Burning Crimson
Summary: The Champion of the Phoenix if fated to die to defeat a powerful enemy. But first the Universe will know . . . Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger. The conclusion of the Crimson Ranger trilogy. AU for MMPR Season 2 and beyond.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men.
Chapter 10: Once a Ranger
Flashes of red, yellow, and black signaled Jason's arrival at the Oliver home with Zack and Trini, the final teleport trip he needed to make. There was yet another round of greetings, even though Zordon's Rangers were never out of contact with each other for more than a few days.
In the midst of the chaos of everyone getting settled Brandon's amber found Jason's chocolate eyes and the Crimson Ranger inclined his head towards the study. Jason nodded in acknowledgement and the couple moved into the room. Once there Brandon spoke in a whisper, "I haven't told the others yet, but I just got word through Alpha . . . Dalos V was attacked."
"Isn't that where . . .?" Jason asked, not naming the Turbo Rangers' former mentor as she was still a sore subject with Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat. When Brandon nodded Jason swore.
"The reports from the surviving inmates and Centurions indicate that she appears to have gone with Thrax willingly."
Before Jason could respond to that news, Tommy wandered in and announced, "We're ready whenever you guys are."
"Okay Tom," Brandon replied and he started to follow Tommy. However, Jason grabbed his arm.
"Are you sure you're up to this? You still look tired."
Brandon smiled at his mate and put his free hand over Jason's, "Yeah. I'm tired, but it's a good tired. A human tired . . . I don't get to feel that too often these days." Jason smiled back in understanding and they kissed.
From the living room Zack yelled out, "Hey, if they get to take time to make out, so do we!"
Brandon broke off the kiss and yelled back as he and Jason walked into the living room, "Zack, I think Trini needs to be worried about how jealous you get whenever I kiss Jase." The collected former Rangers shared a laugh at the original Black Ranger's expense, which he joined heartily.
As the laughter died down, Brandon took the opportunity to look around the room. Unsurprisingly, everyone was seated by couples. Kim was seated in one armchair, Tommy leaning on the back. Rocky was sitting on one arm of the couch with Aisha next to him on the seat proper. Next to them were Adam and Tanya. The opposite arm of the couch was occupied by Billy, Kat seated and holding his hand in a chair from the kitchen. The other armchair was occupied by Zack on the arm and Trini in the seat . . . they had been the last of the Chosen to pair off, years of working hand-in-hand while dancing around each other had finally resulted in a mutual acknowledgment of their feelings and a wedding just prior to Tommy beginning work at Reefside High. The "odd woman out," Haley, stood near the back of the room, looking confused as to why she was here. Brandon couldn't suppress a moment of nostalgia;
Even though they had received assurances through Trey that he was alright, it was almost a month after the Serpentera mission before the original Rangers heard anything from Jason. Even then the message was brief, simply saying that he would be home in a few days and that he needed all the originals together.
They had gathered at Billy and Kat's. Being the first married, and also the most successful financially, the former Blue and Pink Rangers were the only ones with a home large and private enough for such a gathering. Uncertain how far Jason was extending "originals," Tommy and Kim had brought together everyone Jason had served with . . . which worked out because Rocky and Aisha were still dealing with her grandmother's health, which had kept Rocky away from the Red mission to begin with, and Justin was in the midst of finals.
The group spent a comfortable hour chatting until Tommy's communicator beeped, followed moments later by the red teleportation flash that deposited Jason in their midst. Everyone rose to greet him and gain direct assurance he was alright. There were, of course, the inevitable questions about where he had been, what was going on, etc. Jason got everyone quiet and to back off a little before he responded, "I have something that will answer all of your questions. I just need to have it teleported down from the ship."
His teammates, his family, backed off a bit and Jason lifted his communicator to his face and spoke into it, "Okay, we're ready down here." A moment later a flash of crimson and gold fire revealed Brandon.
All of the original Rangers gaped, open mouthed at Brandon. Then, as one, they looked at Jason who responded with a joyful smile. The next thing Brandon knew he was on the floor with an armful of screaming Kimberly, who was trying to vent joy and shock at his return, while simultaneously berating him from being gone so long.
The others were a bit more cautious. Tommy looked deeply into Jason's eyes and asked, "Bro?"
Still smiling, Jason replied, "It's really him. The body's new," Jason blushed slightly, "but it's really him."
That was apparently all the reassurance Tommy, Zack, Billy, and Trini needed, as they joined in the dog pile on the Crimson Ranger. Adam and Tanya stood back, confused, with Kat, who was in tears. Being with Billy had given her a greater knowledge of Brandon and the impact he had on the team than the others who came after him. Her tears were of joy over the return of the missing piece of her husband and their extended family's heart.
From somewhere under the pile of ex-Rangers Brandon's muffled voice could be heard, "Ranger physiology notwithstanding, I need to breathe sometime!"
Jason came to the rescue, pulling his friends off, "Hey, that's my fiancé you're smothering!"
