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Chapter 22 – Go Green Ranger
The impact that the attack on Mariner Bay had on the people of Earth could not be overstated.
Following the events of Tommy Oliver's assault on Acheron which had led the formation and rapid expansion of the Alliance of Worlds and the heavy fortification of Earth, with entire orbiting colonies dedicated to its' defence humanities' home world had been largely safe from external threats; which had in turn naturally meant that Earth had seen very few teams of Power Rangers. There had been a small smattering of teams elsewhere in the galaxy who had formed and disbanded after defeating their enemies seemingly in the blink of an eye and whose exploits had been reported on; intergalactic threats of all varieties had led to various operations involving those Rangers that had survived or been absent from Acheron and there were rumours of lone Rangers who operated beyond any and all command structures like the 'Lightspeed Black Ranger' who had become something of a myth within those employed by Project Lightspeed but there had only been three new teams of Rangers to form between the Dino Thunder and Aegis Rangers with two of them being reincarnations of previous teams, and the last being well over a decade ago. One such reiteration was a new team of Ninja Rangers mentored by Cameron Watanabe, though he had drawn his recruits from not only the Wind and Thunder academics but also the Fire and Void schools;
the second had been a hastily formed second generation of Lightspeed Rangers using the recovered Morphers of their predecessors, their training had been brief and they were rushed into the field to defend against a threat in the Lightspeed Megazord and though they were successful the entire team had perished in the effort.
Dana Mitchell had lost her Morpher and her father, the events were widely accepted to be one of the leading contributors to the mans' heart attack.
Mercy had lost both of her parents, she had been told that as the Megazord and giant monster fought one of the titans had been thrown through the building that they had been in at the time.
"I am truly glad that is over" Aslaug murmured as the five Rangers made their way through the streets of the city; Mercy slipping her hand into the Yellow Ranger's and giving a nod of tired agreement. Several days had passed since the attack and the population of not just Mariner Bay but Earth as a whole had been shaken, with pundits asking the dreaded question of 'If the Empire can strike here, is anywhere safe?'; to lessen the alarm Lightspeed had begun a full blown publicity and propaganda campaign reminding the public that the threat had been dealt with swiftly and that casualties, as regrettable as they were had been minimal, with footage of what was easily the largest group of Power Rangers working in unison in years being a focal point of their efforts and a shot of the Aegis Rangers landing the finishing blow on Beetalion being featured prominently.
Today however the Rangers had been assigned to assisting the relief efforts and clean-up duty, with express orders to remain Morphed so that they could be seen by the press, who seemed to delight in being underfoot. It had irked the Rangers as each of them saw it as an empty gesture, an assessment which Dana openly agreed with but deemed necessary all the same which had resulted in the five of them being mobbed by reporters for most of the morning, though Mercy had worn a bright smile beneath her helmet as she posed for pictures with children who lived in the affected area and signed several items including a handmade replica of her armour.
"I thought you would have enjoyed the attention" Panthera snorted as she sidled alongside them "The conquering hero, returning from battle, it's your whole-"
"Does it feel like we won?" Aslaug asked pointedly, Panthera faltered for a moment; her tail drooping behind her with Tempestus taking the opportunity to chime in
"Not when we find ourselves sweeping wreckage away" he sighed, his voice bubbling and slightly distorted as always "It feels as though we lost"
"What's worse is knowing that it's probably been like that on every world we've fought on" Mercy mused with sadness creeping into her tone as the realisation hit her and an unwelcome thought following close behind it "We just show up, win the fight and go home but it doesn't do anything for the people whose houses we step on with the Megazord"
"We give people hope, the Dark Empire would destroy every home they came across if we didn't stand against them" Rensa whispered fiercely, voice gentle as always and a stark contrast to his somewhat sinister appearance "People all over the galaxy go their whole lives without that, don't discount our efforts"
"Well said" Aslaug nodded in approval, giving Mercy's had a reassuring squeeze as she saw how morose the Red Ranger had suddenly become
"I suppose so" Mercy finally sighed as she flashed her friends a weak but grateful smile "Thanks"
"We're here" Panthera pointed out as she gestured to Ernie's Juice Bar; the 'New Tech District' of the city had been on the periphery of the Dark Empire's attack with only a few small groups of Putties venturing through the streets that the Rangers now made their way through and whilst the bar itself had been unaffected its' proprietor had been attacked and chased by a group of the automatons.
The news had been relayed to Panthera and Mercy through Jack Landors and Elizabeth Delgado as the pair lamented that, with the Silver Guardians being tasked with aiding the emergency services in the relief effort they had been unable to visit the alien whom the considered to be something of a father figure as their own squad had been deployed to the other side of the city; leaving the pair deeply concerned for Piggy's well being, not least of all because he had allegedly picked up another stray child.
Panthera, upon learning of where in Mariner Bay the Rangers were being sent had offered to check in on Piggy and Mercy had happily agreed; she was after all good friends with not only Jack and Z but also their squad-mates Sydney and Bridge although there had always been something of awkward tension between Mercy and the final member of the squad Schuyler 'Sky' Tate, largely attributed to the fact that the Red Ranger of Lightspeeds' second team of Rangers and man in control of the Megazord in the battle that had left Mercy an Orphan was Sky's father.
"Hey Piggy!" Panthera called out, voice brash and brazen as she led the others into the juice bar; her upbringing and former role as a smuggler having introduced her to much less wholesome establishments at a young age.
