Power Rangers: Forever Red 2 - Red Resilience

Prologue

2002

Stone Canyon

If Rocky was sure of one thing, it was that karma wasn't real. Karma was a make-believe told to kids so that they would believe that life was fair, that everything happens in balance, that universe had a grand plan, that destiny was real…

As he looked at the picture of his father on the wall, he stifled a sob.

His dad had been one of the best doctors in Angel Grove and despite his considerable success, he was humble. He never hesitated to help others, even strangers nor did he ever intentionally hurt others. Rocky couldn't remember a single time his father had spoken to anyone rudely or used any sort of slang or curse word. His father was kind and empathic. He tried his best to live a healthy lifestyle, never smoking or drinking, always eating on time, going on morning walks… In fact, he was the one who inspired Rocky to take up martial arts as a way of staying fit. So why in the world, after all the good he had done, did he have to suffer so much?

Five months ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and despite getting the best healthcare anyone can afford and consulting the best doctors in the entire planet, he passed away just a few weeks ago.

Five months had felt like five years to him.

And his dad seemed to have a decade every month.

His dad had fought the best he could but at the end, it wasn't enough.

Everything felt meaningless.

Out of desperation, he had called on Billy and the Aquitar Rangers for help. Maybe in some corner of the universe, there was some cure for cancer. Maybe magic or grid energy could heal him.

The response he got shattered his heart. There was no cure for cancer. Every species in the galaxy despite their considerable powers and lifespans have some disease analogous to cancer, where their own body betrays them and devours them from within. It was an anomaly of life and even the energies of the mighty Morphin Grid couldn't change the hard truth. There was nothing that could have been done.

How in the world was this fair?

His father had been a good man.

He had been good. And this was how the universe repaid them.

As his communicator beeped for the fifth time, he tossed it on the floor before smashing it with his boot.

His mom couldn't stop crying and his younger siblings were distraught and helpless. He had to be there for his family.

Rocky had no desire to be a superhero anymore.

XXX

2002

Angel Grove

"You should go."

Jason turned around to see Trini walk towards him slowly.

"No, I can't leave you not when…"

"Jason, I am pregnant not in a coma. I can take care of myself. Besides I'm not due for three weeks and we live just 2 blocks from the hospital. If anything happens, I will call my mom and she'll take care of me. Okay?" She said patiently.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. They need all the red rangers for this one. It's already bad that I can't join and you can't expect Rocky to help given everything that's going on…"

Jason sighed looking away. He understood better than others how hard it was to lose a parent.

"You have to be there because we can't." Trini told him firmly, the golden bracelet in her wrist glowing red for a brief minute. "I'll be okay."

"Alright." He nodded, giving her a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I know." Trini smiled. "I love you too. Now go before Tommy hogs all the attention."

2025

New Tech City

Charlie gritted her teeth as she was shoved into a prison cell by a smirking guard.

"A girl in red! Huh!" The blond man leered at her, sliding the door shut and locking it. "Figures you'd go mad with power. That's what happens when you put a girl in charge!"

The former red ranger glared at him before smirking.

"Figures. It's 2025. Aliens and robots walk amongst us and yet there is no shortage of misogynistic men." She scoffed.

"Spare me the bullshit. You are the traitor who is going to spend a lifetime in prison. You can get off your high horse now. You should have stayed pink." He smirked smugly before turning around and walking away.

"The hell you know!" Charlie yelled, seething with rage. The guard cackled to himself before going in a different corridor and disappearing from her visual field.

She slumped down on the simplistic bed, raging.

Charlie didn't owe anyone any explanation, least of all, stupid deluded men. She was the best of the best, one of the finest fighters in the entire universe! She could have broken all his bones without a sweat in a second if she were to fight him.

However, he was right.

She was a traitor, a traitor to Earth and SPD…

However, she had to do what she believed was right. She had seen the Troobian Worlds and despite the terror Grumm seemed to inflict on other worlds, those worlds were idyllic places, where there was no discrimination. Everybody lived as equals and respected each other.

SPD was weak for letting several planets allied to it continue with horrible malpractices, just so they could get more soldiers.

SPD was the real enemy here, not Grumm or Omni.

She had only wanted to save Earth from itself, make a better world…

XXX

2022

The last thing Zayto remembered was using the Master Blade… the ultimate attack which was guaranteed to destroy the Nemesis Beast but at the cost of his own life. He was more than at peace with it.

