Disclaimer: Power Rangers Time Force and all related logos are property of Disney and/or Saban Entertainment. I am using them without permission. KJ Sheldon, Lt. James Emery, Trinity Oliver, Admiral Summers, Sasha Regis, Blake CaSteel, Khalil Taylor, Theo Johnson III, Camille Summers, Leo Claw and the "Omega Project" are property of yours truly. Gaby appears courtesy of Cmar!
Sorry it took me so long to finally update. By now, updates will come frequently until the end of the series. Thanks to all of you who have been patient, and sending me emails wondering when I'd be posting again. A dedicated face base makes writing worth wild.
Take a minute to leave a review, I live for'em!!
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"All of you were chosen for a reason. I have faith in you that you succeed in your mission, and the four of you will do your part to preserve the time line and save the future," Alex said.
"Alright, lets get going," Khalil said, making his way to the time ship.
The others followed suit, and when the hatch opened, the four of them stepped onboard. Each of them took their seats on the ship, and KJ turned to the main control panel. "The time circuits are on line, and I am beginning the launch procedures," she said.
"Everyone buckle it!" Sasha said, reaching for her safety harness.
"You guys weren't trying to leave without me, were you?" they heard a voice say.
They each turned to the entrance, where they saw him.
"Who are you?" Amanda asked.
"CaSteel. Blake CaSteel," he sat down in the empty seat on the time ship, fastening himself in. "Al thought you guys might need some help," he told them.
"Where we're going, we're going to need all the help we can get," Sasha said.
"Sequence complete, commencing launch procedures in ten seconds," KJ said as the entrance closed. The viewer inside the ship blinked on as the ship it lifted off. Within seconds, the cargo bay door opened, and the time ship headed out.
"This is it," Khalil sighed.
Suddenly, the ship began to shake. "There is a problem. The navigational sensors are off line, attempting to compensate," KJ warned.
"Wait, what does that mean?"
"It means that if we can't get control of the ship, we won't make it through the wormhole," Amanda said.
"Reroute emergency power to the navigational sensors," Blake said.
"Negative, the main circuit board seems to be damaged. I am unable to reroute," she said.
"There has to be something we can do," Sasha said.
"There is," KJ opened a small panel on her arm, pulling out a wire and connecting it to the ship. "Attempting a manual override of the navigational systems," she said.
"If something goes wrong, you'll be…"
"I am aware of the risks," she paused. "Manual override established. Navigational sensors are on line. Setting a course for the wormhole," she announced.
Each of them turned their attention to the view screen as the ship moved closer into the vortex. Soon, the ship headed inside.
On the view screen, each of them was able to watch as the traveled through the vortex. Just then, there was an explosion at one of the control panels. It was Blake to unbuckled his safety harness, doing his best to keep his balance as he checked on the controls.
"It was an energy spike, we've been hit. The time circuits were damaged," he said.
"Can they be repaired?" Amanda asked.
Again, an energy spike, forcing all of them to jerk forward, struck the ship. "Damn it, another one. That one knocked out our primary systems," he said.
"KJ, can you…" Khalil's sentence trailed off as he saw KJ slumped over in front of the controls. "Oh no," he quickly unbuckled his harness, hurrying over to her. "The connection she made to the ship must have overloaded her when we were hit by the energy spike," he sighed.
"We've got bigger problems kids. Our destination is still 2007, but all primary functions are off line. We won't be able to land the ship once we clear the vortex," Blake said.
"We might be able to do a manual override on the emergency hatch," Sasha said.
"You mean jump?" Blake asked.
"Once we're clear of the vortex, we pop the hatch and make a jump for it. Staying on the ship would be suicide," she pointed out.
"Shes got a point,"
"What about KJ? We can't just leave her here," Amanda said.
"Blake and I will carry her. Sasha, we'll be clearing the vortex is about 60 seconds, do what you can to get that hatch opened on my command," Khalil said.
