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Chapter 26 – We Need A Hero
The corridors of the Aquabase seemed foreboding and sinister as the dim lighting provided by the emergency generators flickered, yet Mercy continued onwards resolutely and utterly certain that she was making the right choice.
Upon informing Mission Control that the Green Ranger had surrendered and was willing to submit themselves into Lightspeeds' custody the Aegis Rangers had been instructed to wait for reinforcements; shortly after the Quantum Ranger, Eric Meyers had arrived with a platoon of heavily armed and armoured Silver Guardians and Kay had been shackled and marched into the back of an equally heavily armoured vehicle after willingly relinquishing their Morpher and the Aegis Rangers had travelled with them, remaining silent as they each struggled to come to terms with what had happened and what was to come.
Upon arriving at the Aquabase Kay had been transferred into the custody of Zebidiah Lord who sealed the Green Ranger in several layers of magical shielding before escorting him out of the Rangers sight whilst Mercy and her team were led first to Doctor Kat Manx for a medical check up which was understandably less thorough than her customary rigorous procedure owning to the fact that several of her most critical patients needed to be transported off of the base in the coming days and preparations were already underway; from there the Aegis Rangers were instructed to meet with Kimberley Hart for a debriefing wherein they explained everything that had happened and it was in turn explained to them in vague terms that Vice-Admiral Dana Mitchell had been relieved of her duties.
The Rangers had been allowed a few hours rest and recuperation and upon returning to their living area each of the Rangers had returned to their own beds in weary silence; though Mercy had truthfully slept very little and suspected that the same could be said of each of her friends. The silence and time to contemplate had however allowed Mercy to come to simple conclusion that she needed answers about who and what she was and that she had no intention of being denied.
With that in mind she had made her way towards the Zord Hangar.
Justin Stewart had always been one of the most approachable of the Aquabases' senior staff, long before the Aegis Rangers had been formed and he had become part of Mission Control he had been someone that the younger cadets living on the base had seen as something of an uncle or older sibling, who often allowed them to bend certain rules or shared their interests and helped them wherever possible. Mercy knew that if there anyone who was both willing and capable of giving her the answers she needed and was relieved to find the man exactly where she expected him to be as she entered the hangar.
The first surprise was one that caused a sound close to a squeak to escape the Red Ranger, her eyes widened as she realised that alongside the twisted and ravaged remains of the Aegis Zords the Dragonzord had also been recovered and transported to the hangar
"Yeah that's a fair response" Justin laughed as he looked away from the gargantuan machines and set down the devices he was using to take readings of some sort "Thought you'd be packing?"
"Travelling light" Mercy shrugged, the Aegis Rangers would be travelling to their new base of operations later that day as the Aquabase was simply no longer fit for purpose; something which Mercy certainly had her own feelings about though they were subsumed by more important matters
"I came to talk" she sighed, deciding that there was nothing to be gained from talking around the subject "I've got questions and you're the best person to come to for answers"
"And I'm guessing the questions aren't about convention tickets?" Justin noted with a sad smile
"They weren't but now you've mentioned it" Mercy chuckled, the obvious questions that had consumed her thoughts since learning that she was a product of Project Crucible suddenly seemed far too daunting and so she began with a smaller one "What happened with Vice-Admiral Mitchell? It seemed serious and well….relieving her of duty is a decision that gets made lightly"
"You're right, it isn't" Justin nodded, expression darkening "She made calls that we couldn't follow in good conscience. She decided that the ends justify the means….I could never call Dana evil but I think she's been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for too long; her old man, Carter, Ryan….I think it's for the best she steps down and gets the help she needs and considering you brought the Green Ranger in alive with no casualties I can't see how anyone would argue against that"
"So who's going to be running things now?" Mercy asked nervously, as serious as Dana's issues were Mercy found herself unable to ignore the fact that her absence could create an opportunity for the Dark Empire.
