POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK

CHAPTER 00 - "The Show Must Go On"

25th March 2011 - Midnight

The Road into Tamway

Brandon Dean drove his Sorento through the night, towards Tamway, his home town. Dozing in the passenger seat sat Dr Thomas Greene.

Both men were on what they collectively thought of as the wrong side of thirty years old, although Brandon wore it better. He wore his receding blond hair swept back for practicality more than anything. Dr. Greene, a GP, kept his closely shaved, and had a penchant for nice suits.

They were coming back from a medical conference that Thomas had been invited to speak at. Being a generous sort of guy, Brandon had offered to take him. It had been a boring day, but had given him plenty of time to work through the script of a play he wanted to put on with his amateur dramatic society.

Well into the second hour of the drive, the road seemed far more straight and more bleak than on the way out. Things had become altogether monotonous.

As they passed an oncoming car Brandon found himself staring into its headlights. Movement in his peripheral vision jolted him back to the road ahead. He swerved, narrowly avoiding a man standing stock still in the middle of the lane.

"What the hell?!" Thomas exclaimed, awaking with a start.

Brandon slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop on the hard shoulder. "Some idiot in the middle of the road."

"I'm not some idiot, gentlemen."

The two friends spun to face the source of the voice. Sat in the back seat was an old man with a long twisted beard, wearing a velvet smoking jacket. He smelt of cherries and tobacco.

"I'm the Storyteller," he said.

"You…" Brandon flicked a glance back out at the road, then back to the old man. "How did you get in here?"

"Child's play," he said, waving it off like it was no big deal. "Down to business. Mr Dean? Mr Greene? I'm here to give you both fair warning."

Thomas frowned. "Warning? About what?"

"A warning that what is to come will test the very foundations of your friendship." The Storyteller shuffled across the back seat and opened a door. Cool night air washed into Brandon's car.

"For now, all you need to know is that I'll be visiting you over the next few weeks and years with … instructions, shall we say."

He stepped out. By the time the door slammed closed the old man had disappeared once more.

Brandon turned to Thomas, a stunned expression on his face. "What just happened?"

"Something we should probably keep to ourselves…"

"You don't say," said Brandon, surprised to find himself laughing

::PRTS::

16th May 2012 - Evening

Ramsey Theatre, Tamway

Another rehearsal over, Brandon Dean watched Guilherme Alvarez de Almeida (also known as Will) and Scott Austin leave then locked the door. The pair were the final two members of the Ramsey Theatre Amateur Dramatic Society to do so that evening, as always seemed to be the case, but he never said no to an extra pair of helping hands.

Will was a tanned young man of Brazilian heritage currently studying at Tamway Technical College. He never went anywhere with our his red and grey college sports jacket. Scott on the other hand was a blonde kid still in high school. He'd never been the best actor in RamDram, and seemed better suited to the technical side of things, but since he was young and perhaps overly enthusiastic Brandon couldn't fault him.

He went back into the hall to do one final check, an 'idiot check' he liked to call it, before heading home himself, but as he did he arrived to find an old man standing stage centre, waiting for him. He didn't know the man or how he'd gotten into the building without him knowing.

Brandon called out a tentative hello, "Can I help you?"

"Come now, Mr Dean," the man said, "Don't tell you you've forgotten me already."

"I'm sorry, I don't know you," He lied. Something about the man seemed familiar. He just hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. "But is there anything I can do for you?"

In the blink of an eye the old man was standing next to him. Almost too close for comfort.

"Very amusing," He said, without a hint of laughing. "And as it so happens, yes, there is something you can do for me."

"What are you after, Storyteller?" Brandon took a step back. "I'd really hoped you were a bad dream…"

"Brandon, my boy," the strange man said, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Brandon recoiled.

"Don't touch me."

"I want you to find some things for me."

"What things?" said Brandon raising an eyebrow.

"The Hero Sparks, Mr Dean."

::PRTS::

Later that Same Evening

The Residence of Dr Thomas Greene

Dr Thomas Greene, rapped his knuckles against the door to the master bedroom of his posh yet affordable Tamway beach house.

"Gwen?" he said with concern. "Are you okay in there?"

