Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or Power Rangers
Author's Notes: This story is a tribute to one of the most well received seasons of Power Rangers and features one of my personal favorite rangers. The plot will be somewhat similar to a certain science fiction movie and will contain much more action.
Chapter 1: Divide and Conquer
"Man, this is the life." Troy sighed as he drove Lightning Cruiser through the bumpy road.
Today, Troy and Emma decided to meet up in the forest to take pictures of some rare flowers Emma found the other day. Orion was working some extra shifts for Ernie, while Noah was doing some ranger research at school. Gia had decided to go shopping later in the day while Jake was practicing soccer with his soccer pals. With no signs of the Armada all week, the Rangers were finally able to relax for a while and enjoy their normal lives.
"Today's the day." Troy thought to himself as he continued driving the car down the road.
After taking pictures of the flowers with Emma, Troy was planning on asking if she would like to go to the party Ernie was throwing that night.
"Remember Troy, it's not a date." Troy kept reminded himself. "After the party, just tell her how you feel. And If she… What the?"
Troy squinted his eyes as he noticed a figure on the road up ahead. The figure was waving its arms in the air, apparently trying to flag him down. Troy, being the chivalrous man he was, slowed the car down, allowing the person to approach the vehicle.
It turned out to be a woman, probably in her late twenties. Her wavy brown hair went all the way down to her shoulders. She was wearing tight blue jeans and long sleeved red shirt.
"Is there a problem, miss?" Troy asked as he rolled down the window.
"Well, my car ran off the edge of the road a couple miles ahead." The woman explained. "Can you give me a lift back into town, so I can call a tow truck?"
"Um, I don't know." Troy hesitated. "I'm kind of meeting someone."
"Please?" The woman begged.
Troy finally relented. "Alright, get in." Troy answered as he unlocked the passenger side of the Cruiser.
As the woman went around the car, Troy lowered his voice. "Remember buddy, no funny business." The car rumbled lightly in agreement.
"Thanks, again." The woman said as she sat in the passengers' seat. "I really didn't want to walk all the way back into town."
"It's okay, just let me text my friend so I can tell her I'm going to be a little late." Troy told her as he tapped his cell phone.
Once Emma responded via text message, Troy put his phone back in his pocket and started the car. He looked back to make sure no other cars were coming, and quickly turned the Lightning Cruiser around. Once that was done, he drove the car back into town.
"My name's Charlie." The woman told Troy.
"I'm Troy." Troy told her. "So what brings you to Harwood County, Charlie?"
Charlie sighed lightly, looking outside the window of the car. "Well, after hearing about all those alien attacks, I wanted to meet these Power Rangers who are fighting them." Charlie answered.
"Well, you know, this city isn't really that safe." Troy warned her. "This is where the aliens seem to launch most of their attacks on Earth."
"I know, but it would still be great to meet the Power Rangers." Charlie sighed.
"They are pretty cool." Troy agreed. "I'm sure it's not an easy job protecting us from those aliens, but I'm glad they have the will to do it."
"I love all the rangers." Charlie sighed dreamily. "I know every single team's name."
"Really, which team is your favorite?" Troy asked.
"SPD." Charlie answered.
"Really, I think-" Troy began before he realized something.
The SPD Rangers were never seen in the current timeline. They only appeared once in 2005 when they teamed up with the Dino Ranger, something Gosei told had told the Mega Rangers. No one else would have seen those rangers in this timeline.
"What's wrong, Troy?" Charlie asked, noticing his shocked look.
Troy stopped the car.
"Who are you?" Troy asked cautiously.
"What's the matter, Red Ranger?" Charlie smiled deviously.
Troy, concluding this was an Armada trick, attempted to escape. Before he could get out of the car, Troy was hit in the neck by Charlie's hand, which struck the right nerve to knock him out.
Troy was rendered unconscious. Charlie heaved him into the back seat of the car.
Lightning Cruiser, aware that this hitchhiker was up to no good, tried to throw her out.
"Oh no, you don't." Charlie barked as she pulled a device from her pocket and placed it on the controls of the Lightning Cruiser. The car relaxed for a few seconds, and then it started up again, flashing its headlights in an evil color of red.
