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Chapter 30 – Feint

The Rangers heard the cheers even before the light of their teleportation streams had dissipated.

Mercy removed her helmet rather than simply de-morphing, perhaps out of some subconscious urge to appear as the hero that she was perceived as for just a while longer; clutching her helmet she saw that her fellow Rangers were following suit and she and Aslaug shared tired, tender smiles for a moment as they basked in the glow of their victory and the applause that the crew of the Command Centre had erupted into. Eventually she turned away from the Yellow Ranger, despite feeling as though she could have stared into those icy blue eyes for far longer and glanced at the rest of her team; Rensa merely looked somewhat ruffled, being the product of the unforgiving and nightmarish world of Dread had given him a different perspective on the Ranger's victories, seeing them as only temporary things whilst the evil of the Dark Empire was a constant which required constant resistance. Panthera almost preened at the welcome they received, the teal-skinned alien brushing violet hair away from her eyes where her spiked Mohawk and curled and flopped over itself; Mercy thought that the Pink Ranger might make a joking comment about finally getting the recognition that she deserved before realising that Panthera, whilst smiling was pointedly looking anywhere but at Kay whilst the Green Ranger simply looked lost; head cocked to the side as their inhuman eyes darted between Panthera and the translucent image of Zebidiah Lord as though they were unsure of who to focus their attention on first. It was when Mercy focused her attention on Tempestus however that she became truly confused.

The Blue Ranger looked stunned, his mouth hanging open and his glistening, coral pink eyes wide; the Red Ranger followed his gaze and caught sight of a trio of people she had never met before standing alongside Kimberley, Zebidiah and Grace, a human man alongside a pair of Aquitians, though she had barely a moment to take in the sight before Tempestus had bolted towards them.

"Father!" Tempestus's arms were flung around the middle aged human mans' shoulders and Mercy realised with a start that this was Billy Cranston, former Blue Power Ranger and despite his slightly thinning hair which still managed to resemble a mop, thick glasses, slight build and a complexion that had paled after spending so long on Aquitar away from the light of the sun the man still managed to carry himself with an air of unassuming power; at least until he returned his adopted sons' crushing hug with gusto.

Mercy was unable to ignore her curiosity and silently gestured for the other Aegis Rangers to follow her, though she made sure to keep a respectable distance whilst her friend was reunited with his family. Tempestus broke away from his father and turned to the two Aquitians present, the first being clad in the navy and gold uniform of his peoples' warriors, a stocky and powerfully built man with skin that appeared tanned despite the nature of Aquitar which suggested he had spent some time away from his home-world whilst the purple tissue amidst the golden-hued mask-like bone structure of his face had a rough and coarse texture to it, denoting age.

The second Aquitian was a woman, the shortest of the trio of newcomers wearing clothes in various shades of purple which was adorned with countless beads, pearls and seemingly hand-carved stones which radiated a quiet magical energy and put Mercy in mind of some sort of shaman; the woman's skin was olive and the soft tissue around the bony protrusions of her brow and cheeks leaned closer to pink than purple and was framed by chestnut coloured hair which reached to just below her jaw.

"Mother" Tempestus halted, bowing and holding his hands out before him in a triangular shape in a traditional Aquitian greeting until Cestria laughed softly

"Silly boy" she sighed before pulling him into a hug even tighter than his fathers' had been.

"Blademaster Corcus" Tempestus bowed again, the Aquitian man mirrored the greeting and gave no verbal reply; the Blue Aegis Ranger glanced between the three of them and asked the obvious question "What are you all doing here?"

"Doctor Cranston here will be taking on the duties that I've been covering in regards to Ranger operations" Grace explained, wearing a satisfied smile that struggled not to seem more than a little smug "It's good to see you Billy….I always knew we'd ending up working together eventually"

"I apologise for the tardiness" Billy gave a weak smile of his own before waving the other Rangers over "Gather round, I want to get to know all of you; because you're my sons' friends as well as you being Rangers. This is Cestria, my wife and one of the leading healers on Aquitar; she'll be here acting as your chief medical officer"

"Please just don't make the post-battle checks take all day" Panthera sighed, annoyed by the reminder of the bureaucracy yet to come.

