A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one-shot, Granted Wishes.
A/N 2: This is the story of what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. Now that Jayden has learned of his heritage, he begins to prepare himself for the battle of his life.
A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.
A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 5: The Call of the Rangers
Saturday, May 19, 2012
11 a.m. local time
The Shiba House
Panorama City, CA
Not long after learning about his true heritage, Jayden-what's-his-real-last-name was sitting out on the porch of the Shiba house, strumming the guitar Mentor Ji had given him shortly after the defeat of Xandred.
Aisha DeSantos smiled with pride as she watched her nephew from just inside the door to the house from the patio. He had taken after his mother's footsteps and he didn't even know it.
Aisha was 100 percent sure that if the gymnastics thing hadn't worked out, that Kimberly would have been in a band somewhere and would have been making millions of dollars.
She then glanced at the small yellow booklet (conveniently, it had the insignia of a Bear on it) that she always carried with her which contained the number of every Ranger phone number in history.
Every one.
Nephew Kira was going to want to know about this. Then again, she was sure that Jayden would be calling his cousin Kira as soon as he found the number.
She was very grateful at Jayden's attitude as well. She had come in 100 percent sure that he would shun his true heritage and that it would take some time to build that relationship. She was wrong, and that never felt so good to say.
She also believed with all her heart that his carefree, loose attitude was going to pay dividends in the coming war. When Kimberly's evil half got here, people were going to die. Kimberly's evil half had an army that was too vast to count. There were many, many teams of Rangers yet they were going to be vastly outnumbered in this war.
Much the same way the Zeo team was outnumbered by the Machine Empire.
Any sort of levity they were going to get, much less from the future Phoenix Ninjetti, was going to be a huge help.
12:15 p.m.
About an hour later, everyone was sitting around the table outside, with a good meal of burgers, grilled potatoes and various condiments.
Everyone noticed Jayden had been quiet, but it was the good quiet.
A confident quiet. They could sense the wheels were already spinning.
"The key thing about this war...whenever she gets here, I'm going to have to be ready," Jayden said. "Even before you guys came, I read about Flammia's army."
"My question is, what do I do right now to start getting ready?" Jayden continued.
Lauren looked hard at her adopted brother.
"You will do nothing, for the moment," Lauren said, which surprised Jayden. "Your father asked the Sentinel Knight, who called the Retro Rangers to help the Overdrive team, to keep Flammia out until you were ready."
"As long as he lives, she can't come here," Ninjor added. "Right now, I can't see a scenario where he could be in danger, although you never know."
"The best thing for you to do would be to relax for now. I think in a couple of weeks, when everything settles down, then you can start getting ready for the fight," Aisha said. "There's no hurry at the moment."
"Yes, relax and work on playing that guitar some more," Ninjor said. "Your mother, my Crane would be proud."
"She was a musician, Jayden," Ji said. "That was part of the reason I gave you that guitar. It was symbolic if you will. You may not be as great as your mother music wise, but you share a lot of the same genes."
"She was the shop till you drop type though," Aisha said, "and somehow I don't think that resonates with him."
Everyone laughed about that, and Jayden made a face. Mia and Emily were both the shop-till-you-drop types too, and Jayden was pretty fortunate he hadn't had to be a pack mule for either of them.
"There is one thing you could do that I just thought of though," Aisha said. "Most Rangers have specifically designed iPads and Phones made by your cousin Justin which have certain apps available only to Rangers."
"This would allow you to keep track of everything going on beyond our world, and you would be able to keep track of what Flammia's army is doing," Ninjor said.
"I should probably wait until a weekend to call him though. It's a good idea," Jayden said. "Anything I can do to be ready would be a good thing."
"Your Aunt Hayley also helps Justin with that. You could probably give her a call too. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear from you," Aisha said. "It wouldn't take long to do, and if you get a hold of either one of them they could probably have it done in a week or so."
"As far as powers though, don't do that yet," Lauren said. "You need a break and you need to relax."
Aisha then reached into her purse and pulled out a small book, crimson in color and with the drawing of a big Phoenix on the front of it.
