Disclaimer: don't own it yet…

Steelix is back! Can the SPD Rangers defeat him? Will Jen go against Time Force's wishes and morph? Read to find out!

TheDreamerLady: I should mention that the next episode of SPD hasn't taken place yet…this is still after "Walls." As per how Sky and the others received their powers, I'll be getting to that in a bit and having Jen explain how he got his powers. It's my idea of how Sky received his powers. Remember, in Jen's time the parents could tweak the baby's DNA…

Etcetera Kit: I'm a genetics nerd as well…the thing about TF and DNA fascinates me. We extracted the DNA from a banana in my Lab Biology class last Monday, it was awesome!

Mrs. Coolio: I've been very busy with school and everything, so it takes me a while to get updates started. I've recently completed one of my three fics and have one more left on my other PRTF fic currently in circulation. Thanks for the push!

This chapter is short, but I have yet another twist to come!

Here it is! Chapter 8! Enjoy!

A New Shade of Gray, part 2

"And to think, the esteemed Red Time Ranger would have been able to defeat me." Steelix taunted. "Where is the pink one?"

He was suddenly struck by a powerful blaster as he fell to the ground. "Right here, Steelix!" Jen yelled.

The SPD Rangers stood up as Jen stepped in front of them. "Time Force!" Jen called. "You're under arrest. Just give it up, Steelix. I've beaten you twice before, I'll do it again!"

Lucas stepped in front of Jen. "Jen, are you crazy?" The Blue from his helmet reflected in her glasses. "You heard Trip."

"You can't morph. It'll do more harm then it has!" Trip protested.

"Let is take care of it, Captain." Jack added. "We can do it." Jen looked at Jack. She turned her head towards Steelix, who was still trying to get up.

"Jen, please." Wes stepped in front of the Red Ranger. "Go back to Headquarters, let us take care of him."

Jen sighed. "I—"Bridge suddenly shoved Jen aside.

"Look out!" Bridge yelled. Steelix threw a laser bomb at them as it exploded. Sparks flew from the Rangers and Jen as well. "Captain!" Bridgecrawled over to where Jen lay. "Are you okay?"

Jen didn't answer, only jumped up. "Steelix, you're going down!" She surprised him as she jumped and kicked him. The SPD Rangers were astonished at Jen's fighting abilities, even when she wasn't morphed.

Both flew back to opposite sides of the street. "Just give up, Jen. You won't beat me. You can't even morph."

Rage encased Jen, her eyes went dark. She slowly raised her wrist, her hand shook. "Just watch me." She whispered.

"Jen, DON'T!" Wes yelled.

"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE!" Jen screamed. An unsteady flash of pink surrounded her, and she was in her ranger attire. "Chrono saber!"

Steelix fired his weapon as Jen defected each shot. She struck him, an aurora of gray surrounded his body as he yelled. "Had enough?" Jen panted.

"I'll be back, Jen. I WILL have my revenge!" He disappeared, leaving Jen standing in her spot.

The Rangers ran towards her. "Jen!" Wes said. They arrived at her spot to see her standing, her breath heavy. "Are you okay, Jen?" he asked.

She suddenly collapsed and clutched her chest. She powered down automatically as Wes lay her down on the ground. "Jen, god, no."

He was pushed aside by Trip; he held a green-gray bottle in hand. "Jen, you need to drink this." Wes grabbed the vile from him as he popped off the cap.

"Come on, Jen." Sky said. "Please, drink it." He dropped down besides his mother and took her hand.

Jen slowly opened her mouth and swallowed the liquid. Wes watched as her breathing because easier, her pulse stronger. "We need to get her to the infirmary, now." Katie said.

Sky raised his morpher to his helmet. "RIC, Emergency transport, now!"

At Headquarters—Later

Sky paced hastily in Command, as the Rangers awaited an update on Jen's condition. He looked at his hand, a blue aurora started to form in it. "Why couldn't I have stopped her? I could have put a shield up in front of her morpher, so she couldn't morph." He sighed. "Why do I even have these powers anyway?"

"That's a good question." Wes walked in, Jen at his side. She walked slowly; her face was slightly twisted, indicating pain. She gave him a small smile and a small nod, signifying everything was okay.

"Jen," Sky hugged her, happy she was okay. But her grip was weak.

"It's okay, Sky. I'm fine." Jen said. Wes helped her over to a chair where she slowly sat down, inhaling sharply. "As per your powers, I'm sure you all are curious as it how you got them."

Z nodded in agreement. "It sometimes is annoying to see two of me." Katie laughed at her fellow ranger.

"Try having super strength." Katie chuckled. Jack gave her a look.

"You mean, you all have powers too?" Jack asked. Trip and Katie laughed.

"Just Katie and myself. Jen and Lucas were tweaked slightly." Trip stated. "I'm actually from another planet."

"What?" The SPD Rangers blurted out.

"I'm not sure Bridge is from the same planet." Syd said.

Bridge gave her a look. "Hey, not fair!" Syd apologized. "But, Lieutenant, please. Explain what you mean by that."

Trip smiled. "I'm the planet Xibria. It's a wonderful race of creatures. We have the ability to see things, like a sixth sense. Much like you, Bridge. If you were born 1000 years in the future, you'd be a great Xibrian." Trip smiled at his fellow Green Ranger.

"What about you?" Jack asked Katie.

"I'm form Earth, no doubt. But my parents tweaked my DNA to give me super strength. I can life a little more then 500 pounds."

"Whoa." Syd exclaimed. "How are you not buff, then?"