"I'm on it," she said, turning to the controls.
Blake and Khalil unbuckled KJ from her seat, but were having a hard time picking her up. "Funny, she doesn't look that heavy," he sighed.
"She's an android," he added.
"We're clearing the vortex is 40 seconds. What's your progress Sasha?" Khalil asked.
"I've established manual override. I'm ready to pop the hatch,"
"Good. Amanda, can you determine where we're going to end up?" he asked.
"No, the sensors are off line. We could end up over the city for all I know," she said.
"Come on, they always end up at the beach in the history logs. Lets just cross our fingers and hope we land near water," Khalil said.
"Ten seconds," she said.
"Everyone ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Amanda sighed.
"Okay Sasha, on my mark," he turned to the controls. "5…4…3…2…1… now!" he screamed.
Sasha activated the emergency hatch, and then quickly jumped. Amanda was quick to follow her, but Khalil and Blake were having a hard time carrying KJ.
"We have to leave her!" Blake yelled, trying to talk over the noise of air being sucked out the emergency hatch.
"No! She's one of us!" he screamed, still pulling her.
He put KJ on his back, holding on as tight as he could, and then lunged for the emergency hatch. Finally, Blake made a jump for it, and within seconds, the time ship collided with a mountain, and exploded.
*
Sasha sat up in a cold sweat, only to discover she was in an infirmary of some kind. It was fairly dim, and as far as she could tell, there wasn't very much medical equipment around. The disorientation got the best of her, and she was forced to lie back down, holding her head in pain. She tried to recall the incidents leading up to this moment, but was drawing a blank.
"Relex cadet, everything is going to be okay. You had a nasty accident," she heard a voice say.
It took all the power she could muster to turn her head, trying to get a good look at the person. Though her vision was a bit blurry, she did her best to figure out who it was. "Captain Collins?" she mumbled. "What happened?"
He sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand slightly. "No, I'm Wesley Collins. You're in the year 2007," he told her.
That's when it hit her. 'We were in the time ship. There was a problem, and we had to jump,' she recalled.
"Where are the others?" she sighed.
"They're here, all of them are fine. You took a big risk jumping from the time ship before it exploded, but if you hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," he mentioned.
"KJ? Where is she?"
"You mean the android, right? I'm afraid there isn't much we can do for her here. From what we can tell, her primary power conduit was overloaded, and we can reinitialize her matrix. I'm sorry," he sighed.
"Oh no," she sighed as a tear rolled down her face. "She did it to save us all,"
"And she did. When we found you, you were face down on the beach. The others were in the ocean, and the time ship was completely destroyed. Based on the wreckage we found of the time ship was able to analyze, there was a malfunction on the ship, and the android used her own systems to stabilize the ship long enough for you to get through the vortex," he explained.
"There was a problem with the navigational sensors," she recalled.
"Well, when you're feeling up to it, you can join me on the training grounds. I suspect Time Force sent you here because…" he was cut short as Sasha tried to sit up again.
"The renegades are here!" she screamed.
"The who?"
"Renegade rangers. The time line is being altered, we have to stop them," she said.
"Renegades? They haven't been any rangers here for a long time, especially renegade rangers," he told her.
She paused. "The malfunction in the time ship must have sent us back to a point in time before the renegades arrived. That gives us a tactical advantage," she said.
"So you're saying there's going to be an invasion?"
"All I know is that renegade rangers are on their way here, and its up to us to stop them," Sasha said, forcing herself to sit up. "Where are the others?"
"They're in the observation lounge along with Eric and a few of the other Silver Guardians," he said.
"Take me to them,"
*
Khalil, Amanda and Blake sat in the observation lounge, simply waited. Since arriving, no one had mentioned anything about the renegade rangers, the condition of Sasha, or what happened to KJ. Eric Myers sat across from them, his facial expression never changing.
Khalil couldn't help but compare it to the same emotionless expression he'd seen on the face of Counsel Member Collins a million times before.