"Most likely her duties are gonna be split between a few different people; obviously there's gonna be nobody stationed here except for my repair team….Kimberley could have had the Vice-Admiral job but she doesn't want it, most likely it'll go to Eric or TJ when all's said and done"
"Wait" Mercy gasped "When the Rangers move out you're not coming with us?" that had been unexpected and for the Red Ranger it was simply a blow to far, she had already lost so much of what was familiar to her and quickly found her eyes beginning to sting as she swallowed a lump in her throat
"Yeah….my relationship is already long distance enough and someone's gotta stay behind to make sure the Aquabase gets rebuilt" Justin nodded apologetically "Kimberley and Zebidiah are gonna be transferring with you and someone else will take my job….do me a favour and make sure that they give the monsters dumb names"
"Of course" Mercy gave a watery chuckle as she remembered the former Turbo Ranger's reasoning for the habit "It's important for morale" there was a moment of silence between them where they both knew what would be said next, with neither wanting to broach the subject until Justin finally braced himself
"You didn't come here to ask me about Dana"
"You're right" Mercy confirmed before taking a breath to steady herself and asking a question whose possible answer she was dreading "Project Crucible designed me to be the perfect Ranger candidate….what does that mean? Have my decisions ever really been mine or am I basically just a robot with skin-"
"Mercy" Justin interrupted gently, seeing that the teen would work herself into a panic attack if she continued
"I'll make this as clear as I possibly can, making you a Ranger candidate was strictly about giving you a strong compatibility with the Morphing Grid, do you know how small the percentage of people across the galaxy who can actually become a Power Ranger is? Humans are freakishly compatible compared to other species and even then it's less than one in a million. Project Crucible was about having a guaranteed pool of people we could call on before it was scrapped"
"Then there was no-"
"No psycho-conditioning of any kind" Justin nodded "We thought that raising you here, on the Aquabase around former Power Rangers would be enough and well, I think it's safe to say that it definitely was; you're a good person and that's all on you….The only conditioning was physical"
"What did you do to me?" Mercy demanded
"Mercy you're seventeen and you could spar with Zen-Aku; you've been impaled and survived" Justin stated flatly "The other Aegis Rangers have their own physiology on their side, we had to make you just a little bit tougher than the human baseline….I mean you're no superwoman, but you can give and take some pretty big hits" Mercy nodded in understanding, that particular truth stung in a different way; namely it was a wound to her pride as she had always considered her impressive abilities to be the result of her dedication to her training rather than anything innate about her own make-up.
There was one final question that she needed an answer to however and she met Justin's eyes with a hard gaze as she asked it.
"Who are my real parents?" she demanded "I mean, the dozen or so Rangers that were gene-spliced to make me, who were….oh my god, you were one of them" the realisation hit her as she saw Justin's eyes become watery as they had done when the truth had first been revealed.
"I was the youngest Power Ranger in history" he nodded whilst turning away, unable to meet Mercy's eyes "I was considered one of the most 'viable specimens' for the project"
"Who else?"
"I don't know" Justin admitted as he shook his head "Names and identities were protected….I know that only human candidates were used so Zhane, Andros, Maya or any of the Aquitian Rangers are obviously out. I don't know for certain but I think DNA samples for the Lightspeed Rangers were kept on record, there was a rumour that they had samples from Tommy and some of the Dino Thunder Rangers from somewhere….I know for a fact that Kimberley wasn't a donor; if it's worth anything she's told me more than once that you look a little like Aisha"
"That's a lot of maybes" Mercy breathed out
"Yeah….I'm sorry" Justin admitted "And I'll get it if you think I'm a bastard for keeping this from you, it was-"
"Classified" Mercy nodded in understanding before turning away "I've gotta go make sure we're ready to ship out….but I'm gonna come to Mariner Bay sometime; maybe you should tell your partner that you've got a kid sometime" with that she left, both she and Justin trying to understand the implications of these developments.
Mercy decided simply that she knew who she was and that was what mattered.
Kay's eyes fluttered open slowly and the various aches and pains from their various injuries immediately made themselves known in addition to the various forms of discomfort that came with sleeping in an awkward position such as sat against a wall and slowly stooping forwards until their forehead was almost touching the hard ground; the handcuffs fastened tightly around their wrists only adding to the irritation.
Kay pulled themselves back into a sitting position, letting out a wince as twinges of pain passed through their torso and ribs that had almost certainly been broken at some point during their various altercations with the Power Rangers.
The skin that had been covered by their Morpher had become pale, flaky and itched tremendously and the fact that the Green Ranger was currently unable to scratch it was decidedly unpleasant and their head pounded, which the harsh and glaring lights of their cell did nothing to help.
To distract themselves the Green Ranger found themselves reflecting on how they had come to be in this position.
They had surrendered to the Aegis Rangers and shortly after a Red Ranger carrying a pistol shaped to resemble the head of a dinosaur had led a sizeable contingent of soldiers in an armoured convoy to take them to the largely abandoned Aquabase where a robed man that Kay had instantly recognised as their own Grandfather by the waves of arcane energy that radiated from them had encased them in a magical prison before taking them to a cell; several hours later Zebidiah Lord had returned and used his magic to force the Green Ranger into a deep state of torpor and upon awakening they had found themselves here, in a pitifully small cell with grey walls and an utter lack of furnishings that was unmistakably a different cell to the one that they had previously been held in.
