She looked at the clock. The clock was counting down. Less than twenty minutes to go, now. Finally, she allowed a small grin to creep onto her face. The leader of the team approached her. He wore his disguise and she smiled when she saw that. He wasn't taking any chances; that was good.

"Ma'am, we're ready and standing by." He announced. "Just give the word."

"Get into place." She whispered. Her gaze followed him as he moved to his seven-member team. She had tried to keep the numbers as small as possible but this was the bare minimum.

"Wait," she called, quietly, knowing that even the barest whisper would get his attention. He turned back to her. "The device is ready for you?"

He nodded and held up a small black box. "It should do its job."

"You know the plan. You have ten minutes to bring them here. Then ten minutes to get into place. And, you know the deal. You cannot be seen." She pointed a finger at him. He scowled and nodded.

Then, as his team watched, he pressed a button on the box and disappeared in a shimmering blue light. She laughed. The end is here.

X Newtech City. Future Times. X

Sky did not want to be going where he was going. If his son and daughter weren't making him go and if his wife wasn't pulling him along by the hand, he would be in his office, looking over reports of the training exercises from yesterday. Instead, he was on his way to torture.

"Syd, is this really necessary? You know I don't want to go." Sky complained. He dragged his heels and shook his head. "I have a lot to do."

His blonde wife of ten years turned to look back at him. She grinned. "I know, that's why you need this. Come on, Sky. It's your birthday! Be happy." She skipped back to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't make me order you to have fun."

Collin, his son, and Kari, his daughter, both laughed. "Yeah, Mom, like you can order the Commander of SPD Earth to go to a party." Collin joked. "You're just the retired Pink Power Ranger. That doesn't give you any privileges."

"No one wants to celebrate turning thirty-five, Syd. That's close to forty. Which is close to fifty. Which is really, really old. I never should have married someone younger than me. You just aren't aging as fast as I am." Sky smiled at his kids. "And you two!" he exclaimed. "You're ten years old. That's getting older and older and older."

"It's just a party, Dad. And it's just your friends. Jack, Bridge, Z, us and the Crugers. Oh and Dr. Manx and Boom. But that's it, Dad. That's not too bad." Kari took his hand and pulled, causing him to jog for a few steps.

As the happy family kept walking towards SPD headquarters in Newtech City, the leader of the insertion team materialized a few feet behind them. The figure wore a dark cloak over his uniform, protecting his identity, adhering to instructions. He crept along behind the four Tates, waiting for the right moment. A quick glance at his watch indicated thirty seconds until time.

Sky turned to Syd. "Whose idea was this anyway? I want that person brought up on charges. Insubordination. They'll be cleaning the Zords till they die." He bared his teeth and growled at his kids, who laughed.

"It was my idea, Dad!" Collin shouted. "I thought-"

That was as far as he got before he shimmered and disappeared in a burst of green light. Sky blinked several times before his brain registered what had just happened. He turned in a circle and his hand went instinctively to his hip for a blaster that wasn't there. "Collin!" he shouted, squashing the panic that rose in his chest. "COLLIN!" he screamed again.

Syd gripped his arm. "Sky, where is he?" Her nails dug into his arm. "Where is he?"

Now Sky wished he'd brought his morpher with him. But no, this was a party and he'd left it at home. With his blaster. "I don't know! Kari, get close to me." He wasn't going to lose his daughter.

She looked at him and, tears running down her face, picked up her foot to step closer to him. Her foot never landed. Before Sky's eyes, before he could do anything, she, too, vanished in a shimmer of light.

"Kari!" he howled. What is going on? He whirled in a circle, looking for the source of the light, the source of the attacks. His spin brought him around just in time to see Syd fading in a wash of emerald sparks.

Now he was alone. He pulled out his communicator and tapped in Bridge's number. But, before the call connected, he saw the trees around him disappearing.

My family…was the last thought he had before Newtech City faded completely.

X Reefside X

The boy popping into existence inside Hayley's Cyberspace Café was not a typical occurrence. Neither was the girl or the woman or the man who appeared boom, boom, boom, one right after the other. Kira and Trent watched, stunned, as four people just materialized out of nowhere inside the café.