He contributed to the creation of the Sporix. He could have joined Aiyon when he tried to stop the Sporix Generator from activating the first time but instead he listened to the Elders, whose lust for more power doomed their entire planet.

It was his responsibility to stop the Sporix.

As he felt unbridled energy lash out against him, crippling him with searing pain, ripping through his power suit and threatening to vaporize every cell of his body, everything stopped. He felt a calming presence which soothed his pain.

He looked around.

He was no longer in the battlefield or on Earth for that matter.

He was somewhere he couldn't recognise. He looked down to his amazement… He wasn't standing, but hovering in space and all around him was endless black.

Was he dead? This wasn't what he had thought had awaited him in the afterlife. He had presumed he'd be reunited with his loved ones and former team, but instead he was all alone? Was this punishment for his contribution to the creation of the Sporix?

Laughter answered him.

Someone else was there. He could sense a mental presence all around him even though there was no one in sight… On top of that, for his telepathy to work, he needed to be in physical contact with the other individual unless it wasn't his telepathy…

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Again laughter.

"Am I dead?"

"No." A bemused disembodied voice answered his question. "I saved you right on time, transporting you here where the Master Blade's energy dissipated harmlessly."

The voice was unfamiliar and he couldn't discern whether it was a male or a female voice.

"Who are you? And why did you save me?"

A burst of white light appeared before him and his jaw dropped open. It was a Morphin Master, but not any of the six he had met before. Moreover, his attire was slightly different with a red diamond in the centre of his suit and revealed a humanoid face instead of the metallic masks of the other masters.

"You can call me the Messiah. I saved you because I need a vassal in the physical planes. My body was long destroyed and this sub dimension is the only place my consciousness remains."

"You are not like the Morphin Masters I met." He asked hesitantly.

"No, I am not. I am the first Master Red. They are my successors and unfortunately, have strayed from the code. We were not meant to be on the side lines while evil forces run rampant across the galaxy. The universe needs to be purged." The Messiah growled. "Starting with the Morphin Masters themselves and the various rangers who abuse the power of the Grid."

Zayto's eyes narrowed. "Whoever you are, send me back. I won't help you fight the Morphin Masters or any ranger. They saved the universe time and time again."

"Oh, foolish child. You have no choice in that matter." The Messiah's form dissipated to red smoke that swirled around Zayto, merging with him.

"NO!" The red ranger screamed as he felt an intense power overtaking his mind and numbing his senses.

"Your body is now mine." Zayto's lips twisted into a twisted smirk as his clothes were replaced by the Messiah's morphin master robes. "Be grateful for it for you have served a higher cause."

Zayto felt his consciousness fading away as Messiah took over, cackling madly.

Messiah raised his hands and a purple crack appeared in the dimension, a gateway to other worlds.

"I will burn through your flawed worlds and build a new one in their place. The multiverse will know a golden age of peace and prosperity like never before under my leadership." He stated. "But first, I need more power and minions. And who better to serve me than…"

He waved a hand as several orb floated up, each of them showing rangers fighting together. One of the Legendary Battle. Others of the various times rangers had teamed up… the fight against Draven in the Antiverse, the time the Dino Rangers and Beast Morpher rangers had teamed up against Goldar Maximus… the various team ups over the years and lastly, the Forever Red mission on the moon where the red rangers had defeated the Machine Empire.

"So many at one place, at one time… and without the nosy Master Green guarding this moment…" He smirked to himself, grasping that orb and throwing it into the purple crack, watching as it whirled to create a portal to 2002, just after Serpentera had been blown apart by a blast from the Red Wild Force Ranger's Wild Force Rider, a motorcycle which drew power from the mighty diety Animus themselves.

"And so it begins… all dimensions will fall and the world will be born anew."

XXX

Hope you liked this short prologue, which gives an explanation for why several red rangers like Rocky and Trini (who became the Red Omega Ranger in the recent comics) wasn't there for the mission to stop Serpenterra.

Though you don't need to know much of what happens in the comics to read this fic, I'll reference some plot points and characters from the comics but don't worry, I'll give proper explanations in the story itself.

For the record, ALL the red rangers are going to appear in this story.

I really hope you guys enjoy this story and please review.