A/N – I've come up with some pretty random ideas in the past but this is probably the craziest. I was sifting through my desk at work and found a post-it that simply said "What if one of the clones was a former Power Ranger?" So I ran with it and created this. For Orphan Black it's mid Season 1 and as for the PR-verse...you'll see.
Chapter 1 – Feeling Blue
The city of Minneapolis was experiencing one of the coldest winters for nearly twenty years. A mixture of snow and ice lay on the ground and a bitterly cold wind chilled the residents of the city to their very bones. Only the bravest souls chose to step outside when the temperature was getting close to freezing. Even the bright winter sunshine failed to warm up the residents traversing the slippery sidewalks. One such person was waiting patiently at a crossing with a warm cup of coffee in one hand and her phone pressed up against her ear. Her vibrant red coat stood out against the drab blacks and greys of everyone around her. A couple of people stared curiously at the young woman, not just because of her brightly coloured coat. Her overall appearance was pretty unique, dark rimmed glasses complete with heavy eye mark-up. Completing her look was an impressive array of dreadlocks, which had been piled up into a messy bun. She was Cosima Niehaus, a student at the nearby University of Minnesota.
It wasn't just her fashion sense that made Cosima unique. She was a clone, one of many recently found in North America and Europe. Of course everyone around her didn't know that, her clone status was known to a select few people, nicknamed Clone Club. Currently they consisted of fellow clones Alison Hendrix, Sarah Manning and Sarah's foster brother Felix. Several others had been identified and subsequently eliminated by a lone gunman. Someone was murdering the clones and they were doing everything in their power to keep themselves safe. That was the topic of Cosima's phone call at that very moment, "I told you Sarah, I'm perfectly safe here".
"I would still feel happier if you moved to Toronto with us", Sarah replied from the other end of the phone.
The lights turned green and Cosima began to cross the street, "Sarah I can't just drop everything and move to a different country", she attempted to reason with her clone, "my thesis is due in a couple of months. If I fall behind then I've totally wasted the last few years of my life".
Cosima didn't need to be in the same room as Sarah to feel her frustration, the British clone was practically transmitting it down the phone. The dreadlocked student hadn't known the latest addition to the Club for long but she didn't strike Cosima as someone who took no for an answer. "You don't need to be on campus to work though", Sarah kept the pressure on, "you could work remote or some shit like that".
"Sarah, I can take care of myself", Cosima growled down the phone. This wasn't the first time she had this argument with Sarah, even Alison had offered her two cents on the matter, "DYAD hasn't made a move on me here. There's no point moving from where there's no activity to where all the shit's going down".
There was silence on the line and a small smirk of satisfaction appeared on Cosima's face. She had used logic in her argument and Sarah was struggling to come up with an answer, "What about that French bint, can't be a coincidence that she's shown her face in town at the same time as Leekie".
"For the last time I'm fully aware that Delphine has been sent to spy on me", Cosima's patience was running out. It was no secret that Cosima was smitten with the blonde haired woman, even though it was highly likely that she had been sent by DYAD to act as her new monitor. Cosima kept trying to reassure herself that she wouldn't be tricked by the woman because she knew that she had been sent by DYAD. At least that was the reason she gave herself for keeping in contact with Delphine and not telling her where to go.
There was a loud groan was Sarah, causing Cosima to dramatically roll her eyes, "Fine, be a stubborn bitch".
Cosima snorted, "Fine, I will", she pulled the phone away from her ear and terminated the call, "bitch", she muttered to herself before stuffing the phone back into her pocket. It was a little childish to hang up on Sarah like that but there was no point continuing with that conversation. Sarah was right about one thing, Cosima was stubborn and wouldn't change her mind easily. Then again neither would the British clone, clearly stubbornness what a genetic trait they all shared. The student took one final swig from her coffee cup before throwing it into the trash. With the heat of the liquid in her system she should be able to reach dorm room without feeling the effects of the cold.
Burying her hands into her pockets, Cosima couldn't help but stew on the conversation with her clone. The others viewed her as a helpless nerd, completely incapable of defending herself if things got a little tricky. Alison was a proficient with a gun, thanks to some firearms training from Beth and heavens knows how many scraps Sarah had gotten into over the years. Cosima though was seen as an easy target, how little they knew about their sister clone.
