Author's Note:
Well this is it, the final battle, the final chapter. There will be an epilog coming a little later to wrap things up, and tie up all the lose ends. I hope you've enjoyed this story. I want to say a special thanks to Mele and Serendipity, whose fiction I turned to when I was having trouble getting into a character. You guys have been a real inspiration to me, and got me started on the Jason/Billy thing in the first place. (Just one note though ladies: I don't play by the same rules as the other Yosties.) A special thanks to Dagmar Buse for prodding and pushing me along on this, and for some of the best fanfic I've ever read- even if she doesn't like my pairings. Also thanks to Scarlet Deva, Hartfelt, The Girl in the Red Jacket, and Baby Kitty for all the input and encouragement. If I've forgotten anyone, please forgive me- it wasn't meant as a slight.
************************************************************
Kyle looked over to where Billy was lying curled in the corner, his normally bright eyes, now dark with pain, and fury, his face stained with streaks of tears that reflected azure in the hard light of the room. There was something deeper lying beneath it too, something that could not be allowed to fester, or it would cost all of them more than they could bear. Kyle had seen that look before, seen it a hundred times- every time- he looked into the mirror in those weeks leading up to the day he walked into the building hoping it would collapse on him.
Reaching out gently, he laid a hand on Billy's shoulder, "You still with me Billy?"
Billy didn't acknowledge that Kyle had spoken. However, he did withdraw from the touch. Throwing his head back to think, Kyle sent a silent call for the other Rangers, Adam, where are you guys?
*On our way, Kyle,* he heard Adam's voice reply in his head.
*I'm not going to ask, I'm just going to be thankful that it's there.* He said through what ever it was he and Kyle were sharing. *Well, get here quick. I don't like the state Billy's in.*
There was a sudden change in air pressure in the room as a rainbow of color materialized into the rest of the Rangers. "Is this quick enough for you?" Tommy asked.
Tommy quickly scanned the room in which they found Kyle and Billy. It was stark gray with only two low benches in it. There were no facilities, no privacy, and up until five minutes ago, evidently no way out.
He watched as Jason charged across the room to where Billy was lying curled naked in the corner. Kyle was sitting similarly dressed in on the bench. "Bill, it's okay. I'm here," Jason whispered gently reaching out to touch him.
Tommy shuddered when after long seconds Bill looked up. The hurt in his eyes cut to Tommy to the soul, and he wondered if the Blue Ranger would ever be the same again. He saw Billy swallow hard and a hardness wash over his face, as he looked into Jason's eyes. "I'm alright, Jason." Tommy noted casual detachment to Billy's voice that he reserved for his science experiments. "If you will stand back a moment, I'll get up." Looking over at Kim and Tommy, he said, "I must apologize for my lack of attire. Our captors seem to consider clothing somewhat an inconvenience for prisoners."
"Billy,. . .," Jason began and put a hand on Billy's shoulder.
Tommy watched as Billy none-too-gently pulled away from the touch. "I am uninjured Jason," he repeated calmly. "My Ranger healing factor seems to have taken care of the damage."
"Like hell you are, Billy!" Kimberly stalked over to him. "We know what happened Billy. Nobody could be all right after something like that, so don't try and go all macho on me William Cranston," she poked him in the chest with a finger, and advanced on the much larger man. "You've been hurt, hurt in a way that goes all the way down to the soul. Your Ranger healing factor," she made quotation marks with her fingers, "may have taken care of the physical damage, but there's more kinds of hurt than physical." By now, she had backed the blond into a corner.
Suddenly the stone mask around Billy's face dissolved, only to be replaced by fear and loathing. "You know?" he asked, and the sound of his voice broke Tommy's heart. He understood something now. Billy had hoped to hide what had happened to him, not tell the others, and as Jason had once called it, 'just duck his head and wait for something extraordinary to come along'.
"Of course they know," a new voice said as the room dissolved around them. "I wanted them to know." The cell disappeared and they found themselves in long marble hall. Tall fluted columns reached to the arched ceiling overhead. At the other end of the hall, beyond the statues of various war- gods was a throne. Lounging in it was a tall man with jet black hair and dark midnight eyes. There was a beauty, and a cruelness about him that sent shivers racing up and down Tommy's spine. "It wouldn't be any fun if they didn't know what I'd done to their weak link." He stood and strode down the hall.