Kim looked up, "Fiancé?"
Jason's eyes went wide and he managed to get out, "Uh oh," before he was knocked to the floor by a hyper Kim, who launched into a barrage of wedding planning.
Brandon was snapped out of his reminisce by a discreet prod from Jason. He blushed slightly and then addressed the assembled Rangers, "Okay, we've pretty much kept you all abreast of the basics. There's a threat to the whole galaxy that will more than likely have a particular mad-on for Earth Rangers and so we need to be prepared." He paused with a smile, "But you know, as nice as Tommy and Kim's house is, this really isn't the most appropriate place for this kind of conversation."
Tommy asked, "The Lair?"
"No, I have someplace else in mind," suddenly Brandon gestured and the room was filled with multi-colored flashes of light.
The Inquiran system was actually two star systems. Each star had a group of planets that orbited them, and then stars orbited each other. This resulted in the system having two habitable worlds a few thousand square miles larger than Earth and a total of six habitable Earth-sized moons orbiting several gas giants. Thousands of years ago, due to their respect for nature, the Inquirans had moved large portions of their population off Inquiris Prime to the other habitable world and moons. This enabled them to have a population in the tens of billions, but to keep the population on any one planet well below the limit of what that planet could handle.
Dimitria was actually from Inquiris Gam, the first of the moons to be colonized. It was also where Divatox, again going by her birth name of Devania, was now living in the ancestral family compound. Therefore, as word spread throughout the galaxy that Dimitria had been freed from prison by Thrax it should have surprised no one when the new Darkthrone dropped out of hyper rush just outside Gam's gravity well.
The Inquiran defense forces fought valiantly, but they were no match for the Darkthrone's armaments. Any escape ships leaving the surface were also destroyed. Dimitria watched all of this from the command deck. However, it was doubtful that a casual observer would recognize her anymore. While she still wore her chestnut hair in a curled cascade from a topknot, gone were the white robes of an Inquiran cleric, instead she was now all in black. A heavy blouse with flared sleeves that were tucked into long, armored, leather gloves was partially covered by an armored bodice. The only color, a silver trimmed red sash, was wrapped around her hips over the black leather pants that were tucked into stiletto calf boots. A cold, malicious smile curled across her ruby lips.
Thrax came up beside her and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, "So much better, isn't it, than playing the loyal servant of the Light?"
"Oh yes," Dimitria purred. She then looked at Thrax, "May I?"
His eyes conveyed the cold smile he gave her beneath his helmet, "Oh course my dear. Consider this my dowry to you."
Thrax stepped back as Dimitria stepped forward. Stance spread, hands on hips, Dimitria commanded, "All cannons, target the moon for destruction."
The Batlings and Tallicks manning the controls made the necessary adjustments. Dimitria smiled coldly again and muttered, "Goodbye sister," before aloud commanding, "FIRE!"
Thirteen flashes of multi-colored teleport energy heralded the arrival of the bulk of Zordon's Chosen plus Haley in an otherwise darkened chamber. Everyone immediately started looking around. There was a soft hum in the air and some shapes could be made out in the darkness.
Kim, as usual, was the first to speak, "Jase, Brandon . . . where the hell are we?"
The grin was obvious in Brandon's voice as he answered, "Someplace far more appropriate for the Chosen of Zordon to battle Thrax from."
The moment Brandon finished, Jason commanded, "Power up!" In response six tubes, spaced evenly around what had to be the walls, filled with multi-colored energy which moved along an arching path towards the apex of what was now obviously a dome. At the apex the energy tubes connected in a half-sphere which blazed with light as the energy reached it. At the same moment the three semi-circular banks of computers came to life.
While neither Tanya nor Haley seemed moved, the former having only spent a few hours here, and the latter have never seen this place in anything other than Tommy's video, the rest of the original Rangers were clearly too shocked to speak. The girls were in tears and the guys were obviously fighting them. Finally it was Billy who broke the silence, "You . . . you recreated the Command Center."
Jason's grin threatened to split his face in half, "Well, not exactly. Structurally, yeah it's an exact copy. However the mechanical and computer systems are based on the Power Chamber tech and what we have on Eltar. And, it is missing a few intangibles."
Aisha shook her head, "No. No, he's here. At least in spirit."
Everyone seemed to agree to that. After a few moments Zack's curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "Man guys, how did you pull this off?"
Brandon shrugged, "I've got dozens of races that, despite my best efforts to dissuade them, feel like they owe me something. And, my best friend is the crown prince of a whole planet and a Ranger to boot."
"So, you wouldn't happen to have Power Coins to go with all of this, would you?" Rocky asked, having already relocated his old leaning spot on one of the consoles.
Brandon shook his head, "No, sorry. However, the Zeo Crystal is re-assembled and fully operational."
"Well, that's five of us," Tommy observed, "What about the rest?"