"Your father and your Uncle Jason put that together for you. This is yours. Every Ranger that ever donned the spandex has one of these. In this booklet, is a list of the contact information of every Ranger and mentor in existence. Any of us are always a phone call away."
Monday, May 21, 2012
12:30 p.m. local time
Hayley's Cyberspace
Reefside, CA
These were happy days for Hayley Ziktor indeed as well as the entire Dino Thunder family.
There was so much to celebrate.
The main thing was, the Good Doctor was in a really good mood these days. Pretty much everyone, including Hayley, knew why.
The Phoenix was alive and well and the latest threat to Earth had been defeated. For that, she was eternally grateful. Without the defeat of Xandred, she'd be dead and so would everyone else.
That didn't even begin to scratch the surface of good news in their world.
Kira was still near the top of most music charts that mattered. She was, without question, the world's singing sweetheart and everyone loved her to death. But no one loved her more than her immediate family of Rangers.
Conner had just won the Premier League Title eight days ago with Manchester City, breaking a 44 year curse in the process. Conner had been vindicated too in a way.
When he went to the Premier League, City's arch rival, the famed Manchester United, had attempted to sign him. But though he shared a familiar color pattern with the storied club, he refused to play there and Kira had agreed. The arrogance had been too much. He preferred to help build a winner and that's what he'd done.
What made the title even sweeter was that City had not only won, but denied United another championship.
And that didn't even include Ethan, who was near tops in the video game industry, or Trent who still lived in New York and did comics that most Rangers, not just Dino Thunder, loved to read.
But no one prepared Hayley for the surprise that awaited her.
Hayley was just thinking "who has it better than us" when her assistant Jack came running to her space behind the counter. He looked out of breath too.
"What is it Jack?" Hayley said.
"You have a phone call. Guy says it's urgent. 805 area code, just like ours. He says his name is...Jayden, I think..."
Hayley's face formed a deer in the headlights look. No way...
If it was, she knew she had to take the phone call. This was her nephew!
"Jack, man the counter. I have to take that phone call and I have to do it now," Hayley said. Without a moment's hesitation, she flew back towards her office.
Leaving Jack to wonder, "the hell was that about?"
She nearly collided with a janitor as she rushed into her office and grabbed the phone.
"Hayley here," she said, almost out of breath.
"You know who this is, right Auntie?" came the voice on the other end.
"It can't be...Jayden, is that you?" Hayley exclaimed excitedly, though she knew it was him the second she heard the voice.
"The very same," Jayden deadpanned. "The guy who beat Xandred and the guy who's gonna kick the crap out of Maligore's army when it gets here."
"Oh my God, I can't believe it!" Hayley squealed. "We've got to get you here some day. I can't tell you how much your father and the other Rangers are looking forward to seeing you!"
She continued to ramble on until Jayden said, "Hey! I need something!"
That was the moment that Hayley realized it wasn't a social call. Perhaps she should have known, otherwise he'd have called her cell. He'd obviously gotten the book of phone numbers Tommy had made for him.
"OK, then, let's talk business. What do you need, Jayden?"
"I need one of those iPads that the other Rangers have. You know, the one Aisha says has a built in app that can let us see what's happening beyond Earth's borders," came the response.
"I could also use one of the Phones the Rangers have. We used our Samuraizers during the fight against Xandred, but I'm probably going to need an updated one for the impending battle."
Hayley blew out a breath. For most, that would be unreasonable. For her and her ilk, that wasn't a problem.
"That's not an issue at all, Jayden. If Justin and I can start working on them this week, I can have them done by Memorial Day and Justin and I can swing by Panorama City then. We can teach you how to use them," Hayley said. "Your father would too, but he's no rocket scientist as I've noted before."
"You can get them done that quick? That seems pretty far fetched..." Jayden said.
"Nonsense, for those of us who do this, we can get things done pretty fast," Hayley responded. "When are you going to go to Phaedos to start your training?"
"Lauren, Ji and Aisha said it would be best if I left in two more weeks. Gives me time to rest, relax and do just enough training to stay sharp until then," Jayden said. "I'll leave at the butt-crack of dawn Monday, June 4."
"Remember that the Great Power chose you for a reason, Jayden," Hayley said. "The Great Power is the strongest force there is in the universe and I am sure with your leadership it will bring Flammia down for good."