"Panthera!" the alien beamed at them, his smile a unique thing owing to the structure of his skill and the course, orange quill like protrusions fanning around his face fanning out in a display of happiness "Z said you might drop in"
"She's worried about you, Jack is too" Mercy informed him whilst beside her Panthera merely winked and drummed her claws against the bar
"I'm just here for the latest gossip, any interesting goods being brought through town, any ships with some valuable and easily removable parts left unattended; that kind of thing" Piggy laughed in response to the faux disinterest
"Now I wouldn't know about that, I'm just a humble businessman" all five teens rolled their eyes at the reply, Piggy would after all never admit to knowing anything illegal in front of several people with the authority to arrest him
"So can I get you kids anything, only the overheads don't pay themselves?" he continued "Aslaug you've gotta try the prune juice, it's a warriors drink; Tempestus we've got a new vegan seafood special just for you and Rensa I know you'll eat anything….In fact what am I even doing? KAY! KAY! COME HERE A SEC!" the barman leaned into a doorway that led into both the kitchen area and the basement in which stock was kept
"The new guy?" Panthera questioned
"Jack said you took someone on" Mercy added, Piggy only had time to nod before a striking individual came into view; with each of the Rangers assuming correctly that this was Kay
"Will hello there" Panthera purred, tail swishing as she watched them playfully balance the blade of a kitchen knife on the tip of a gloved finger; currently Kay wore an apron sporting the Ernie's Juice Bar logo over what seemed to be a white blouse which was partially unbuttoned to reveal a pastel green coloured t-shirt bearing some kind of logo beneath it and a pair of black skinny jeans and heeled boots.
Mercy almost choked on air at the Pink Ranger's reaction whilst Piggy plucked the knife from Kay's grasp
"Will you stop doing that, you're gonna cut yourself and it'll be unsanitary" he sighed before gesturing to the teens "These are some of our regulars, friends of ours….treat 'em right" Piggy gave their new ward a meaningful glance and the Rangers exchanged concerned glances, whilst they had never openly admitted to Piggy that they were Power Rangers they did wear their Morphers on their wrists; Mercy quickly decided that there was nothing to worry about and smiled
"Hi, I'm Mercy" she introduced "These are Aslaug, Tempestus Rensa and Panthera"
"I'm Kay" they replied, holding out a hand which Panthera was the first to shake; the Pink Ranger being surprised first by the strength of their grip and secondly by their eyes which she saw dart to the Morpher on her own wrist and were plainly not human and decidedly more interesting.
"While Lightspeed was dicking around with the big obvious distraction that the monster was, Kay over here was actually doing something useful" Piggy explained proudly and with a small hint of derision that the Rangers chose to grin and bare
"Impressive" Aslaug grunted as she gave them another once over, having dismissed the slender teen as being far from a warrior with her first appraisal
"You were out in the middle of an attack?" Mercy asked incredulously "Why weren't you heading for a shelter with your family?"
"I don't have a family" Kay admitted and the atmosphere around the bar changed into something icy and Mercy realised her mistake long before she saw the sharp glare that Piggy was treating her to; mumbling out an embarrassed apology
"Well they've got a place here and hell, me Jack and Z might be a messed up family but aren't they all" Piggy declared "Least I could do after Kay took out the Putties that were chasing me"
"Seriously?" Mercy questioned, openly impressed although she found herself slightly disturbed by the intense stare that Kay was treating her to; their distinctive eyes boring into her. She was about to ask if she'd caused any offence with her previous comment when Tempestus chimed in
"A capable fighter, Lightspeed could always use more of those….perhaps you could speak with Jack and-"
"Kay go take a run to the store for me" Piggy interrupted as he glass he was washing cracked in his hand
"I….Okay" they nodded as the alien hastily pushed a shopping list into their hand; clearing the bar in a single leap Kay removed their apron and making to depart
"I'll see you around" they murmured to Mercy, the Red Ranger having an odd sensation of familiarity at the comment before they turned to Panthera and merely gave a warm smile. The moment Kay was out of the door Piggy's voice became a guttural snarl
"Sit over there and I'll bring your drinks" his hand flew out and grabbed Tempestus by the scruff of the vibrant floral shirt he wore as he added "But listen carefully you little punks; Jack and Z made their choices, I can't change that but don't ever come in here and try recruiting kids again"
Mercy and Panthera quickly separated the two and led their friends toward the table Piggy had pointed to; the teal-skinned and vaguely feline alien leading the Aquitian whilst Mercy gently tugged Aslaug and Rensa away; the two of them having been ready to leap over the bar
"That could have gone better" Panthera noted dryly
"Serving ones' planet and people is a radical-" Mercy shook her head and interrupted Tempestus who seemed utterly shell shocked at what had happened
"Not how Piggy sees it" she sighed as they took their seats "He sees it as Lightspeed stealing his kids and I don't think he's ever really gotten over Jack and Z signing up"
"If they can deal with troupe of Putties alone then they'd have nothing to worry about" Rensa noted simply as he adjusted the filter goggles that protected his sensitive eyes, clearly referring to Kay "And I noticed that you seemed less abrasive than usual" his comment was directed at Panthera and
drew smirks from all of the other Rangers, it was rare that the Pink Ranger ended up on the receiving end of playful tormenting
"I was being friendly, congratulations you've converted me to one of you" she leaned back comfortably in her seat, a gentle flicking of her bat-like ears the only indication of any kind of emotion "Besides….it's nice to see someone else who can handle a knife on this planet"
A stream of frustrated curses escaped from Justin's lips as a purpose built diagnostic tool for use in the repair and maintenance of the Zords spat sparks and gave a worrying crackling sound. The former Ranger turned scientist did not consider himself a teacher by any means, though he also considered this something of a failure on his part; with the amount of truly amazing role models he had been provided with in the form of older Power Rangers he felt that he should have been more able to provide the same to Lightspeeds' younger recruits. Such concerns however had currently been pushed aside by more practical ones, such as the broken tool that lay on his workbench whilst he frowned at it intensely as though simply willing it to work; the repair of the Zords was not a task that could be undertaken alone, especially not after battles as trying as the one with Hoppenheimer had been and Justin had found himself leading a team of older Silver Guardian cadets who were each clearly vying for a position as his apprentice. The tool had been broken when it had been dropped into an open cavity within the Yellow Rangers' gargantuan mecha by a young man with the dubious nickname of 'Boom' who had then proceeded to climb inside the Zord to retrieve it, most likely damaging or disconnecting something important in the process.