Cosima pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, the wind was really beginning to howl and her exposed skin was beginning to sting. She was desperate to get into her warm room, fortunately there was a short cut up ahead which would shave a few minutes off her walk. The dreadlocked student took a right hand turn into a narrow alleyway between a couple of apartment blocks. The alleyway smelt disgusting and was covered in trash and heaven's knows what else.
Cosima suddenly became very aware that there were no windows at street level. If something happened down this alley then there would be no one around to prove a witness statement to the Police. She tried her best to push the negative thought out of her head and get out of this miserable part of the city as fast as possible. The student was nearly out the alley when someone stepped into her path, blocking her exit. He was a skinny man with shaggy hair and a five o'clock shadow. His beady eye bore into Cosima with a hungry look, "Well lookie way we have here", he said with his nasally voice, "you lost little girl".
The dreadlocked student took a couple of paces back but she bumped into something. Twisting her head, she looked directly into the chest of a burly man with a shaved head. Clearly he was the muscle of this particular partnership, "Look I don't want any trouble", Cosima held her hand up defensively.
"Neither do we", the shaggy haired man took a couple of paces closer. Cosima tried to remain as calm as possible outwardly but inside she was shaking like a leaf, "How smoothly this transaction goes depends entirely on you".
"Hey I'm a student", Cosima replied, "does it look like I've got any money on me". She fumbled in her pocket and tossed a small, clear plastic bag at the feet of the skinny man, "That's all I've got on me, sell that if you want some cash".
The man looked down at the small bag of weed with contempt, kicking it away with his foot, "Please, I stopped dealing weed when I was in High School". He gave the clone the once over, Cosima could feel his eyes undressing her. It made her feel extremely nauseous, "Saw the phone you were using, that could fetch a few dollars", he continued, "of course, my friend and I could be persuaded in other ways".
Swallowing deeply, Cosima pushed her 'Clone Phone' deeper into her pocket. It didn't matter though as the larger of the two men roughly pulled it out. He gave it the once over before tossing it over to his friend, "See that wasn't too hard", the sound of the shaggy haired man's voice made Cosima's skin crawl, "Now, on to the more enjoyable method of payment". He took a step towards Cosima but the clone spat in his face, stopping him in his tracks. He wiped the phlegm off his cheek with a toothy grin on his face, "That was a mistake".
Cosima felt a strong arm wrap itself around her throat and she instinctively tried to pull it away with her hands. It was no use, the burly man was much strong than her and he was slowly cutting off the oxygen to her brain. His friend reached into his flannel jacket and flashed a small pocket knife in her direction, "Too bad that I've got to mess up that pretty face of yours", he chuckled without a hint of remorse.
Struggling against the grasp of her captor, Cosima knew there was only one way for her to escape without serious injury. She was a little rusty, going almost fifteen years without practicing seriously but her knowledge and training should be enough to take care of these two. She swung her right leg swiftly, striking the burly man in the knee cap. As he cried out in pain, his grip loosened just enough for Cosima to strike him in the nose with the back of her head. The man recoiled in agony with blood pouring down from his nose.
The shaggy haired man looked shocked that this tiny girl had been able to immobilise a much bigger opponent without breaking a sweat. His confident mask soon slid back into place, she was still outnumbered and anyone could get in a lucky shot, "You'll pay for that", he growled.
Cosima smirked and quickly shook off her jacket, leaving her in just her loose fitting maroon pants and a three quarter length blue top, "Yeah, that's what they all say". Quick as a flash she threw her jacket at the skinny man so that it obscured his vision. He scrambled around blindly for a couple of moments until he was able to pull the coat away. The second he did, Cosima's fist caught him on the side of the face with a sickening crack. The man stumbled into some metal trashcans, knocking them over with a loud rattle.
