LEGAL: I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
RATING: T – may be some mild adult themes including language, violence and adult references.
A/N: Well, here it is, a new story, and one that I fully intend to be the one that brings my Ninja Steel arc to a close. I hope you enjoy it. Just to let you know, Beast Morphers has started in the UK, a season I love by the way, and I fully intend to get started on it when I finish up with Ninja Steel. But, since it's taking a while, I do have another little taster to some of the concepts and ideas I have for when I finally do get around to it. Hope you enjoy.
Summer Cove had a surprising, but not unwelcome break from attacks after the Foxatron attack. While the Rangers had found themselves taking a train ride across dimensions to take care of a warlord that had kidnapped former Rangers in the attempt to create an army to destroy their universe, others had been rebuilding and enjoying what was, for the most part, the longest break between monster attacks any of them had seen since Galvanax was destroyed.
No one suspected for a moment that everything was over, the Warrior Dome ship was still in orbit, sometimes even being visible from Earth on a clear night if the light pollution was low enough, and so they knew better than to assume it was over.
The city now had a brief respite to concentrate on some of its other problems. Sadly, even when monsters attacked, the usual issues still continued to surface in a city. Crime, people left homeless, poverty. It was a sad fact that occasionally some of these things ended up on the back burner in the presence of the more immediate threat of psychotic alien monsters with highly powerful and dangerous weapons. The Rangers had some of their own problems that they'd needed to put on hold too, but now they were starting to get some time to focus on. At least, the ones that wanted to focus on those problems did.
Levi, Brody and Emma had a slightly awkward time that weekend with Dane, struggling to find anything to talk about. There wasn't really an easy way to find an ice-breaker for their rather complicated family situation. They had all agreed to meet up as a family the following weekend for a day out. He'd even invited Mick and Tom along. Emma was already looking forward to the end of the week. That said, they weren't the only ones that had an issue brewing at home that they wanted to avoid.
"Alright Sandy, here I come again!" Brody called out as he rushed towards her. Unusually for the training yard, they were both morphed. Normally they tried to avoid anything Ranger related in or near the school, but Mick and Redbot had been careful to ensure access to the yard had been carefully sealed off. Mick had put up signs warning students he was taking inventory of his tools and parts and that access to the shop class and the yard was restricted. Normally if they were going to work on anything that required them to be morphed, they would wait until they could get somewhere quiet, with lots of space in case of anything going wrong, but they had the mystery of Sandy's newfound ability. When battling Draven, she had somehow unleashed a previously unknown attack that had repelled him with green lightning. No one, least of all Sandy, had any idea how she had done it. Brody was hoping that they could jar her into doing it again. Sandy barely managed to get her sword in the way, before his sword slammed into her, knocking her off her feet. Hayley's cell phone rang as Sandy started to get up.
"What the hell was that?" Sandy complained as she got up.
"I warned you I was coming…" He started to say, before Sandy started tapping her helmet. "Oh…right…um…sorry."
He'd forgotten about the issue of the helmet. Sandy was deaf, and normally functioned by reading lips, something she couldn't do while the others were wearing their helmets. She'd taught the Rangers some sign language so that they could pass along instructions to her while she was morphed, but there were still a few moments when mistakes were made. She hadn't been a Ranger especially long and so it hadn't yet become habit to signal to her.
"Hey, was that your mom?" Calvin whispered to Hayley as she put her phone away. Although Hayley had skipped out on the meeting with the others regarding the Drakkon situation to look after Maxie when the news broke that Trevor had been released, she had since met up with Calvin and explained.
Trevor Marx was her step-father. He was also, for a time, the unwitting host to the Psycho Green Ranger. He had been taken in by Promethea after the Rangers destroyed Psycho Green for treatment. During their battles, Psycho Green had targeted Aaron and Maxie, and in the process Maxie had been seriously hurt. Although he wasn't really in control of Psycho Green at the time, the fact he was returning to town had caused her a few mixed feelings to say the least. Hayley had no desire to pick sides between her parents. One of the best things about her family had been that even when her mom and her dad realised that their relationship simply did not work was that all of them managed to come through it very positively. Hayley just nodded. "Don't you think you should at least answer it?"