"I will certainly do what I can" her voice echoed and bubbled in the way all Aquitians' did as she chuckled, before becoming more serious as she turned to Zebidiah's mentally projected form "I hope Billy and I can help you as well"

"Thank you" Zebidiah grunted gruffly, clearly unused to the idea of needing aid or having people around him willing to offer it. Kimberley stepped forwards and gave a slight nod of the head to the Aquitian Man whom Tempestus had given the title of 'Blademaster' before speaking to the Rangers as a whole.

"This is Corcus, Black Ranger of Aquitar-"

"Former Black Ranger" the man interrupted and Mercy's widened a fraction in recognition, whilst she did not know his face Corcus's name was well known to anyone who had studied the Power Rangers of Earth to any degree. The Aquitian Rangers to come to Earths' defence when the Power Rangers were indisposed had relinquished their titles and risen to new stations within their society, with the exception of Aurico the Red 'Alien' Ranger who had led this new team in Tommy Oliver's attack on Acheron; that entire team had fallen and their Power Coins had been lost, prompting Corcus who had blamed himself for his absence to leave Aquitar in a self imposed exile and fighting evil wherever he encountered it, his title of Blademaster a relic of a life he no longer lived.

"And I will be here to train you" the former Black Ranger surveyed the Aegis Rangers "You've been allowed to train under your own supervision for some time now and show promise, but I also see room for improvement"

"Not right now however" Kimberley interjected, reading the room and sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere caused by Corcus's assertion "Our Rangers need to go through their post-battle medical checks and debriefing, then I think we can all agree that they've earned the right to some rest"

"That they have" Billy nodded and the Aegis Ranger's shared weary smiles, they had pushed the Dark Empire back once again and the recovery efforts for Anvil Six Beta could being whilst they relished the luxury of what other people would consider normality.

"What about me?" Kay's words were cautious "Where do I go?" Kimberley looked to the other Aegis Rangers and Mercy quickly realised the question that was being silently asked of her; the Red Ranger turned to her friends in turn and saw each of them wearing reluctant expressions, the Green Ranger had fought alongside them but living with them was an entirely different proposition.

Then Aslaug took the initiative

"With us" she answered simply "We have spare rooms" the Yellow Ranger's expression hardened and it became clear that the other Rangers would simply have to deal with the decision, a choice which made simply made Mercy curious whilst Panthera visibly fumed though the matter would have to wait a while longer to be resolved as Kimberley and Cestria motioned for the Aegis Rangers to follow them whilst Corcus and Billy began examining the Command Centre

"Rangers" Zebidiah's voice echoed and distorted and his magical projection began to fade away, the effort of maintaining it finally taxing him.

"You did great work today" his eyes focused on Kay "All of you" with that he faded away and the Rangers prepared to give their debriefing, each of the six of them apprehensively wondering what this new status quo would bring.


Paradoxa had been summoned and the insectoid Acheron Hybrid made her way dutifully towards where she knew her master to be.

The Heliothis was currently still travelling through deep space on a course to return to the moon of Unus and as she stalked through the vast chambers and decks which made up the interior of her ships' segmented body Paradoxa noted that may of those who were, at least in name still under her command were hard at work to not only ensure that the vast amount of work to keep such a colossal vessel functioning was done but also that the considerable damage inflicted by the guns of the Alliances' warships of the Green Ranger's Zord was swiftly repaired. As she marched through the ship its' crew halted briefly to bow and show proper respect as she passed yet Paradoxa could sense the subtle differences in their posture, the way that they dared to raise their eyes and how they returned to work before she was even fully out of view, the hushed and fearful whispering that had once followed her replaced by the din of frantic labour. Paradoxa had been usurped as master of her vessel and the thought made her mandibles clack in irritation, the species that much of biology had been drawn from, the same species that had produced the likes of Scorpius and Trakeena were spacefaring and each of the monstrous biological ships was a hive or colony unto itself; the hybrid couldn't help but silently rage at the fact that Lord Zedd had rearranged the natural order of things with his mere presence.