His twin sister Gwendolyn had been visiting for the week, but had locked herself in the bedroom a number of hours ago. At first he thought she was taking a nap. Now he wore a mask of worry that did all it could to exaggerate the fact that he wasn't aging particularly well all things considered.

'It shouldn't be reacting like this…' he thought. 'It was supposed to make her better, not worse!'

He furrowed his brow in anger and whirled around so his back was to the locked door.

Yelling out into thin air, he shouted, "Storyteller! Get over here. This instant!"

He raises his wrist, revealing a bracelet hidden within his shirt sleeves. It was a wound leather job with a small black stone if obsidian. Upon the stone was an engraving of a calligraphic M. It's creator had called it a Soul Spark, or more specifically a Story Spark for the way it drew power from fiction instead of reality. The doctor hadn't however had time to study it's magic fully. All he cared about was the power it gave him.

Activating the spark with a thought, a thick oppressive fog burst from the bracelet, obscuring Dr Greene.

As the fog began to settle a voice, deep and warm, rang out. "What do you want?"

An armoured hand reached out from the cloud and point accusatively at the currently invisible Storyteller.

"You are not holding up your end of the bargain!"

"Our agreement was that I would help you gain the power you crave," said the Storyteller, "You have it, you've had a taste of my power and more. What you do with the Story Sparks I created for you is none of my concern."

With a swipe of his arm, Dr Greene banished the remaining fog, revealing his new, monstrous form. Over his pitch black, full body armour, he wore a Victorian style tailcoat, waistcoat and shirt. The golden chain of a pocketwatch trailed from a button hole to an inside pocket. His face had become that of a grizzled fox or wolf with a cybernetic eye, and upon his head sat a razor brimmed top hat.

"I think you knew the Wonderland spark would do this to my sister. I haven't deduced the entirety of your plan, but I know you're leading us somewhere…"

"You jump to conclusions" the Storyteller replied. "I see the soul of Moriarty resides well within you. Give your sister time to adjust to her new strength. Going from being so weak to so strong must be a shock."

Dr Greene snarled. "Watch your back, Storyteller. If you've harmed my Gwen, in any way, I will come for you… and I think you know how much danger you'll be in when that happens."

"Hmmm," said the invisible magical being. "Enjoy your new life, for one day I will return to collect on the favour you owe me-"

"And I look forward to it," spat the monstrous doctor, cutting him off short of a full sentence.

"Keep well, Enigma," the Storyteller said, teasing Dr Greene with the name he'd given his new transformed state.

The old man's voice faded away signalling he had gone. Sensing this, Enigma turned back to the bedroom door and spoke in as calming a voice as he could muster through a mouth for razor sharp teeth.

"Gwen?"

The door knob turned with a screech. The doctor stepped back.

It creaked open.

::PRTS::

18th July 2014 - 7:30pm

Ramsey Theatre

"Will," called Brandon, as the last remaining few filed out after another evening's rehearsal, "Could you stay behind for a few minutes? I won't keep you long."

They'd just finished a worryingly half hearted read-through of Les Miserable. Brandon had considered whether switching up the cast might help, but of course then they'd be right back at square one with people relearning their parts...

As Will Almeida stacked the final chair and made his way over, Brandon felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

"Sorry, hang on…"

He fished it out of his jacket. A text notification blinked across the screen. Sender unknown. He frowned and opened the message.

"Let the games begin, Mr Dean.

From your dear friend, Enigma."

"Mr D?" said Will, "Brandon... Hello?"

He pulled himself away from the screen, unsure of how long he'd been out of it.

"What's going on?" said the twenty three year old. He hadn't changed much and still wore his favourite red and grey college jacket. "You look like you got dumped."

"It's not that…" Brandon mumbled.

Thoughts streamed through his head at a thousand miles per hour. Whatever Thomas… no, Enigma had planned, Brandon had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be good. Worse of all Brandon didn't know if he was ready for the task laid out in front of him.

"Soooo… I've really got to get home and cook something," said Will, raising an eyebrow. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Brandon shook himself from his stupor.

"Sorry, Will."

If Enigma was on the move, he knew he had to get a move on. Will was as good a place to start as any. "Look.. Could you come backstage and help me for a second?"

Will shrugged. "No problem, I guess."