"And say what Cal?" She asked him. "Mom's already called me about this a couple of times, it's not like there's much else I can do."
"Look, I can't begin to claim I know what you're feeling about this…"
"It's got nothing to do with what I'm feeling. I'm going to theirs this afternoon, it's just…" She said, tailing off. "Trevor has a meeting with the chief today."
"Well, that's…not bad is it?" Calvin asked her. She just looked at him witheringly. "Yeah, that could be bad."
"If I hadn't told mom I was at a crucial part of my study regime she'd have insisted I skip school and be down there for moral support." She told him sadly. "I think we all know his meeting's likely to be to give him his pink slip."
"I guess we can't say we didn't see that coming." Calvin agreed sadly. The fact was that Trevor's identity as the Psycho Green Ranger had been revealed in one of his final battles. The public now knew that Trevor had been inside the armour, and even though Grace had done what she could to assure everyone that he wasn't in control and keep him from serving a very long time in prison, that didn't mean to say the public at large were going to be quite so forgiving. The Police Department had received a huge Public Relations problem to deal with, one that was going to be most easily remedied by distancing themselves from Trevor. Before he could finish, there was a yell and they all looked up to see Sandy lying on the ground again.
"DUDE!" She yelled.
"I'm sorry, it's just…the last time you used that attack it was when Draven startled you." Brody reasoned with her. "I thought maybe if I surprised you…"
Sandy just made a hand signal towards him. He didn't understand specifically what it meant, but he could tell by context it was not something meant for polite conversation. Preston and Mick helped her up as she de-morphed.
"Yeah, well, maybe we should take a break for now. The bell is about to go so you should probably go and get showered and changed." Mick suggested. "Sandy, would you mind lending me your Power Star?"
"My Power Star?" She asked. "What for? I thought we were meant to keep them on us."
"I just want to run a few tests on it." He told her. "It won't leave the lab, you'll have it back before you leave, and if you need it, it'll be right here!"
"OK then." She answered, rubbing the back of her neck.
"You alright?" Preston asked. "You want me to look at…?"
"I'll be fine Preston." She assured him. "Presuming I survive double maths with Mrs Finch!"
"Oh, I don't think it'll be that difficult." Levi said. "Let's just say she should probably be in a good mood."
"That is a visual I really didn't need!" Emma said with a shudder as they all started to leave. Redbot came over to Mick as he inspected Sandy's Power Star.
"Why did you want to see her Power Star?" Redbot asked him.
"I'm not sure, it's probably nothing." Mick said, looking at it thoughtfully. "I'm just going to be in the lab."
Over at Summer Cove Police Department, Hayley's mom, Laura, was sitting with Trevor, waiting for the meeting with Captain Peralta. She looked disappointed as she saw that Hayley had once again silenced her phone. This was the last chance for her to be there, if she wasn't answering now then she wasn't coming.
"You can't blame her." Trevor said gently. "She has her own priorities right now."
"Her priority should be to her family." Laura replied as she put her phone away.
"It's an important time for her. I wouldn't want her to risk missing anything if she didn't have to." He told her. "I mean, what was she going to do if she was here? Hand me my blindfold and cigarette?"
"I really wish you wouldn't talk like that." Laura responded. "You've done a lot of good in this city. There are a whole bunch of people who would likely have been in prison if not for you." Trevor just looked to her, but she rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean." She muttered. Trevor believed very heavily in community policing. While some believed in just enforcing the law, he was one of the ones that believed that the best way forward and to break the cycle in some areas and in some people's lives of the prison system was to foster a relationship between the police and the community, to be seen as friends and people they could trust rather than people who hauled their friends and loved ones away. He spent a lot of time in neighbourhoods others just passed through to collect on warrants, playing basketball, recommending safe places for people to spend time…hell, he'd spent a whole day helping Mrs Anderson plant her rose bush, but as a result he was one of the few cops that people in those areas would even talk to.
"Laura, I think we have to face facts, or…at very least face the worst case scenario." He told her. "There are a lot of people in this city who don't want me back at all. They think I should be in prison…"
"And they'd have me to deal with if they dared to say that to your face." She assured him.