A low growl was the only warning Jason gave before he acted. Gone was the control that usually permeated the Red Ranger's actions. Now he was acting on pure anger, pure hatred, pure Power. He was a blur of red that slammed into the man from twenty feet away. Jason hit the stranger so hard that the dark haired beauty was picked up by the force of the blow, and literally slammed into the stone throne, cracking it. Before even Tommy could react, Jason was on top of him, raining down blow after blow after blow with a strength that was turning the throne into marble dust from its impact.
"Enough!" the man bellowed, and lashed out with a kick that sent Jason flying through the air to land at Tommy's feet. Bruised and battered, the man stood and smiled, while the terrible wounds on his body healed before their eyes.
Tommy helped his best bro to his feet, saying, "Take it easy man. Let's find out his weaknesses first." Tommy couldn't help but look back over his shoulder to Billy as he realized that their secret weapon for doing that was pretty much out of the fight.
Striding purposefully toward them, the man said, "So you're the tactician." Sneering, he continued, "Well, you might as well surrender now, for I was directing the armies of light before your pathetic little people even crossed the land bridge into North America." Glancing over Tommy's shoulder to Billy the man then let his gaze rake back to Jason, "Does his weakness give you strength? Are you able to draw on this kind of Power because I hurt your puny little plaything?" His voice took on a falsetto tone, "He didn't really put up all that much of a fight you know. He really is such a pathetic little thing. After a while he just lay there and took it." He looked down at his hand, where a sword materialized. It a heavy two-handed blade with wicked serrations along the broadening point. He sighed and said, "I really should have put him out of his misery. But I really needed you to see him at least once, before you brought me my prize." He looked past Billy to where Kim and Kyle were standing.
Jason growled again at Tommy's side, and he could feel Jason tense to attack again. "Not yet Bro." Tommy looked back over his shoulder and realized that while Kyle had called his Yellow Armor, Billy was still standing there naked. He called to his friend, "Billy man, we really need you to Power up. We need the Blue Ranger."
The man laughed, "Yes, William. Do Power up." He smiled cruelly, "That way I can have my way with you again." He turned to face the rest of them, "After I do to your friends what I did to you." He looked at Tommy, "It was so good of you to bring me that little pink treat. Do you know how rare it is to find a female who wields the Power? Oh the fun we're going to have." Tommy knew that his opponent was trying to get under his skin. He was doing a good job of it too. He smiled and pointed the sword at Tommy's chest before saying, "I wonder, if I should take her after I've had my way with you, or before?" Tommy felt his hands clench into fists at his sides, as the blade sliced through his armor to prick his chest.
"NOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOoooooooo!" He heard Billy's scream turn to a howl. In a whirlwind of blue light and color, Billy summoned the Power and charged, his staff whirling in a deadly arc. "No more, Michael! It ends here!"
Tommy felt himself slammed to the ground by a thunderclap not two feet from his head, as he realized that Billy's staff had broken the sound barrier just before it crashed into Michael. "So much for finding a weakness," Tommy said to himself as Jason joined the Blue Ranger in the attack that followed.
The level of Power that his friends were wielding was staggering. Tommy could feel the Power course through his own body like a raging river waiting to be unleashed. As the Power built, so did his anger. This man had hurt, tortured, and humiliated one of his dearest friends. He'd attacked his planet with plans on conquering it, and using it as a staging point for attacking Heaven itself. He had threatened Tommy, his friends, and even Kimberly with the most vile of physical violations. Hell, he probably even kicked puppies and bit the legs off gerbils in his spare time.
Tommy Oliver, Green Ranger, wielder of the Power, and all around hero, decided that there was no place in the universe for a being like the one that was before him, and he was going to make it his personal mission to see that his universe was rid of him. Stepping forward, he felt something click inside him, like the final piece of a puzzle coming together that let you see the whole picture. Tommy realized that Michael thought he was still fighting the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. He didn't know that he was in essence fighting six versions of Covenant, the one being who'd managed to thwart him over all these long ages of war. Tommy smiled to himself when he realized that Michael was in for a rude awakening and a very bad day. Oh, he understood that even this incarnation of the Power Rangers didn't have the Power to destroy a being that had seen the Big Bang, but they could definitely make him pack up his space ships and go play in his own back yard.