The blonde man dropped into a crouch as soon as he appeared, his hands folded into fists. After a second, he waved a hand in front of himself and the other three, who stood behind him, and a shimmering blue field or something appeared in front of him.

"That's weird," Trent whispered. He slipped off of his barstool and approached the foursome. "Hi." He said slowly. "I'm Trent. Who are you?"

"Why did you bring us here?" the man asked, straightening to stare Trent in the face. His field thing didn't dissipate and Trent kept clear of it, cautious about what might happen if he got too close. "Speak, stranger. What do you want with me and my family?"

Trent raised his hands. "We didn't bring you here. And you're lucky that the five of us are the only ones who were in here – we're used to this kind of thing. Anyone else would have freaked." He paused before continuing. "I'm Trent Fernandez. This is my wife, Kira," he pointed at each person as he said their names, "Tommy Oliver, Connor and Kelly McKnight."

The woman laid a hand on the man's arm and Trent was surprised to see that it radiated a metallic sheen. She locked gazes with Trent. "I'm Sydney Tate. This is Sky Tate and our kids, Collin and Kari. Where are we and who are you?"

Tommy stood and approached the newcomers. "You're in Reefside." He threw a quick glance at Connor, who shrugged. "We're Power Rangers. Or at least, we were."

Sky's eyes widened. "I've heard about you," he said. "Bridge Carson told me about you, Kira."

Kira cocked her head. "You know Bridge?" Suddenly, she smacked her hand on the tabletop. "Of course! You must be SPD Rangers. Bridge mentioned you guys. But what are you doing here?"

Just then, the little boy broke in. Kira figured him to be about nine, maybe eight years old. "Dad, I'm hungry. What's going on?"

Trent laughed. "Well, Mr. Tate, if you trust us, my daughter and Connor's son are in the back with the owner of this place, Hayley. There's plenty of food and games back there if your son and daughter would like to join in."

Sky glanced around the place and sighed. "Fine. Collin, you keep an eye on your sister, okay?"

Collin nodded and he and Kari ran off to the back. Sky and Syd took seats at the table. Syd spoke first.

"So you guys are Power Rangers?" she asked. Kira noticed that her hand was a normal, peachy color again. A large, very large rock glistened on her finger. Syd caught her looking and grinned.

Connor nodded. "We are. Well, all of us except Kelly here. We were the Dino Thunder Power Rangers but that was a long time ago. Eight years." He glanced at his watch. "We're actually waiting on some other former Power Rangers to show up, believe it or not. What are you guys doing here?"

Sky shook his head. "We don't know. We were on our way to a party and then Collin disappeared. Kari and Syd and I were transported soon after and we ended up here. I don't know why and I don't know how we're going to get back to Newtech City." He wrapped an arm around his wife. "I just wanna know what's going on."

Before Trent or anyone could answer, the door swung open again and three people walked in, one holding a bundle in their arms.

"Xander, Nick, Madison! Glad you could make it," Kira exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and gave each a hug, then peered into the bundle in Madison's arms. "He's so little!"

"He'll be six months next Friday." Madison Russell grinned at her husband, Nick. Then she looked around the mainly deserted Café. "Where's the band? I thought the set was starting soon. We thought we'd be late."

Kira shrugged as she cooed over the baby. "Not here yet. But we got some unexpected guests." She waved a hand at Sky and Syd. "Meet Sky and Syd Tate. SPD Rangers from the future. We're not sure why they're here yet but they're here."

"How's the label doing, Xan?" Trent asked the Australian man. Xander Bly had recently turned the reins of the Rock Porium over to Nick and started an independent recording label. Kira Ford-Fernandez was one of his top artists, along with Kimberly Hart and Tanya Sloan. His indie label was fast making its way up the charts.

Xander shrugged. "As good as can be expected, I suppose." He stuck out a hand to Sky. "Name's Xander. Nice to meet you. This is Madison and Russell and my god-child, Lee."

The three newcomers took a seat and Kira offered to take Lee to Hayley so he wouldn't be bothered by the music. Madison shook her head. "Thanks, but I'll keep him with me, at least for now."

The nine ex-Rangers and one wife of an ex-Ranger fell to talking and Kira spared but a thought for the whereabouts of her missing band.