"Someone sounds happy this morning" Justin whirled around to find Kimberley Hart leaning against a wall with a faint smirk on her face and holding two cups of coffee, Justin had been too distracted by his work and the lack of progress therein that he hadn't heard the to door to his workshop and laboratory, which he had retreated to after his patience had reaching its' limits, slide open.
"Teenagers" he said simply, making his voice as harsh and gruff as possible in a parody of Zebidiah Lord's more irritable moments. Kimberley merely gestured to herself vaguely and Justin saw that she wore a plain black business suit and a glittering pink tie that stood out against the otherwise plain attire; in contrast to the more practical and personalised Lightspeed uniform which she usually wore and that the suit and immaculately styled hair were a stark contrast to Justin's own lab-coat with singed sleeves worn over a pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt featuring a parody of what had somehow come to be regarded as the Power Rangers logo; that the only thing the two seemed to have in common was dark rings under their eyes was telling
"You've been teaching?" Justin realised
"Covering classes" Kimberley clarified as strode across the workshop that was Justin's sanctum and pressed a still steaming cup of coffee in his hands "Eric and TJ are still taking groups of older cadets out into the city so I'm covering some of their classes, whilst also doing my job and trying to hold the fort for Dana while she's on her press tour" she gave a deep sigh and Justin made himself comfortable on one of his many workbenches beside her, shaking his head as he did so
"And Zebidiah can't help out with that because?…." he demanded, trailing off expectantly
"There was a situation last night-"
"There's always a situation" Justin snorted
"A twelve year old girl discovered her nascent magical ability" Kimberly's answer silenced the scientist and she continued "Doesn't matter how many times we ban Ouija boards they always sneak 'em in….so now we have a lot of traumatised kids, including those two exchange students from Xybria-"
"But a little girl just got her Hogwarts acceptance letter" Justin snorted, only to raise his hands apologetically under the glare Kimberley shot his way
"So Zebidiah's dealing with that now, Doctor Manx still has her in for observation….Apparently Zebidiah is a completely different person when he's dealing with kids, especially ones that know 'The Arts'" Kimberley made speech marks with two fingers at that
"I mean he had two kids of his own" Justin shrugged with a smirk "And both of them went into the family business of killing and enslaving" Kimberley laughed at that despite feeling slightly guilty; she tried her best to separate Zebidiah from the Lord Zedd he had once been. After a few moments of peaceful silence she drained her cup
"So come on, what's really bothering you; you've been…..'bite-y' all week?" Kimberley eventually asked, deciding that as much as she enjoyed having someone to trade sarcastic comments and scathing retorts with something was clearly bothering the former Turbo Ranger
"My time off got cancelled, Lightspeed needs all hands on deck" Justin eventually grumbled, arms folding across his chest as he did so which gave him the air of a sulking child, prompting Kimberley to reach over and ruffle his hair
"We're directly responsible for the Power Rangers" she pointed out, trying to keep an amused edge out of her voice for the sake of Justin's feelings "You remember being a Ranger? Time off is a myth, it doesn't exist"
"I was twelve years old when I was Ranger" he countered "I didn't have anniversaries to deal with"
"Oh!" Kimberley gasped, hands flying to her mouth; Justin tended to keep his personal life very private, more than one former Ranger had found their family targeted either by genuine threats, lobbyists and political pressure groups, the press or simple stalkers and as such Kimberley had genuinely forgotten that the former Turbo Ranger had a life outside of work
"You know, one day you'll have to tell me how you two hooked up" she grinned "How do you manage to get sent to the Fire Ninja Academy for a tech support job and then hook up with a teacher there?"
"How did you go from dating the Green Ranger to a gymnast?" Justin shot back without hesitation "Sorry" he added quickly, Kimberley said nothing; the relationship with her fellow athlete had been a brief fling and the subject of Tommy Oliver would likely always be a difficult one.
Any further conversation was rendered impossible as alarms began to scream throughout the Aquabase and the lighting shifted to an angry red that Kimberley and Justin were both regrettably well acquainted with
"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?" the words left Justin's lips in a frantic chant as he bolted to the command centre from which he began desperately trying to ascertain the problem
"Another attack in the city?" Kimberley demanded in open disbelief
"Reports of several explosions in the alien part of town" Justin confirmed as he began intercepting communications to and between emergency services "Lone target, got a location….bringing up cameras now" Justin gave a satisfied grin which was quickly wiped from his face the instant the camera feeds were displayed on his various computer screens.
"No" Kimberley's gasp was equal parts terror and utter anguish
"It can't be" Justin whispered in stunned disbelief, Kimberley stared at the sight in front of her for a moment longer before finally coming to her senses.
"We need to contact the Rangers"
The Ranger's conversation with Piggy at Ernie's Juice Bar had been hours ago and the five teens had long since left the establishment in search of something else to do with the rest of their day; they had no classes or training sessions to attend, were not particularly enamoured with the idea of returning to the Aquabase to relax at home or visit the gym and they were not required to continue with the relief effort until the next morning. After briefly venturing deeper into the city they had decided to return to the New Tech District so that Panthera could continue working on her bike, though the Pink Ranger had paid for this decision in the form an incessant stream of teasing comments from Mercy and surprisingly Tempestus about her simply hoping to run into Kay again.
All of this had been brought a halt Justin and Kimberley informing them of an attack nearby.
The Aegis Rangers had ducked into the first secluded side-street they had seen and promptly Morphed before rushing through the streets and urging the fleeing civilians that they passed to find shelter; the attack was mere streets away from Ernie's Juice Bar and despite their commitment to defend the Alliance and life as whole, the knowledge that people they knew were potentially at risk pushed them to move just a little faster.