"Good car." Charlie purred, patting the car's dashboard. "Now time for the next phase."
Charlie dug through Troy's leather jacket until she found his morpher. A wicked smile began to form on her face as she saw the morpher and the Red Ranger key.
"With this, we can finally reclaim what is ours." Charlie smiled. "Now to lure the other rangers out."
Emma was still in the woods taking pictures of the flowers when she received Troy's text.
Emma, I'm going to be late. Someone's car broke down on the road and I'm taking them back into town. I'll be there as soon as I can.
Emma sighed in disappointment. She texted him back.
That's OK, Troy, I'll be waiting here.
Emma continued to snap pictures of the flowers around her. She even managed to spot a deer and its fawn a short distance away.
About an hour later, the sun was close to setting, and Troy still hadn't come.
"Where is he?" Emma worried.
She pulled out her phone, and dialed his number. There was no answer, encouraging her worry.
"Something's wrong." Emma concluded as she began to walk to the road. "I better find the others."
Crack! A twig snapped from behind her.
Emma whipped her head around to see what the noise was, scanning the entire forest area.
"Who's there?" Emma called out. "Troy, is that you?"
Silence
"I must be imagining it." Emma concluded as she shook her head. She then walked toward the road.
Even though Troy didn't show up, Emma still had her bike to get her home. She put on her helmet and rode down on the bumpy road.
As Emma rode away, a figure appeared on the road, watching her leave.
The figure held up a small card to its face, which had Emma's picture on it.
Meanwhile, at the Harwood County mall
"Wow, these earrings are so cute!" Gia awed as she looked through the window display of a jewelry store. "Man, if Jake saw me wearing these, he'd just melt."
Gia decided to go shopping for something that would make Jake notice her...well more, that is. She just loved playing hard to get with him, and with enough free time without the Armada, he might finally ask her out.
"Man, too expensive!" Gia groaned as soon as she saw the price tag. "Well, I better get going to meet the others at Ernie's."
She turned to leave, almost bumping into a young man who had just entered the store.
"Oh, sorry." Gia apologized.
The man glared at her menacingly. Gia lowered her gaze and walked out of the store.
"Man, what's with him?" Gia thought to herself as she walked down the mall.
She looked inside the department store across from the jewelry store. A clearance sign was attached on the store's window.
"Well, I do need new clothes." Gia shrugged to herself as she walked in.
After about a half hour of browsing and trying on clothes, Gia had finally finished shopping after buying a whole new outfit for herself.
"Man, that store has everything." Gia sighed as she carried her shopping bags.
Gia made her way to the exit of the mall with the bags full of clothes. As she turned around the corner, she noticed someone leaning against the exit door. It was the man she bumped into at the jewelry store.
As soon as she was within in his view, the man looked up at Gia and pushed himself off the door. Gia turned around and went in the opposite direction. She just had a gut feeling that something was right about this guy.
She didn't dare look back, lest letting the man know she was onto her. She then went from a brisk plod to a quickened jog, her heels clicking with every step she made.
She scanned her surroundings up ahead and ducked into the ladies' room. Fortunately, the bathroom was deserted. She put her bags down by the sinks and entered one of the empty stalls, locking it shut behind her.
"I better call the others." Gia told herself as she reached into her jacket for her morpher. Only one problem... "Wait, where is it?"
Gia fumbled through her jacket, but it was no use: her morpher was gone.
"Oh, I must have left it in the changing room." Gia groaned as she slapped her hand on her forehead.
Suddenly, she heard the restroom door open as footsteps echoed through the silent restroom.
Gia held her breath to prevent them from hearing her and carefully placed her feet on the toilet seat.
Against her better judgment, Gia raised her head above the stall, just enough to see who it was. The person was at the sinks, examining the contents in Gia shopping bags. She quietly lowered her head back down, hoping that the person would leave soon.
And sure enough, she heard his footsteps depart from the restroom.
Gia let out a relieved sigh.
"That was close." Gia whispered to herself. "Now, I better call the others."
Bang!
Gia had to hold in a gasp in order to prevent herself from being heard. Someone was still in the restroom, and they were forcing the stall doors opening!
