jeans moved out from beneath the top from being tucked in to rest on fine-boned, delicate hips. A cut of smooth, tanned skin showed before being hidden by a dark violet shirt that had black lacing up both sides. On top of that was what looked like a Ranger uniform black leather jacket. She had long, straight brown hair traveled down her slim shoulders with the bangs done up in braids. Her face, tanned, unblemished with dark brown eyes much like his own, was familiar but he couldn't place it.

Dillon turned to watch them leave, arching an eyebrow at the emblem of a leopard stitched in purple on the back. The girl was defiantly a Ranger. "When do we run out of colors?" he asked without thinking, forgetting the situation. Ziggy snorted despite himself, in amusement or annoyance he couldn't tell, and shook his head. Dillon looked at him. "That 'Aya?" he asked, remembering the name Ziggy had said.

"That's just a nickname. You should recognize her full name. Tenaya, remember?" Ziggy's tone of voice made it seem more like a statement than a question. Dillon frowned, glancing back the way the two women had gone. "Tenaya? Tenaya Seven?" he asked in startlement.

Ziggy gave him a look that seemed to say 'who else?' Dillon frowned, wondering if that was safe. "I trust Tenaya with my life." Ziggy said and Dillon got the impression that it wasn't meant to comfort him. He wondered if he meant it as a warning not to hurt her.

The Green Ranger turned so his back was facing him. "On the bottom floor is the garage, the kitchen, the lab, and the training room. On the second floor is the library, the rec room, the medi-lab, and two bathrooms, one for the girls, one for the boys. The bedrooms are on the third floor. You don't go into either lab without an escort, you don't touch the vehicles, and you don't go into the girl's bathroom. Understand?" he asked.

"Yeah." Dillon acknowledged. Ziggy nodded slightly, before turning to walk away. Dillon frowned, his jaw tightening. "Why do you hate me so much?"

Ziggy paused at the question, looking back at him. It wasn't the wide-eyed innocent look his Ziggy always had. It was sharp and cruel and just slightly pained. "It's easier to hate you, Dillon." Ziggy whispered.

---

Later that day, Dillon rummaged through the cabinets in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat. As he did so, a voice called out from behind him. "Cereal's in the top left cabinet."

He paused at the words, looking over his shoulder to see the young woman leaning against the door frame staring at him. He recognized the voice and the outfit but the face dragged up another memory. Memories of a young girl staring at him with blank, unseeing eyes. Memories... of his sister. "You're her." he whispered.

She arched an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "You mean he didn't tell you? Figures." she muttered. She smirked slightly and whistled out the tune his pocket-watch played. "Yup, I'm your sister."

He dropped his arms down to his side, wondering how much more of this he could take before he completely cracked. He wandered over to the counter and sat down heavily, running a tired hand over his face. Tenaya's eyes were pitying as she approached him. "How you dealing with this?" she asked.

"I'm... not." he answered. "I'm trying really hard not to think about any of it."

Tenaya patted his arm comfortingly as she brushed past him. "Oh, poor boy." She sympathized. She came back to the counter with two bowls of cereal, one of which she placed in front of him. They sat there in silence, both eating as Dillon tried to come to terms with what was going on. Finally he spoke up about something that had been bothering him for a long time. "Where's the rest of the team?" he asked.

His sister paused, swallowed what was in her mouth, and dropped her eyes. She shifted uncomfortably as she thought about what to say. "They're... not here." She finally told him.

"Outside the dome?" he asked, not understanding. She shook her head. "They're just not here."

---

Ziggy sat in his room on the window seat, the side of his body pressed against the cool glass plane. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his hands resting on them. Dillon's old pocket watch lay open in his cupped palms, the soft melody whispering past his ears. He jammed his eyes shut, the memory of Scott's voice playing in his head.

"Hold on to this Ziggy. He'd want you to."

He took a deep but shaky breath and opened his eyes slowly. A few small tears slid down his cheeks and he didn't bother to brush them away. "I miss you." he whispered. "Really badly."

"I love you Dillon."