Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee
Story: Through Her Eyes
Disclaimer: I own no one.
Time Frame: During Messenger, Parts 1 & 2. From this time on, it's more or less AU as far as the episode storylines go.
Summary: AJ's father was the greatest ranger ever….now she's taking on the mantle he gave up. Power Rangers SPD.
Author Notes: BOOM NEVER BUILDS THE RADIO RECIEVER; THEY NEVER GOT THE MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE.
Z: Sorry, I'm late. I met a new friend.
Bridge: So did we...but I don't think you're gonna like him.
Bridge: (about the Omega Ranger) what's with being here one minute, and then being, like, this teeny tiny little sparkle the next?
Boom: Did you just say "sparkle"?
Bridge: Maybe more like a "twinkle"?
"Hello, Commander!" AJ chirped the next day as she walked into the command center. The rangers were no where to be seen but JD was standing next to the main computer terminal, talking with Kat. She beamed.
"Hey JD, Dr. Manx!" She greeted the two enthusiastically as she hugged her brother again. Kat, Cruger, and JD laughed. Cruger turned to the two cadets.
"I would like the two of you to join the rangers on the obstacle course today." He requested. The twins smirked at each other and nodded. Back during basic training, the obstacle course had been their favorite activity. Kat chuckled.
"After the course, you're in charge of science, Lieutenant. I'm finishing up Project Twin." The feline scientist told her. AJ nodded her understanding and the two siblings left. Cruger turned to Manx.
"When will Project Twin be ready?" he asked. Manx smiled.
"The only thing left is to power up the zords which will take approximately three hours." She told him. Cruger nodded.
"Very well. I want the powers up and running in four hours, at the latest." He ordered. Kat nodded and left for the zord bay where Boom was already hard at work. She looked up at the two new zords and smiled. Built with agility in mind, the zords were sleek and humanoid. The Solar Eclipse Warrior Zord was a bit shorter than the Delta Squad Megazord and it was all black and gold. The cockpit was situated in the chest, directly behind the goldsun emblem. The Lunar Eclipse Warrior Zord was just like it's counterpart but was silver, black, and had a silvercrescent moonemblem on the chest. For some odd reason that Boom never understood, Kat always associated the gold zord as "he" and the silver zord as "she." Probably because I know who will be piloting these things….
"Okay, cadets, lets get to work."
"Check who it is." Jack called quietly, motioning to the two people walking over. Sky swallowed when he saw AJ and the newcomer laughing as they made there way to the obstacle course. Both wore black SPD shirts and grey track pants, making them look somewhat similar. There were enough differences however, that none even considered the possibility that they were related. Sky turned back to making sure the course ropes were secured.
"Hello, cadets." AJ called and then laughed when the cadet muttered something. Sky glanced at her again with a scowl. AJ didn't notice but the cadet did and gave the blue ranger a look.
"Cruger has asked me and Jay here to do the course with you guys." AJ announced. Sky snapped his attention to the petite young woman in surprise. Normally, B Squad worked alone.
"Okay, who's going to go first?" Jack asked, taking the appearance of the two personnel in stride. AJ shrugged and the cadet stepped forward.
"I will." He announced with a grin at AJ. Sky scowled and stepped forward, brushing aside Bridge's raised hand.
"Me too." He replied. AJ looked startled as Jack nodded, a peculiar gleam in his eye.
"First one to finish wins." Jack announced. The two cadets nodded just as Syd and Z moved away from the wall of mud.
"Jay, be careful." AJ told her brother, knowing somehow that Sky was in a bad mood. JD knocked an eyebrow and nodded. He walked over to the starting line and took in the wood in front of him. He smiled at the blue ranger who ignored him. JD sighed and prepared for the race.
"Go!" Jack yelled and the two cadets sprung forward. In no time flat they had both gone over the wall, through the tunnel, across the suspended log, through the barbed floor-fence, and across the mud pit. They raced through the tires and jumped on the top tier. JD didn't bother checking anything down below and simply jumped onto the inflated mat. As he rolled off, Sky landed and bounced to his feet. Sky was only a step behind the new cadet as they ran across the finish line. Panting, JD gave AJ a grin and she smiled. Half way through the course she had realized she didn't know who she wanted to win. She turned to consol Sky but he shrugged her off, stalking towards the showers. AJ frowned, wounded, as she watched him walk away.