Katie laughed. "It's in my genes. Not to be buff, but to have the strength needed."

"You powers, Rangers," Jen said. "were handpicked by myself and some of the top geneticists in the world, back in my time."

Sky cocked his head. "You mean, we were—"

"Predestined to be Rangers." Jen finished his sentence. "You are the only humans in your time that have the type of abilities you all have."

Z gasped. "So, I'm the only person who can…duplicate themselves?" Jen nodded.

"It was a delicate process." She said. "It took us many years to figure out how to get you to accept these genes. We had a look at your DNA structure and figured out how to get you to accept these genes by process of elimination, and your DNA structure." She turned to Jack.

"Jack, you have the ability to break down your molecules to go through solids. We looked at your molecular structure, which revealed it to be equivalent to the ones on solids. Same amount of proteins, hence you can go through solids." Jack nodded.

"Cool." He said.

Jen turned to where Bridge stood. "Bridge, you're a genius. Much like Trip. Your brain secretes a liquid that is higher in energy. We figured since Trip does the same, give you a mental ability." Jen looked at Trip who gave her an approving nod.

"What about me?" Z asked.

Katie smiled at Jen, who gave her a nod. "Jen let me choose for you. I was reviewing your DNA structure, and it was always duplicating rapidly. After a thoughtful process, we were able to create a gene that would take those extra replications and help you make copies of yourself."

"Wow, but what about me? Where'd I get the stone power?" Syd spoke up.

Lucas began to laugh at the Pink Ranger. "What is so funny, Lieutenant?" she asked harshly.

Lucas shook his head. "Nothing, it's just that we found you hard to choose. You see, Syd. A stone is a powerful thing, much like the Trixyrium crystals. We discovered that when in contact with the right chemical structure, it could become any powerful hard stone, and be very helpful. You are determined, brave, and stubborn." He chuckled again. "The perfect match."

"What…about me?" Sky spoke up.

Jen smiled at her son. "I had your power, customized, you could say." Sky looked at her curiously. "The power to create force fields is a unique gift. You're the only person in time who has that ability. I gave it to you for one reason only."

"What would that be?" Sky asked.

"It takes a powerful and determined mind to create a force field, Sky. Especially one as powerful as you can create. Besides, your DNA structure was right for it. You have the right mindset to make it happen." Jen said.

"I have one more question, Captain." Z spoke up. "How did we get these powers, if we were all human before receiving these?"

"I came back here on Sky's eighth birthday to give you all your powers." She said.

"That's why my piece of cake tasted funny!' Sky blurted out, causing the rest of the Rangers to laugh. "I'm serious! It tasted like socks!"

"It was the only way it could be give to you. A shot would have been too obvious, so we broke down the gene to its chemical structure, liquefied it, then gave to you." Jen said. "You would have rejected it any other way."

Jen felt Wes's hand on her shoulder. "Well, I think that's enough chatting for one night, Jen. You need your rest."

Cruger nodded in agreement. "Yes, we all have had a long day. Off to bed, Rangers. Tomorrow is another day."

Wes helped Jen up as she walked towards the exit, each Ranger giving her a nod. "Good night, Rangers."

Sky watched her walk out; a frown came upon his face. A pair of arms went around him as her sweet voice filled his ears. "She'll be okay, Sky."

Sky turned around to see Syd standing behind him. She took his hand and led him back to his room. "I hope so, Syd." He said sadly. "I thought that was it, she was gone."

"Hey, hey," her voice was soft as they walked into his room. Sky lay down on his bed as Syd say next to him. "you need to be more optimistic, Sky. The Captain'll pull through this. You heard the doctors. As long as she doesn't morph, she'll be okay."

Sky sighed. "That's what worries me, that she will."

Somewhere

Steelix sat against the concrete door, thinking intensely. "I'll have my revenge, Jennifer, if it's the last thing I'll do." He grunted. "There's got to be something I can use. Let's see now."

He stood up and began to pace. "She can't morph, it'll only hurt her. But if she relaxes and takes it easy, she'll be fine. There's got to be something I can do. Something that will force her to morph."

"In latest news, the Space Patrol Delta Power Rangers have evaded yet another arrest. This mutant named Steelix has averted their weapons and tracking beams. If anyone has information on the whereabouts of this dangerous mutant, contact SPD Headquarters." The radio blurted.

Something clicked in Steelix's mind. An evil smile came to his face. There on the table was a picture of Jen and her son. Steelix picked it up and chuckled, a plot began forming in his mind. "It's perfect."

Back at SPD Headquarters

"Jen, you need to rest." Wes said from his perch on the bed. Jen was sitting at her desk doing yet another scan of the city.

"How can I sleep knowing Steelix is out there. Think about it, Wes. This is Steelix we're talking about." She said. Wes merely shook his head and sighed. "But you're right, Wes. I do need a good nights sleep."

He smiled. "All right, come to bed." He scooted over as she took her spot besides him. He wrapped a secure arm around her frame as she settled in besides him.

She watched him sleep for about an hour. Silently, Jen got up and changed out of her pajamas and into her uniform. She attached her blaster firmly to her leg and placed her hair in a ponytail.

Jen grabbed the last piece of weaponry off her dresser: The Chronomorpher.

"I'm sorry, Wes." She whispered into the dark. "This is something I need to do on my own."

Jen silently walked out of their room and down into the streets below. There, she placed her cloak over her body and pulled the hood up over her head.

She was surrounded in a casing of black, secluding her from the world. As Jen made he way down the shadowy path, there was only one thing on her mind.

Vengeance.

ch 9 up soon.