"I do have one last question then I'll let you get back to work," Jayden said. "The prophecy only mentioned certain teams that will be involved in the battle mostly, including Dad and those who went to Phaedos the first time. That sounds great, but last I checked there were only six holders of the Great Power. That's not exactly in our favor numbers wise."
"Like I said, the Great Power is the strongest force in the universe. Never doubt it; it beat Xandred," Hayley said. "Besides, who said there were only going to be six holders?"
"Interesting. Well, I'm going to get lunch. I'll see you in a week, Hayley," Jayden said.
"Be well, Jay. May the Power protect you."
May 28, 2012
2:15 p.m. local time
The Shiba House
Panorama City, CA
When Mentor Ji had said to Jayden that there was going to be a cavalcade of former Rangers that were going to be coming by to see him today, he wasn't joking.
Jayden was amazed. He could see the cars all lined up down the street from his room window and knew it was them. How many of them were there? 10? 20?
The cars were all color coded too which made Jayden laugh. Somehow, people just never changed habits even when they got out of the spandex.
Then, he saw a black Jeep Patriot pull into a parking space between a red Dodge Durango and a yellow Hyundai Accent. And saw the occupant get out and he froze.
His father was here.
It truly was showtime. For the first time in just about 17 years, father was about to come face to face with his son, and a bunch of aunts and uncles were about to step in front of their nephew for the first time since he'd grown into a man. Some, for the first time ever.
There was no turning back now.
Just then, he heard the bell chime and saw Mentor Ji go to open the door, while he stepped out of his room and held his breath.
Right as the two that Dr. Oliver had described as his "godparents" stepped into view.
"Ji, hey there mate," Katherine Scott said as she embraced Mentor Ji. "Long time no see, how are you?"
"As well as can be. Things are feeling pretty swell here in the house these days. Just your godson and I, since Lauren left with Antonio."
"I'm sure they're having a blast," Kat said.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my godson all grown up into a man," a deep voice boomed as Jason stepped out from behind Kat and raced towards Jayden.
"Man, how you doing these days? Sweet victory over Xandred, by the way," Jason said. "It's exciting to see you grown into a man."
"I can't speak to Rita or Zedd in their awful forms because I never saw them live, but he's up there in the ugly department," Jayden said. "As for growing up, I do my best."
Not far behind Jason and Kat came an African-American woman who didn't look a whole lot different from Aisha, wore her same color too, and a 30-something young man with Asian features on his face. His Uncle Adam and Aunt Tanya, as he remembered from the video.
Behind them came Trini Kwan, amazingly one of only two of Zordon's Rangers still single at the time. Obviously, his Aunt Trini still had a crush on Uncle Billy though they lived worlds away otherwise she would have married by now.
One by one each of Zordon's original Rangers introduced themselves. Jayden's Aunt Aisha was happy to see him again, and upon meeting his Uncle Rocky he could confirm that his uncle was a goofball. No wonder his Uncle was the Ape.
He held a special place in his heart for his Uncle Andros when he came in and embraced the Kerovian heartily, because it had been Andros' sacrifice of Zordon that had allowed him to live and get to this moment. He did notice a trace of melancholy in Andros demeanor too.
"They got to your planet too, I take it?" Jayden said.
"Although we have been living on Earth, yes, they got to us a year or two ago, I honestly don't want to remember when it was," Andros said. "Hearing about what your mother's evil half and that awful witch Scorpina did to my planet breaks my heart every day."
"You need to understand they took the Lost Galaxy Rangers too and conquered Mirinoi well before they got my planet. It hurts my heart to even say that, the only person that's safe from that team is my sister Karone," Andros said. "I can only imagine what torture they've gone through on that ship the last three years."
"Three years? That's how long?" Jayden said.
"Yeah. The Quasar Sabers which power the Galaxy Rangers couldn't even stop her," Andros said.
"When she gets here, I'm going to be ready for her. You can count on that," Jayden said.
"I sincerely hope you can beat her and free my people," Andros said. "The situation back home is grim."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Will you let my nephew go so I can have a turn?" an annoyed female voice said just at that moment.