"Oh my God what happened here?" Mercy demanded as the Rangers skidded to a halt at a junction between streets which had seemingly been the epicentre of the attack; cars lay overturned and aflame or simply scattered across the roads in mounds of ruined scrap or abandoned by their fleeing owners; flames had spread to nearby buildings which had been spared from none of the destruction, with walls destroyed roofs partially collapsed. The Rangers realised in almost perfect unison that the roads ahead of them and to the sides had been blocked off by roaring flames, rubble and in one case a destroyed bus, though it was Panthera that voiced the obvious conclusion
"Ambush!" Mercy felt Aslaug's arm wrap around the back of her neck and drag her to the ground just as flash of green light burst from the flames ahead of them, a crackling arc of forest green surging over the Rangers and tearing through a traffic light behind them before dissipating
"Took you long enough to get here" a distorted and modulated voice noted with open scorn as it announced their attackers presence, closely followed by a lone figure striding through flames that seemed to part and move aside for them. The Rangers leapt to their feet and readied themselves, only for each of them to be rendered numb with shock and left with ice in their veins at the sight that greeted them.
A Green Aegis Ranger.
Their suit could have been based on nothing other than their own armour, yet it bore several deliberate differences that set it apart. Whoever this Ranger was they wore armour of a deep forest green whilst the curved and stylised lightning bolt that reached from their collarbones to their left hip and arced back up beneath their right arm, along with the entire arm itself were covered in a deep black which seemed to shift in colour as the light struck it, revealing deep indigos and midnight blues painting faintly visible constellations and swirling galaxies across the abyssal surface. Their boots were the same black colour whilst their left gauntlet and belt were strangely the same pristine white as the other Ranger's and their suit featured the same bright silver trim and rune-etched bracers.
One notable difference was a pair of twin capes which hung from the Green Ranger's waist, midnight black with silver trim and ending in jagged tips that reached just above their calves however the most striking divergence from the other Aegis Ranger's suits was the shield that they wore over their chest; silver, sleek and angular reaching out to their shoulders where its' points were turned upwards, with the lowest point of the thing reaching the diamond shaped emblem which displayed the animal of each Aegis Ranger's Power Coin and in fact emulated it, though it was glossy black shape set into the brighter colour and displayed what appeared to be a three toed claw in the deep green colour of their armour.
Mercy considered herself something of an aficionado of all things relating to Power Rangers, though she hardly needed to be in order to see that the Green Ranger's helmet was based upon the Dragonzord, yet it in this iteration it appeared sleeker and more streamlined; its' familiar black and silver colours replaced with green and a pair of vivid magenta eyes adorning the top of the helmet with a single swept back silver fin reaching behind it. Their visor was similarly stylised and eye catching, like the other Ranger's it was shaped to evoke the jaws of the animal upon their Power Coins, however the Green Ranger's visor was also designed to evoke flames as if the Dragonzord had spewed them from its' maw and added to the streamlined appearance as the glossy black surface reached around the sides of the helmet and extended behind in twin tapering points.
"Who are you?" Mercy demanded, still struggling to comprehend what she saw despite how unmistakable it was, the distortion of their voice made the Green Ranger's mocking laughter a harsh and grating thing
"Isn't it obvious, cousin?" they took a single step forwards and the Rangers braced themselves, yet this newcomer remained unconcerned
"I am the emissary of the Dark Empire and I will only offer my Lord's terms once" each of the Rangers could feel the Green Ranger's eyes boring into them as they spoke "Surrender or you will perish" the silence hung heavy in the air, oppressive and almost tangible; Rensa and Panthera shifted their weight and prepared themselves whilst Aslaug let out a feral snarl of anger and Tempestus's breathing slowed as the Blue Ranger centred himself. Mercy however gave a twisted smile and responded to the Green Ranger's mocking tones with a sneer of her own.
"So this is what Lord Zedd's resorting to….ask him how the evil Ranger routine worked for Rita Repulsa, or King Mondo or Lothor or….wow it's actually never worked has it?" without waiting for a reply she burst into motion, a scarlet comet surging towards the Green Ranger fuelled by pure righteous fury at the fact they dared to sully the name of Power Rangers in such a way. The moment she was close enough she sent a fist flying directly at the centre of their chest, aiming to crush the shield that covered it.
The Green Ranger caught her fist.
Mercy's eyes widened only for a fresh wave of anger to overtake her as her opponent let out a disparaging sigh at her efforts; she forcefully broke free of their grasp and threw several more punches which were effortlessly blocked before finally launching a roundhouse kick which the Green Ranger weaved under. The moment the Red Ranger landed the Green Ranger went on the offensive and Mercy saw twin auras of green light envelop their hands before they lashed out with a double palm strike that forced the air from her lungs and hurled her backwards faster than she could comprehend; one moment she was stood toe to toe with her enemy the next she was laying in a crumpled heap on the ground and gasping for air a dozen feet away.
With her limbs feeling like leaden weights and her vision still swimming after the blow the Red Ranger slowly managed to drag herself to her feet and cast her eyes towards where the Green Ranger stood and saw that her team had rushed into the fray.
They were losing.
Aslaug had lunged at the Green Ranger and thrown a wild haymaker which had been easily countered, the Green Ranger's left fist lashing out and striking her bicep before smashing their elbow into the Yellow Ranger's face; before Aslaug could recover they kicked her legs from under her and seized her wrist whilst turning at the waist and throwing the Yellow Ranger into the wall of a nearby building.
Panthera's twin curved blades flew towards them in their combined form only to be snatched out of the air as the Green Ranger completed their turn, catching and discarding the weapons just as Panthera reached them, descending from above and attempting to shatter her opponents collarbones and shoulders with twin elbow strikes; the Green Ranger stepped back to avoid the blow before kicking the Pink Ranger squarely in the gut and bringing both fists down on the back of her helmet in a hammer blow as she doubled over, driving her into the ground which cracked under the force of the impact.