Kay had no idea where they were or how long they had been unconscious and whilst they stood by their decision to surrender as it was the only way that their battle with the Aegis Rangers could have ended without more deaths that they had no desire to be the cause of, they couldn't help the fear and suspicion that began to fester in their mind as they wondered if this was to be their fate, to be stripped of their powers and then simply cast away and forgotten.
It seemed that Lightspeed and the Alliance had other plans as the door to Kay's cell was opened, revealing to the Green Ranger just how heavily armoured and reinforced it was but more importantly the figure behind it. A middle aged woman with a lean face framed by brown hair which reached to her shoulders and wearing a Project Lightspeed uniform which had been customised to some degree, as in place of the emblem that should have adorned its' right shoulder her jacket displayed a stylised pterodactyl.
The fact that Kimberley Hart was flanked by no less than half a dozen armed guards with weapons trained on Kay seemed entirely unimportant to both Power Rangers.
"At ease" Kimberley breathed out before stepping into the cell and closing the door behind her, the looks of panic on the guards faces convincing the Green Ranger that this was a deviation from whatever plan had been in place.
"You were a Power Ranger once" Kay observed, their usually musical voice a dry rasp "I can tell….everyone else is scared of me"
"Hard to blame them" the former Pink Ranger noted "But I'm a firm believer in second chances and helping people to be the best version of themselves….because my team of Rangers had a Green Ranger of our own; you happen to use their Power Coin"
that was a revelation to Kay, whilst they knew of the Power Rangers and of parts of Acheron history and the Dark Empire's expansion through the knowledge that had been forcibly implanted into their mind as they gestated, the Green Ranger had never been informed of the legacy behind their own powers and whilst the knowledge of their peoples' conquests was merely a collection of facts and cold data that they felt no real connection to this knowledge brought an odd feeling to Kay's chest, a sense of belonging similar to what they had felt whilst working at Piggy's bar.
Pushing their confusing feelings aside for the moment Kay asked a more practical question.
"Where am I?"
"Promethea One….a colony ship in orbit above Earth" Kimberley answered "More specifically you're in the maximum security detention centre of the Project Lightspeed base on the colony ship"
"And how long am I going to be held here?" Kay asked, tone lowering to become something dangerous and threatening at the thought of being confined indefinitely
"Honestly until we can figure out what to do with you" the former Pink Ranger answered with a small shrug "There was some brief talk about having you be compelled to cooperate or be used for research purposes….but no, not on my watch. That being said we can't just allow you to run around on your own; but you could always try to escape of course we both know that those cuffs aren't strong enough to hold you" Kay glanced down at the thin metal shackles around his wrist and the chain that ran between them, a single twisting motion broke them and Kimberley visibly tensed until the Green Ranger simply scratched at their itching skin and made no effort to move. There was a moment of intense silence between the two of them before Kimberley spoke again
"Why did you surrender….I've seen you fight, you could have escaped"
"I don't want to kill anyone" Kay answered simply, pausing as they chose their next words "Fighting is fun, I enjoy testing myself but I don't want to hurt people….I don't think it's part of who I am, but I don't really know who I am. All I wanted to do was see some more of the galaxy….I don't want it to be enslaved y the Dark Empire, it would be a waste of everything that makes things special"
"And there's some of the person I thought you could be" Kimberley beamed "The Morphing Grid doesn't choose monsters, no matter what science Lord Zedd has"
"What do you mean?"
"You want to see the galaxy and on some level you want to keep it safe….you're a fighter but you don't want to use your power against people. I think I might know a place where you'd fit in" Kimberley held out a hand to the Green Ranger "But first let's get you checked over by the doctors….make sure those injuries are healing right; then we'll get you a more suitable living arrangement, somewhere with a bed" Kay took her hand and allowed themselves to be pulled to their feet and escorted out of their cell.
Seeing the broken cuffs around their wrists caused the armed guards to ready their weapons yet Kay paid them no mind at all, the first steps out of the cell felt unmistakably like freedom and somehow like home.
Mercy cast her eyes around the shared living area of the Aegis Ranger's shared accommodations and realised that it would likely be the last time she did so.