"So…" Amanda sighed, breaking the silence between them. "Seems like just yesterday that we were here,"
"Actually, it was about two weeks ago," one of the guardians mentioned.
"Really? That's it?"
"Yeah,"
"That will be all Lt. Cooper," Eric snapped.
"Yes sir," he acknowledged, walking out the room.
"I'm not sure why you guys are here, but…" he was cut short as Blake stood up.
"We need to know where our friends are. We don't have to time to see here and stare at each other," he snapped.
"If it weren't for us, you'd still be face down in the sand outside the city. Now I suggest you have a seat and wait for…" he was cut short again.
"We don't have time for this. Something is coming, something you couldn't possibly understand. And its…"
"Let me guess: some immortal asshole, or some mutant attack? Oh wait, maybe its mutorgs again, or some sort of cyborg invasion? Listen kid, I was out saving the world hundreds of years before you were born, so don't lecture me on things I wouldn't understand," Eric told him.
"If I don't stop him now, he'll start telling you about how his childhood was," a voice said.
They all looked up as she walked into the room, making her way over to them. She wore a light lab coat, a pair of glasses and had her hair pinned up.
"Damn it Gabriella, not now," he sighed.
"I'll take it from here honey, but I'm sure there's something on the fifth level who you haven't been rude to today, and we wouldn't want them to feel left out," she said. As Eric stood up, she kissed him on the cheek. Eric couldn't help but crack a half smile, then walk out the room. "So, the fact that you're here means its about to happen," she walked over to the table, sitting in Eric's seat. "Its good to see you all again," she said.
"You too Mrs. Myers," she paused. "This is Blake CaSteel," Amanda introduced.
Blake nodded, and Gabriella acknowledged him with a simple nod. "I was sorry to hear about your android friend. Her technology is years ahead of even our best scientists, but if there's a way to revive her, we'll do our best to find it," she said.
"Thank you,"
"According to the reports Jen gave us during your last visit, there is suppose to be some kind of attack, and that Time Force would be sending a group of rangers and a mentor. Other than that, we don't know much about it," she said.
"Wait, a mentor?" Khalil asked.
"Yes, Jen told us about a new concept in Time Force. A veteran ranger would be chosen to accompany the new rangers and assist them, but we weren't told who the mentor would be," she said.
"Everything happened so fast, we just left as soon as we could," Amanda said.
"The fact that nothing has happened yet means we'll have a chance to stop it from happening. If we can find the renegades before they're allowed to alter the time line, we may be able to prevent the invasion from ever happening," she said.
"I'm afraid it's not that easy. A series of events have already taken place, and if this invasion is meant to happen, it will. All you may be able to do is prolong the inevitable. The invasion will happen, and it will be up to you to stop it," Mrs. Myers told them.
"That's what we're here for," Sasha said as she walked into the room.
"Sasha, you made it," Khalil said.
"It'll make more than a little explosion to stop me," she giggled.
At that moment, there was an explosion, and the entire building shook as a result. Amanda fell out of her chair, and when she got to her feet, she could see what was left of one of the buildings through the window. There were people rushing away from the building as it burned, and groups of Silver Guardians were on hand attempting to contain the fire.
"It's happening," Amanda sighed.
"Mrs. Myers, I had to rush you, but I think we'll be needing those morphers now," Khalil said.
"All of you, come with me," she said, making her way out the room.
*
"Now remember, you'll need to read chapters seven, eight and nine and study the research questions. This will be on the finals, so I suggest you…" she was cut short as there was an explosion outside the school.
It was enough to shake the entire building, and some of the students fell out of their seats. Trinity made it back to her feet, rushing towards the window. 'The explosion came from Bio-Lab,' she thought to herself.
She quickly glanced up at the clock, and realizing there was still over twenty minutes left of class, she knew that the teacher wouldn't let her leave early without an excuse. "Um, Ms. Enrile, I need to…" she was cut short.