Frantically, Gia pulled out her cell phone and began dialing one of her friends' numbers as more doors were forced open.
"Come on!" She pleaded quietly as the line rang.
"Hello?" Someone answered.
A little overzealous that someone answered, Gia accidentally dropped her phone to the ground right when the the stalker came up to her stall. It was too late to retrieve her phone now.
The stall door burst open as Gia let out a scream.
"Gotcha, Ranger!"
Harwood County Soccer field
Jake scored again for the fourth time in a row.
"Jake, you're killing us." His friend joked.
"I'm afraid that's game, guys." Jake quipped.
The players regrouped as they grabbed their water bottles and took a sip.
"Man, Jake, it's like every year, you keep getting better." The second boy said.
"Hey, it's just years of practice." Jake boasted. "So, how about we do rematch tomorrow, a chance to earn your reputation back?"
"We'll be there, Jake!" The first boy answered as the team gathered their gear. "Well, see you later!"
The group of players ran off down the street. Jake was about to follow them, when...
Ring, Ring, Ring!
Jake looked over at his backpack, and saw his phone vibrating as it rang. He quickly rushed over to answer it. He noticed the caller ID said Gia.
"That's weird, how does she know my number?" Jake asked himself as he answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Jake, is that you?" Gia's voice answered.
"Hey, G, what's up?" Jake greeted her cheerfully
"I'll tell you what's up, Jake." Gia answered, her tone sounding a bit annoyed. "We've been friends for almost two years and you haven't made a move."
Jake scowled his face. "This doesn't sound like Gia." He thought to himself.
"Gia, you feeling alright?" Jake asked her.
"No, I've waited all year for you to ask me out and I'm tired of waiting." Gia answered in a frustrated tone.
Jake placed his hand over his phone speaker, preventing Gia from hearing Jake's shocked gasp. "She was waiting for me to make a move this whole time?"
"Jake, you still there?" Gia asked. "Meet me behind Ernie's Brainfreeze."
"Okay!" Jake half-squealed as Gia hung up.
Jake grabbed his gear and took off sprinting toward Brainfreeze.
Ten minutes later, Jake arrived in front of Ernie's Brainfreeze.
"Gia, I'm here." Jake called out.
Among the crowd in front of him, Gia wasn't there.
"Man, I knew it was too good to be true." Jake groaned in disappointment.
"Jake..." a voice whispered from behind him.
He turned around to see Gia standing outside the entrance to the Brainfreeze. As she soon as she saw him, she winked at him in a seductive manner and beckoned him with her finger
"Oh, man, this really is too good to be true." Jake laughed, all while trying to contain his excitement.
He slowly made his way to his life-long crush, only to see her walking outside.
"Where are you going?" Jake grinned as he followed her, liking where this was going.
Gia walked behind the Brainfreeze into the alley, and Jake continued to pursue her. Finally, he lost sight of her in the shadows of the alley.
"G, where are you?" Jake called.
"Jake..." Gia's voice whispered near a dumpster.
"Oh, man, she likes playing hard to get." Jake sighed as he made his way toward her voice. He walked over to the side of the dumpster. "Hello, beauti- huh?"
Jake was cut off as he saw something he hadn't expected: Gia, battered and bruised, tied up on the ground.
"Gia, what happened?" Jake asked as he got down to his knees to level his head with hers.
"Jake, it's a trap." Gia whimpered weakly.
"What?" Jake questioned. "What are you talking-"
Jake was cut off by off by a hand hitting him the neck. A second later, Jake was out cold.
"Huh, that hologram worked like a charm, Ivan." A male voice sneered.
Harwood County, computer lab
Noah was still at the school. Before going to Ernie's party, he wanted to do some more research on Orion's armor. Something just seemed off about the sixth rangers.
"I just don't understand." Noah grunted in frustration. "The system is working just fine, but it's still saying the same thing. There has to be something that I'm missing."
"What's missing?" A voice behind Noah asked.
Noah gasped in shock, quickly closing the Ranger database before Mr. Burley got a good look at what he was doing.
"Nothing, Mr. Burley, just trying to figure out this game is all." Noah smiled nervously. "So, what's up?"