Eventually she reached where Lord Zedd was currently located, a portion of her shop that Paradoxa herself rarely had need of as she did not sully herself toiling away in the various parts of the ship where she could be harmed by machinery and she had the good sense not enter the fray herself unless she was sure it was a battle she could win; it was a private and restricted segment of the ships' infirmary whose door was wrenched open by magical force as she approached, sparks bursting from its' sliding mechanism as Lord Zedd gestured for her to enter

"My Lord" Paradoxa sank into a bow and forced herself not to audibly grit her teeth

"Rise Paradoxa" Lord Zedd answered impatiently as the door closed again and as she did so she was treated to the sight of the supreme leader of her species and Empire in the flesh, with more than half of his armour removed to reveal what lay beneath. The crimson flesh of his chest was a mess of old scars overwritten by new wounds, heavy stitches and crude bolts holding the tyrants' torso together whilst the skin was rent open in several places to accommodate connection points and interfaces that allowed his armour to fuse with his body more completely and become an extension of himself; his right arm was entirely mechanical and without the bladed armour that combined elements of the cutting edge and archaic was simply a husk, gleaming and skeletal metal engraved with arcane runes and with thick, fibrous strands of synthetic muscle tissue which seemed to be an unsettling mid-point between the organic and mechanical. The operating table upon which Lord Zedd as well as the floor and walls of the room were covered in pools and spatters of jet black blood and the warlords' remaining armour was set aside and beside him sat a sealed metal case, to see him in such a state, almost casual was more than a little disconcerting for Paradoxa.

"Our mission was a success" Lord Zedd's words snapped her to her senses with the force of a physical blow, yellow eyes narrowing in suspicion a moment before she managed to master herself and the towering warlord let an amused, rumbling chuckle at her reaction

"You doubt me?" he asked "Come Paradoxa, give your account of things and tell me how you believe me to have failed" there was a threat and a challenge in that statement and Paradoxa knew that she needed to tread carefully lest her next words be seen as insolence or treachery, yet at the same time she knew that back-tracking was not an option as it would be perceived as a display of weakness she could ill afford.

"The Rangers live" she began, pale green flesh losing some of its' colour as she began with what was in her mind the most obvious aspect of their shared failure "Your presence has been revealed and the element of surprise lost, another of Gibil's creations was destroyed with little to show for it and we were forced to retreat before our mining operation could be completed; the Alliance now knows of the operation and the colony remains" she stopped speaking, privately waiting for Lord Zedd's mechanical hand to close around her throat and break her neck only to be surprised and relieved in equal measure as another deep chuckle escaped the tyrant

"I would not say we gained nothing" he noted, eyes glowing with crimson light from beneath his mask "Dead or not my Father has been removed from the equation. We learned that my bastard Kay is a weakness that can be exploited, if that were not the case why did they not arrive with the Rangers initially and why did my Father have the Green Power Coin? My presence was calculated Paradoxa, a gambit designed to instil fear and distract our enemies from what is truly important; whilst they devise ingenious new ways to combat me and scrabble to defend themselves they will create opportunities for us to strike and overlook the next stages of my plan"

"What would have me do my Lord?" Paradoxa asked, bowing her head respectfully once again; she wished to ask what her masters' plan was but knew that it would be dangerous to ask directly, fortunately Lord Zedd understood her intentions and opened the sealed metal container and reached in with his left hand

"Do you know what this is Paradoxa?" he asked as he produced a sizeable chunk of rock littered with vast chunks and shards of a shimmering purple crystal which seemed to glow in a pulsing way as though it were alive.

"I do not my Lord" Paradoxa admitted

"Azoth….More powerful than the Horusite used to power your Teleportation Gate; it fell out of favour due to the difficulty of refining it yet several deposits remain. Empire scouting parties recorded a supply on that moon before the Alliance claimed it back when our borders were more less rigidly defined; yet the Alliance have no use of the crystals and likely wouldn't recognise them for what they are" Lord Zedd's eyes flashed and beneath his masked helmet Paradoxa could sense that he was smiling "The Vanguard Fleet has done its' duty, now is the time for reinforcements"

"I will have Gibil lead our engineers in designing a refinery for the Azoth crystals my Lord" Paradoxa bowed and turned to leave; the moment she was free of her masters' gaze her face morphed into a

snarl of unfettered rage.

This Lord Zedd was a broken fool unworthy of his title, Unus and the Heliothis was her domain and it had been risked at his behest and now he revealed, with utter impunity that he intended to steal what glory she might have still been afforded by casting her fleet into irrelevance; all after failing to defeat the Power Rangers.