As the war- for beings who wielded this kind of Power when locked in combat went beyond the realm of a mere fight- raged on, Tommy began to realize that he might have underestimated Michael. No, he had to be honest with himself, he had underestimated him, or at least over-estimated their own abilities. Yes, they could damage him, even hurt him- and Billy, Jason, and for some reason Kimberly, seemed to be going out of their way to do as much of that as possible- and he them, they could not seem to contain him.
The palace they found themselves in earlier had long since been reduced to mere rubble, blasted out of existence by the ever-increasingly powerful weapons Billy was willing into existence, and the blows Kimberly and Jason were dealing. For just a moment, Tommy considered pulling Kyle and Adam back to see just how much damage the three of them could do, for he too realized that they were healing the damage Michael was doing to them just as quickly.
However, he also realized that they were still mortal. They still had a mortal's will, and he had been paying attention to what had cost the original Covenant his first round against Michael. As powerful and righteous their fury was, it still could not match the stamina of an Aphriem. Eventually they, and he, would falter, and they could find themselves in a much less favorable position. Michael knew it too and said as much when he told them, "You can't win against me. I have been Ares, Mars, Tyr, and Thor. I have mastered every form of combat in the universe. You are nothing compared to my skill, and prowess. You will eventually fall!"
Then it hit him. He hit the transmitter in his helmet, "Billy, you're fighting his battle! Back off dude, use your head!" The Blue Ranger simply ignored him, as he continued to pound at Michael's defenses with his staff. He knew it was hitting below the belt. He knew that Jase probably would pound him to a pulp for it, but he HAD to get Bill's attention. He called into the mic again, "Billy, if you keep fighting his fight, he's going to do it to you again. He's going to do the same thing to Jase, and Adam, and me, and Kyle, and. . . ," he shuddered at the thought, ". . . , and Kim. We need you to come up with a plan, do your stuff. Stop thinking like me and Jase!"
That seemed to catch Billy's attention. He backed off and let Kyle and Adam take up the slack. Tommy found himself surprised when he realized that Billy was fighting with such intensity that it took two other Rangers to fill his role. Tommy knew a lot of it was his way of dealing with what had happened to him. In an odd way, Michael was supplying one of the very things Billy was eventually going to need to get past the pain of his violation.
Stopping, for a moment, Billy watched Michael and then looked over at Tommy, "I've got it, Tom." For just a second Tommy could see through the mask on Billy's helmet. See the pleading look in his eyes; see the tears rolling down his face. He definitely heard the begging in his voice. He hoped to God never in his life to hear his friend beg like that again, "I can't do it by myself. I need your help."
Tommy swallowed hard and nodded, "Anything Bro, you got it."
Billy nodded back, and took a deep breath before punching something into the mini-comp that appeared on his wrist. "I'm sending you some coordinates. Grab him with me, teleport, and push him forward. What ever you do though, don't let him drag you with him."
Tommy nodded as the coordinates appeared on his heads-up display in the lenses of his own mask. They didn't make a hell of a lot of sense to him- there was a quick double teleport in there somewhere- but he punched them in as he charged forward with Billy, trusting the Blue Ranger with his life. In tandem, the two men dove forward and over the heads of their teammates, each grabbing one of the Aphriem's arms. "Now," Tommy screamed into the mic as he willed the teleport.
All Tommy remembered when on Billy's signal he released Michael was a flash of darkness so deep that he literally could not see even the front of his mask. Then he was tumbling forward past Jason to land at Kimberly's feet. Not a bad place to be if you asked him.
"Where did he go?" Kyle asked looking around confused.
Tommy saw Billy slowly pull himself from the gray mist as Ms. Hayes suddenly appeared saying, "That was an interesting choice of places to send him. It won't hold him forever you know."
"It will hold him long enough," was all Billy said turning his back to her.