"Oh, I just wanted to give you something." Mr. Burley remembered as he pulled out a brochure and handed it to Noah. "I thought you might be interested in this."
Noah took the brochure from Mr. Burley and began reading what was on it.
"Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 1:00, Harwood County New Exhibit."
"The school faculty has reserved a day for us to visit the museum that day." Mr. Burley explained. "And we'll need some help getting everyone together that day. Can I count on you and your friends to pitch in?"
"Of course, Mr. Burley, we'd be happy to help." Noah answered.
"Thank you, Noah." Mr. Burley told him. "Well, it's getting late. We better head home."
"Yeah, I need to be somewhere, anyway." Noah agreed.
"Just let me use the facilities and we'll be on our way." Mr. Burley told him as he walked to the restroom.
Noah leaned against his locker, awaiting Mr. Burley to finish.
"Hello Blue Ranger." A voice said.
Noah turned to his right and gasped in shock. He tried to grab his morpher, but it was too late.
Several minutes later, Mr. Burley emerged from the restroom, but Noah was gone.
"Noah? Noah?" Mr. Burley called. "Hm, he must have already gone home."
Mr. Burley went over the main doors and locked it as he went outside.
"Guys, where are you?" Emma fretted into her phone.
The day was almost over and none of the other rangers have even contacted Emma. She had dialed all her friends' phone numbers, but still couldn't get an answer. The only one she didn't call was Orion, who didn't own a cell phone, or any phone for that matter.
"Maybe he'll be at Ernie's." Emma concluded as she walked to the bus stop.
Ten minutes later, the bus arrived right on schedule and Emma climbed inside.
She took a seat in the middle section of the vehicle. Aside from her, there was only one other passenger there. It was a man dressed in a brown trench coat. He wore a small beanie on his head and a headband around his forehead.
After several minutes of riding on the bus, Emma could feel the man watching her. Against her better judgment, she turned around to face him. The man didn't take his eyes off her, continuing to stare at her eerily. Emma turned head to the front again, feeling uneasy about the unwanted attention this man was giving her.
He must be the guy who was stalking me in the woods." Emma surmised.
"Alright, Bramble Street." The driver announced as he stopped the bus.
Emma, a little bit frightened, paid the driver and got off the bus. Even though it was still a bit way from Ernie's, she just couldn't stand to be on the bus with that strange man.
Rubbing her shoulders, Emma walked down the street to Ernie's. As she walked, the bus drove past her. She looked up and, as though the world was in slow motion, she locked eyes with the mysterious man on the bus for a split second. The man continued to stare at her until the bus drove away in the night.
"Something really strange is going on." Emma thought to herself. "I better find Orion."
She continued to walk down the sidewalk. What she didn't know was that someone among the people walking on this street had their eyes on her. It was a young woman wearing a gray jumpsuit like Jake and Gia's stalkers.
She held her finger to her ear.
"Charlie, I found the Pink Ranger." The woman said.
"Good, Rachel, she's the last one we need." Charlie responded. "I'll contact the others and we'll rendezvous at your coordinates. Whatever you do, don't lose her."
"You got it, boss." Rachel acknowledged as she followed Emma down the sidewalk.
After ten minutes, Emma finally arrived at Ernie's Brainfreeze, which was filled with loud music, flashing lights, and dancing teens. She pushed herself through the crowd and reached the bar table, where Ernie was supervising the dance.
"Hey, Ernie, have you seen Orion?" Emma shouted over the music.
Ernie pointed to a table where Orion was sitting at, watching the teens dance.
Emma thanked Ernie and walked over to the table. Orion greeted Emma as she approached him.
"Hey, Emma." Orion shouted over the music. "Where are the others?"
"Orion, can we go someplace quieter?" Emma shouted.
Orion nodded and the two walked to the back room where the music wasn't so loud.
"Is something wrong, Emma?" Orion asked.
"I don't know, Orion." Emma mused. "Troy was supposed to meet up with me today in the woods, but he never showed. I went by his house and his mom said he hasn't been home since this morning."
"What about the others?" Orion inquired.
"They haven't been answering any of my calls." Emma stated, showing him her phone which showed her many call attempts. "I'm really starting to worry. What if the Armada is up to something?"