By now the burly man had recovered and stomped towards the dreadlocked clone. She sensed him coming and quickly dodged one of his meaty fists. Cosima kicked him in the back to help him on his way and he lost his footing, colliding with his friend, "Watch it you big lug", the skinny man groaned. The burly man growled in anger and once again charged towards Cosima. The student rolled her eyes, clearly this guy wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. A swift kick to his gut bent him over in pain before a straight kick to his temple knocked the much larger man out cold.
"If you give me back my phone, I'll go easy on you", Cosima held out her hand expectantly. She was being cocky and her old friends would chastise her for taunting an opponent. They lived in a perfect world though, sometimes you needed to push your opponents buttons to gain the upper hand. Cosima's attacker refused to take the easier route out and lunged at the student with his blade. Quickly jerking her head out the way Cosima was temporarily blinded when her dreads, which had come loose, slapped her around the face. She was relieved when the knife missed her face by a matter of inches, the glinting steel blade flashing across her line of vision.
The shaggy haired man had put everything behind that strike and wasn't expecting Cosima to dodge out the way so quickly. He was overbalancing and the dreadlocked woman took advantage with a swift kick to his knee. The pain from the blow caused him to drop his knife which was the opening Cosima needed. It was all over with just three more blows, a kick to the back of the legs, one to the gut and finally a knee to the face. You could hear the snapped of the man's nasal cartilage before he hit the ground like a puppet whose strings had been suddenly cut.
Cosima stood over the two fallen men with her guard still up but no further attackers came out of the shadows. Her right arm began to shake as she began to slip out of combat mode and it began to dawn on her what had happened. She grasped her loose dreadlocks in both hands with several thoughts running through her head. What if she hadn't been sharp enough to fend them off? That was the main question floating around, she could've been seriously hurt or possibly killed.
She began to wonder if these men were actually goons sent by DYAD in an attempt to cover up their illegal cloning project. The way they dressed indicated they were a couple of drunks or possibly junkies who had sensed an opportunity to prey on a woman walking around the city by herself. That could be part of their cover though, this wasn't like a television show where people were chased by men in black suits. This was real life.
Offering a silent apology to the men, Cosima swift searched their bodies for something that linked them to DYAD. The larger man had a wallet on him, although one look at the drivers licence showed that it didn't belong to him. It had probably been taken from another victim earlier in the day. The skinny man had Cosima's phone, which she quickly relieved from him and something wrapped up in a piece of tin foil. This confirmed that the pair were a couple of opportunistic muggers rather than professional body snatchers. That made Cosima feel a little worse, winning a battle against two people who were probably ill equipped to fight back. Then again one of them did try and turn her into Swiss cheese which eased her conscience slightly.
With the adrenaline of the fight wearing off, the cold air suddenly hit Cosima and by now she was shivering uncontrollably. Grabbing her coat off the floor she briefly contemplated calling the Police or the Paramedics but she wasn't in the mood to answer a host of questions from the authorities about how she was able to defend herself so easily. Her student accommodation was only a couple of blocks away so Cosima turned and ran as quickly as she dared back home. Ignoring the greetings from everyone who crossed her path, Cosima didn't stop until she was safely inside her room. She quickly locked the door and leaned heavily against the wooden frame, breathing heavily from the exertions of the day.
Even though she was now safely inside her personal sanctuary Cosima didn't feel very comfortable. She shook her coat off, allowing it to crumple on the floor and sat down on the edge of her bed. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, something was calling out to her. Ever since she had learned about her status as a clone, something was dragging up memories of her childhood in California. When she had first met Alison and Beth, naturally they asked about Cosima's childhood and where she had grown up. She had told them she was born and raised in San Francisco, which was mostly true. What she hadn't told them was that she had spent a few years somewhere else in the state. That city was called Angel Grove.
Cosima couldn't ignore the call any longer and reached under her bed before she changed her mind. She found a metal box with an electronic lock combination but paused before she entered the code. She hadn't set eyes on the device inside for nearly fifteen years but a small part of her new that it was still working correctly. She chuckled dryly to herself when she realised that she was wearing a blue top. The student had made a conscious effort to avoid the colour over the years but in the last few weeks she found herself drawn to blue articles of clothing, "The power's getting stronger", she mused out loud.