"Lieutenant and Cadet Roberts to the Command Center. Lieutenant and Cadet Roberts to the Command Center immediately." Kat's voice called urgently over the intercom later that day. AJ dropped her brother's jeans and sprinted out the door, JD hot on her heels.
A few minutes later they ran into the command center to find Kat working furiously at the computer consol and images of the rangers on the screen. AJ winced when she saw the rangers fall from their zord and demorph in a flash of light.
"What's going on? Who is that woman?" AJ asked as she moved Cadet Harris aside. Kat didn't reply, too absorbed in whatever she was frantically working on.
It didn't take long for the rangers to come limping back in however and finally AJ got the answer to her question.
"Her name is Morgana. She's may have the imagination of a ten year old but she is not to be underestimated." Cruger told them. AJ and JD exchanged looks that didn't go unnoticed by Sky. He turned back to Cruger with a scowl.
AJ and JD watched in stunned silence as Birdie informed Cruger that help could not be sent and the rangers went out to fight anyway. Before Cruger himself went to join the rangers, he nodded to Kat.
"Now's the time." Without another word he was out the door. The feline scientist turned to the twins.
"Come with me." She ordered, walking out. With a confused look, the two followed Kat to a zord bay AJ had never seen before. As they walked in, AJ gasped.
"Oh my god! It's the zords for the sun and moon!" she exclaimed as a technician handed Kat a box and then left. The scientist turned to the twins with a smile.
"The rangers need help." She told them. AJ and JD exchanged looks.
"Yeah, tell me about it!" AJ commented as she watched the box warily.
"These zords can withstand some of the blasts Shorty is throwing. They need to be deployed." Kat continued, ignoring AJ's interruption. This time, JD spoke up.
"How can we get them to the rangers?" He asked quietly. AJ turned to Kat with an expectant look. She shook her head.
"They're not for the rangers. At least, not Cruger or B Squad." She told them. The twins wore identically confused looks on their faces as they watched Kat open the box to reveal the two morphers AJ and Boom had created.
"They're for you." She told them, smiling slightly at their incredulous expressions.
"WHAT!"
"Siblings can't be on the same team, Kat, you know that." AJ reminded the feline scientist, fighting the urge to grab the silver morpher. Kat smiled.
"Birdie and the counsel relented. Why do you think you were brought home, Jason?" Kat asked gently. The twins stared hard at each other in surprise.
"You mean…I was creating powers for JD and myself?" The Sr. Lieutenant asked. Kat nodded, handing the morphers to them.
"The rangers need you two." She told them and then stepped to the side. AJ and JD glanced at each other again and nodded. Standing at attention, the twins thrust the morphers out.
"SPD Emergency!"
It was unlike anything AJ had ever experienced. Every particle of her body, including what felt like her hair and nails, was filled with a bright silver light that reminded the young woman of cool water and wisps of air. Next to her, her brother felt the same thing only he was reminded of the heat of fire and the vibrancy of the earth. Neither could see what Kat could see however and it took the feline's breath away. Instead of the traditional morph of SPD rangers, the twins glowed with an inner light as a full sun and a crescent moon appeared on their foreheads. The light encompassed their bodies and wrapped them in their new armor, the helmets appearing last.
AJ was clothed in a silver skirt, tunic, gloves, and boots. The armor around the legs and arms were black, as were the scabbards on her sides, and all the basic lining was silver. There was a small black shield over the shoulders with a silver crescent moon in the center. The helmet was silver with a black crescent upside down shaped visor and the SPD insignia in between the crescent points. Next to her, her brother shined in a gold tunic, gloves, and boots. The leggings, arms, belt, the shield, and the scabbard on his back were black with the various lining of the uniform shining gold. There was a gold sun in the center of the shield and the helmet was gold with a black visor that resembled half a sun, the SPD insignia just above it. On the area where the badges would have gone were the basic power source of the new rangers, talismans of the moon and sun that had been kept locked away by Alpha 5 for years and given to SPD for safe-keeping by Billy.