"I appreciate it, but…" Just then, the door opened and Ellie, Sarah's mom, peered out.
"He's ready for you now." She told them. They both got up and went inside, where Captain Peralta was sitting with the Commissioner and the department's lawyer. Ellie had a smaller desk off to the side with a computer for her to type on as the meeting went ahead. Although it was only the Captain's office, somewhere they'd been a few times, the whole setup looked a lot like a trial.
"Officer Marx, please be seated." Captain Peralta beckoned him as they got inside. They both took a seat while he checked some notes. "Mrs Thompson is here to take minutes. Alright, is there anything you'd like to say before we begin?"
"Yes, there is." Trevor said before looking to the panel before him. "I can't remember a time I didn't want to be a cop. When I signed up to the forces, I went into law enforcement. I've always believed in justice and in the law. Not because I want to punish people…if we lived in an ideal world we wouldn't need to punish anyone. But we don't live in an ideal world, and there are certain rules that have to be followed and people who won't follow them. When I came home, it was only natural for me to want to continue. It's the only thing I know, the only thing I've ever wanted to do. I know that I've done a lot of bad things, and I know that I can't take back a lot of what happened, but I want you to know that whatever you decide here today, no matter what your decision, I consider it an honour and a privilege to have served with this department."
"Officer Marx, as you know police departments all across the country have very real problems with community relations. There are a number of incidents that have caused a lot of the public to view the police in a less than favourable light." The Commissioner told stated. "It's an unfortunate fact, but we need to push as much as possible for the image of law enforcement being something people can trust."
"Officer Marx, you have been an exemplerary officer in the time I've known you." Captain Peralta complimented him. "I have numerous commendations and letters of glowing praise from members of the community you have helped. You were always one of the first to volunteer for any outreach programs and I cannot count the number of members of the public that have called my office singing your praises. Mrs Anderson, there's virtually not a day goes by she doesn't give me an update about her rose garden. However, regardless of your previous good character we have to acknowledge that what happened has tarnished the department in a way we simply can't ignore."
"But you all read the report, he wasn't responsible!" Laura protested. "He didn't cause any of that damage! Psycho Green did! He wasn't in control, the courts even said so!"
"Mrs Marx…"
"Hell, he didn't even NEED to go to trial! If he'd just gone with Sterling's report he'd never have faced a jury, but he did anyway because he believes so much in the system he wanted people to get the chance to have their say!" She continued to protest.
"That may be the case, but your actions and your behaviour have caused serious doubt in a population that is already justifiably terrified!" Captain Peralta stated.
"Officer Marx, what are the three most important things an officer must do at all times?" The Commissioner asked him.
"Observe the public trust, protect the innocent and uphold the law." He recanted.
"You have violated all three of those tenants with your actions. Even if you were not responsible for what Psycho Green did, by failing to act and report what was going on, you allowed it to happen." Captain Peralta responded. "Which is why, after consultation with legal counsel and the Commissioner, I'm afraid we have no alternative but to terminate your service. We can only hope that by doing so we can begin to repair some of the harm you have done to the trust in this department."
"I…I understand." Trevor said sadly, looking out his identification looking at it as his heart broke. It was true, being a police officer was the only thing he'd ever wanted to do. He couldn't imagine anything else he would want to do. Giving it up was like giving up a piece of himself, but he'd been a cop long enough to know that the department was more than any one person, and if he had harmed it, then he had a responsibility to do whatever it took to try and salve those wounds. He put the identification down on the desk, sliding it to them.
"We'll arrange for your uniforms and any department issued equipment to be collected." The Commissioner told him, before buzzing the intercom. "I'll just have an officer escort you out."
Spike came in the door. He looked regretfully to Trevor and Laura. He was a friend, he didn't want to be a part of this, but it was pretty much inevitable that Trevor was going to be cut loose. Spike had actually volunteered to be there to escort him out because he at least wanted him to have at least one friendly face at this time. Trevor got up and turned to leave.
"Officer Marx!" Captain Peralta called after him. Trevor stopped in the doorway. "For what it's worth…I wish you well in the future."
