Author's Notes: Okay, I know I keep making changes to this story, but, just for the record, this will be the LAST time I make any major changes. I've been recently watching episodes of Kamen Rider Faiz (the series that the Power Rider suit is based on) and I'll admit, I'm starting to like it. So, this story will draw more on the source material (i.e. Faiz) than I previously planned. If you don't know what I mean, read on. If you do know what I mean, read on anyways.
Please enjoy.
Bart and the rest of the group sat in Ernie's, an arcade, a restaurant, and a work-out gym all rolled into one. Trini was helping Mike out with Algebra while Will was typing something on his small laptop and Bart was busy finishing up his order of chicken strips. It was at this point that Jace decided to walk up and challenge Bart. The only part of his challenge that Bart paid attention to was the last part, "Let's see if you really have what it takes to take me down."
"My grandfather once said this, 'arrogance means you've already admitted defeat'," Bart stated as he finished the last chicken strip.
"I said get up!" Jace shouted, banging his right fist down on the table hard enough to cause quite a few of Mike's homework papers to fly off.
"Jace, what the hell?!" Trini yelled as she bent down to help Mike pick the papers up while he just ingested a pill.
"Don't worry, Trini, I'll handle this," Bart told her as he stood up and walked toward the mat. Jace got into a fighting stance as Ernie arrived, a physically obese, yet generally nice guy, and explained the rules; no head shots, no dirty fighting, and leaving the mat counts as a forfeit. Bart bowed to Jace as the fight began.
Jace was fast, throwing punches and kicks in rapid succession, yet Bart was faster. He quickly dodged each attempted attack as Jace began to taunt him with the typical trash talk. How he was nothing but a big wuss who couldn't stand being hit. Then, he started on a subject that was restricted by Bart, his mother. As soon as he threw the next punch, Bart gently grabbed his left arm, his right hand at Jace's slide, ready to strike him with a five inch punch. Within seconds, Bart punched him, knocking Jace off the mat and possibly breaking a few of his ribs.
"My mother's dead," Bart declared as he walked out of Ernie's.
It had taken the man in the ski mask and goggles months to get to this point, his initiation into the AGD, yet his hand shook as he held the 9 millimeter pistol against the skull of an innocent man. He couldn't bring himself to do it, and he let the man go. Once the mugging victim was out of sight, he threw the pistol as far away from him as possible and pulled off his ski mask and goggles to reveal his ebony skin, chocolate eyes, and black hair braided in short dreadlocks that barely touched his shoulders. His forehead beaded in sweat from the heat enveloping the Angel Grove Train Yards as he looked behind him to see a boy, Bart, who was about his age with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes holding a backpack and nodding at him.
"'It takes a brave man to pull a gun's trigger, and a braver man to know when not to'," Bart stated. The potential mugger was clearly confused by the statement.
"Yeah, thanks, buddy," he told Bart.
"Don't worry, I hardly know you, so why would I report you?"
"Either way, thanks," the man ran off, then stopped, commenting, "Hey, the name's Zak."
"Bart," Bart stated as Zak started off again. Bart continued home, just past the train yard. It was then that a dark-skinned man appeared from nowhere.
He sniffed the air, then, finally noticing Bart, proclaimed as he pointed at Bart, "I come to challenge you, this world's mightiest warrior."
"Well then, you're Spidey Senses aren't what they used to be," Bart told him as he dropped his backpack.
"I witnessed your fight against the other warrior in your arena. You toyed with him before proving his lack of worth. It is you I will fight," he attacked Bart, who quickly stepped out of the way.
"You should have chosen a better opponent," Bart began as he continued to dodge the strange warrior's attacks, "Like Hercules, Chuck Norris, or the entire A-Team."
"No, I searched, and found you to be the greatest," the man declared.
"What I mean to say is that they'd give you quarter," Bart kicked him in the chest, knocking him down easily, "While I won't."
The man grinned as he got up, despite being winded from the attack, "You have proven worthy enough to see my true form," his entire body was enveloped in a stylized golden flame, a flame that appeared similar to a golden griffin. As the flame died, the man appeared unharmed and garbed in golden armor, "I am Goldar the Griffin Knight and Slayer of Worlds."
Bart, in the meantime, had pulled out a small, silver cell phone, "Well, Goldie, if you are going to… slay this world, then you're wasting your time," he flipped the phone open and dialed '5-5-5' as he continued, "There's just not as much to do here as other worlds."