With the morph complete, AJ's head was filled with tons of information, including how to board her new zord. With a grin, she jumped up, transforming into a silver beam of light. The next thing she knew, she was in the zord which instantly powered up at her presence. She glanced through the view screen and smiled at how small Kat was. She pressed the outside speaker.
"Thanks, Kat!" She called. With a grin, she moved the zord away as the door to the bay opened. Next to her, JD did the same. It didn't take long for them to join the fight and when they did, AJ had to hide a grin at B Squads exclamations.
"Woah!"
"New zords, all right!"
"New rangers too!"
"Man, this is awesome!"
"Who are they?" This last question was spoken quietly by Sky as he watched the two new zords joined the attack on Shorty until the monster exploded in a ball of fire. In excitement, the rangers ejected from their zord and landed on the ground. A beat later, two beams of light, one silver the other gold, crashed onto the ground to reveal the forms of two new rangers. The rangers were ecstatic as they demorphed, thinking the new rangers would do the same. They didn't.
"Who are you?" Jack asked as he stepped forward with a smile on his face. The rangers looked at each other and it seemed they came to a decision.
"We've met before and trust me when I say we will again." The gold ranger told them before they blinked out of existence. The rangers stood there in shock for a few minutes before deciding to head back to base.
AJ and JD, laughing, stumbled into the base just a few minutes before B Squad. Still invisible, they didn't notice Boom twirl around in a circle as he tried to find the source of the laughing. They became silent however as the rangers walked in.
"Commander, did you see that! We have new rangers!" Bridge exclaimed happily. Jack, Syd, and Z all started talking at once, expounding their excitement on the addition before Cruger held up a hand to silence them. He turned to the silent blue ranger as AJ and JD looked on curiously.
"Are you not happy about the new rangers, Sky?" Cruger asked. Sky looked at him, to the confused but happy expressions on his teammate's faces and the amused smile on Kat's.
"Who are they sir?" he asked. Cruger cocked his head and the twins took that as their signal. They stepped forward and reappeared. The rangers jumped and Boom let out a small squeal. They'd been standing next to him and he hadn't realized. AJ giggled as JD shook his head. Cruger smiled at them.
"These two were personally selected by myself and Kat for the powers AJ and Boom created using the moon and sun talismans we received from Billy Cranston. You five are doing extremely well handling Gruumm but its been decided you can use a little bit more help." He explained, avoiding the subject of identity. Jack grinned and stepped forward.
"In that case, welcome to the ranger team!" he told them, holding out a hand. JD, grinning behind his helmet accepted the hand just as the alarms sounded. The twins glanced at each other, there twin bond more pronounced with their new powers.
"Let us go. According to Dr. Manx, our suits and zords can withstand the blasts of Devastation more than yours can." JD told them. The rangers looked to Kat in surprise and she nodded.
"It won't be much more than yours, but he's right. They have a better chance of defeating Devastation without some sort of injury." She explained. Jack and the rangers glanced at each other.
"We're a team. We fight together." Sky finally answered as the rest of B Squad nodded. AJ stepped forward.
"We're not saying we're not stronger as a team. We simply don't want any injuries." She explained quietly. Sky looked startled but the rangers seemed to accept her words.
"Alright, but if you need help we're coming." Jack told her in his best leader voice. Smiling behind her helmet, AJ nodded and followed her brother out of the room. The rangers turned to the computer screens as the two new rangers appeared opposite of Morgana and Devastation.
"I'll take lilac head, you take care of the krybots." AJ said, taking charge. Accepting his sister's leadership, JD nodded and jumped into the middle of the army of krybots, taking several out as he landed on them. He stood immediately and spin kicked several krybots to the ground, not seeing the two that came up on either side of him to grab his arms. With a yell, he flipped backwards, using the momentum to throw the krybots forward into a trash can. He then grabbed his side arm.