They passed through the small door beside the stage, and into the back room. Even today, weeks from any real performance, backstage was a mess of costume racks and left over props. Leaving Will hovering by the door, Brandon went straight for a padlocked chest currently hidden behind a plywood cut out bush. Dialling in the combination, he rummaged around inside.

"Gotta be honest, Mr D… you're freaking me out a little."

He continued to ignore the younger man as he dug through the chest's contents. "I know it's around here somewhere..."

After a second, Brandon came back up clutching a brown leather bracelet. Tied to the bracelet by way of an artistically woven brown thread was a smooth thumb sized piece of what looked like obsidian. As he turned, a noticeable red glow surrounded it, growing stronger and more vibrant the closer he held it to Will. The source of glow was an engraving; a segmented six-point star.

Brandon grinned. "I knew it!"

"What…" Will frowned. "What am I looking at here?"

"Humour me for a second, okay? Because this is going to sound certifiably nuts."

"Any worse than it already sounds?"

"I see your point." He chuckled, handing the bracelet to Will. "I need you to put this on and hear me out."

He shrugged and did as he was told. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but he felt drawn to it in a way he couldn't explain. The engraving shone brighter, bright enough for it's glow to fill the entire room.

"I hate to use you as a test subject, but you've just proved something for me. Within that stone are the skills and strengths, the soul of an influential person from history. Specifically, Nikola Tesla, the inventor."

"Uh-huh…"

"It's a Hero Spark," he explained, "a very powerful magical object if used correctly, and it's glowing because, well, I think you were meant to own it."

There was silence as Will processed the information. Then, in his usual reserved voice, he said, "And does it do anything besides light up dark rooms?"

"Here's the deal: hero sparks exist to make the world a better place. A man calling himself the Storyteller came to me and asked me to search the world for these sparks and protect them with my life. I don't know the full extent of their powers or their importance but the Tesla Spark should give you the ability to stand against injustice and make a real difference to the world."

"Like a power ranger?"

"Exactly," said Brandon, a hint of urgency now creeping into his voice. His expression mixed an excited grin with apprehension and a touch of worry.

"The message I got just now was from a man calling himself Enigma. He wants his own Spark so much, he'll do anything to get his hands on one. He even had a counterfeit Spark created-The Moriarty Spark-to fill the void but... I dread to think what he's capable of…"

"What's stopping me from handing this thing back, and forgetting this ever happened?" said Will. "Don't get me wrong. It sounds pretty serious and all, but why me?"

"Will. You're the only person it reacts to like that."

"So I don't have a choice? It's fight evil… or fight evil."

"Of course you have choice! There's nothing stopping from putting the spark back in the chest and forgetting I ever said anything." Brandon clutched Will by the wrist. His urgency had almost turned frantic now. "But then you'll be robbing the world of the hero it needs. I wish there was another way."

For what seemed like eons, Will studied Tesla's Hero Spark. Brandon wondered if he'd made the right choice entrusting his burden to a kid like him. The Storyteller had lumped similar burdens on Thomas and him, and he knew how disorienting it could be. It wasn't a question of strength of character. Will was good people. It was a matter of whether or not Brandon had the right to heap such responsibility on someone.

"And this Enigma guy. Pretty much going be a colossal pain in the-"

"Yeah..."

"Then I'm in," he replied, with barely a pause.

Brandon blinked at suddenness and took a step back to take in the situation. "He's going to come after you. And never let up. You know that, right?"

"I know," he said, steadily raising his wrist and clenching his hand into a fist. "But, you know me, if Enigma is going to go after innocent people while looking for these sparks then I've got to do something. Especially if I have the power to back it up."

Brandon reached out and clasped the young man's shoulder. "I knew I could count on you."

"Don't celebrate yet."

Brandon chuckled. He turned back to the chest and fished out four more leather bracelets. None had a shine to them.

"How about we find the owners of these, defeat Enigma and then plan the party?"

Author's Note

Hi all!