In Paradoxa's mind it was clear that the current ruling bloodline of Acheron had been allowed to grow stagnant and was no longer fit to lead, filled with weaklings and traitors. The insectoid hybrid saw now that it was time for the Dark Empire to be brought under new leadership.

Hers.


After several hours of medical checks and debriefings the Aegis Rangers had finally been allowed to leave the base, though initially they had chosen not to. Cestria had been joined by Billy and the two of them had requested a tour of the joint Lightspeed and Promethea base within Promethea One and the college that was attached to it, a task that Kimberley and Grace had delegated to the Rangers with knowing smiles and that the Rangers had found themselves happy to oblige despite their weariness.

Tempestus had been more animated than the other Rangers could remember seeing him, whilst he was normally friendly if a little reserved and unwilling to speak out of turn due to a combination of his unfamiliarity with Earths' various cultures and the more rigidly structured and defined nature of his own society that had all been brushed aside and the Blue Ranger had been gesticulating wildly and firing off explanations and questions at a rapid pace, taking the opportunity to disable the sub-dermal translator that every citizen of the Alliance was fitted with and speak in fluent Aquitian once again.

Seeing the Blue Ranger so openly happy had brought a wide smile to Mercy's face, the Red Ranger giggling uncontrollably at his antics on more than one occasion; on top of this Cestria seemed to by kind and good natured whilst Billy Cranston was the Blue Power Ranger and that fact was mesmerising to Mercy. She was less star-struck than she might once have been, though at heart she was still the same girl whose fellow cadets had given joking nicknames and ridiculed as a fangirl; she still wore a colourful necklace bearing the a stylised lightning bolt and the words 'Go Go!' and by no means did she consider herself an equal to the legend that was Tempestus's adopted father and had found herself chattering and firing questions off almost as animatedly as Tempestus himself, asking about the Zords he'd piloted, if Rita Repulsa's brother really was the bumbling caricature he was often portrayed as and if it was true that he and Captain Hart had both gone through a brief 'Punk phase' as a result of Rita's meddling.

Eventually however it had become clear that Tempestus and his parents would enjoy some time alone to catch up as a family and the other Aegis Rangers had willingly given them their space, Kay still needed to be shown where their new home was after all and as if in an effort to avoid the charged atmosphere that would likely linger in their living area for some time Aslaug had jokingly reminded Mercy that the two of them never did get to finish their date.

Which was how the two of them had found themselves back in the large park that Promethea One boasted and whilst it was currently mid-afternoon, meaning that the colony ships' artificial day and night cycle prevented any kind of stargazing it was still a pleasant spot for a picnic. Currently the two of them were well fed and content, Mercy's head laying on Aslaug's lap as the taller girl played with her hair absent-mindedly and the pair simply enjoyed each others' company and grew steadily closer to drifting off to sleep as their tiredness got the better of them.

"Hey Aslaug" Mercy mumbled as she turned to face the girl she now supposed was officially her girlfriend and made herself comfortable again

"I've gotta ask….and I'm not complaining about it, not really" she let our a sigh "But why did you speak up and tell Captain Hart that Kay could live with us"

"It would have happened anyway, I think I know Panthera well enough to know that she would not take having the Green Ranger forced upon her by Mission Control well" Aslaug murmured sleepily before shifting her weight so that she could see Mercy better "Besides….they fought alongside us today, we don't dishonour our allies"

"I guess" Mercy shrugged, annoyed at how conflicted she felt and wishing that the choices she had to make as a leader could be simpler "I mean, I don't think Kay's gonna attack us in our sleep or anything like that it's just that Kay and Panthera this close together….they really hit it off when they met at Piggy's bar and she didn't take them being the Green Ranger well. Who know, maybe this is what they both need to move forward?" Mercy let out a defeated sigh, the decision had been made and there was nothing that could be done about it now.

"Maybe it's what you need as well" Aslaug noted quietly as she returned to stroking Mercy's curly hair

"Huh?"

"I know you still worry about how you came to be" the taller girl answered quietly, the subject of Mercy being the product of Project Crucible something that the two of them had avoided discussing directly "Maybe this will help, Kay was intended to be Lord Zedd's answer to you; your mirror image….if you see that the Green Ranger is no monster then perhaps you'll stop doubting yourself?"