Tempestus was the next to reach the Green Ranger and the deluge of fluid and graceful blows strung together without pause was enough to force them back several steps and cause them to evade several times until the Blue Ranger dropped into a low, spinning sweep in an effort to throw their opponent off balance before surging upwards and pressing the advantage; a pained exclamation escaped him as the Green Ranger's foot came down on his leg and trapped him in place before they reached out and seized his helmet and brought their knee crashing against this skull.
Rensa let a hissing sound filled with primal rage as he watched his friend fall backwards, visor cracked and struggling to free themselves before the Green Ranger could continue their onslaught; the Black Ranger rushed into battle and manifested their daggers as they leapt, in a feat of apparent precognition the Green Ranger stepped away from Tempestus and delivered a spinning heel kick which caught Rena square in the chest, robbing his momentum and sending him crashing to the ground.
Mercy saw all of this happen and prepared to rejoin the battle, manifesting her katana in a pulse of crimson light which only seemed to draw the Green Ranger's attention
"So it's to be weapons then?" they noted in an almost bored tone before extending their right hand as they strode towards her, their own weapon manifested in a flash of green; a short bladed and double-edged gladius whose handle and cross guard were black with silver detailing and the image of three pronged claw adorning its' cross-guard, the centre of the weapons' blade was silver whilst its' edges glowing with an ethereal green light.
"Captain Hart?" Mercy's voice was nervous as she opened a comm channel "This is kinda your speciality, any ideas?" seeing the Green Ranger brace themselves she realised that she couldn't wait for an answer and the two Power Ranger shot towards each other with a shock wave rushing out from the point where they met.
Kimberley heard Mercy's request yet found herself unable to offer anything in response and instead watched in shell-shocked silence as the Green and Red Rangers fought, their blades clashing at lighting speeds with arcs of lightning the colours of their armour being discharged with each blow; Mercy was being forced back slowly but inexorably as she was forced to give ground under her opponents' assault with the Green Ranger's relentless advance only being halted momentarily by Aslaug as she manifested her axe and swung it as the back of the Green Ranger's skull with all the force she could muster, only for them to duck beneath the attack before leaping into the air and using their spinning kick to her chest to propel themselves at the Red Ranger again.
"Kimberley, they need answers" Zebidiah intoned, the former Lord Zedd having abandoned his previous duties to join mission control the moment the alarms had sounded
"How do we take down an evil Ranger?" Justin demanded "Come on it's been done before but my team never had to face one"
"Never in direct combat" Kimberley admitted "It's usually a matter of breaking whatever control someone has over them and I'm not seeing a sword of Darkness"
"Unfortunately I don't have the means to make another candle to sap this Green Ranger's powers" Zebidiah lamented "And even if I did, such a task would take years"
"Yeah we don't have kinda time!" Justin snapped as he watched Tempestus be flung through a wall after the Green Ranger parried a blow from his staff "Eric and TJ are out there with Silver Guardian unit, I'm calling in and we'll use massed fire-"
"NO!" Kimberley barked "You put soldiers and cadets against a Power Ranger and they're all going to die!" she watched as Panthera and Rensa frantically fought against the Green Ranger, the four blades they carried between them being deftly matched by their opponents' lone weapon; Dana was en route to the Aquabase and Justin was frantically ordering Silver Guardian teams to be on standby but not to engage yet, her mind was numb until eventually an answer came to her as she caught sight of something on the Green Ranger's left forearm as they locked blades with Mercy once again.
"Justin, zoom in on that!" she frantically gestured to what she had seen and the former Turbo Ranger quickly complied, freezing the image and magnifying
"A Morpher" she breathed out, recognising the device for what it was and feeling a sudden wave of relief as she realised there may be a simple answer to this problem after all.
"It looks like it was based on one of ours" Justin noted with a mix of emotions as he examined the Morpher, horror being chief amongst them as he realised the device was seemingly made from components take from other Morphers and haphazardly forced together, bile rose in his throat as he recognised pieces from a Galaxy Ranger's Transmorpher, a Zeoniser and Tommy Oliver's Master Morpher.
"Of course it's based on yours" Zebidiah noted, his voice becoming the distorted snarl of his former self "The Empire has never had it's own Rangers….I brought my people closer to mastering the Eltarian secrets when I created my own Zord but it seems my second-born has managed to finish what I started….this was what they stole Project Crucible for, they wanted to take it to its' natural conclusion" a tense silence hung in the air as all present realised the gravity of the situation before being broken by Justin's bitter muttering
"You understand what this means?" he demanded "It means we can't keep our secrets any more, we have to tell her" whatever replies Kimberley or Zebidiah wished to give were pre-empted by a flash of light on the screen as the Green Ranger unleashed a wave of green light from their blade which scorched everything it touched.
"Okay Rangers" Kimberley opened a channel to all five Aegis Rangers and spoke clearly "Listen closely, we've got an idea"
The Rangers were being pushed back and simply outfought in every exchange, a condition that was underlined as Rensa fit the ground with a thud, coughing and rolling on to his back as pain coursed through his body, beside him lay Tempestus; the Blue Ranger's visor reduced to a web of fractures whilst his helmet was dented and his armour scuffed in several places. Mercy watched him fall as she sunk the blade of her katana into the ground and forced herself slowly, painfully back to her feet once again and turned her attention back towards the Green Ranger just as they countered a slash of Panthera's blades that would have taken their head by knocking the Pink Ranger's wrists aside before promptly headbutting her with crushing force, her helmet fractured and the Green Ranger followed by simply bodily charging into her and flinging her back into the wall of a nearby building with enough power to shake it to its' foundations.