"How long is long enough?" Tommy asked. He had a bad feeling about this. "Where did we go?"
"Let's just say that by the time he is released from that prison, the matter in our solar system will have been recycled by the death and birth of other stars five or six times."
Kim knelt down beside Tommy, feeling him as if to ensure he was really there, as Ms. Hayes continued, "That should give you some reprieve from HIM at least." She frowned and walked over and put a hand on Billy's shoulder.
Tommy noticed that the Blue Ranger pulled away from the touch before he asked, "What do you mean from HIM at least?"
Ms. Hayes smiled, "Michael was just one of the Council of Umbra, albeit one of the more powerful ones, but only one none-the-less. There will be others trying to take over other realities."
Jason replied, "And you want us to deal with them."
Ms. Hayes smiled, "I never said it was going to be easy, Jason. But, you took on the mantle of Covenant. It's your job now." She sighed, "I learned a very valuable lesson a long time ago. Power always comes at a price." She looked over at Billy, "Sometimes that price has to be paid by one person. Sometimes it's too high, but there's always a price."
Tommy watched as Jason walked over and reached out to touch Billy, but something he saw in his lover's face made him stop and let the hand fall uselessly to his side. Turning back, Jason's voice was hard, "I think the price has been paid."
"Do you now?" Ms. Hayes asked. "So now, you're just going to hang up your uniforms and retire to beachcombing in Northern Australia are you?" She walked over to him, "It doesn't work like that Jason." She gave Billy a look, "Yes, Billy's given a lot- more than anybody should have to- but if you don't step in, there are other beings out there who will do it others. You have the Power to stand between them and humanity. I thought you were a hero."
"That's not fair," Kyle protested. "You can't hold his feelings against him right now."
"It's not his feelings I'm holding against him," Ms. Hayes said. "It's his actions, or lack thereof- and I never said this was going to be fair."
Tommy pulled the smaller woman to the side. He fought hard to control his temper, and keep his voice even, "Give us a break, Ms. Hayes. At least give us some time to heal," he looked over at Billy and Jason "Give HIM some time to heal."
"I never said you couldn't have that," she smiled. "I just said that the war wasn't over. That there are other realities out there that need defending." She sighed and crossed her arms, "Look, you know there are different kinds of Rangers don't you."
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I've read some of the Zordon's files, there are even Space Rangers."
Ms. Hayes chuckled at some inside joke, "Yeah, but they're only Space Rangers. What do they know about being Transdimensional Rangers? You six are uniquely qualified to defend not only this reality, but the infinity of realities beyond. You six are a new breed of Rangers, Transdimensional Rangers."
"I'll do it," Billy said in a neutral voice.
"Billy?" Kyle asked. "Why?"
"Do I need a reason why?" Billy asked.
Jason crossed his arms in front of Billy and nodded, "To them, maybe not. To me, yes."
Billy leaned in to his lover and said something that only Jason could hear, and turned his back to him as if to walk away. Jason literally exploded, "That's not true!" Jason spun him around by the shoulders, "I love you, William Kevin Cranston, and nothing can change that. We'll get through this. I don't care what has happened, nothing will change that I love you. It took too damn long for me to realize that my life would be empty without you in it, and I'm not going to let you go off into the night." He looked over at Ms. Hayes nodded and said, "If he goes, I go."
She smiled and looked around, slowly getting an acknowledgment from each of the Rangers. Tommy thought it was rather interesting that the six of them had closed ranks with each other to face the woman- each standing shoulder to shoulder with their lover. "Good, because your Command Center will be arriving here shortly with Murphy."
"What about Earth- our Earth- who's going to defend it?" Kimberly asked.
Ms. Hayes smiled, "Your friends back there," she held up a hand, "and before you ask, yes you'll be able to visit as often as you have time. They'll be taking over as the Planetary Rangers, just as soon as Zordon returns."
"Zordon's coming back?" Kim asked excitedly. "Can we see him?"
"Yes, he's coming back, and yes you can see him," Ms. Hayes told her as the Command Center appeared around them.
Ms. Stone came sauntering up to them, her arm in a sling and the biggest grin on her face they'd ever seen. "Well, it looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together."