He pressed the 'enter' button just above the 'talk' and 'end' buttons as a grey belt appeared. 'Standing By,' the phone declared as Bart tossed it in the air to catch the screen side of the phone and close it. He placed the phone down into a holding device for the phone and pushed it down. 'Complete' the device declared as a red light surrounded him, forming accents of a black leather jumpsuit with the red light forming lines down the arms and legs, a silver metal vest, and a helmet that resembled a firefly made up the rest of his appearance.
This time, Bart attacked him, easily contending with the more powerful form. "Who's your trainer?" Bart asked sarcastically as he and Goldar danced around one another, constantly attacking, dodging, and blocking against each other, "I'd like to know how you got that kind of tone."
"I know not what you mean," Goldar grunted, "But my mistress's name is Rita, a name you will all soon know and fear!" at that moment, Goldar paused, "My mistress, she calls for me," the golden light enveloped Goldar once more as he returned to his original form, "You have proven a challenge, pray that you are on the right side when my mistress rules this world," he disappeared in a blur, leaving Bart a little worried as he pulled the device off.
Bart walked into the perpetual oasis in a desert, a gated, Chinese-like forest and house that his grandfather built several years ago, as he was greeted by his grandfather tending to a flower. "How was your day?" he asked, not taking his eye off of the plant.
"Good, at first," Bart replied, "Jace challenged me again and I broke his ribs."
"Did you do it for personal reasons?" his grandfather asked, apparently not worried by the implications.
"Only partially; Jace was interrupting friends of mine while he issued his challenge, and he insulted mom."
Bart's grandfather got up and looked at him with a sense of indifference, "Remember, 'only you can choose the path you walk'."
"'As no one will walk it for you'; I know," Bart finished, his voice calm.
"I hope that one day you won't have to discover the consequences of your anger toward others."
"I'll try, grandpa," Bart stated as he started toward his room.
"'Trial and error are required for success'. Don't expect swift results."
Bart entered his room above his workshop and immediately headed down to meet a friend of his, "Alpha, what have you got for me?"
"Not much so far," Alpha, a male-voiced AI program in Bart's computer declared as Bart sat down in a chair and moved toward a series of computer monitors connected together with metal piping, "The database is huge and we're looking for a proverbial needle in a haystack covered in needles."
"Never mind that for now, I've got something else for you."
Bart told him what happened earlier, with Alpha responding with his usual proclamation of "Aye, yai, yai." Bart finished, asking him to look Goldar up in the database. Alpha paused for a bit, "I found nothing."
"Are you sure, Alpha?" Bart was beginning to suspect something, a connection between Alpha and this Goldar.
"I'm sure," he responded with haste. Bart stared at the monitor, contemplating a possible connection that could also exist between Goldar and his mysterious benefactor, the one who, Bart suspected, gave Alpha sentience and gave him the materials to create his Power Driver, the device he used against Goldar. After only a few seconds, an earthquake began, shaking up the workshop as Bart tried to remain still after reaching a hard wood desk near the monitors. "Aye, yai, yai." One of the monitors turned to the news, which reported a group of stone statues and a man in gold armor attacking people in downtown Angel Grove.
Bart immediately grabbed his gear and declared, "Don't wait up for me," as he got on a Ducati motorcycle in the middle of the workshop and, after the large garage door was opened, he drove off.
The five chosen by Zordon were teleported to the Command Center, dazed and confused by their surroundings. As soon as one of them began to investigate, Alpha emerged and declared, "No! Don't touch that!" then proceeded to lose control of his hover packs, crashing into the boy that was investigating.
"Incredible, a fully sentient, multi-functional automaton," he stated as he turned Alpha's body around in her hands.
"Greetings, Rangers," Zordon's voice boomed, "I am Zordon, an energy-based being caught in a time warp."
"And my name is Alpha 5," Alpha proclaimed as he floated above the boy to get out of his reach.
Alpha and Zordon began to explain the situation, how they've been watching them for a while, to which one of the Rangers accused them of being stalkers, apparently trying to make it sound like a joke, "We've just been keeping track of your location and life signs," Alpha affirmed, trying not to make the situation worse.
Zordon continued by showing the Rangers holographic images of a woman he called Rita and her attack on Angel Grove, "She's a war witch with magical powers, hailing from another dimension, her mission is to conquer the universe," he then gave each of them what he called their morphers, which would allow them to transform into 'Power Rangers'. He then assigned each of them what he called 'zords', "A fleet of mechanical constructs based on Earth's prehistoric animals."
The Rangers, however, refused to believe his words, and instead walked out. "Aye, yai, yai, Zordon," Alpha declared, clearly depressed, "They were our only hope."
"No, Alpha, there is another."