"Come on, we can do this!" Mercy cried to her friends, desperately willing herself to believe even as the flames spread around them, consuming more homes and businesses and filling the air with thick smoke which she could smell even through the filters of her helmet. The Aegis Rangers, all of them sporting armour which bore countless cracks, gouges and burns struggled to rise and in the midst of the apocalyptic vision of ruin that the street in which they fought had become the Green Ranger twirled their blade almost idly as they turned their attention to the Red Ranger
"You will fall here" they noted with bemused disinterest creeping into their distorted voice "But your persistence has certainly been entertaining cousin"
Mercy's vision was filled with a red haze.
The Green Ranger's actions and the harm they had done, the sheer disgust that a Ranger siding with the Dark Empire caused, their words, the mocking tone they were delivered in and possibly most of all the damned nickname that they had given her sent Mercy charging forwards a furious scream of rage, the ground cracking beneath her feet as she shot towards her enemy; Kimberley had told the Rangers that they key was disabling the Green Ranger's Morpher, Mercy intended to simply remove their arm.
"Why do you keep calling me that!" she demanded as her katana clashed against their gladius in a corona of red and green light.
"I'm sure you can answer that yourself" the Green Ranger mocked as the two exchanged attacks with force that made the ground beneath them tremble, Mercy unleashing a barrage of wide slashes and acrobatic blows which cleaved through the air whilst her adversary blocked and parried whilst barely moving; the air around them beginning to crackle as though it were charged as they steadily built and focused their power before finally unleashing it with murderous intent. Mercy felt a tremor run down the length of her arm as she watched the Green Ranger transfer their sword from their right hand to their left and still block her strike in the same fluid movement, faster than she could react their right hand flashed out and began to grasp her helmet whilst a pulsing and crackling aura enveloped it; warnings flashed across her visor for a brief moment before her helmet was simply crushed and the stylised Red-Tailed Hawks' head that adorned it was ripped away, exposing her terrified face to her attacker
"GET CLEAR!" Aslaug's voice thundered and acting on instinct Mercy lashed out with her katana, the tip of its' blade scoring a thin groove in the Green Ranger's visor before she used their brief distraction to roll aside.
Then Aslaug struck with the force of a comet and the Green Ranger's shield visibly warped, yet continued to hold as her axe struck their chest
"Are you okay?" Aslaug demanded, voice wavering with fear as she pulled Mercy to her feet and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl even as the Green Ranger sailed through the air before crashing to the ground and shattering pavement
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay" Mercy nodded, though her deep brown eyes were still wide and adrenaline surged through her; refusing to allow her to contemplate how close to death she had just been "Everyone else okay?"
"Groovy" Tempestus dead-panned as he limped over, Rensa merely nodded in silence
"They're down" Panthera hissed "End this now" Mercy looked at where the Green Ranger struggled to pull themselves up from their hands and knees, breathing made difficult by the partially collapsed armour around their chest
"Well, it isn't just hitting the Morpher but it'll work" she grinned fiercely "Power Blaster!" with her command each of the Aegis Rangers readied and combined their weapons before aiming the barrel of the resulting cannon firmly at the Green Ranger who had managed to stand on shaky legs and was now bracing themselves. Seeing their blade vanish and them deliberately square their shoulders was enough to give Mercy the merest shadow of a doubt which she quickly pushed aside
"FIRE!" the familiar beam of white light wreathed in rainbow coloured lightning was discharged; yet the Green Ranger cupped their hands and held them to their side as a nexus of blinding green light built within them, seeming dangerously unstable as it flashed and warped until they pivoted at the hip and extended their arms forward, launching their own blast of power forwards with a roar of exertion.
The beams of light struck each other and the Aegis Rangers were flung backwards by the force of the shock wave that burst from the point where they had met.
Mercy was sure she'd lost consciousness for a second, yet her Morphed state had remained in tact; without her helmet however her head had collided painfully with the ground and her ears were ringing and the ground felt unsteady beneath her as she was pulled to her feet.
The sight that greeted her was one of utter carnage
"Oh my God" she breathed out as she struggled to focus on individual details but found herself unable; the immediate vicinity had been simply destroyed with several buildings completely levelled by the shock wave
"Mission control-" Mercy started before realising that what little remained of her helmet was no longer functional
"Mission control" Tempestus spoke in her stead "This is Tempestus, we have massive collateral damage, you need to send in emergency services and rapid response teams-"
"Understood" the former Pink Ranger's voice was terse "The Green Ranger?" the Blue Ranger cast his eyes around what remained of the street and shook his head upon realising that there was no trace of their attacker before he finally met Mercy's distraught gaze and answered
"They escaped"
Kay sprinted through the streets of Mariner Bay, their boots in their hands as they did so as the heeled footwear had been painfully unsuited to the task; their head was spinning with fresh waves of nausea that crashed over them and left them struggling to see, zigzagging across the road as dizziness threatened to leave them sprawled on the hard ground. Their breath came in ragged, laboured gasps and their chest felt as though it were being stabbed repeatedly as lances of burning pain shot out from ribs that may not have been broken but were almost certainly bruised, a situation that was only worsened by the pillars of thick black smoke which rose into the air from the epicentre of the violence; choking any who had lingered behind even as they were urged to find safety in shelters by automated warning systems that had been in place since the first attacks on Mariner Bay by Diabolico and his cohorts over twenty years ago.
Kay passed very few people as they sprinted away from where the Power Rangers had been, save for emergency services and Lightspeeds' rapid response teams speeding towards the scene presumably to assess the damage; New-Tech was largely populated by those not native to Earth and Piggy had explained to Kay that there had been more than one instance in the past of a police officer who had grown up in a time where any non-human presence was considered a threat opening fire on an alien civilian under incorrect assumptions, meaning that the people in this part of town had fled not only to escape the violence but also to avoid being wrongly implicated in it by the authorities.
All of which worked in Kay's favour.