**********************************************************
Well this is it, the final battle, the final chapter. There will be an epilog coming a little later to wrap things up, and tie up all the lose ends. I hope you've enjoyed this story. I want to say a special thanks to Mele and Serendipity, whose fiction I turned to when I was having trouble getting into a character. You guys have been a real inspiration to me, and got me started on the Jason/Billy thing in the first place. (Just one note though ladies: I don't play by the same rules as the other Yosties.) A special thanks to Dagmar Buse for prodding and pushing me along on this, and for some of the best fanfic I've ever read- even if she doesn't like my pairings. Also thanks to Scarlet Deva, Hartfelt, The Girl in the Red Jacket, and Baby Kitty for all the input and encouragement. If I've forgotten anyone, please forgive me- it wasn't meant as a slight.
************************************************************
Kyle looked over to where Billy was lying curled in the corner, his normally bright eyes, now dark with pain, and fury, his face stained with streaks of tears that reflected azure in the hard light of the room. There was something deeper lying beneath it too, something that could not be allowed to fester, or it would cost all of them more than they could bear. Kyle had seen that look before, seen it a hundred times- every time- he looked into the mirror in those weeks leading up to the day he walked into the building hoping it would collapse on him.
Reaching out gently, he laid a hand on Billy's shoulder, "You still with me Billy?"
Billy didn't acknowledge that Kyle had spoken. However, he did withdraw from the touch. Throwing his head back to think, Kyle sent a silent call for the other Rangers, Adam, where are you guys?
*On our way, Kyle,* he heard Adam's voice reply in his head.
*I'm not going to ask, I'm just going to be thankful that it's there.* He said through what ever it was he and Kyle were sharing. *Well, get here quick. I don't like the state Billy's in.*
There was a sudden change in air pressure in the room as a rainbow of color materialized into the rest of the Rangers. "Is this quick enough for you?" Tommy asked.
Tommy quickly scanned the room in which they found Kyle and Billy. It was stark gray with only two low benches in it. There were no facilities, no privacy, and up until five minutes ago, evidently no way out.
He watched as Jason charged across the room to where Billy was lying curled naked in the corner. Kyle was sitting similarly dressed in on the bench. "Bill, it's okay. I'm here," Jason whispered gently reaching out to touch him.
Tommy shuddered when after long seconds Bill looked up. The hurt in his eyes cut to Tommy to the soul, and he wondered if the Blue Ranger would ever be the same again. He saw Billy swallow hard and a hardness wash over his face, as he looked into Jason's eyes. "I'm alright, Jason." Tommy noted casual detachment to Billy's voice that he reserved for his science experiments. "If you will stand back a moment, I'll get up." Looking over at Kim and Tommy, he said, "I must apologize for my lack of attire. Our captors seem to consider clothing somewhat an inconvenience for prisoners."
"Billy,. . .," Jason began and put a hand on Billy's shoulder.
Tommy watched as Billy none-too-gently pulled away from the touch. "I am uninjured Jason," he repeated calmly. "My Ranger healing factor seems to have taken care of the damage."
"Like hell you are, Billy!" Kimberly stalked over to him. "We know what happened Billy. Nobody could be all right after something like that, so don't try and go all macho on me William Cranston," she poked him in the chest with a finger, and advanced on the much larger man. "You've been hurt, hurt in a way that goes all the way down to the soul. Your Ranger healing factor," she made quotation marks with her fingers, "may have taken care of the physical damage, but there's more kinds of hurt than physical." By now, she had backed the blond into a corner.
Suddenly the stone mask around Billy's face dissolved, only to be replaced by fear and loathing. "You know?" he asked, and the sound of his voice broke Tommy's heart. He understood something now. Billy had hoped to hide what had happened to him, not tell the others, and as Jason had once called it, 'just duck his head and wait for something extraordinary to come along'.
"Of course they know," a new voice said as the room dissolved around them. "I wanted them to know." The cell disappeared and they found themselves in long marble hall. Tall fluted columns reached to the arched ceiling overhead. At the other end of the hall, beyond the statues of various war- gods was a throne. Lounging in it was a tall man with jet black hair and dark midnight eyes. There was a beauty, and a cruelness about him that sent shivers racing up and down Tommy's spine. "It wouldn't be any fun if they didn't know what I'd done to their weak link." He stood and strode down the hall.