Its been a while I know. Lots of things have been going on with me, (including getting married, but that's besides the point!). I hate that I haven't been able to get then next chapter out for Wild Masquerade, and I really don't have an excuse... I have been working on it though. So hopefully sometime this year haha maybe

But I'm sure you're all wondering about this. Some of you may have read my other fic in the power ranger fandom... well, I feel like I've grown a lot as a writer since then, and no matter what I did I couldn't bring my self to revisit that AU I'd begun crafting. It just didn't feel right... So I came to a decision to mothball it and channel all that creativity into something new.

Power Rangers Twin Spark is the first instalment of a new series I've been planning for a while now.

It's set in what I call the "Power Rangers The Next" universe which runs pretty much the same as the canon time line we know and love up until the end of the RPM. From then on, I've basically scrapped the seasons I didn't like (Samurai and Megaforce) and replaced them with their Sentai counterparts where applicable, as well as getting rid of ones that ended up not fitting (Dino Charge - due to it's final episode). Things do depart pretty quickly after 2010 in this time line, and I may in future include other OC teams earlier in the time line, but it'll all be explained when it does crop up.

Now, I've decided to run Twin Spark as an SYOC (which stands for submit your own/original character if you've never heard of it before) almost exactly I did with Wild Masquerade. So naturally I'll be needing a few characters from you lovely lot.

I currently have 2/5 of the main team and a sixth ranger, which means I have space open for 8 other OCs. 3 of those will be part of the main team and are reserved for the submissions I believe fit the best for the story I want to tell and the characters I already have.

The other five slots willbe auxiliary rangers. They'll each have their time to shine, and hopefully an arc dedicated to each of them, but they'll be much like the extra rangers in Dino Charge (i.e., they'll be reoccurring characters, but the focus per se outside their arcs)

All I need is for you to fill in the form below, and send it to me in a PM. I won't accept anything in the reviews as it would spoil character development if I did, with everything out there in the open.

For this one I want characters of all ages, races, walks of life, etc. Not just the usual five teenagers/young adults.

The common element in this fic is the Ramsey Theatre Amateur Dramatic Society, and each of the main team OCs should be related to that in some way. RamDram accepts any one who wants to have a go at acting, or taking part in productions in other ways. They don't care about age. They don't have to be members at the time of their introduction, but they should have some interest in the theatre. The Auxiliary Rangers can be whatever you want.

TAKEN COLOURS

- Red (Will Almeida)

- White (Jiona Shimou)

- "Sixth" (TBA)

OC SUBMISSION FORM

(please, please, please delete anything in brackets before you send your completed form to me)

Name:

Age: (Any age between say 16 and 40)

Gender:

Nationality: (Yup. I don't just want people from America. Will is part Brazilian and the white ranger is Japanese. Or they can just be American. Anything goes.)

Ranger Colour: (Any colour you like, except the ones listed above as taken. I'll ask you to pick again if it clashes with someone else)

Hero Spark: (As mentioned in the fic, a Hero Spark is what our rangers draw their power from. It contains the strengths and characteristics of a famous person from history or the modern day, living or dead. The Red Ranger, Will, for example, has the Tesla Spark. Hero Sparks CANNOT be of fictional people, that's someone reserved for the villains. And each ranger can only have ONE SPARK. Apart from that, go crazy, be creative.)

Powers: (Each spark gives the rangers two abilities besides allowing them to morph. One PASSIVE and one ACTIVE. Using Will as an example again, his passive skill is Inventive Intuition allowing him to cobble together gadgets on the fly, but not retain the knowledge past that point. His active skill is Arc Corona, your basic attack using bolts of electricity. Again creativity is key, and the two powers should relate to the chosen Spark in some way. If you're stuck I'm more than happy to help on this one)

Zord: (I don't know if I'm going to use them yet... but I figure you may as well chuck an idea in just in case. This can be more or less anything. Think of a megazord in the style of Ninninger/Ninja Steel and you're not far off. If I do do zords, that's what they'll probably be like.)

Appearance:

Personality: (When it comes to this section I want something juicy. I want characters who I can play off against each other. Not like rebels or anything, I just don't necessarily want them all to get along swimmingly. Know what I mean? Naturally, the more you give me here, the better I'll be able to portray the dude!)

Background: (This doesn't have to be huge, but I at least want you to use they back story as a chance to justify their personalities, and more importantly drop and juicy little details I could potentially use as the basis for their focus chapters.)