Chapter 03
A Note on Chronology: The short film this is based on appears to take place shortly after the end of Power Rangers Zeo, ignoring the chronology that followed. It also appears to have a backstory that is an amalgamation of the first four seasons of Power Rangers.
For this story, the cannon timeline is being cut off right after the end of Power Rangers Zeo, with an AU timeline after that. Everything up until the end of Zeo is still cannon.
Alright, TJ, you want to know what happened? It all started almost twelve years ago. Back then I was just Kimberly Hart, a high school student. My biggest fears were doing the triple flip on the balance beam and if I would get asked to the Homecoming dance.
And then came that damned earthquake. The whole city shook, as Rita Repulsa launched an all-out attack with her legions of monsters. I'm sure you remember seeing it on the news. Angel Grove was just unlucky I guess, the first place in her crosshairs. In the midst of all that chaos, we were whisked away. It was me and four of my friends.
We had been summoned by this weird, interdimensional being. God, thinking back to it, I don't understand why we put our faith in him so easily. He was just this floating head, called himself Zordon, and sent us out to fight. Oh, he gave us these cool powers, a few giant robots, but the rest was on us. We were the ones fighting his battles, we were the ones doing his dirty work. Oh, it was all for the greater good. Rita was hell bent on conquering our world, and doing nothing would've meant extermination or enslavement. Still, it took a toll on all of us.
Jason… he was our first leader. The Red Ranger, he pulled all of our asses out of the fire so many times. His best friend was Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger. I've never known anyone kill with such… style. Zack was an adrenaline junkie, he got off on the fighting in a way that none of the rest of us did. Zack and Jason would leave us eventually, along with Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger, to be delegates at a peace summit. Zack, though… I know deep down he never wanted to leave. He felt he had to, what with Jason and Trini going. But Zack never wanted peace. He wanted to keep fighting. Now it looks like he's found his perfect, neverending war, as Rocky's pitbull. And now… he may have always been addicted to the violence, but I never thought he would take it as far as he has. I never would've thought he could actually murder Jason.
And Trini, sweet Trini. She was the most enthusiastic about that peace summit. She really wanted to change her life, from the constant violence and bloodshed of being a Ranger to something that could actually create peace. She went to school, became a Junior Ambassador to the UN, and led some of the first protests against this cyborg takeover that CISCO is leading. For that, she was assassinated in the Chicago Incident.
But back then, Jason, Zack, and Trini leaving the team after nearly two years, that was a huge change for us. Of the original five, all that remained were me, and Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger. Yes, that Billy Cranston, CEO of Cranston Industries. Why do you think he became so successful so fast? Billy spent his time with the Power Rangers studying advanced alien technology, and then made himself rich selling his knowledge in the form of new gadgets and implants. So it was me and Billy, joining forces with three brand new Power Rangers for the first time. Honestly, I almost quit then myself. It was hard, trusting my life to a bunch of rookies. Tommy, though, talked me into staying.
Tommy Oliver was the most tortured of us all. He was originally recruited by Rita herself, brainwashed into being her evil Green Power Ranger. The Green Ranger powers were intense, and Tommy himself was an incredibly skilled fighter. He nearly killed us all, the original five of us I mean. In the end, though, right when it seemed as though he was poised to finish us off, Jason managed to break the spell he was under. Once free of Rita's control, Tommy joined our team. Eventually the Green Ranger powers Rita had given him were depleted, so Zordon turned him into a new Ranger, a White Ranger.
When Jason left, Tommy became our new leader. He held us together with the rookies, and forged a new Power Ranger team. We had new enemies to face: Lord Zedd, Rito Revolto, Master Vile, it was as if every supervillain in the universe wanted to take us out now. Tommy led us on a mission to acquire new powers, based on the ancient art of Ninja. After one of the longest weeks of my life, we secured our new ninja powers, and were stronger than ever before.
The new recruits, they really showed their stuff. Adam Park, he took over for Zack as the Black Ranger, he was a tactical genius. Aisha, Trini's replacement as the Yellow Ranger, she had the heart and enthusiasm for this fight that I had lost after so many battles, and she even rekindled it in me for a bit. And then there was Rocky. Rocky DeSantos, Jason's replacement, the new Red Ranger. I think he always had a chip on his shoulder, after taking the Red Ranger mantle but not being made leader of the team. Which was stupid, he was new and a rookie and why would he be put in charge? But those issues he had, I don't think they ever went away.
Within a year of the new rookies, though, I finally reached my limit. Truth be told, it was Tommy that finally broke me. I loved him, and every day I watched him almost die. Every day he watched me almost die. But Tommy, he was willing to endure that, all in the name of the greater good. For me, I just couldn't take it anymore. I became depressed and reckless. I got myself captured by Lord Zedd, and Tommy nearly died in a head-to-head battle with him. After that, I was done. I couldn't handle the death anymore. I found a young girl, Katherine, who had already been caught up in our adventures. She had the same wide eyed excitement towards this gig that I once did, so I handed her my morpher and joined a gymnastics team, saying goodbye to the life once and for all.
