Author's Note:
For the purposes of this story, I will be treating the Power Rangers Samurai episode "Clash of the Red Rangers" as though it were non-cannon. "The Power Goes Out" takes place in an alternate continuity where every Power Rangers series occurs in the same world.
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What horrified her the most was not the burning cities, the millions dead, nor the bleakness of the irradiated hellscape that sprawled all around her where once stood a verdant forest. It was not the blood pooling by her feet nor the broken bodies of her childhood heroes sprawled across that barren valley.
No. What truly frightened Dr. K was her suspicion that, somewhere deep inside, some part of her had done this on purpose.
\/\/\/\ONE MONTH EARLIER/\/\/
It was a typical Friday afternoon at the Angel Grove Middle School School. Almost two-dozen young teenagers were standing in rows on the floor of the gym. As eager as some were to begin their karate practice, all listened quietly as their teacher - a tall, muscle-bound man in his 30's - spoke. He was a local legend, after all.
"Remember, the martial arts are about self-discipline and control, not violence," he explained to the karate club, "We are going to learn how to fight in this class, but you never use violence on another person, except in self-defense. Understand?"
The students murmured their agreement. "Yes, Mr. Scott."
The teacher put up his hand, "Just call me Jason."
The lights overhead flickered. Everyone looked around, confused. A high-pitched noise came from somewhere far away. Then another, and then another. Soon the sound was clear: screaming people outside the building.
"What's going on, Jason?" asked one of the boys, his voice shaking. A loud boom reverberated through the room, and puffs of old drywall fell from the ceiling.
Jason could not hide the worry in his voice. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I don't think we should stay in this room right now. Remember your tornado drills? Let's have one right now."
On cue, the students filed out of the gym and into the boy's locker room. The gym had three exterior walls, plus and a wide ceiling, so it was not considered a safe place to be in case of tornadoes or earthquakes.
Jason gently reminded the kids of emergency procedures, and made sure that they sat down against the concrete walls with their heads covered. Most of them were whispering to each other, wondering what was happening.
"Mr. Jason, I'm scared," said one of the sixth-graders. "Me too," added the older boy next to her.
"Shh, don't worry, we're going to be okay," he assured them. "I'm going to go see what's going on." He gestured toward one of the ninth-grade boys. "Tyler, you're in charge until I come back, okay?" Tyler had been in the karate club since he started at the middle school. He was a straight-'A' student, charismatic, disciplined, and had never been written up once.
"Yes, sir," the boy answered, without hesitation. His voice cracked.
"Good," Jason told him, "I'm trusting you. See you in a minute."
Jason went back out onto the gym floor, and headed towards the door leading outside. When he was almost across the room, he heard a strange mechanical sound coming from the other side.
The door burst open, and in poured dozens of androids. Each one wielded a sword, and they made cheer-like motions with their arms as they walked, producing a loud sound like gears grinding.
Jason instinctively fell into a wide combat stance. "Something tells me you guys aren't here for extra credit!" he quipped.
The robots charged him. Deftly, Jason avoided the swings and stabs of their blades and struck several with fierce punches to the chest or fast, spinning kicks. He managed to disarm two of the intruders with jabs to the wrist, and picked up their swords.
Jason wielded one weapon in each hand. They were lightweight, and he was able to swing them faster than the robots could anticipate. With a series of swipes, he felled several more of the machines.
Yes more poured in through the gymnasium's double doors. Jason fell back a few feet and then bolted to his left, towards the bleachers. He had left a duffel bag there. If he could only reach it-
Three robots tried to stand in his way, but he rushed them with blades held outwards and sliced them in half without stopping. Panting, he ran up the bleacher steps and grabbed his bag.
He dropped the swords and unzipped it. The androids began to clumsily climb up after him as he probed inside the bag looking for the treasure he had left there.
The enemies had nearly reached him. One raised its sword high over its head.
Just in time, Jason's hand clasped a small, metal object. From his bag he withdrew his Power Morpher.
Before that nearest robot was able to land its blow, Jason gave it a swift kick in the belly. It fell head-first down the bleachers. Then, he thrust the morpher in front of him and shouted the magic word:
"TYRANNOSAURUS!"
Red light engulfed Jason. Electricity crackled across his skin, and his hair stood on end as he felt a rush of energy filling him. He had not morphed in over a decade, and had forgotten how exhilarating the transformation was.