"I'm gonna miss this place" she sighed as she sat down upon a suitcase filled with her belongings, one of several scattered around her that contained clothes, books and countless trinkets she'd accrued over a lifetime lived on the Aquabase and couldn't bring herself to part with. Around her were Tempestus whose belongings had been neatly packed into a single suitcase, though the Aquitian rehydration tank which he slept in had already been transferred ahead of them to what would become the Ranger's new home; Aslaug who travelled similarly light whilst Klo curled up at her feet and Rensa whose belongings amounted to a single duffel bag which was currently slung over the gaunt and diminutive teens' shoulder
"Where's Panthera?" the Black Ranger noted, even beneath his filter goggles it was plain to see that his obsidian coloured eyes had darted towards where Panthera's belongings sat; the Pink Ranger had lost almost everything she owned when her ship 'The Claw' had been destroyed and even in the months she had been a Power Ranger had not replaced everything.
"She'll be here" Mercy assured him "She knows when we're leaving, she just had to go into the city" She knew this to be the case as the Pink Ranger had told her as much, Panthera planned to visit the branch of Ernie's Juice Bar that Piggy ran, or more accurately what was left of it at this point and spend a few hours helping the orange-skinned alien in any way she could since she had come to consider him a good friend and she knew that both Jack Landors and Z Delgado were currently in hospital having the broken bones that the Green Ranger had left them with treated. Seeing that Mercy still appeared to be dejected Aslaug reached out and laced her fingers' through the smaller girls'
"On to the next adventure?" Mercy managed a weak smile before looking down at the large and calloused hand holding her own and admiring the intricate tribal markings adorning Aslaug's forearm before her cheeks began to heat up at the memory of how she had thrown herself at the Yellow Ranger, needy and desperate as she had kissed her; it was clear that the two of them needed to talk and Mercy's mouth became suddenly dry at the thought.
It was neither the time or the place however and that fact was cemented by the door to their living area being opened, which preceded a slew of curses delivered in several languages and a chorus of metallic clunking sounds
"What the hell?" Mercy muttered
"Are you allowed to bring that through the Aquabase?" Tempestus noted as Panthera came into view; both wheeling her heavily modified motorbike and carrying several nondescript cardboard boxes at the same time
"There is literally nobody here who is going to stop me" the teal-skinned alien answered in a bored drawl as she sauntered into the room "Besides I paid good money for the bike, I'm not leaving it behind" the response earned Panthera several rolled eyes and Mercy found herself dreading the answer to the next question
"What's in the box?"
"Some knock off electronics, mostly phones and stuff….the guy who left 'em with Piggy got locked up and Piggy wants rid of 'em before the insurance people come round. If we're moving to a new base then I've gotta have a hustle" Mercy exhaled slowly, not sure whether to laugh or tear her hair out in frustration as it seemed that Panthera would always be Panthera no matter what happened.
She was spared having to make a decision by the sound of her communicator
"Okay Rangers" Justin's voice came from the small device and was loud enough for all to hear "I'm ready to teleport you….this is gonna take a lot of juice and the base doesn't exactly have a lot to spare after moving the Zords, so is everyone ready to go?"
"Yeah" Mercy managed to breath out, nodding sadly "Yeah we're ready….onto the next adventure"
"That's the spirit" Justin answered "Kimberley and Zebidiah are on site waiting for you. Remember, it's not a goodbye, just a see you later….may the Power protect you kids"
"You too Justin" Mercy replied
"Earth has been everything my Father told me it would be" Tempestus added with a smile "It's been groovy"
"Okay Rangers" the former Turbo Ranger's voice was suddenly businesslike "Prepare to teleport" the communicator fell silent and each of the Rangers readied themselves, remaining as still as possible save for Aslaug who reached down to grasp Klo and ensure that the monstrous alien canine didn't move; Mercy counted backwards from five in her head and the moment she reached zero the familiar tingling feeling of teleportation washed over her.
Their arrival at their new home was a little more dramatic than Mercy had intended it to be, as the moment the flash of light and outward rush of air dissipated several alarmed and panicked voices could be heard
"What the hell is that thing!" before the situation could deteriorate a familiar voice boomed out
"It's just a dog!….a really big dog" Kimberley Hart marched into view, flanked on her right hand side by Zebidiah Lord his customary flowing robes and on her left by an ageing woman with silver hair who wore a striking business suit and carried herself with a sense of authority
"I see things are as entertaining as always" the unfamiliar woman chuckled before introducing herself "Grace Sterling, former Red Ranger, head of Promethea; founder of the Terra Venture colony project….welcome to Promethea One" Mercy very nearly let a surprised expletive escape her as comprehension dawned on her, whilst she might not have known Grace's face her actions and her innovations were known all across Earth to be revolutionary and she was known across the Alliance as a whole to be one of humanities' brightest minds.