I kept in touch with the others. We wrote each other often, and I knew what was still going on. When the Power Coins and the Command Center were destroyed, I very nearly threw myself back into the fray. But then came the new Zeo Rangers. Tommy's new team, reassembled from the ashes of the old one. Tommy was now the Red Zeo Ranger, Adam the Green, Rocky the Blue, Katherine was still Pink, and Aisha had left the team (I never did get the full story how that happened), and a new girl, Tanya, was the Yellow. With only enough powers for five new Rangers, Billy left the front lines and spent more time in the brand new Power Chamber, where I'm sure he learned so much more to help him ultimately build his corporate empire. The Zeo Rangers would fight the Machine Empire, which I'm sure you've heard of. They drove Zedd and Rita away, claiming the Earth for their own dominion.
The Zeo Rangers fought the Machines for over a year, while I watched from the sidelines. It wasn't till near the end that I learned that Jason had joined them again, taking up the powers of the Gold Ranger under some rather unique circumstances. When King Mondo was finally defeated, when the Earth was finally declared safe, when the Power Rangers declared themselves publicly retired, that was a day I nearly cried all day long. I was so happy that the Rangers, my friends, were all finally done with that lifestyle.
There was a reunion, shortly after the end. Everyone was there but Aisha (I asked, but all I got was some interdimensional gobbledygook about where she was). Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Tanya, Katherine, and me. We hung out in the Power Chamber with Zordon, reminiscing on old times. We all talked about our plans for the future, a future that after four long years would finally no longer need the Power Rangers.
It was a year after the end of the war that Billy opened his company. Two years later, its cybernetic implant technology has become widespread. The richest and most powerful in the world trip over themselves to have the latest luxury, and before long they are all implanted.
It was five years after the end of the war that CISCO was established. They were supposed to be a force to regulate all this new technology, its founders included Billy and Rocky, and you know what, I still remember being so excited when I heard about it. Hell, I briefly considered applying for a job with them. The old gang getting together to save the world without all the death and violence from before.
After that, though, it started to become clear just how screwed we really were. Those reports, about some of the side effects of implantation, I didn't take them seriously until CISCO had their sources all shut down. After that, governments around the world began passing more and more restrictive laws, controlling people's movements, increasing surveillance, the works. CISCO's campaign to get the leaders of the world to embrace implantation had yielded great results, and now it was becoming clear what the benefit for CISCO was.
A year ago, CISCO finally established its own armed global police force. Rocky was its leader, and then they had Zack as their poster child. Zack, back in Power Ranger gear, somehow, leading their teams of stormtroopers all over the world.
Well, that was the last straw for us. Tommy called us all together, everyone except Rocky, Zack, and Billy of course. We had our theories about what was going on, after all the implants were based on Machine Empire technology. Regardless, we needed to put a stop to this, and that meant becoming Power Rangers again. Six of us set out to the California desert, back to the old Power Chamber. We were sure that Zordon could help us, could allow us to become Rangers one last time to save this world.
We were nearly there when they ambushed us. CISCO troops, led by Zack, swarmed us all. We fought back as best we could, but there were too many of them. I saw… I saw Katherine killed right in front of me. They kept shooting her even after her body hit the ground. It was a bloodbath.
Most of that fight is just a blur of blood and gunshots, but I still remember seeing Jason on the ground, clutching his leg. He had been shot, and I couldn't leave him there. I dragged him along after me, and somehow, somehow, we escaped.
Jason had lost a lot of blood. I got him to a nearby hospital, they patched him up, and I snuck him out the back before anyone could start asking questions. That was a year ago. Since then, we were on the run, hiding out in Las Vegas, taking shit jobs and hoping no one noticed us. We searched for any signs of the other Rangers, but… but we found no sign of them. It was as if we were the only survivors. We didn't know what to do.
So we did each other. The world was ending all around us. Mandatory implantation had just been forced through the legislature of every major country on Earth. Slowly but surely, everyone is getting chips put into their bodies. Pretty soon, the human race will have been completely conquered. So we turned to each other. We were happy. We were going to ride out the end of the world together.
And now he's dead, and we're here. But you know what, Rocky just had to have his moment before. Because he just told me that I'm not alone. Tommy, Tanya… they're still out there. And as long as there is a single Power Ranger left alive, there is still hope, TJ. Because through all the battles and the bullshit and the scars, there's one thing that's always been true about the Power Rangers: we never give up.
The prison's security room was supposed to be the safest place to work in the entire building. Yet now, the entire room was filled with bodies, every worker there either dead or close to it. In the center of the room stood a single, solitary figure. Even in the darkness of the room, his green armor reflected the light of the monitors. The green man watched the screens, observing as Kimberly told her story to TJ. It was a powerful story, but it was also one that wasn't over yet, as he pressed a series of commands on the console in front of him. Alarms exploded to life, blaring loudly in his ears as he submitted the final command.
"The rest is up to you, Kim," the green man whispered, before gripping his belt buckle. Green light flashed through the room, and he was gone.
End of Chapter 03
Author's Note: Here is where it is really about to begin diverging from the short film and exploring an expanded, darker Power Rangers universe. Enjoy the ride.