One look and he knew exactly who it was. Hayley.
Thank goodness. And Justin was here too.
Hayley surged into her nephew's arms, her joy greater than anyone except the group in the room could have imagined.
"My nephew is now a man, a fully grown young man. It's so wonderful to see you," Hayley said.
"How's business?" Jayden said.
"Business is cooking, not just with the Cyberspace but within our team as well. I'm sure you're aware of what your cousin Conner did a couple weeks ago?"
"Yeah. Premier League Champion. I jumped on their bandwagon because I was already a big fan, well before I knew about the family tie."
In all, most of the teams showed up. Except Jayden in taking a head count noticed that there was one team in particular missing. The Wild Force team.
His suspicions grew about that team, and in particular their Red Ranger. If Deker was their leader, Cole Evans, then the scars he had gone through had to be traumatic. It would make sense why they weren't there.
And then, he heard the door open one last time, and Jayden froze as he saw who walked through the door and into the house, his steps quickening as he neared Jayden.
Only this time, he looked a lot more..informal than before.
No dress stuff for this occasion, just a white tank top and blue jeans.
Before Jayden knew what was happening, Dr. Thomas Oliver literally ran towards his son and pinned him against his chest. So tightly in fact, that Jayden barely had room to breathe.
"Let...me...breathe...please," Jayden blurted out. "Dad, let me breathe!"
"Oh, uh, right," his father said. "I'm just...so overcome with emotion. My son is safe and is a fully grown man. You have no idea how scared I have been for you over the years."
"Like...a couple weeks ago?" Jayden said.
"Yes, but even before then. My enemy in the Dino Thunder spandex, Mesogog, had ways to make me suffer. Mesogog ended up being a close friend of mine but that's for another time. I am shocked he didn't find out about you nor has anyone else," Tommy said.
"I'm so happy you came for me," Jayden said.
"I always would. Imagine my surprise when Hayley called me last Monday night with your request. I nearly fell out of my seat, although you made the right call," Tommy said. "By the way, she and Justin have it done. They'll tell you how to use your new things."
"You truly have done a remarkable job, my son," Tommy added.
"And my work is not done," Jayden said. "When my work is done, our family will be complete like it always should have been. Mom's coming home."
"Please don't get my hopes up, Jayden," Tommy said. "I've all but lost hope that she'll come home where she should be."
"I'm going to do it. I fear no one," Jayden said. "Xandred was the pressure battle. That was all or nothing. If anything it's Flammia who should be real worried."
"My God, Jayden, she's so powerful though. She's conquered every planet there is. Beat entire teams of Rangers. The Lost Galaxy Rangers may be half dead right now because of her. My old friend Dex from Edenoi is prisoner too," Tommy said.
"Yeah, she's powerful but she hasn't seen anything like me before. I'm going to make her take me seriously. I beat Xandred for a reason," Jayden said. "Flammia and her army can try to walk all over me all she wants. Guess what? It's not going to work. She's not going to bully me, or our planet. When she gets here, I'm going to be ready for her. That's why I made that call to Aunt Hayley. As long as I'm ready when she arrives, we will win."
Eltarian Capital City
Eltar
Same Time
Like most days, Kimberly Hart's evil half was too busy grinning and giggling over material possessions. Which, Kimberly could guess, was the case when you conquered every planet there was. Beat up teams of Rangers. Done just about all there is except one thing.
Kill the Phoenix.
And the good half of Kimberly didn't have to see what was going on to know what was happening at the moment. She'd been out for a while after Jayden's fight with Deker/Cole, but had regained her strength when Jayden and his Samurai team beat Xandred.
And now that father and son had reunited, it was giving them strength, and was giving her Ninjetti half strength too. She still had no idea how she'd held on this long. But it was worth it.
Once Jayden had claimed his destiny, and she was now fully confident he would, then she could have the full go to give her evil half hell. She may not be what she once was, but all she needed was just one good day. Maligore had a good 15 years or so, but she could have taken her soul back at the beginning if it wasn't so risky.
Now, there was no risk. Kimberly Ann Hart, much like Jayden, had little left to lose.
The Maligore influence that still held strong wasn't paying any attention. Soon, it would have to.
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