A low growl was the only warning Jason gave before he acted. Gone was the control that usually permeated the Red Ranger's actions. Now he was acting on pure anger, pure hatred, pure Power. He was a blur of red that slammed into the man from twenty feet away. Jason hit the stranger so hard that the dark haired beauty was picked up by the force of the blow, and literally slammed into the stone throne, cracking it. Before even Tommy could react, Jason was on top of him, raining down blow after blow after blow with a strength that was turning the throne into marble dust from its impact.
"Enough!" the man bellowed, and lashed out with a kick that sent Jason flying through the air to land at Tommy's feet. Bruised and battered, the man stood and smiled, while the terrible wounds on his body healed before their eyes.
Tommy helped his best bro to his feet, saying, "Take it easy man. Let's find out his weaknesses first." Tommy couldn't help but look back over his shoulder to Billy as he realized that their secret weapon for doing that was pretty much out of the fight.
Striding purposefully toward them, the man said, "So you're the tactician." Sneering, he continued, "Well, you might as well surrender now, for I was directing the armies of light before your pathetic little people even crossed the land bridge into North America." Glancing over Tommy's shoulder to Billy the man then let his gaze rake back to Jason, "Does his weakness give you strength? Are you able to draw on this kind of Power because I hurt your puny little plaything?" His voice took on a falsetto tone, "He didn't really put up all that much of a fight you know. He really is such a pathetic little thing. After a while he just lay there and took it." He looked down at his hand, where a sword materialized. It a heavy two-handed blade with wicked serrations along the broadening point. He sighed and said, "I really should have put him out of his misery. But I really needed you to see him at least once, before you brought me my prize." He looked past Billy to where Kim and Kyle were standing.
Jason growled again at Tommy's side, and he could feel Jason tense to attack again. "Not yet Bro." Tommy looked back over his shoulder and realized that while Kyle had called his Yellow Armor, Billy was still standing there naked. He called to his friend, "Billy man, we really need you to Power up. We need the Blue Ranger."
The man laughed, "Yes, William. Do Power up." He smiled cruelly, "That way I can have my way with you again." He turned to face the rest of them, "After I do to your friends what I did to you." He looked at Tommy, "It was so good of you to bring me that little pink treat. Do you know how rare it is to find a female who wields the Power? Oh the fun we're going to have." Tommy knew that his opponent was trying to get under his skin. He was doing a good job of it too. He smiled and pointed the sword at Tommy's chest before saying, "I wonder, if I should take her after I've had my way with you, or before?" Tommy felt his hands clench into fists at his sides, as the blade sliced through his armor to prick his chest.
"NOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOoooooooo!" He heard Billy's scream turn to a howl. In a whirlwind of blue light and color, Billy summoned the Power and charged, his staff whirling in a deadly arc. "No more, Michael! It ends here!"
Tommy felt himself slammed to the ground by a thunderclap not two feet from his head, as he realized that Billy's staff had broken the sound barrier just before it crashed into Michael. "So much for finding a weakness," Tommy said to himself as Jason joined the Blue Ranger in the attack that followed.
The level of Power that his friends were wielding was staggering. Tommy could feel the Power course through his own body like a raging river waiting to be unleashed. As the Power built, so did his anger. This man had hurt, tortured, and humiliated one of his dearest friends. He'd attacked his planet with plans on conquering it, and using it as a staging point for attacking Heaven itself. He had threatened Tommy, his friends, and even Kimberly with the most vile of physical violations. Hell, he probably even kicked puppies and bit the legs off gerbils in his spare time.
Tommy Oliver, Green Ranger, wielder of the Power, and all around hero, decided that there was no place in the universe for a being like the one that was before him, and he was going to make it his personal mission to see that his universe was rid of him. Stepping forward, he felt something click inside him, like the final piece of a puzzle coming together that let you see the whole picture. Tommy realized that Michael thought he was still fighting the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. He didn't know that he was in essence fighting six versions of Covenant, the one being who'd managed to thwart him over all these long ages of war. Tommy smiled to himself when he realized that Michael was in for a rude awakening and a very bad day. Oh, he understood that even this incarnation of the Power Rangers didn't have the Power to destroy a being that had seen the Big Bang, but they could definitely make him pack up his space ships and go play in his own back yard.