Taking a deep breath Cosima punched in the code and the metal lid swung open. Inside was a small box in the design of a car's transmission shifter that was made to be worn on the wrist. Next to that was a small metallic blue key that was designed to fit into a small slot on the side of the box. Finally there was a silver bracelet with blue stripes and around face. Cosima carefully pulled the box out of the case as a wave of childhood memories washed over her. The clone had another secret that she hadn't shared with anyone, she was the Blue Turbo Power Ranger.
Dropping her morpher back into the box, she angrily stood up from the bed and marched into the bathroom. She leaned on the sink as a wave of nausea washed over the dreadlocked clone. Cosima took a quick look in the mirror and wondered if any of her former team mates would recognise her anymore. She had always been an intelligent girl, even from an early age. During the summer of 1997 her and her Dad had moved to the city after he had taken a job with a local engineering firm. Cosima had known from an early age that her parents weren't her biological family. They were always a little coy about her true origins which had made Cosima wonder how much they knew about her status as a clone.
Cosima's mother had died when she was seven, leaving Doug to raise the young girl by himself. He tried his best, certainly no one could blame Doug Niehaus for being a terrible parent. The problem was that Cosima's father had to work full time to support his daughter, which led to long absences from the family home. To counter the loneliness that the young girl felt, she was enrolled in a number of after school classes. Martial arts were one of them. Even now over twenty years later sitting alone in her bathroom, Cosima smiled at the memory of winning her first tournament. To most she was a geeky girl with braces, glasses and pigtail. To them she had absolutely no chance of winning which made her eventually victory all the more sweeter. The look of shock on everyone's face when she took home the winner's trophy that day was still one of her happiest memories.
It was this love of martial arts that sold the move to Angel Grove to a young Cosima. She had heard that there were a number of talented teachers in the area. The reputation of Tommy Oliver and Jason Lee Scott extended a long way outside the city limits. They were two of the finest amateurs in the state, throw in the growing reputation of Rocky DeSantos and Adam Park, it made for an exciting opportunity for a young student like Cosima.
Things after her first day in the city were still a little bit hazy for Cosima. Sneaking into the practice session for a charity karate tournament, Rocky's injury, sneaking in again this time to the hospital and finally finding out that three of her heroes were Power Rangers. Quite how this made Cosima, then still thirteen years old, suitable to take Rocky's place as the Blue Ranger was anyone's guess. Zordon never did give her a straight answer and sadly, he won't be able to.
Cosima was the constant on the Turbo team, the four veterans left to move onto college and were replaced by four more seniors from the High School. Cosima had been pushed up a grade herself, her intelligence meant that she was now a freshman at the high school. Despite being at the same school as her team mates, she never really felt part of their circle. She always felt that both incarnations of the team were slightly embarrassed to have a thirteen year old hanging around them all the time. Even before the loss of the Power Chamber, there was a definite chasm in the group. Cosima felt isolated and slightly unwanted by her team, an outsider if you like. TJ and the others never said anything and maybe it was all a figment of Cosima's imagination but that's how the young teen felt.
It had been a blessing in disguise when the Turbo powers were destroyed for Cosima. When the remaining quartet left for space, she was happy to stay behind, almost a little too eager. If she was going to be lonely it was better to be lonely by yourself than amongst a group. Things were quiet from the others and she didn't even know if they were still alive. It came as a big shock when Storm Blaster arrived one evening with a fully recharged morpher stating that her friends needed her help. Naturally she came to their rescue but had been more than a little incredulous when she discovered they had returned to Earth just days after their departure and hadn't contacted her to let Cosima know that were alright.
That was the final straw for Cosima and despite telling her friends, now the Space Rangers, that they would definitely stay in contact, the teen made arrangement to leave the city. Her father was still working long hours, most of them away from home and as a consequence, she was feeling more and more isolated. She wasn't making friends in her classes and her grades were slipping as a result. The morning after her team up with the Space Rangers, she contacted her maternal grandmother in San Francisco and asked her if she would take her in. Cosima had taken her morpher and communicator, locked them away and left the city just 48 hours later.