Finally the reached their destination and came to a halt, doubling over and panting for breath before intently scanning the area. They had found their way to an area of Mariner Bay at the edge of what had become New-Tech and would likely be demolished and subsumed by the new developments in due time, an area that once been prosperous before it had been ravaged by demon attacks and had never truly recovered, businesses had long since fled the area with the residents following soon after leaving only the destitute and hopeless to eke out an existence in this forgotten and overlooked part of the city. The streets were empty save for a few rusting cars resting on flat tires outside of town-houses that were compact yet boasted several stories in an effort to save space, most of them had been vandalised in some way and the fences that ran around their perimeters' were close to collapsing.
Kay hopped over one such fence and took one final look around their surroundings before prising open a window which lead to a basement and promptly slipped inside. The sound of their feet hitting the bare floor echoed throughout the empty space and the thudding impact flung up dust which hung suspended in the air, catching what little light was available whilst Kay's eyes adjusted to the gloom, hot pink irises and black sclera being narrowed as they approached a large shape which occupied a corner of the basement; a large metal container which had been opened and produced what appeared to be a long range communications system amongst other useful equipment such as a medical diagnostic kit which Kay fully intended to use the moment they had the opportunity.
It was the stasis pod they had been brought here in.
For Kay, as Piggy had surmised was indeed a half human hybrid though the barman, community figure and trader of all things disreputable would never have guessed that the inhuman aspects of his latest ward were the result of Acheron heritage. The Green Ranger knelt before the pod and wiped away the soft smile that had tugged at their lip as they thought about Piggy and his hospitality, activating the communications system and waiting in silence for several moments as the heavily encrypted signal was sent until eventually a flickering and incorporeal blue form was brought into existence looming over him
"Kai, report" Lord Zedd's reverberating and fierce snarling tones demanded, silence reigned for a moment before the warlord received an answer; the Green Ranger's oddly musical voice having an irritable edge
"Kay. My name is Kay"
"What?" Lord Zedd challenged, the hint of confusion in his voice out of place, Kay took a moment to examine their fingernails which had been painted and alternated in colour between black and bright green before they finally answered
"The name I was given didn't fit, I chose a new one"
"So be it" Lord Zedd grunted, allowing a level of insolence that would have cost of of his generals their head if they had dared to attempt it "There are far more pressing matters at stake, how goes your campaign on Earth?"
"The infiltration process has begun, I have a cover story and am currently free of suspicion…..I also lured out the Power Rangers so that I could get the measure of my opponents" Kay's words became businesslike and deliberate as they recounted events, Lord Zedd made a sound of pleasure that was something akin to a purr yet far more bestial
"And what have you learned of the Rangers?" he demanded
"That fighting them is fun" Kay's attempt at sounding stoic and professional was shattered entirely as they laughed and beamed proudly; Lord Zedd, in a display that would have stunned any of his generals chuckled along with the hybrid
"A true Acheron" he praised "Proceed with the plan and lay waste to our enemies, your name will be legend within my Empire"
"As you wish-" Kay heard the projection flicker out of existence before they had finished speaking and an annoyed sound escaped them before they pushed the matter aside; they had more important issues to attend to, namely ensuring that the final few blows they had suffered in his battle with the Rangers hadn't done anything permanent and then returning to the Juice Bar and ensuring their cover was safe and Piggy was both unharmed and without suspicion.
Then he would turn his attention towards his cousin and her friends again.
Authors Notes:
So two of six chapters down.
The title of this chapter was literally a spoiler and I still managed to work some stuff that either did or will surprise you into the chapter.
Normally I'd mention this in the summary but: My Green Ranger's suit is inspired partially by the Green Ranger in the Fan-Project "Power Rangers: Unworthy" their third episode is planned for release later this month and I want everyone who reads this story to go and subscribe to them on Youtube and subscribe to the Power Hour Twitch Stream which is run by two of the people behind the project.
Anyway, let's summarise shall we:
I felt like I had to do a little bit of world-building just to show the significance of the attack of Earth; basically humanity thought "Yeah we had a phase where we'd be attacked every week by a giant monster, but we're beyond that now" it brought the reality of the war right to where people live.
Also yeah, in this timeline there's been a few OC teams; a Lightspeed V2, a new Ninja Storm team and one other OC team as well as team-ups and things like my "Lightspeed Black" idea. There's also been a few other teams across the galaxy but they're all gone.
Also I had to tie it into Mercy's "Backstory" she's been told her parents died in a Megazord battle.
Lightspeed may be the good guys of this story, but don't for a minute think that they won't do propaganda and damage control involving things like a highlight reel of the best Ranger fight moments and having the Power Rangers do publicity stunts.
Mercy was introduced as a dork who fan-girls over the Power Rangers, of course she loves that kids are dressing up as her.
I felt like the Rangers had to have that realisation that yeah they've been showing up and saving the day, but really that's far from being enough; rebuilding what was destroyed in all of their battles will take a long time.
"People all over the galaxy go their whole lives without that, don't discount our efforts" Rensa knows that, he was born a prisoner.
Jack and Z, the SPD Red and Yellow Rangers could almost be considered adopted or foster siblings to Kay; we'll have to see how that plays out.
Okay so forgive me for blowing my own trumpet but I feel like working in Sky's backstory was a stroke of brilliance on my part; canonically his father was a Red Ranger but we were never told who they were and I've already said that there was a second Lightspeed team who all fell in the line of duty; so Sky's Dad was that teams' Red.
Panthera just strolls into the juice bar like it's the seediest criminal underworld tavern and probably concerns a few of the regulars every time.
In my head Piggy has a coat like Del-Boy from "Only Fools and Horses".
"Prune juice, a warriors drink" I need someone to tell me that they got that reference because to me it's brilliant.
Kay is low-key a pastel goth….also they definitely raided Z's wardrobe for some of that.
Panthera did say that she hasn't met anybody that interested her on Earth yet.
"Might be a messed up family but aren't they all" I said what I said.
So Kay is interested in Mercy and Panthera.