As the war- for beings who wielded this kind of Power when locked in combat went beyond the realm of a mere fight- raged on, Tommy began to realize that he might have underestimated Michael. No, he had to be honest with himself, he had underestimated him, or at least over-estimated their own abilities. Yes, they could damage him, even hurt him- and Billy, Jason, and for some reason Kimberly, seemed to be going out of their way to do as much of that as possible- and he them, they could not seem to contain him.
The palace they found themselves in earlier had long since been reduced to mere rubble, blasted out of existence by the ever-increasingly powerful weapons Billy was willing into existence, and the blows Kimberly and Jason were dealing. For just a moment, Tommy considered pulling Kyle and Adam back to see just how much damage the three of them could do, for he too realized that they were healing the damage Michael was doing to them just as quickly.
However, he also realized that they were still mortal. They still had a mortal's will, and he had been paying attention to what had cost the original Covenant his first round against Michael. As powerful and righteous their fury was, it still could not match the stamina of an Aphriem. Eventually they, and he, would falter, and they could find themselves in a much less favorable position. Michael knew it too and said as much when he told them, "You can't win against me. I have been Ares, Mars, Tyr, and Thor. I have mastered every form of combat in the universe. You are nothing compared to my skill, and prowess. You will eventually fall!"
Then it hit him. He hit the transmitter in his helmet, "Billy, you're fighting his battle! Back off dude, use your head!" The Blue Ranger simply ignored him, as he continued to pound at Michael's defenses with his staff. He knew it was hitting below the belt. He knew that Jase probably would pound him to a pulp for it, but he HAD to get Bill's attention. He called into the mic again, "Billy, if you keep fighting his fight, he's going to do it to you again. He's going to do the same thing to Jase, and Adam, and me, and Kyle, and. . . ," he shuddered at the thought, ". . . , and Kim. We need you to come up with a plan, do your stuff. Stop thinking like me and Jase!"
That seemed to catch Billy's attention. He backed off and let Kyle and Adam take up the slack. Tommy found himself surprised when he realized that Billy was fighting with such intensity that it took two other Rangers to fill his role. Tommy knew a lot of it was his way of dealing with what had happened to him. In an odd way, Michael was supplying one of the very things Billy was eventually going to need to get past the pain of his violation.
Stopping, for a moment, Billy watched Michael and then looked over at Tommy, "I've got it, Tom." For just a second Tommy could see through the mask on Billy's helmet. See the pleading look in his eyes; see the tears rolling down his face. He definitely heard the begging in his voice. He hoped to God never in his life to hear his friend beg like that again, "I can't do it by myself. I need your help."
Tommy swallowed hard and nodded, "Anything Bro, you got it."
Billy nodded back, and took a deep breath before punching something into the mini-comp that appeared on his wrist. "I'm sending you some coordinates. Grab him with me, teleport, and push him forward. What ever you do though, don't let him drag you with him."
Tommy nodded as the coordinates appeared on his heads-up display in the lenses of his own mask. They didn't make a hell of a lot of sense to him- there was a quick double teleport in there somewhere- but he punched them in as he charged forward with Billy, trusting the Blue Ranger with his life. In tandem, the two men dove forward and over the heads of their teammates, each grabbing one of the Aphriem's arms. "Now," Tommy screamed into the mic as he willed the teleport.
All Tommy remembered when on Billy's signal he released Michael was a flash of darkness so deep that he literally could not see even the front of his mask. Then he was tumbling forward past Jason to land at Kimberly's feet. Not a bad place to be if you asked him.
"Where did he go?" Kyle asked looking around confused.
Tommy saw Billy slowly pull himself from the gray mist as Ms. Hayes suddenly appeared saying, "That was an interesting choice of places to send him. It won't hold him forever you know."
"It will hold him long enough," was all Billy said turning his back to her.