"Solar Staff!" He shouted as he ran through the line of krybots, smashing as he went. Several went down as he grinned behind his helmet.
Meanwhile, AJ was having a blast as she fought the purple-clad Morgana.
"Is that all you got, la Fey?" She called as she flipped over the villainess' head. Morgana shrieked and ran towards her, a sword appearing in her hand. Without a second thought, AJ's hands went to the scabbards on her sides.
"Lunar Blades!" she shouted as she met Morgana head on. In a shower of sparks, the three weapons met. The force of the impact threw the two women back a few feet. Heaving, they both stood up, neither noticing Devastation as he approached.
Suddenly, AJ shrieked in agony as Devastation's circle of fury engulfed both her and Morgana. Feeling as though thousands of hot pokers had stabbed her body, AJ fell to her knees.
"NO!" JD yelled when he saw his sister fall to the ground. The fury abated and Morgana, extremely weakened, retreated. AJ didn't move.
"No way…." Sky whispered in astonishment as he saw the lunar ranger remain frozen on her knees. He looked around to where AJ would normally be monitoring the battle and realized that she wasn't there. Knowing she would never leave a battle unattended, Sky realized just who the silver clad ranger had to be. He twirled around when he felt a hand on his shoulder. With a smile on her face, Kat looked him in the eye and nodded. Without a word, he stepped to the side and grabbed his morpher.
"SPD, Emergency!"
Without waiting for his teammates, he raced out of the room. Jack, Syd, Z, and Bridge looked at each other and then quickly followed him, not entirely sure why Sky had morphed and then taken off.
Sky and the rest of B Squad got to the battle just in time to see Devastation standing over the prone form of the lunar ranger. As the monster brought down his sword, Sky's eyes widened behind his helmet.
"NO!" he yelled just as a clash of sparks signaled that Devastation's attack had been deflected.
AJ looked up at the monster, her teeth gritting, and sparks falling off her Lunar Blades.
"Not in this lifetime bozo!" she yelled, thrusting forward with all her strength. Devastation stumbled back as AJ flipped to her feet. With a cry of triumph, JD and B Squad joined her. Sky placed a gloved hand on her arm, holding her up.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. She looked up, her shock hidden by the helmet. She nodded as the other rangers looked on in surprise and confusion.
"Wait a minute! Who'd you call a bozo!" Devastation suddenly yelled. AJ looked over in amusement. Stepping forward, she put a hand on her hip.
"Who do you think!" She asked sarcastically. With a mighty cry, Devastation surged forward as the ranger jumped out of the way. AJ, however stood her ground and blocked his sword strike with her lunar blades. As the two parried back and forth, Jack called RIC for the Canine Cannon.
"Luna, get out of the way!" Jack suddenly yelled, giving the new ranger a nickname that would stick for quite a while. With one last swipe of her blades, AJ dove out of the range of fire as the rangers called judgment.
"Guilty! Prepare to be contained!" Sky yelled in triumph.
"Not in this lifetime, pests!" The monster cried as he jumped to safety in the form of a giant zord. The rangers gathered together as Jack called for their own zords.
"Kat, we need the Delta Runners!"
"Don't forget the Eclipse zords!" AJ added as she joined her comrades.
"Both sets of zords are on their way." Kat responded. A few minutes later the zords appeared on the scene. B Squad waited just until the two new rangers had boarded their zords again before jumping into their own. AJ smiled as she landed in her zord again and she could have sworn she heard a soft voice whisper in the back of her head. "Let's send this guy back to Hades."
With a grin, AJ pressed the communications button on her panel as the Delta Squad Megazord attacked Devastation.
"Hey Apollo, what do you say we combine these lovingly dangerous pieces of metal?" She called and grinned when her brother answered.
"I say about time!" he yelled as the Solar Zord began transforming. The rangers and the monster stopped fighting to watch as the two zords merged into one.