"I know Trinity, go," she sighed.
It surprised her that Ms. Enrile was so understanding about it, but didn't have time to speculate as to why. "Thanks," she said, rushing out the classroom.
*
Gaby led them down the hallway, stopping at a room at the end of the hall. She quickly pressed her hand against the plate, and within seconds, a green light came from the ceiling, scanning her. 'Scan complete. You may enter,' the computer announced.
The door opened, and they all stepped inside. The room itself was huge, with machinery and equipment along the walls. There were workstations in the middle of the room, but one of the stations was much bigger than the others. Gaby headed over the biggest station in the room, using a key to open a drawer. The drawer slid open, and she reached inside, pulling out a small box.
"With help from Angela Rowlins, we were able to modify the rescue morphers from Operation: Lightspeed, giving them a great deal more power. The initial tests on the rescue morphers were actually conducted by TJ and the Astro rangers about a year before Operation Lightspeed was approved. Though they may not be as advanced as the Chrono morpher or the Quantum controller, they are the most sophisticated morphers ever created by man," she explained, opening the box and allowing each of them to get a good look.
"Awesome," Amanda sighed.
"Amanda Scotts, the pink rescue morpher is yours," Gaby said, presenting it to her.
Amanda put the morpher on her wrist, taking a moment to admire it. Part of her was pleased that she was given the same color as her older sister, but was still concerned about living up to the reputation that Jen had set. "Thank you," she sighed.
"Mr. CaSteel, the blue rescue morpher belongs to you,"
Blake slid the morpher on his wrist, getting a good look at it.
"Sasha, the yellow rescue morpher goes to you," Gaby said.
Sasha couldn't help but crack a smile as she put her morpher on. She'd hoped for the green morpher, like her brother, but was determined to do the best she could.
"Khalil Taylor, the green morpher is…" she was cut short.
"Wait a sec, I'm not getting the red morpher?" he asked.
"No,"
"Why not? Who's going to be the leader?" Khalil asked.
"That would be me," they heard a voice say. They all turned around as Trinity walked into the room, picking up the red morpher and putting it on her wrist. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have a morpher," she said.
"Who put you in charge?" he asked.
"Listen, we don't have time for this. My dad and Jen warned us about a threat that was on its way here, and the last thing we need to be doing id fighting amongst ourselves. I'm in command because I've been a ranger before, and out of everyone here, I've clocked more field time than anyone. Now you can either follow my lead, or we'll find someone else for the green morpher," she explained.
"There has never been a female red ranger in Power Rangers history," he pointed out.
"You of all people should know that history can be changed," she retorted.
Khalil stood face to face with Trinity. Though he was considerably taller than her, she refused to back down from him.
"Guys, come on," Amanda sighed.
Finally, Khalil took a step back. "Fine," he groaned.
"Wasn't there another rescue morpher?" Sasha asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes, the Titanium morpher. Unfortunately, it requires a much more substantial amount of power to activate, and we haven't been able to calibrate it to a point where it won't damage the wearer. It will be a while before we're able to use it again," Gaby explained.
At that moment, Wes rushed into the room. "Guys, there are two rangers wearing some kind of armor attacking Bio-Lab. The Silver Guardians are doing their best, but we're getting our butts kicked," he said, struggling to catch his breath.
"That's our cue guys, lets go," Trinity said.
*
The five of them rushed out to the training grounds, where the Silver Guardians were taking a serious pounding. There were unconscious bodies scattered throughout the grounds, and there was a smoke so thick that they could barely see anything.
There were a few guardians still on their feet, but not many. Trinity hurried over to one of them. "Max, get the injured guardians to the hospital, we'll take it from here," she told him.
"You got it," he said.
The five of them stood in next to one another, and as the smoke cleared, they were able to make out the silhouettes of two figures. Soon, the smoke was completely dissipated, and they were able to get a good look at them.