Tempestus dropped the ball but really didn't understand that he'd done anything wrong; Aquitian culture is heavily focused on duty to your people, he's a Ranger because he was selected and the idea of saying no is alien to him.
Rensa is the youngest of the group, so when naturally when it's not Panthera being the gremlin sibling of the group the job falls to him.
Make all the jokes about Panthera's knife fetish you want.
So a lot of this scene was going to delve into the history of other Ranger teams but when I was writing the chapter that seemed to fit better at the start, so I filled it out with a little bit of fleshing out Justin and Kim; since one of my readers specifically asked to see that aspect of things….Never say I don't give you anything.
Justin wishes he could be a better role model but cannot deal with kids.
I've worked the rest of the SPD cast in, did you really think Boom wouldn't at least get name dropped?
I know I said when Justin did the "Teenagers" growl he was trying to sound like Lord Zedd; but I heard Ivan Ooze and you all did too.
Magic is a thing, it's been shown and I've said before that Zebidiah teaches any students that learn it….But Justin was from a team of Rangers that had cars for Zords; I imagine that he just straight up "Cannot" when it comes to raw magic that isn't harnessed by something like a Morpher.
"I mean he had two kids of his own and both of them went into the family business of killing and enslaving"….You laughed.
If you were a former Power Ranger you'd keep your business quiet.
So yeah Justin is dating a teacher at one of the Ninja Academies, I left the gender unspecified so you can drop whatever head-canons you want there.
The Rangers were close enough that they didn't need to be teleported in.
One way in, one way out….Perfect for traps and dramatic entrances.
Voice modulation so they don't know who's under the helmet.
So as I said the Green Ranger's suit was partially based on how Unworthy handled the original Green Ranger; but also it's obviously intended to mirror the Aegis Rangers.
I made the shield silver just so it fit the other Rangers colour palettes better.
The helmet is a streamlined Dragonzord which should tell you what will be making an appearance but with my own twist on it; also the visor thing is something we should all be annoyed hasn't been done yet...A Dragon Ranger with "Mouth Visor" that's actually breathing fire, I had the visor reach beyond the helmet kind of like the Kyuranger suits just because I like the streamlined look it gave the suit in my head.
I need to get my art skills to a point where they don't disgust me because in my head this Green Ranger looks cool as shit.
"Cousin" you know how I've been dropping hints about Mercy's backstory not being what it seemed? You know how Project Crucible was intended to make a Ranger candidate? You know it was based on Acheron biology and Lord Zedd used it to make Kay? Are you getting it yet?
Oof, Mercy just dragged all the villains.
Come on, surely you knew the Green Ranger was gonna take the piss, catching Mercy's fist was just setting the tone.
They judo tossed Aslaug into a wall and caught Panthera's spinning blade move all in one motion.
Look the Dragon Dagger is cool, it's iconic….I just made it bigger and gave it a permanent magical glow around the blade.
"This is kinda your speciality" I mean is she wrong?
As far as I can remember Kimberley is right; evil Rangers have never been beaten in direct combat it's always a combination of magic, power of friendship and plot devices.
Nope, no Green Candle.
Seriously, normal soldiers against a Ranger ends in a bloodbath.
The Green Ranger doesn't have an actual Aegis Morpher, they have an approximation of one that Lord Zedd's people managed to Frankenstein together out of scavenged parts….Obviously that won't be permanent.
Zebidiah did have a Zord when he was Lord Zedd after all….Which I have plans to reference at a later point.
"We have to tell her" I'm not being subtle.
Seriously though, Ranger fights should have way more collateral damage than we actually see; especially against other Rangers.
"Should have gone for the head" - Thanos….but seriously, I know it's something that will never be tackled in canon but what happens if a Ranger loses whatever body part their Morpher is attached to?
Kay probably could match Mercy or any of the other Rangers in terms of agility and do all the acrobatic moves but for this fight I really wanted to contrast against them by having the Green Ranger barely need to move.
The Green Ranger's 'aura punch' isn't a unique thing, we've seen the other Rangers use their weapons for area of effect attacks and it's the same general idea.
The helmet shatter was cinematic and you know it.
Look at these two dorks…..Someone get Sebastian over here; Mercy, Aslaug "Kiss the girl".
Okay the Kamehameha type move is unique to the Green Ranger but it is also canon….we just never see it after the Green Ranger joins the others; which is a shame.
Oh yeah, that street got wrecked.
Even Power Rangers can't run in heels.
I know I deliberately never used Kay's name in the Green Ranger scene's but surely you knew who it was under that helmet.
Come on all the Monster attacks of each season are in the same place, property values around their would be through the floor but insurance would be so high that nobody could possibly afford to live there.
Again to me it just seems logical that after so many years of aliens, demons and other monsters attacking Earth there would definitely be some friction…..But also it's definitely a metaphor and I wish "Trigger happy police shooting an unarmed minority because 'they feared for their safety'" wasn't as topical as it always seems to be.
That's what the attack on Earth was for, while the Rangers were dealing with Beetalion and Putties were causing havoc some of the Dark Empire footsoldiers found somewhere safe to leave Kay's stasis pod.
I don't know why but the idea that Kay paints their nails refused to leave me alone
"So be it" you hear that, that's acceptance….If Lord Zedd can respect peoples' pronouns then I don't wanna hear any fucking excuses about why you can't.
So a couple details to pick up on, firstly Kay has a plan….not exactly shocking.
Secondly that Lord Zedd lets them talk back to an extent that nobody else could.
Thirdly Kay seems to have some issues, he's on board at the moment but the first hints that it's not 100% are there.
Thank you to RyuRanger for their review on the last chapter.
Yeah, I'm not Non-Binary myself and I apologise to any Non-Binary readers I may have if I mishandle some things; I just felt that representation and inclusion are important, especially in something like Power Rangers where anyone can be the hero.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.