"Wow….way to call me out" Mercy laughed before realising that the attempt to brush the subject aside was beneath her "But thanks, maybe you're right. I don't want to second guess myself all the time, I don't want to feel like I've got no future, like I was just made for this one thing" her words grew steadily more aggravated, largely at herself and the circumstances that were beyond her control until she shook her head and simply refused to allow their time alone to be ruined; instead she repositioned herself so that was beside Aslaug, arm wrapped around her waist and kissed her cheek before nuzzling into her neck

"You can have any future you dream of Mercy" Aslaug assured her, a slight blush colouring her cheeks at the sudden contact though she happily wrapped an arm around her.

"I've been thinking as well….I don't know exactly what I want to after we beat the Dark Empire; and believe me when I say that we will beat the Dark Empire" Aslaug smiled as the sudden fire in Mercy's eyes but the Red Ranger quickly continued "But I think I'm gonna talk to Mari and enrol at the college; whatever I do I've gotta take the first step right?"

"Right" Aslaug gave her a proud smile

"But y'know what I wanna do right now?" Mercy's expression became mischievous "This" a moment later her lips were pressed against Aslaug's and her fingers curled in dusty blonde hair as she felt the Yellow Ranger's teeth graze against her lip and strong arms lift her so that she was straddling Aslaug's waist.

Plans and worries could wait, it was date night and the two of them had earned this


Panthera realised that she'd been played.

She supposed that given time she could have come around to the idea of having Kay living in the same quarters as the rest of the Aegis Rangers but had been giving serious consideration to finding somewhere else she could stay for a few nights until her fears subsided, not fears that the Green Ranger may reveal that their defection from the Dark Empire had all been part of some long ploy but rather fears that she would finally reach the limits of her patience and simply wring their neck.

Her plans had been scuppered however, her friends seemingly conspiring against her until she was left cursing them under her breath as she led Kay towards the student dormitories that the Rangers lived above. Tempestus she could understand and was genuinely happy for, as much as seeing the Blue Ranger with his parents made her wonder what had become of Acinonyx and how her sisters' recovery was going; the Pink Ranger's suspicions had truly risen to the fore when Mercy and Aslaug had made their excuses to slink away though she'd found herself unwilling to complain about it as the fact the two of them deserved some uninterrupted time alone was undeniably beyond question whilst Rensa hadn't said a word, the Black Ranger must have simply decided that he'd dealt with the tension between his team-mates for too long as Panthera had turned around and the small, pale boy was simply absent and neither she nor Kay had any idea where he had gone or exactly when he'd left them, yet the Pink Ranger was almost certain that he was laughing at them wherever he was.

She'd be sure to get even somehow.

"This is it, welcome to hotel Power Ranger or whatever we end up calling it; we haven't decided" as playful as her words were Panthera's feline tail swished agitatedly behind her and he large, almost bat-like ears lay flat against her skull whilst the bitter, angry and resentful edge refused to leave her voice despite her best efforts.

"It's nice" Kay looked around the shared living area that Panthera had led them into "So do you want to-"

"Absolutely not" the teal-skinned alien cut him off with a slight snap to her words

"But I didn't even-"

"I really don't care. Don't get things confused, we are a long way from being friends. Got it?" she stalked away from Kay without turning to look at them

"Oh….okay" at that point the Pink Ranger did turn around and winced at the sight that greeted her, Kay looked pathetic, a kicked puppy as the human idiom went, with their eyes downcast and their body seeming to crumple under its' own weight.

"Oh for…." she trailed off, a collection of curses from all corners of the galaxy lost beneath a deep slow breath as she marched back over to where Kay stood and grasped their shoulders "Can you at least look like you're worth hating? Please?"

"I don't want you to hate me" there it was, some of the playfulness she remembered from the Green Ranger's voice

"And I don't want to hate you either" she admitted, fighting the urge to lean into them as she let out another sigh and added "But I really want to, it'd be easier than feeling like an idiot; you lied to all of us, me most of all. You made us all feel safe around you and came into our home and killed people we cared about"

"I know; I see it every time I close my eyes" Kay whispered "I tried running, now I'm going to stay and fight against the Dark Empire but I still don't know if I can make things right, I barely even know what right is if we're being honest"

"Well we've got that in common" Panthera murmured, squeezing Kay's shoulders gently and reassuringly and deciding that they had all been through enough already over the last day, whatever further arguments or conversations they needed to have could wait; the two of them remained like that in a silence that grew gradually more peaceful until she spoke again

"Okay, pick a room and go grab your stuff"

"I um….I don't have any stuff to grab" Kay admitted abashedly "I don't actually own anything" Panthera realised that the jumpsuit they were currently wearing was likely provided by Lightspeed and any other clothes she had seen them wearing had been borrowed from either Jack or Z at Piggy's request.