There were two rangers, but unlike any rangers any of them had seen before. One was green, the other was pink, but both were armor that covered their entire bodies, and each had a saber in their hand. While the green ranger was much taller, the pink ranger was much more slender.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Amanda asked, taking a step forward.
The two rangers remained silent, but it was the pink ranger who stepped forward, swinging her saber. Amanda managed to side step it, but the pink ranger caught her with an elbow to the side of the head, knocking her to her knees. The pink ranger then kicked her in the chest, sending her to the ground. Sasha and Khalil hurried over to her, helping her up.
"You okay?"
"Other than the headache, yeah," she sighed.
"Alright guys, lets do it," Trinity announced. "TIME FOR, LIGHTSPEED," she called out, and within seconds, was transformed into the red ranger.
"You heard the lady," Khalil said. The four of them stood side by side, reaching for their morphers. "TIME FOR, LIGHTSPEED," they said in unison, transforming into rangers.
Khalil and Blake went after the green ranger, double-teaming him with a double sabat kick, but they went right through him. They both turned around, watching in amazement as the green ranger appeared to be transparent, but quickly became solid again, grabbing both of them by their throats and lifting them up.
Before he could do anything, Sasha called for her saber, throwing it at the green ranger. It connected with his chest, but simply bounced off the armor. That gave Blake enough time to squirm free, landing a sweep that knocked the green ranger off his feet. Khalil swung his saber, but the green ranger blocked it with his arm, but spun around, giving both Khalil and Blake a sweep. Before they could even fall to the ground, the green ranger landed a double kick, sending them up against the building. Khalil and Blake layed on the ground, powering down as they struggled to get back to their feet.
Sasha, Amanda and Trinity ganged up on the pink ranger, but couldn't get the upper hand. Trnity tried for a kick, but the pink ranger caught her foot, swinging her around and sending her crashing into Sasha. Amanda stood firm, calling for her saber.
"Alright pinky, its just you and me," she said.
"As you wish," the pink ranger agreed, calling for her saber as well.
Both of them swung, but found themselves in a standstill. Amanda stood a step back, swinging again, but the pink ranger blocked with her forearm, then swung her saber. Amanda dodged it, then kicked the saber out the pink rangers hand. She did a flip over the pink ranger, grabbing the saber in mid air, then landed behind her. Before the pink ranger could turn around, Amanda caught her with a saber to the back, followed by a second one, forcing the pink ranger to stumble forward. She turned around, and Amanda caught her with the saber again, but on the next attempt, the pink ranger caught the saber, snatching it away from Amanda.
Before Amanda had a chance to react, the pink ranger struck her in the chest with the saber, forcing her to power down as she fell to the ground. With all the rangers down, the pink and green ranger proceeded towards Bio-Lab.
"We have to stop them," Trinity groaned, making it back to her feet.
"If you haven't noticed, we're seriously outmatched. We're going to need some help," Blake said.
The two renegade rangers were only a few feet away from the entrance when he stepped out, stopping them from going any further. "That's as far as you get you two," he warned.
"Out of our way," the green ranger moaned.
"I don't think so," he said, reaching for his morpher. "QUANTUM POWER!!" he called out, transforming into the Quantum ranger. He called for the Quantum Defender, but before he had a chance to use it, the green ranger knocked it out his hand. As it fell to the ground, the pink ranger grabbed it, aimed and fired, hitting the Quantum Ranger in the chest. On impact, he was forced to power down, falling unconscious to the ground.
With the Quantum Defender still in hand, she picked Eric up, aiming the weapon at his head. "Do as your told, or the Quantum Ranger will be destroyed,"
"That's bullsh…" Trinity, who grabbed his arm, pulling him back, cut Khalil short.
"Fine, you win," she sighed.
"What?!" he snapped.
"If we don't listen to them, they'll kill Eric," she said.
"I'm willing to bet that they'll kill him anyway," Amanda brought up.
"We'll play by their rules, for now," she instructed.