X Preparations X Everywhere X

She had sent them out. They knew their duty and they knew what would happen to the future if they failed here. They would not make a mistake and they would not let anything stop them. It all ended here.

Her minions were nearly in place, all of them now making their way to the target locations. The leader had come back from his mission to issue the final orders not ten minutes ago. All of the minions, all of the team members knew where he had been and knew why he had gone where he had gone. They assumed his mission had gone successfully but they did not know for sure. That was not something they were told.

"I know this seems wrong," he had said, the leader had said as they prepared to move out. "I know you thought this could not happen again. But you have to step up, now. You've heard what will take place if we don't act. This is something we have to do and we have to do it today. This time. She has said it and she has given us proof. Be careful, friends. Rendezvous here, missions accomplished, in thirty minutes. Good luck." It was supposed to be a pep talk. Then the team had split to go their separate ways.

One minion looked both ways before exiting the woods. He checked behind him to make sure his package was secure. It was so he crouched low in the bushes and edged forward. His foot caught a twig and the snap echoed in the silence. He froze, waiting to see if there was anyone nearby, anyone who could see him, notice him, report him. Nothing moved so he continued his forward motion. At last, he could see his destination before him. The waterfall cascaded over the rocks and splashed into the pool below. The minion reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box, with just one red button on it. He placed his finger on the button and waited for the countdown to end.

The second minion made her way across the busy plaza, keeping to the shadows. She passed a bakery and didn't let the smell of freshly baked rolls distract her. A strand of hair flitted across her face. Quickly, she pushed it back into her ponytail and ducked under an overhang across from the repair shop. I have to get closer, she decided and looked for a hiding place. A bike, conveniently parked in the shadows in front of the shop provided the perfect spot. The minion dashed across the street and knelt behind the motorcycle. She clutched her device close and looked at the two buttons. One she wasn't to press until after this task was done. She placed her finger on the other button and waited for the countdown to end.

It felt weird to the third minion to be hiding outside of a church but those were her orders and she would not break them now. She sat on a park bench across the street, a newspaper on her lap but she wasn't reading. She could hear the processional music from her seat – the front doors of the church were open. They were making this so easy for her. She swiped a tear from her eye. This was something she had to do, much as she didn't want to. In a sudden burst of anger, she shoved the newspaper from her lap. Then, she pulled the remote from her pocket. Two buttons. One big, one small. One for now, one for later. She placed her finger on the small button and waited for the countdown to end.

The firehouse was busy. The fourth minion sat in his car outside. The car wasn't his, technically speaking. It had become his after he had hot-wired it outside the Piggly Wiggly down the street. He slammed a fist against the dashboard. He wasn't sure where his anger was directed at but he knew that there were many different targets for his rage to focus on. The ones he had come for were inside now. It would be so easy when the time finally came. Quick and painless. For him. For them, well, that wasn't something he allowed himself to think about. He watched, and waited. Finally, he angrily yanked the black device from his coat pocket and looked from the yellow button to the red. He held his thumb over the red button and waited for the countdown to end.

The ancient structure had been an academy for years and before that, well, no one knew what it had been before that. The fifth minion lay on his stomach in the tall grass just beyond the courtyard. A few students sparred in pairs but those the minion had come for were not in evidence. He knew it was just a matter of time. He had done his research and he was ready. He squirmed and pushed the grass down in front of his face so that he could see. It wouldn't do for his vision to be obscured at the right moment. Awkwardly, he managed to extricate the jet black remote and push it in front of his face. Just as he heard voices coming from both sides of the Academy, he laid his finger on the prominent button and waited for the countdown to end.

Two minions waited in the alley. They were assisted by the leader who'd shown up minutes before. The two minions didn't know what to think about that. They thought they'd done a good job so far. Four dead band members lay at their feet. They had been easy to kill, not suspecting a thing. Small twinges of "wrongness" had assailed the minions as they took lives but they had forced themselves past those feelings. There was no room for error on this mission. Now, the leader leaned around the corner and looked at the target location, his finger on the button on the remote. The two minions removed their remotes as well, got into position and waited for the countdown to end.

Countdown…

0:05 seconds

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Author's Note: A little short, I know but hopefully it will get longer! Please read and review!