"Thanks." Trevor said half-heartedly before leaving the department one last time.
Up on the Warrior Dome, Badonna was enjoying the trappings of her new position. With Odious gone, she had now taken over not only the Warrior Dome ship, but the entirety of the Warrior Dome operation.
She had instituted some drastic changes on the ship. There were a lot of renovations going on throughout the ship, in particular to the accommodations. The crew were delighted to finally be working for a more benevolent boss. Both Galvanax and Odious had been cruel and had little care for the slaves on the ship. In truth, Badonna didn't either, but she didn't see the point in being unnecessarily cruel. All that did was encourage people to seek to sabotage the operations. Ultimately Galvanax had been brought down by Odious betraying him when he became more trouble than he was worth. Odious had ultimately been destroyed when Cosmo got the chance to destroy her for hampering his show. Even the Rangers had been created completely inadvertently when Wrench helped Mick and Brody escape the ship to get a better position for himself on the Warrior Dome crew.
She was sitting in her chambers, sipping some tea when the viewing screen came on.
"I see you're enjoying the trappings of your new position." Lord Drakkon stated. Drakkon had been behind all of the most recent developments. Badonna had been little more than a slave to Draven, and he had seen her desire to free herself as a way to get her to convince Draven to seek out Odious and help him with his plans. While he was sure Draven would ultimately see him as nothing more than another strong opponent to face eventually, his ambition and drive did yield positive results. Although the Rangers had stopped him breaking free from the Anti-Verse, he had managed to weaken the dimensional barriers to their weakest point in years. Soon, it would be his time to conquer.
"There are some benefits to leadership, that is true." Badonna told him as a kudabot came to her, carrying a tray of biscuits. She took a little moment to try and decide which one she wanted, picking out a custard cream. "But not just for myself. I've listened to what you taught me. If you oppress those beneath you too much, you just encourage insurrection. I've started to improve things for the interns…"
"That is all well and good, but I still have a few things I need to do here." Drakkon told her. "I just want to know you've got a plan in place to deal with the Rangers."
Just then, the communicator bleeped. Cosmo appeared on another screen.
"Badonna, I thought you should know, your very special guest has arrived." Cosmo told her. She snapped up from her throne so quickly that she scattered the tea and the biscuits on the floor.
"He is? That was TODAY?" She shrieked, immediately starting to reach for her hair and dusting down her clothes. "I was sure it was…I have to get ready…have him taken to the Executive Lounge and give him whatever he wants! I'll be along as soon as I can!"
"Company?" Drakkon asked her, noting her reaction. She just started to flush.
"Um…well…uh…it is…my latest warrior." She stammered. "He is a powerful and…"
"Just get on with it." Drakkon snapped. "Don't disappoint me. You know what happens when people disappoint me."
With that, he cut off the communications link. Badonna suddenly looked to the kudabots.
"All of you! Help me get ready!" She screamed. "I can't let Brax see me like this!"
A/N: Well, without further ado, here is my second sneak-peek of some of my concepts for Beast Morphers.
Roxy hadn't quite managed to go to sleep, being shaken awake slightly by movement on the other side of the bed. She smiled a little seeing Ravi sitting on the edge of the bed, starting to get dressed.
"You know, when some people sleep with their partner, they actually get to sleep with them." Roxy mused as she reached out, gently stroking his back.
"Some people don't have so much to do in the day." Ravi responded. "Have you seen my socks?"
"Oh Ravi, all work and no play." She said, pouting a little. "Don't you think it'd be nice, just once, to actually wake up next to each other?"
"Roxy, we both have that level four procedure exam today, I have study to do." He told her. "Not to mention my run, and I've booked time in the target range and…Damn it Roxy, I'm serious, have you seen my socks?"
"Maybe we can find them after breakfast?" She suggested.
"Roxy, I'm not kidding!" He said, getting up as he pulled on his trousers.
"Well, neither am I Ravi." She said, looking a little dejected. Ravi did feel badly about the clandestine nature of their relationship. It wasn't as though he was ashamed of Roxy, though he did fear that she felt like that at times. He just knew that fraternising between staff in the base was frowned upon at the best of times. They weren't even fond of people between departments dating, never mind anything else.