"How long is long enough?" Tommy asked. He had a bad feeling about this. "Where did we go?"
"Let's just say that by the time he is released from that prison, the matter in our solar system will have been recycled by the death and birth of other stars five or six times."
Kim knelt down beside Tommy, feeling him as if to ensure he was really there, as Ms. Hayes continued, "That should give you some reprieve from HIM at least." She frowned and walked over and put a hand on Billy's shoulder.
Tommy noticed that the Blue Ranger pulled away from the touch before he asked, "What do you mean from HIM at least?"
Ms. Hayes smiled, "Michael was just one of the Council of Umbra, albeit one of the more powerful ones, but only one none-the-less. There will be others trying to take over other realities."
Jason replied, "And you want us to deal with them."
Ms. Hayes smiled, "I never said it was going to be easy, Jason. But, you took on the mantle of Covenant. It's your job now." She sighed, "I learned a very valuable lesson a long time ago. Power always comes at a price." She looked over at Billy, "Sometimes that price has to be paid by one person. Sometimes it's too high, but there's always a price."
Tommy watched as Jason walked over and reached out to touch Billy, but something he saw in his lover's face made him stop and let the hand fall uselessly to his side. Turning back, Jason's voice was hard, "I think the price has been paid."
"Do you now?" Ms. Hayes asked. "So now, you're just going to hang up your uniforms and retire to beachcombing in Northern Australia are you?" She walked over to him, "It doesn't work like that Jason." She gave Billy a look, "Yes, Billy's given a lot- more than anybody should have to- but if you don't step in, there are other beings out there who will do it others. You have the Power to stand between them and humanity. I thought you were a hero."
"That's not fair," Kyle protested. "You can't hold his feelings against him right now."
"It's not his feelings I'm holding against him," Ms. Hayes said. "It's his actions, or lack thereof- and I never said this was going to be fair."
Tommy pulled the smaller woman to the side. He fought hard to control his temper, and keep his voice even, "Give us a break, Ms. Hayes. At least give us some time to heal," he looked over at Billy and Jason "Give HIM some time to heal."
"I never said you couldn't have that," she smiled. "I just said that the war wasn't over. That there are other realities out there that need defending." She sighed and crossed her arms, "Look, you know there are different kinds of Rangers don't you."
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I've read some of the Zordon's files, there are even Space Rangers."
Ms. Hayes chuckled at some inside joke, "Yeah, but they're only Space Rangers. What do they know about being Transdimensional Rangers? You six are uniquely qualified to defend not only this reality, but the infinity of realities beyond. You six are a new breed of Rangers, Transdimensional Rangers."
"I'll do it," Billy said in a neutral voice.
"Billy?" Kyle asked. "Why?"
"Do I need a reason why?" Billy asked.
Jason crossed his arms in front of Billy and nodded, "To them, maybe not. To me, yes."
Billy leaned in to his lover and said something that only Jason could hear, and turned his back to him as if to walk away. Jason literally exploded, "That's not true!" Jason spun him around by the shoulders, "I love you, William Kevin Cranston, and nothing can change that. We'll get through this. I don't care what has happened, nothing will change that I love you. It took too damn long for me to realize that my life would be empty without you in it, and I'm not going to let you go off into the night." He looked over at Ms. Hayes nodded and said, "If he goes, I go."
She smiled and looked around, slowly getting an acknowledgment from each of the Rangers. Tommy thought it was rather interesting that the six of them had closed ranks with each other to face the woman- each standing shoulder to shoulder with their lover. "Good, because your Command Center will be arriving here shortly with Murphy."
"What about Earth- our Earth- who's going to defend it?" Kimberly asked.
Ms. Hayes smiled, "Your friends back there," she held up a hand, "and before you ask, yes you'll be able to visit as often as you have time. They'll be taking over as the Planetary Rangers, just as soon as Zordon returns."
"Zordon's coming back?" Kim asked excitedly. "Can we see him?"
"Yes, he's coming back, and yes you can see him," Ms. Hayes told her as the Command Center appeared around them.
Ms. Stone came sauntering up to them, her arm in a sling and the biggest grin on her face they'd ever seen. "Well, it looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together."
**********************************************************