"Wait….does that mean you're our new tech support guy?" Mercy eventually gasped "I mean that you'll be taking over from Doctor Stewart"
"Oh goodness no" Grace laughed "I have my own affairs to deal with, although I will be happy to lend my assistance should the situation call for it; your tech support should be arriving in the next week or so"
"Miss Sterling has invited us to use Promethea One as a base of operations for the foreseeable future due to their being an existing combined Lightspeed and Promethea base here that can house and repair the Aegis Zords….which as you can see is where are currently" the Aegis Rangers took their first real glance around the teleportation chamber and saw that it was in fact very similar in design to the one within the Aquabase, though far larger and more open with several platforms arranged around the several story high chamber; which Mercy supposed was to be expected of a colony ship and noted would allow her to travel either to Mariner bay or to the colony ship of Angel Grove to meet with her old friends whenever possible.
"Being a combined effort between Promethea and Lightspeed this base was initially intended for research and development rather than active duty" Grace noted "It also functions as part of the universities' extended campus and has its' own dormitories; an area of which have been set aside for your use and needs….Miss Utahima if you would show the Rangers to their new residence and help them settle in?"
"Unless we're needed here for anything?" Mercy asked, naturally deferring to Kimberley
"Not tonight" the former Pink Ranger assured her "Unless the Dark Empire attacks you've earned some downtime, go make yourself at home" with that Mercy nodded and turned to the young Asian woman whom she assumed was one of Grace's students
"Marigold Utahima, pleasure to meet you" she introduced herself and held out a hand to each of the Rangers; Marigold stood at roughly five and a half feet tall, barely shorter than Mercy herself with light brown skin and auburn hair which fell over her shoulders and seemed to catch every available ounce of light, the lone bang which fell over her right eye especially so with a lone flower of the kind she was named after worn in her hair. She wore a wide collared and cream coloured coat which mercy noted featured Project Lightspeed and Promethea badges pinned to it as well as ones which presumably represented the university she attended.
"Okay Rangers" Mercy wished she had something more impressive to say but simply found herself shrugging "Let's go home….wherever that is now"
The ambient temperature around Lord Zedd dropped until his breath misted in front of him with each ragged snarl of a breath and the dreadful magic cascading from him froze and cracked the floor with each thundering step he took towards his throne; the pressure built in the air around until the nearest of his elite, Obsidian Putties simply imploded and its' body was crushed into a single, gleaming black diamond.
The warlord was furious beyond comparison and that rage had been given time to mature and simmer; rather than merely festering or burning out like a candle Lord Zedd's rage was a cold and calculating thing and the entirety of his considerable intellect was directed towards the source of his ire, namely the Power Rangers for whatever part they had certainly played in this latest sabotage of his Empires' inexorable expansion.
Reaching his throne Lord Zedd seated himself upon it, the armour of his clawed fingers drumming against its' surface whilst unnatural light blazed from behind the visor of his mask and cast the darkness of his throne room in a bloody glow for several moments until he reached out and mentally opened a holographic communication to both Paradoxa and his Green Ranger so that he could learn exactly what had befallen the Vanguard Fleet.
"My Lord" Paradoxa's flickering and translucent form knelt before his throne as the summons were answered; the tyrant rose from his throne once again and began to pace as he waited for Kay to answer until after several moments of silence it became obvious that the Green Ranger was either unwilling or unable to do so.
"I have reports that multiple ships from the Vanguard Fleet were destroyed" the ground itself trembled at Lord Zedd's words and Paradoxa understood the simple statement of fact as the accusation it was and more importantly what the punishment for her failures would be if she failed to explain them sufficiently.
"So Paradoxa, Captain of the Heliothis and Commander of the Vanguard Fleet; I'm interested in hearing your theories as to why Earth isn't under siege at this very moment"
"We were betrayed my Lord" Paradoxa answered quietly, the insectoid hybrids' smooth and silky voice wavering with fear
"Ten of our ships arrived in the Sol system and were immediately outnumbered four to one, they were waiting for us my Lord….the enemy fleet was confirmed to be receiving orders from Project Lightspeed" Paradoxa let out an audible gulp before casting blame, uncertain of how the news would be received "The Green Ranger has made no effort to establish contact or rendezvous with the Vanguard Fleet….it would seem that they lied about their successes on Earth"
"Rise Paradoxa" Lord Zedd's voice was not raised, yet its' intensity alone made it equal to any storm as he glanced first to his left where the hybrid stood and then to the vacant space at his right hand that the Green Ranger, the hybrid who bore his own genetic material should have occupied; it seemed that between his broken father, weakling brother and treacherous offspring that he was indeed the only one of his lineage befitting of the title of ruler.