The light faded, and the gym reappeared around him. The Red Ranger was back in action.
"Power Sword!" Instantly, the Red Ranger's old broadsword materialized in his hands. With a single sweeping motion, he knocked away all the robots that were on the bleachers with him. Then, he jumped down to the floor, pushing the Power Sword through the head of another robot as he landed.
Yet still, more opponents entered. The Red Ranger held his ground, cutting down foe after foe, his power suit giving him practically infinite strength and stamina.
"Jason!"
A young voice made him turn to look behind him. Tyler had come out onto the gym floor. A robot approached him from the right.
"Tyler, look out!" shouted Jason. The boy then saw the robot and moved to deliver it a karate chop. The mechanical soldier was too fast for him, though, and before Jason could react, it had plunged its sword straight through Tyler's chest.
"NO!" Jason roared and flew to his fallen student, instinctively slashing the robot in two as he went. He knelt down to where Tyler lay bleeding on the floor and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on Tyler, it'll be alright."
Tyler had gone very pale. His voice was barely audible as he groaned, "Teach', I'm so sorry."
"No, Tyler" answered Jason, "I'm sorry."
Jason stood and turned to the enemies who remained. Nearly a hundred robots lay broken on the gym floor, and there were only a handful left. He held the Power Sword vertically in front of him and slowly turned it in a circle. The blade glowed bright red, and then he swung. A wave of energy came forth from his weapon, shattering the robots on impact. Finally, the gym went quiet.
Tyler chuckled feebly. "You're a Power Ranger."
Jason knelt again and nodded slowly. "Yeah, Tyler, I'm a Power Ranger."
The boy groaned in pain, clutching his wound, but then he smiled. "When I was just a baby, my big brother went to the park, and one of Rita's monsters attacked him."
Tyler paused for a moment, as if unable to speak. Then, he went on. "You saved him. You and the other Rangers. When I was growing up, he would always tell me that story, and tell me how cool you were-" Another pause. Tyler coughed haggardly. "I always wanted to be like you when I grew up. I wanted to be a Power Ranger. That's why I joined the karate club. I wanted to learn to fight like a Power Rang-"
Tyler went quiet. He was barely breathing.
"Hold on, Tyler, I'm going to get you to a doctor. Just hang in there!" Jason lifted the teenager in his arms, careful not to touch his injury.
He stepped back into the locker room. Most of the kids were still in their tornado drill positions, but many had sat up. When they saw Jason, all of them stood with shock on their faces.
"Woah!"
"It's a Power Ranger!"
"Cool!"
Jason smiled a bit beneath his helmet. "Come with me, kids. It's not safe here."
Recognizing his voice, one of the girls asked, "Mr. Jason, is that you?"
Jason nodded silently, and led them out of the building.
None of them were prepared for what lay outside the gymnasium doors. The school parking lot was full of trashed cars, and three human bodies were piled in a heap against the chain-link fence that surrounded the campus. Thy were students who had not managed to climb over the fence before the invaders caught them.
Beyond, the city of Angel Grove glowed bright red. Smoke billowed from crumbling skyscrapers, darkening the daylight. The sound of explosions and blaster fire echoed in the distance, although all the fighting had apparently moved past this part of town.
Jason's pupils pressed close around him, shaking with fear. All but one – the sixth-grade girl who had identified him earlier stood confidently. "Don't worry, guys" she told her classmates. She actually sounded like she meant it. "Mr. Jason is a Power Ranger! He won't let anything happen to us!"
A buzz inside Jason's helmet interrupted her. "Red Ranger, do you read me?" came a voice over the suit's built-in communicator.
"I read you," answered Jason, knowing that now the channel was open, the person on the other side could hear him clearly. The children all stared at Jason. They could hear his voice, but not the other person's.
"We've locked on to your position. If you're ready, the Astro Megaship is inbound."
"Andros?"
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Indeed. Jason had met Andros only once before: when they and all the other red Power Rangers had teamed up to fight General Venjix and his Machine Empire troops. "I'm glad it's you, Andros," said Jason. He felt Tyler's breathing slow to almost nothing in his arms. "You'd better get here quick."
Even as he spoke, the blue starship appeared and touched down on the other side of the fence.
"Come on, guys," Jason told the kids, "I told you it'd be okay."