"Oh for fuck's sake! Wait here!" Panthera snapped as she slunk passed them and made their were to the elevator, a stream of curses and mutterings escaping her as she did so and as far as the Green Ranger could tell she intended to go and find some proper clothes and bedsheets for them.

After a moment of solitude Kay was brought to their senses by a loud growling behind one of the doors and realised that it was most likely the Yellow Ranger's pet that they had been warned about, ignoring the noise the made their way over to the sofa and sunk down into it whilst staring at their new Morpher, its' black casing glossy enough for them to see their own reflection and the gold of the Dragon Power Coin gleaming in the light.

Suddenly they felt as though they were being watched and instinct took hold, they leapt from the sofa and launched a spinning crescent kick which cleaved through the air but struck nothing solid

"You'll have a hard time making friends like that" the incorporeal form of Zebidiah Lord noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Grandfather I-" Kay paused as a thought occurred to them and their hand closed around the Morpher "You came to take back the Power Coin?"

"What possible use would it be to me right now?" Zebidiah countered "I simply thought I should use my mobility whilst I still have it….I'm not sure my consciousness will be free to wander once I'm connected to the tube they hope to build. I thought someone should check in and see that you and the other Rangers were handling your new living arrangements adequately….I can see things aren't exactly going to plan"

"I'm not sure I'm ever going to be one of them" Kay lamented eyes downcast once again, the admission coming easily despite the sense of distance that had existed between themselves and the former Lord Zedd

"Understandable" the ghostly projection nodded "But entirely wrong nonetheless" Kay couldn't quite keep the annoyed look from their face as they glanced up at Zebidiah

"I don't think-"

"No, you don't" the interruption silencing the Green Ranger "Do remember who you're speaking to child. Power Rangers are good people by their nature, they can't help but be forgiving. Things will certainly be awkward for some time but I believe that is what the humans call puberty"

"You think they can forgive what I've done?"

"You think your sins are any comparison for mine?" Zebidiah replied with an amused snort, annoying Kay more than a little with his attitude

"Anyway, I see that you're still alive….I should probably return my consciousness to my body before that Blue Ranger decides to prove just how much more clever he's gotten in the last few years; even when I fought against him I could appreciate the art in what he does" the astral projection began to flicker and fade away and Kay suddenly felt compelled to speak up

"Wait….when they transfer your consciousness, can I come and visit you?" Kay looked away "I don't want my only family to be Lord Zedd"

"It would be a pleasure" Zebidiah's mocking tone was replaced by something altogether more earnest "And for what little it's worth….I see nothing of your father in you, you have the makings of something far greater" Zebidiah vanished entirely and left Kay alone to process the days' developments in silence until Panthera returned.

They had no idea what the future held but somehow sensed that it had become a little brighter.


Kimberley had found herself in her office, one that still felt new after the few weeks she had occupied it. Whilst still largely minimalist and utilitarian in design this office still had a more approachable and personable air to it which the former Pink Ranger supposed might have been largely due to the fact that as false as the sunlight streaming through the windows was it was still preferable to being underwater; cold steel filing cabinets filled with classified documents juxtaposed against comfortable leather seats and a small sofa tucked into a corner of the office whilst multiple screens displaying countless readouts pertaining to various aspects of her duties and other information forwarded to her by Project Lightspeeds' various bases were offset by the desk they rested upon, an expensive mahogany piece that Kimberley would never have chosen for herself upon which several photographs were displayed, one of her mother in Paris where the two of them had lived, a much younger Kimberley smiling and flanked by Serge and Britt, friends she had made in her time there; another showed her holding a medal she had won at the Pan-Global Games whilst a third showed her alongside Jason, Trini, Zack and Billy, smiling as she leaned against Tommy.

A knock at the door snapped her focus away from the photographs.