Not that he would ever voice such an opinion out loud.
"It seems that attempting to harness the Power of the Morphing Grid truly was a futile endeavour….it is incompatible with our people on a fundamental level, look at how it has changed the Green Ranger" Paradoxa remained silent, having no answer to her masters' growled hypothesis
"No matter" he continued "Our hand has been played, our momentum robbed our advance halted….this cannot stand, it would seem Paradoxa that you will need additional guidance and leadership in order to complete the tasks assigned to you"
"My Lord I-"
"Silence" his rumbling tone tone took on an amused edge "Perhaps this is for the best….I've grown stagnant upon this throne, tinkering from afar whilst my Empire oversees itself. Prepare your base of operations for my arrival" he saw a look of surprise cross Paradoxa's face, her fierce yellow eyes widening before he ended the transmission.
Rearing up to his full, monstrous height of eight and a half feet tall; his armour which seemed to be comprised entirely of the broken and twisted blades of his fallen enemies and adorned with the fangs, claws and skulls of apex predators whirring and humming faintly as its' internal mechanisms made small adjustments to themselves. In a flash of light he manifested his gargantuan broadsword whose blade was longer than the average man was tall and was comprised of two narrower blades facing away from each other; a single barely perceptible motion summoned the remaining members of his retinue of Obsidian Putties to him and when the silent and menacing constructs had encircled him the Tyrant braced himself, three-toed and clawed feet sinking into the ground as his dark magic began to swirl around him.
Teleportation had always been an advantage the worlds of the alliance had over the Dark Empire, their technology allowing them to relocate entire ships or vast quantities of warriors and war-gear to where it was needed whilst at the same time removing civilians from harm whilst the Dark Empire could only teleport a few handfuls of warriors at a time and normally no further than beyond a single planet or star system.
Lord Zedd however was a juggernaut of arcane power and such pithy limitations did not apply to him.
With a single slashing motion, crimson light writhed along the blades of his sword and hung in the air as though a bleeding wound had been inflicted upon reality itself; seconds passed and the atmosphere within the throne room became charged and electrified before the crimson light expanded outwards and ripped a howling portal into existence which the towering tyrant strode through, his retinue of Obsidian Putties behind him.
The moment Lord Zedd took his first steps onto the dusty and blasted surface of Unus all activity stopped; slaves, overseers and various workers and warriors attending to their various duties duties upon Triforias' moon came to a halt and immediately dropped to a single knee with their eyes downcast, those nearest providing an example to those behind them and Lord Zedd watched the unified motion spread outwards like a wave before glancing downwards to find Paradoxa knelt directly before him, the light of his portal reflected in the shimmering black of her armoured carapace.
"Rise" he ordered with a low, growling purr "We have a galaxy to conquer"
To say that the sun had set over the colony of Promethea One would not be entirely accurate; rather the large town or small city that the space station contained was housed within an armoured dome whose exterior incorporated countless solar panels whilst the inside of the dome provided an artificial day and night cycle complete with artificial sunlight and a regulated atmosphere which was kept comfortable and the false sky projected across the domes' interior was entirely incapable of producing any unwelcome weather, although it also lacked any clearly defined seasons.
All of this had been explained to the Aegis Rangers by Marigold Utahima, whom it transpired was a nineteen year old student whose tuition fees were being paid for by a scholarship with Project Lightspeed and who hailed from another off-world colony by the name of Leslie Outpost as she had led the five of them to their new accommodations.
The Aegis Rangers new home was surprisingly not on the Lightspeed base itself, which was in fact a far smaller affair than the Aquabase but rather within the student dormitories situated on the close by university campus. Some precautions had been taken however and it had become clear to the Rangers their dormitory was not entirely similar to those given to actual students; firstly they had been housed in the top floor of the building, which was effectively an average sized apartment block and there were restrictions in place to limit entry; namely that there were no stairs leading to the uppermost floor and the elevator would only comply with a request to travel to that floor following a fingerprint identification. Upon arriving in the dormitories the Aegis Rangers had seen that the entire floor had been converted into what appeared to be a single large apartment for the five of them to share with enough bedrooms that there would still be several left empty after they each claimed one of their own and Panthera had noted that she had served on ships smaller than their current home as the five of them had begun unpacking.
Most of the Rangers were still in their new apartment, Tempestus contacting his adoptive parents on Aquitar whilst Panthera had been talked out of immediately acquainting herself with whatever nightlife or seedy underbelly had managed to eke out an existence on the colony ship; Mercy however had made her way onto the roof of the building and was currently gazing out and enjoying the view of the city of Promethea One that her current perch afforded her as she tried to make sense of her jumbled feelings.