Brandon exchanged a looked with Jason and then continued, "Actually, at the moment, that's only two of you." And the questioning looks, he continued, "I've come to the conclusion that the only way to fight Thrax is to rebuild the Ninjetti order. To that end I need everyone who trained with Ninjor to come with me and Jase to Phaedos and become Ninjetti. Everybody else will stay here and hold down the fort with the Zeo powers."
The ex-Rangers all exchanged confused glances, especially the two couples that this would separate; Adam and Tanya, and Billy and Kat, who had always known she wasn't really the Pink Crane. Haley also looked extremely confused. Given what she knew of the various powers this group had wielded, the numbers just weren't adding up in a way that made sense to her.
Brandon continued, "Guys, I know I'm asking a lot. I know you all have lives that this will interrupt. And I hate to ask this of you guys," he looked at the two couples that were divided by their Ranger histories, "but the only way to become Ninjetti without having trained since childhood is to either have tapped into several different aspects of the grid, like Jason, been trained as an animal spirit ninja, or be me."
A ten way glance went around the room, that wordless communication that comes from long histories and total trust asserting itself, and then Tommy assumed his leader role, speaking for the group, "What, did you really think we'd say no?"
Brandon looked visibly relieved as Jason chuckled. Tommy smiled and continued, "Well, since that's settled, I guess we need to fill out the Zeo team." With flicks of his wrists he manifested his Zeonizers and unstrapped them. He then crossed to Trini and Zack.
Trini moved out of the way, assuming Tommy was going to Zack, so she was a bit shocked when Tommy changed direction and held the Zeonizers out to her. "Tommy?" she looked into his eyes, confused.
"I can't think of anyone better to lead a team of Rangers. Besides, it's about time for a female Red Ranger," Tommy answered her. From behind him, Kim interjected, "Damn right!"
Everyone chuckled, but Trini bit her lip and looked at Zack, who smiled reassuringly and said, "Hey, I've been following your lead for years, no reason stop now."
Trini smiled and accepted the Zeonizers. She strapped them on and jumped almost imperceptibly as the Power linked to her. Through Brandon's eyes her blazing Yellow became tinged with a corona of Red.
"My turn," Adam announced, manifesting his own Zeonizers. No one was really surprised when he crossed to Zack and said, "Time I returned the favor."
Zack accepted the morphers with a smile, one which grew even larger as the Power linked to him, "I do look good in green." His Black was now layered with a grid of Green.
Haley appeared to almost jump out of her skin when Rocky stepped in front of her, holding out his Zeonizers. "You . . . you can't be serious," she stammered.
"Blue's never really been my color, even less so than Red was. So, it's about time my Zeo crystal went with someone with the brains to live up to the Blue mantel," Rocky explained.
Haley argued, "I don't have what it takes to be a Ranger."
"Yes you do," everyone looked at Brandon as he spoke. "I knew it the first time I met you. Everyone one in the Universe with good in their heart is connected to the Power. In most people, it's a vague colorless glow. But people who are destined to be Rangers blaze their Color. You're a Blue through and through," he explained as he watched the shifting fractal that was Haley's connection to the Grid.
Haley looked to Tommy and Kim, and seeing their support, their belief in her, she straightened her back and accepted the morphers. She jumped slightly as the Power linked to her, "Wow."
Kat put a hand on her shoulder as the new Zeo team began to form up, "Oh, you haven't felt anything yet."
Jason stopped Zack, "So bro, you gonna be okay being the only guy?"
Zack looked at his new teammates and then back at Jason. "Hmm, surrounded by beautiful women in spandex," he replied with a hint of sarcasm, "I think I'll manage."
Everyone laughed as the Zeo Rangers lined up. The laughter was cut off as Trini commanded, "It's Morphin' Time!"
"Zeo Ranger 1, Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger 2, Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger 3, Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger 4, Green!"
"Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"
Once the morphing flashes cleared, the new Zeo Rangers removed their helmets. Trini, Zack, and Haley looked down at their new armors. Seeing the Red and Blue armors, Tommy commented, "Well, that's new," as Trini and Haley fingered their skirts.
Jason pointed at Brandon, "That would be his doing."
Brandon just shrugged, "Well, in talking to Dustin I found out that being the first male Yellow resulted in a few embarrassing moments with the public, such as every news report referring to him as her for the first month. So, figuring the Red and Blue crystals would go to Trini and Haley, I made a few adjustments."
"I like it," Haley commented.
"I think it fits," Trini agreed.
"And it will make everyone very aware that we are the first mostly female team of Rangers," Tanya declared.
Everyone laughed . . . until Brandon grabbed his chest and staggered back into one of the consoles.
Jason was at his side instantly, "Baby, what is it?"
Brandon took a few centering breaths and then muttered, "I am getting really sick of Star Wars references."
"What?" Jason asked, still worried.
Looking into his mate's eyes Brandon quoted, "It was like millions of voices cried out in terror, and then were suddenly silenced." Seeing confusion in Jason's eyes, he explained, "A planet. By the Power, they've destroyed a planet."