"Okay, Emma, calm down. We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Orion told her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, after the party is over, you and I are going to go out to look for them. Just relax for a few minutes, enjoy the party. I'm sure they'll be here any minute."
Emma realized That Orion might be right. She had been under a lot of stress lately, maybe she was being paranoid. However, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to go down.
She retreated back to the party and sat down at one of the tables. As she watched the teens dancing, she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself. She had been looking forward to this party, and now she couldn't enjoy herself because her friends were on her mind.
"Hey, Emma." A voice quipped.
Emma turned to face Jordan, who took a seat next to her.
"Hi, Jordan." Emma answered glumly.
"You know, a pretty girl like should be dancing." Jordan flirted as he took a seat next to her.
"I'm not in the mood." Emma replied, resting her chin on her fist.
"What's wrong?" Jordan asked.
"My friends have basically dropped off the map and I have a stalker." Emma answered.
"Your friends are missing?" Jordan repeated thoughtfully. "And what about this stalker?"
"I ditched him outside." Emma told him as she watched the dancers around the building. "Maybe I was just being paranoid. He probably was looking for…." Emma broke off as she noticed someone sitting at the barstools.
It was him, the Stalker! He was drinking a smoothie and turned his eyes to Emma.
"Emma, what's wrong?" Jordan asked, noticing Emma's frightened expression.
"He's sitting at the bar." Emma quivered. "The stalker."
Jordan turned his attention to the bar table, and locked eyes with the stalker.
"Let me handle this." Jordan told her as he got and walked over to the stalker.
At that moment, Rachel had entered the building. She carefully scanned the area for her target, which was hard to do with the flashing lights and crowded teens.
Sure enough, her target was in sight, sitting alone at a table. Rachel smiled deviously as she made her way toward Emma. As soon as she was within close distance, her target looked up at her.
Emma nervously locked eyes with Rachel. She froze in terror as Rachel pulled out a card and held it to Emma's face.
"Confinement Mo-" Rachel began before being cut off by an energy blast hitting her in the chest, knocking her back.
The crowd screamed in terror as the shots were fired and raced to the exit. Emma, coming to her senses, followed suit.
Rachel recovered and pulled out her Delta Enforcer, firing at her target. Her attacker fired numerous rounds as he ducked behind the tables. The crowd grew wilder as more shots fired. People frantically exited the building, knocking others out of their way.
Emma attempted to morph, but her morpher was knocked out of her hands before she could activate it. She scrambled around the floor trying to find, while avoiding the shots and the crowds.
Orion finally made the scene. "What's going on?"
Before he could react, Orion was hit by one of the random blasts from the guns, and knocked unconscious.
Emma finally found her morpher when Rachel managed to defeat her attacker. She turned to face Emma and kicked her in the face, causing the Pink Ranger to fall flat on her back. Emma dropped her morpher before she could summon her ranger key.
Emma desperately tried to scoot away from Rachel, who summoned her card again and held it out in front of Emma.
Suddenly, Rachel fell to the ground, almost unconscious. Standing behind her was Emma's stalker, who had apparently hit Rachel with a tray.
Emma, frightened at the sight of her stalker, attempted to get away. He instead got down on his knees to level his eyes with her.
"Don't be scared, Emma." The stranger said to her. "I'm here to help you."
"Who-who are you?" Emma quivered.
Suddenly more shots fired and the window of the Brainfreeze was shattered as four new figures appeared.
"Come on!" The man shouted, pulling Emma her to her feet, and leading her out to the back of the restaurant.
Charlie stepped forward. "Alright, Beevor, you're coming with me. Ivan, go get the car and meet us outside. Cliff, you take Rachel and the Silver Ranger back to the hideout. The pink ranger won't get far. Now, let's move out!"
The three shouted in an agreement as they each went their separate ways. What they didn't know was that there was a human hiding underneath a table.
"Now who are these guys?" Jordan wondered. "Better report back to the Armada."
End Notes: I think this is my longest first chapter I've written for a story.
So who is this mysterious stranger that wants to help Emma? And what do these five villains want with the rangers? It's up to you to figure it out so comment, rate and speculate
Until the next time!