The green ranger motioned for them to follow, and the five of them cautiously headed into the building. The two renegade rangers led them down the hall, making them way into the third door on the right. As they walked inside, Sasha noticed both Wes and Gabriella blindfolded and handcuffed to a metal pole up against the wall.
"This is the main power generator. It powers every system in Bio-Lab," Trinity noted. "What do you want in here?"
The green ranger responded with a backhand, knocking Trinity to her knees. "You are in no position to ask questions ranger," he snapped.
The pink ranger motioned for the rangers to stand along the wall, and the green ranger cuffed them to the pole as well.
"You won't get away with this you sick bastards," Khalil snapped, trying to snatch free from his restraints, but was unsuccessful.
It was the green ranger who walked over to him, removing his helmet, allowing Khalil to get a good look at him. He had light brown eyes, short brown hair and a slight mustache. At first glance, he seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You don't understand ranger, not only will we get away with it, you will help us," he told him.
"That's where you're wrong. We'll never help you!" Amanda snapped.
Without saying a word, the green ranger pulled a small device from his waist, placing it on the main reactor in the middle of the room. He connected it, and then pressed a white switch. As soon as he did, the device became transparent.
"It's a isotropic bomb," Trinity sighed.
"A what?"
"An isotropic bomb, when detonated, will be able to create a rift in the space/time continuum," Gaby noted.
Just then, the green ranger put his helmet back on, turning to the pink ranger. "We've done what we came to do. Lets go," he told her.
The pink ranger nodded, and the two of them pressed a small button on their forearm. Within seconds, there was a flash of light, and they disappeared.
"Okay, for those of us playing along at home, anyone wanna tell me what's going on?" Sasha asked.
"When that bomb goes off, it'll tear a hole in the fabric of time and space. Granted, the hole will be a very small one, but it will feed off the radiation coming from the reactor and open even wider," Trinity said.
"In theory, a rift that size would be able to suck this entire building into the rift," Wes mentioned.
"Yes, but that's the least of our problems. The rift will eventually feed off the radiation coming from the morphers, and it will be enough to envelope the entire city," Gaby added.
"So you mean we created the problem we were sent here to prevent?" Blake asked.
"In a sense, yes. If we can disable the bomb from going off, we should be able to…" she was cut short.
"Sounds good, but we've got another problem. The bomb looks like its phased," Amanda said.
"Phased?" Gaby inquired.
"It's a technology from the future. It speeds up the molecular structure about .05 seconds, allowing it to exist in our time, but slightly phased. Its there, but while its phased, everything will go straight through it," Blake said.
"So what do we do?"
"The only thing we can do is get out of here before the bomb goes off. At the very least, Bio-Lab and everything in here will be destroyed, but the space/time continuum will be safe," Trinity said.
"Sorry, but that isn't very comforting," Khalil sighed.
"So, anyone got any bright ideas on how to get out of here?" Blake asked.
"I've got one," she paused, and within seconds, was able to break free of her handcuffs. "By a show of hands, who wants to get outta here?" Sasha asked.
"Very funny," Wes sighed.
"There's no time to free us all. If I'm right, that bomb will detonate in a matter of seconds. Just take our morphers and get out of here," Trinity said.
"I won't leave you here,"
"You have to. It's the only way to stop the rift from destroying the entire city," she said.
At that moment, the bomb began to light up, and there was a slight humming noise. Sasha looked at the bomb, and then back to the others, who were still cuffed to the pole. "I'm sorry," she sighed, quickly going around the room, removing their morphers.
Once she was able to gather them all, she headed for the door. She was inches away from leaving, but paused, turning to them again. "I can't just leave all of you here to die," she cried.
"You have to. Just go!" Trinity screamed.
With a tear in her eye, Sasha rushed out the door, refusing to look back…
… and entire building exploded.
~~
Preview: Prelude to warNext time on Parallels II: With the past left in ruins, the renegade rangers set their sites on the 31st century.
~~
coming soon: ENDGAME