By the time the entrance to the roof creaked open she had lost track of time and the sound of Aslaug's voice jolted her back to reality
"I thought you might get cold….it seems that isn't a problem here" the taller girl noted as she gestured at the fur cloak she carried, one of many that she brought to Earth with her when she had first left Mirinoi and Mercy, despite the lack of the biting cold in the regulated atmosphere happily accepted the cloak which she realised was made from the pelt of something that could only have been an apex predator from the icy forests of her home worlds' polar region and wrapping it around herself.
"Thanks"
"Are you okay?" Aslaug asked, her low husky voice gentle as she made herself comfortable beside Mercy "I know the Aquabase and Mariner Bay meant a lot to you"
"They were home" Mercy nodded "I've lived there my whole life….but hey we're living at a college, a lot of people move away for college so I'm just gonna make the best of it, this place doesn't seem bad anyway"
"Memories can't be replaced….but new ones can always be made" the larger girl shrugged and Mercy nodded silently
"Did you get the answers you needed when you spoke to Justin earlier?"
"Some of 'em" Mercy nodded "Enough to know that I'm still me….that I'm not just playing a role" Mercy shrugged, she wasn't entirely sure how true that was as she knew that psycho-conditioning or not she had still been indoctrinated since birth to see Lightspeed favourably although considering that they were the strongest line of defence against the Dark Empire to see them any other way was objectively foolish. Overall Mercy didn't know she had any more or less free will than any other human but decided at that moment that she had other, more important matters to deal with.
Like the fact that her heart was hammering against her ribs with Aslaug stood so close to her.
She swallowed and desperately searched for words only to find none and the silence between the Red and Yellow Rangers continued, growing more unbearable with each passing moment until finally Mercy managed to speak
"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed "I shouldn't have kissed you like that, I just- I don't know I-"
"There's nothing to apologise for" Aslaug assured her
"But I shouldn't have" Mercy repeated frantically "I was just-"
"Perhaps I should apologise" Aslaug gave her a bemused grin as she took Mercy's hand in hers "For giving you the impression that I was unhappy with you kissing me"
"Huh?" Mercy's train of thought came screeching to a halt and she could manage nothing more profound than that single confused syllable
"You wanted to be sure that you were still real….that was certainly real" Aslaug took both of Mercy's hands and gently pulled her closer "This is real" she slowly leaned down and captured the Red Ranger's lips with her own and Mercy, after a moment of utterly blank confusion returned the kiss, slipping her hands free of Aslaug's and wrapping her arms around the taller girls' shoulders.
"So...um" Mercy struggled to find words as the kiss broke and she almost reluctantly stepped back "Is this gonna be a regular thing?"
"I would hope so" Aslaug chuckled "As long as you want it to be" Mercy didn't reply verbally, instead she stood on the tiptoes and reached up to gently kiss Aslaug again
"Oh definitely" she murmured "So does this mean we're….I dunno a thing now?" Aslaug cocked her head slightly in confusion
"Right, Earth thing….I'm guessing dating isn't a big thing on Mirinoi"
"Not amongst my people" Aslaug confirmed with a soft laugh "You'll have to show me how it works"
"Um, sure okay" Mercy managed to squeak as she felt a swooping feeling in her stomach and her smile threatened to spill over the sides of her face.
The threat of the Lord Zedd and his seemingly endless forces may have loomed over them all and the Green Ranger along with the revelations they had brought had shaken her to her core but at that moment, with Aslaug's arms wrapped around her and the other Rangers close by Mercy was happy.
And she would be damned if she would let something as small as the Dark Empire change that.
Authors Notes:
And there we go ladies, gents and others.
That is the end of not only the Sixth Arc but also the entire First Act of this story, meaning we're roughly a third of the way through.
I chose this point to mark the end of the first act as it represents a definite change in the story; the Rangers have left the Aquabase and Earth, the Green Ranger has left Lord Zedd, Mercy and Aslaug have actually made a move, Lord Zedd has entered the fray directly.
Also I may not be posting next week as I might need a little extra time to plan ahead for both of my ongoing stories.
Anyway let's summarise shall we:
Even with no Morpher Kay was being handled with extreme caution and understandably so, because nobody is really sure exactly what they're capable of, only that they're a lot stronger and more resilient than a baseline human.
Seriously they needed the rest but after the last few days there's no way in hell they got any sleep.
All the cadets and kids on the Aquabase love Justin, 'cos he knows what it's like to be the baby of the team.