"Come in" at her words several voice activated locks disengaged and the door of her office opened to reveal one of the faces from her photographs, though it had aged heavily in the intervening years

"Corcus is going over the training that the Rangers have been put through and looking for ways to improve it, expect a lot of suggestions" Billy's words had the air of a grave warning despite the smile he wore "Cestria is going over the Ranger's medical files….tackling Lord- Zebidiah's treatment is something that needs careful planning"

"You can't just put his brain in a tube?" Kimberley asked with a smirk

"A human brain, sure give me some copper wiring and a hacksaw….as for whatever Zebidiah is; I'm not going to take chances" Kimberley couldn't help but laugh at that, she hadn't seen her old friend in years; the former Pink Ranger travelled to other worlds' less than one might expect though she had still made certain to visit Aquitar for Billy and Cestria's wedding, a blending of both of their cultures which was likely still spoken about in certain circles of Aquitian society; it seemed that Cestria and fatherhood had been good for him, he'd learned to relax and seemingly to make passable jokes.

"It's good to see you Billy" Kimberley finally breathed out "As late as you are"

"I haven't seen my son in months" Billy reminded her, more pointedly than she had been expecting and making her feel as though some line had been crossed although the tension vanished in an instant "Your Rangers seem an interesting bunch, I've spoke with Justin….seems that they're an even more rag-tag group than even we were-"

"I didn't mean it took you a while to have a tour of the facility" Kimberley noted "I mean you took a while to get here. You were supposed to be on Promethea One weeks ago" try as she might the former Pink Ranger could not keep the accusation from her voice completely and Billy stiffened before casting his eyes around the office.

"Are we secure?" the question was one that might have caught Kimberley off-guard once, after twenty years of working for Project Lightspeed however she simply pressed a series of buttons hidden under her desk; the door to the office locked, armoured shutters slid over the windows and a dozen other countermeasures went into effect despite being unseen

"We are now"

"Good" Billy nodded before taking a seat "I had orders that came directly from Vice-Admiral Mitchell; co-signed by the directors" that was enough to make Kimberley's eyes widen in surprise

"I wasn't aware of-"

"Nobody was" Billy answered simply "TJ is going to be sworn in as Vice-Admiral and with the Rangers being based off-world he might not even be made aware of it. I was told to maintain my position on Aquitar until the situation changed; well it's certainly changed but fortunately I think I'm at a point in my research where it doesn't matter"

"What can you tell me?" Kimberley almost dreaded the answer, something this secretive gave her unwelcome memories of the times Zordon had kept their team in the dark.

"Up until I arrived here nothing….but I still would have anyway" Billy rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, chin in his hands "You understand that Dulcea died without training a successor, which means that the Dark Empire's attack on Phaedos was secretly the most devastating attack of the war"

"Of course I know" Kimberley nodded "There's nobody left in the galaxy who can create Power Coins"

"Precisely" Billy nodded "Until your Green Ranger appeared the question of how your team was going to get the reinforcements they'll inevitably need didn't have an answer; it's not like any of the other Rangers that are left have compatible Morphers and I think it's safe to say that the days that an ex Ranger could pluck a gem out of the ground and start a new team are over"

"So you've learned how to make Power Coins?" Kimberley breathed out, not quite daring to hope

"Not quite" Billy shook his head "There's one instance of two different Power sources being used on the same team….When Tommy was the White Ranger, his coin channelled something Zordon called the Light of Good. I've been poring over ancient Eltarian texts and trying to recreate it"

"Should we start short-listing the other candidates-"

"No" Billy shook his head, the look of sheer joy that was in Kimberley's eyes flickered as he added "We're not even close to that stage yet; but I have a concrete idea"

"I understand" Kimberley nodded and no matter the warnings and qualifiers that her old friend had given her the fact that she was once again working alongside Billy Cranston, Blue Ranger, the mind that had thwarted countless threats to humanity gave her a sense of hope.

And with Lord Zedd entering the battle in person hope was something that none of them could afford to lose.

Authors' Notes:

And that ladies, gents and others is the end of Arc 07.
His the opening of this second act lived up to any hype I may have incidentally created?
I feel like I did what I set out to do, I established a new normal, showcased some cool stuff and gave a glimpse of the raised stakes and plot-lines that we're going to be dealing with during the second act.