Roxy was one of the most wonderful, warm, funny and beautiful people he had ever met in his life. The moment they met it was like being hit by a truck. In truth it was only a bicycle, but even despite the severe sprain, when she helped him back to the car, he fell for her in a way that he thought only existed in fiction. He could hardly believe it when he saw her at the base, not even realising they had worked together for months without either of them realising it. They had both been in separate groups in the early stages of the Ranger testing programme, and it was only late into the selection progress as the numbers got whittled down enough to assemble the remaining cadets into one group that they even met on the base.
He could see the look in her eyes and his heart broke a little. He reached across, cupping her cheek in his hand.
"I'm sorry Roxy, there's nothing I'd love more than to stay." He told her. "But you know how intense things are getting now. Literally any of the cadets could be cut at any time now. We have to be at our best at all times."
"I know, it'd be such a tragedy if you got an A- instead of an A+." She remarked sarcastically. He leaned across, kissing her softly.
"We'll make time to be together soon." He told her. "I promise."
"Over on the dresser." She said, pointing. Ravi looked behind him and laughed a little, seeing his errant sock. He went across, pulling it on before retrieving his t-shirt. He pulled out his phone, which he used to hack one of the security cameras out in the hall to make sure he wouldn't be seen when he left. He took his opportunity and slipped out, heading down the hall towards his own dorm. He was almost there when he found Blaze stretching off in the hallway.
"So, Ravi, fun night?" He asked him.
"Just an early morning run." Ravi responded. Blaze just smirked.
"Really?" He asked, before reaching to his shirt, pulling one of the exposed seams. "You often run around in clothes that are inside out?"
Ravi just rolled his eyes.
"I know it's a lot to ask Blaze, but just for once, could you not be an asshole?" He asked, before heading into his dorm. Blaze just snorted.
"Wow, I don't know whose bed you rolled out of but try getting out the other side in future." He chuckled to himself, before beginning his run.
After a few hours' sleep, Roxy came out of the shower and was getting dressed when she heard some sound from the kitchen area of her dorm. She headed in, finding her room-mate Zoey sitting, yawning loudly as she poured herself some coffee.
"You're starting early." Roxy commented.
"Well, unfortunately there are no such things as magical pixies that provide you all with clean, pressed uniforms so some of us have to get up early." She responded. Roxy checked her watch.
"It's only…"
"Yes, and I have a full shift in the laundry before the Level 4 Procedure test." She commented. "Of course maybe I'd have had a little more sleep if you hadn't had Ravi over."
"Oh, did we…?" Zoey just nodded.
"These walls aren't exactly thick, and you two are not quiet." Zoey assured her. "Hence the coffee. Don't worry, there's enough in the packet for another pot."
"Sorry." Roxy said, sucking her teeth. "It's just…you know…hard for us to make time for each other…"
"Oh, don't I know it!" She responded. "I don't think I've even met Ravi face to face and somehow I think I know him more intimately than his physician."
"Oh God." Roxy responded. "We…really are that loud?"
"Let's put it this way, if the mental images didn't keep me up, the noise definitely did." Zoey replied, downing the last of her coffee. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you at the test."
"Alright, just remember, it's four o'clock!" Roxy reminded her.
"I've got it ingrained into my memory…even if there's a lot of stuff in there now I really wish wasn't!" Zoey teased her.
"Don't forget to wind your watch!" Zoey called out as Zoey left the room, closing the door behind her. She just let out a sigh. She really didn't mean to inconvenience Zoey and make things harder than they needed to be. Most of the cadets were lucky enough to be supported by their parents but Zoey's family couldn't really cover much of her expenses. She was working full-time in the laundry as well as studying for her Ranger tests, something that was already leaving her spread thin.
She opened another pack of coffee and put it in the coffee maker, turning it on, before pulling a couple of packets of toaster pockets out of the cupboard.
"So, is today a strawberry day or an apple day?" She asked herself. She just shrugged, before tearing open one of each packet and popping them into the toaster, pressing down the button.