Lightspeed has the Dragonzord.
Convention tickets…..because Mercy and Justin are dorks.
So yeah Dana isn't gonna be involved in the story from this point but also she's not gonna be going off the rails and coming back as a villain.
I feel like I have to specify that Kimberley didn't want the job because to me she's the natural next in line; I didn't suggest Doggie because he was never the Shadow Ranger in this timeline and there's so obvious bias in favour of Rangers in the hierarchy.
Boom, there's the first twist of the chapter; Justin is staying behind….and Justin asking Mercy to make sure the Monsters all get stupid nicknames felt like passing the torch.
Okay just a little headcanon of mine, the reason so many evil empires attack Earth is because humans are a species that's just way more compatible with the Morphing Grid for whatever reason and any expanding empire wants to get rid of us before we get too big, it's also why all the crystals and whatnot that act as conduits for Morphers tend to make their way to Earth eventually.
Also I wanted to make it very clear that Mercy was not given any sort of mental programming to make her obedient, because at that point the heroes stop being the heroes.
Tempestus can survive deep-sea pressure, Aslaug is a space Viking who can break Putties by hand, Panthera's species are evolved from apex predators and Rensa was literally born on a death world and has poisonous bite….of course they made Mercy a little bit stronger than the average human.
So there we go, we know at least one of the people whose DNA was used to make Mercy and one who definitely wasn't; beyond that it's still rumours and mystery.
"Maybe you should tell your partner that you've got a kid sometime" Read into that one what you will.
Kay can heal from getting their face slashed, but sleeping in an awkward position is still enough to give them backache.
Oh yeah Zebidiah and Kay had their first real meeting off-screen, that'll have to be addressed.
Kay can spot a former Ranger, not by some innate power or aura that they have….they just carry themselves differently.
Aww Kay feels like part of the big Ranger family.
Promethea One, basically another Terra Venture which was in the comics designed by Grace Sterling of Promethea.
Kimberley acting as the conscience of Lightspeed here, because look we all know that somebody would have made some pretty grim suggestions about what to use Kay for.
Yeah Kay's pretty strong even without morphing.
I think we all know that the place were Kimberley thinks Kay would fit in is gonna be with the other Rangers, just not immediately because that is just gonna be too much stress in one week.
Obviously Mercy has the most stuff, she's the only one of the Rangers who never relocated to the Aquabase.
Panthera is always gonna be Panthera, so of course she showed up with her probably illegal bike and something to smuggle and sell.
"Onto the next adventure"
The Grace scene was basically a cameo and I just had to have her drop her credentials like the Iron Man "Genius, billionaire, philanthropist" scene.
So someone is gonna be replacing Justin, I'll you all take guesses at who it's gonna be.
Marigold Utahima is a deep cut character that I wanted to bring into the story; she's "DekaGold" the Gold Ranger" in Dekaranger, which is what became Power Rangers SPD in the west, except she only featured in the movie which was never adapted.
That being said I'm obviously going to have to make some changes to her character for her to fit, but also, just note that she isn't here for no reason.
Oh Lord Zedd is pissed….which is as good a reason as any to flex his powers.
"Paradoxa, Captain of the Heliothis and Commander of the Vanguard Fleet" he just full-named her and made it very clear that "This fuck up was on your watch".
So basically Lord Zedd is admitting that trying to create a Ranger isn't going to win him the war; meaning no army of Kay clones.
Compared to how the rest of Lord Zedd's Empire operates in cells and has limited abilities to teleport and reinforce each other Lord Zedd himself being able to just appear on Unus is a pretty impressive show of force.
Also Paradoxa is being relegated to a lieutenant now….fun thing wit the evil lieutenants, there's usually two of them trying to play off of each other.
Just having some scene-setting for my own benefit, because things like Terra-Venture having a day/night cycle when it's literally an open dome that you can see out
of bugs me.
Also Marigold being from 'Leslie Outpost' is an homage to Dekaranger where she was from the planet Leslie….I might find a reason to have the mask she wore show up as well.
And there we go, these two awkward dorks have finally taken the first step….even though they've been practically dating for God knows how long but neither of them have actually realised it.
So….let's see how Lord Zedd can fuck up everyone's good vibes.
Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.
Well we've seen how Kim reacts to Kay, now for Zebidiah….who is technically their Grandpa.
The Wild Force Rangers and Kay honestly aren't that important to the story any more.
I haven't actually specified that Ryan is still in a coma have I? Just that he isn't able to be be a Power Ranger any more due to the extent of his injuries.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