AJ sat in her cockpit patiently as her brother's zord jumped in the air and separated at the waist. With a flash of light, the legs of the Solar Zord became four pieces of golden armor that melded to the arms and legs of the Lunar Zord. AJ and JD jumped from their respective cockpits as the Solar Zord's torso changed into a chest plate, helmet, and hand shield. At the same time, the cockpit of the Lunar Zord was thrust forward and melded with the half sun emblem from the chest plate. The new crest rotated 180 degrees until the sun and moon were side by side. A black ring flashed around the insignia as the two rangers landed back in the cockpit of their joined zord—the Warrior Eclipse Megazord.
"Gotta love it!" AJ exclaimed once she had landed in her seat. Her brother looked over at her and laughed.
"Just because there are two of you doesn't mean you can take me!" Devastation yelled as he slammed into the Delta Squad Megazord. With a cry, the megazord fell to the ground.
"Yo, Bozo! Why don't you pick on someone who isn't distracted!" AJ yelled a beat before the Warrior sword compacted with the monster. Devastation fell back as B Squad got their zord back up.
"Hey Luna, on the count of three!" Jack yelled. AJ nodded, bring the sword back up as her brother worked the movement of the zords legs.
"One!" The police blaster was suddenly in the Delta Squad Megazord's hands.
"Two!" AJ yelled, connecting the sword and hand shield.
"Three! Fire!" The police blaster fired as AJ threw the connected sword and shield which formed into a large ball of fire. Both hit Devastation at the same time causing the monster to fall forward and blow up. The two Megazord's posed for a second before the seven rangers jumped out and the zord's disconnected and flew away.
Back at the Command Center, the rangers were grinning and generally enjoying themselves as Cruger talked privately with the still morphed AJ and JD. Off to the side, Boom sat at AJ's workstation, watching everything with a smile on his face. He, like Sky, had figured out the identity of the new lunar ranger and had a pretty good guess who her new partner was.
"Hey, wait a minute! We still don't know who you two are." Sydney suddenly realized. Z looked up from her hug with Bridge, startled.
"Syd's right. Who are you guys?" The yellow ranger asked as she let go of the now blushing green ranger.
AJ and JD both grinned behind their helmets. In a soft voice none but Cruger could hear, AJ told JD to go first. He did and smirked at the startled looks he received from his new teammates.
"Hey." He waved as next to him, the lunar ranger's armor dissolved to reveal the smiling face of AJ. Jack sat down on his chair hard at her appearance while Bridge and Boom both simply grinned. Sydney and Z exchanged high fives. Off to the side, Sky didn't do anything except swallow and AJ's expression faltered a bit. Seeing this, Sky straightened and walked over.
Everything went silent as the occupants of the room watched the blue ranger walk over to stand in front of AJ. Looking down at her, he search her eyes for any clue as to her feelings for him. Seeing nothing but hope, he smiled and bent down to hug her. Everyone released held breathes and smiled at each other. Next to his sister, JD sighed and held out a hand to the surprised blue ranger.
"Hey, I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm JD Roberts, AJ's twin brother."
End Notes: So sorry, but I really couldn't think of a better way to end this.
Question: How did you like this chapter? I'm fairly certain some, if not all of you, were expecting AJ to become a ranger but since I've never given clear evidence to that until now…
So, what did you think?
TricksterWolf asked a very good question about one of the girls, possibly Syd, realizing the new guy looked an awful lot like AJ. If they were identical, I would agree it would be difficult to not notice the similarities. However, twins don't always look like each other. Identical twins are always boy-boy or girl-girl. Boy-Girl twins, however, are always fraternal (girl-girland boy-boy can also be fraternal—the Olsen twins are proof of that) and fraternal twins don't have to look like each other. In fact, I know three sets of twins here at my school: a set of identical girls I always get mixed up (not so much now that Sarah died her hair black), a set of fraternal boys who look exactly alike (and who I also get mixed up a lot), and a brother and sister who are as different as night and day (no pun intended). In fact, a friend of mine had to tell me they were even related because they really don't look anything alike.
So that's my explanation to the obliviousness of it all!
the real vampire noticed the name of Tai San. It does originate from the New Zealand show, the Tribe and a few more names from the show might pop up (in fact, some already have). Awesome job on spotting that, by the way!