With that being said, let's summarise shall we?
Returning to some applause, they earned this.
Seriously why do the Rangers just stand around with their helmet off while they're still Morphed, just drop the whole suit?
I really do need to delve into the fuckery that is Rensa's psyche more….I imagine his post-battle psychological exams are always a treat; Mission Control telling a collection of steadily more concerned shrinks "No don't worry, he was like that when he got here".
Ah that tension, enjoy.
Okay Mercy had probably at least seen Billy and Cestria in video calls but she's never met them, you know what I meant.
Billy is the new tech-support, shout out to the people who guessed that; I know at least one of you did.
Also Grace's gloating that she's finally got Billy working for Promethea/Lightspeed felt perfect.
Cestria is the chief medic and she and Billy are gonna be working on the Zedd-Tube.
Corcus, the Black Alien Ranger; basically he's here to be a vehicle for some Tempestus development, honestly the Alien Rangers are such complete blank slates that I could have picked any of them.
Also the Alien Rangers suffered the least casualties of any Ranger team, since they'd done what Turbo did and passed their Morphers on to a new team except for Aurico…..unfortunately that entire team is gone, along with their coins; so Aquitar has no Rangers unless Billy happens to have his old coin lying around.
All six Rangers in one place, for maximum angst potential.
The Queen Bee aint the Queen Bee any more.
Paradoxa's record for wins is pretty immaculate; she killed Trey and was beating Mercy when they fought.
I feel like I've done some work to make Lord Zedd a character rather than a force of nature in this arc.
The evil Empire mindset where you have to be a yes man….but you can also get killed for being too much of a yes man, it's really bad for progress.
Lord Zedd might sound like a fluent bullshit-artist here, but has he lied yet? Paradoxa did plans within plans and Lord Zedd is most likely the person she learned it from, have faith.
So basically Lord Zedd sent some scouting ships out, most likely prior to the attack that Tommy stopped by launching his own attack on Acheron; most likely those scouting ships are what tipped him off.
Also Azoth is named after what Alchemists called Mercury when they thought it had magical properties; yes it's a plot device but hey, this is a story with a plot.
And now Paradoxa is pissed off….she's gonna be the Starscream to Lord Zedd's Megatron.
Everyone has translator chips remember, it makes different species talking a lot easier….I have an idea for a minor detail, namely where exactly Rensa got his from.
Callback to chapter 01 Mercy and her "Go Go" necklace and Lightning Bolt earrings.
"Asking about the Zords he'd piloted, if Rita Repulsa's brother really was the bumbling caricature he was often portrayed as and if it was true that he and Captain Hart had both gone through a brief 'Punk phase' as a result of Rita's meddling"….No I'm not sorry.
Aslaug has more emotional intelligence than anyone expects a hulking Space Viking to have.
So yay, Mercy is moving forward and making the beginnings of a life outside of being a Ranger.
Just the idea of the other Rangers deciding "This is way too awkward for us" and vanishing was amusing to me.
Everything about the scene between Kay and Panthera was interesting to write; like she obviously doesn't hate them….but there's still a lot to work through there.
Yep, she's gonna go steal an entire new wardrobe.
So yeah, Zebidiah is probably not gonna be appearing all over the base like this once he's in the tube.
Zebidiah is having none of this angsty shit, not today not on other any other day.
I love the idea that Zebidiah begrudgingly admitted that Billy was a genius even when he was Lord Zedd.
And someone finally gave Kay a little bit of validation.
Serge and Britt and Kim's Mum moving to Paris, with Kim living out there with her for a bit; Boom Studios reference.
It's nice to see that Billy's grown and developed as a character; I was kinda drawing from the novelization of Revenge of the Sith and the way it described Obi-Wan has having learned several lessons from Anakin with one of them being learning how to relax.
And here's why it took Billy a while to show up, secrets.
TJ is getting Dana's spot, Ranger on two teams, leader on one of 'em, military background; it makes sense.
Every team of Rangers gets an extra Ranger, you really think that Lightspeed was just gonna wait for a Green Aegis Ranger to turn up.
"The Light of Good" that made the White Ranger, was never explained and promptly forgotten never to be mentioned again; yeah that's the kind of plot point you shouldn't leave hanging around me.
"Other candidates" yeah you read that right, but that's for later.

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