Standing in her bathroom washing someone else's blood off her knuckles, Cosima realised how petulant she had been, something else she clearly had in common with her sister clones. To her knowledge no real attempt had been made by any of her team mates to get back in contact. Her grandmother was always a little overprotective so potentially she had scared some of them away. They had also moved pretty regularly around the city, Granny Stewart was an old school hippie and some of her free loving ways had been passed onto Cosima. Very quickly after returning to San Francisco she had ditched the pig tails, cultivating a fine set of dreads that she kept until this day. Her circle of friends grew, high school and then college passed before Cosima settled into life as a post graduate student. Everything was looking good for her, she was the happiest she had ever been. That was until the cloning business reared its ugly head.
Cosima gave herself one last look in the mirror, satisfied that she bore no ill effects from her fight in the alley way. Returning to her bedroom, she took another look at the remnants of her early teen years. She had spent half of her life rejecting her past as a Power Ranger but now something was calling out to her. Maybe Zordon knew all along that she was a clone and that's why he gave her the final Turbo morpher. Maybe the wise old sage knew that fully accepting the power would help her sister's in the future.
The dreadlocked student tossed the device around in her hands before attaching it firmly to her left wrist. She had to slap it down otherwise she might've changed her mind. Instantly she felt her body glow with a warm, pleasant sensation. She remembered it well from her days as a Power Ranger, even after rejecting her legacy for so long, the power still accepted her. She then attached the communicator to her right wrist. Cosima had no intention of contacting anyone but it made for a rather interesting accessory.
Suddenly there was a knock at her door and Cosima's heart skipped several beats. Surely no one could've picked up on the reactivation of her morpher that quickly, it had barely been on her wrist for more than thirty seconds. Her next thought was that someone had noticed her fight in the alley and called the Police. That would open up a whole new can of worms, as she discovered recently the fingerprints of the clones were a close enough match for the authorities. Cosima didn't even know how she could explain that away.
"Cosima", a gentle voice called through the door. The French accent instantly identified the speaker as Delphine, "Cosima are you in there?" she asked again.
"Shit", Cosima swore, she had completely forgotten about the plans she had made with Delphine for this afternoon. A quick glance at her phone showed the Frenchwoman had tried to call her six times in the last fifteen minutes, "Yeah, just give me a minute", she called back. She quickly sniffed her top and recoiled, it stank of sweat and cigarettes which had rubbed off from her attackers. Cosima pulled the top off, leaving her in just her bra and unlocked the door, "It's open", she shouted and began rummaging through her closet.
The door opened and then closed as Delphine entered the room, "Cosima, are you still getting ready?" the blonde huffed.
"Yeah remember what I said about my lateness", Cosima gave her a shy apology. The student allowed herself a quick look at Delphine. The blonde was blushing at the sight of her wearing just her trousers and bra. Smiling smugly at the effect she was having on the woman, Cosima grabbed the first thing she felt in her closet which was, to her annoyance, another blue top. She quickly wiggled into the top and closed the closet door, "Sorry I got distracted by my lecturer", she lied. She didn't want to tell Delphine that she was nearly mugged in an alleyway.
"No need to apologise ma cherie", Delphine gazed curiously at Cosima's wrist, "Is that a new watch?" she asked.
Cosima bit her lip, had the Frenchwoman seen the morpher on her wrist. She glanced down and was relieved to see that it had disappeared, back to wherever it went when not in use, "Oh you mean this", she held up the communicator, "had this for a while, just haven't worn it in a while". It wasn't a lie, it had been close to fifteen years since she had worn it, "Come on, we'll be late for our reservation", she quickly changed the subject and led Delphine out of her room. If living with knowledge that she was a clone wasn't enough, her past as a Power Ranger was coming back to haunt Cosima. She only hoped that her two worlds stayed separate but knowing her luck, they were about to collide in a big way.
A/N – Readers of my other PR stories will know of my intense dislike of Justin so it was an easy decision to erase him and insert another character instead. I have ideas for other chapters but depending on feedback, I might leave it as a one shot...not sure yet. If I do write more don't expect giant robots rampaging through the Orphan Black universe. If anything it will be the other way around, past Rangers dropping into the crazy world of Clone Club. If you enjoyed it then please leave a comment and I might treat you to another chapter.