Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its related logos are property of Disney Entertainment and/or Saban Entertainment. I am using them without permission, but I do not expect to make a profit. If I do, I promise to split it 50/50 with the Disney people. I swear, I do. All original characters are mine, and I do have permission to use them.
A/N: This takes place a few years after Dino Thunder, and is loosely based in the "Future Imperfect" universe. Don't worry; you shouldn't have to read that one to understand this one.
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NASADA Space-port 2008 AD
The last time he was there, he had vowed he'd never return. It was a part of his life he was more than ready to put behind him, but it seems that destiny had other plans for him. It had been years since he'd come to the NASADA spaceport, and though he'd promised himself and his wife that he'd never be a ranger again, he had to this one final time. The lives of not only his daughter, but also the friends and family of those closest to him were on the line. He silently promised himself that he would stop whoever was behind these attacks and bring everyone back safely… or die trying.
He and Leo were the first to arrive at the spaceport, and not too long after, Wes, Eric, Cole and Carter showed up. The six of them, to say the least, were an impressive force, but it would take more than them bring back their friends and families. Carter and Wes pulled up in a Rescue Rover, followed by Eric and Cole in a Silver Guardian truck. Each of them got out of their respective vehicles, approaching Tommy and Leo.
"We all got here as soon as we could," Carter said, extending his hand to Tommy.
The two of them shook. "I knew you'd come. Whoever is behind these attacks, they're organized. These are random attacks, each of them were specifically targeted for a red ranger, and each of them have taken someone close to us," Tommy said.
"Do you think it's the Machine Empire? After all, we did stop them on the moon a few years back," Leo brought up.
"Could be, and that would explain why there were robots."
"But that doesn't explain the guy in the hood," Eric chimed in.
"What guy?"
Eric pulled the holo-cube, activating it and setting it on the ground. "I already have. I have kidnapped your beloved Princess, and the eagle ranger has been disposed of. If you want your Princess back, you'll have to come get her," the image said.
"Who was that guy? And where are we supposed to go to save them?"
Before anyone could answer, a wormhole appeared in front of them. All of them took a few steps back, unsure of what to expect. Within seconds, she stepped through the wormhole, getting a look around. "Whoa, now that's what I call a trip!" she said with an excited tone in her voice.
Next to step through was a young man, who looked around as well. As soon as he was through, the wormhole closed. "I can't believe it, we made it!" he said.
"Who are you?" Eric asked, taking a step forward.
"My name is Jack, this is Charlie, we're from SPD," he announced.
"That's not possible, my company is in the middle of a merger with SPD, and I've never…" Wes was cut short.
"Of course not, we're from the future," she glanced down at his wrist. "Wait, you're the red Time Force ranger?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Where is the other guy? Tate?" she asked.
"How do you know Greg Tate?"
"Listen, none of this is important. What is important is that my superiors believe that an ancient evil is about to be released somewhere in the Terrell Ian sector, we have to get there and stop it before it can be set free," Jack said.
It was Tommy who approached him. "Thanks for coming," he said, extending his hand to him. "KO-35 is in the Terrell Ian sector, that's more than likely where they are."
Jack remembered reading about the legendary Tommy Oliver in the history banks, and though he'd never tell him, he was a little awe-struck to be in his presence. He was known as one of the most influential men in history, and after reading about him in school, he never thought he'd meet him face to face. 'Ha, I even went to Tommy Oliver high school,' he chuckled inwardly.
"Wait a second, a girl red ranger?" Eric asked, walking over to her.
"You gotta problem with it?" she replied.
"Just be ready to break a nail when we get there. This isn't kid's stuff, lady, and I don't want to see you get hurt," he said.
"Keep it up and there will definitely be some pain involved," Charlie said.
"Okay you two, stop it," Carter stepped in-between them. "Save it for when we get to KO-35."
"Has anyone heard from any of the other rangers?" Cole asked.
"Jason and Rocky are more than likely on their way; they were attacked as well. Andros and Aurico are on their way now in the megaship. When they get here, we can go," Tommy said.
"Good, we're going to need all the help we can get against the Machine Empire," Leo said.
Charlie laughed. "The Machine Empire? That's what you guys came up with? You have no idea what you're dealing with here," she said.
"And you do?"
"This thing is the First evil, the only evil, the source of every impure thought and negative emotion in the universe. All of you have faced someone who acted evil at one time or another," she glanced over at Tommy. "Lord Zedd and Rita," she looked at Carter. "That big creepy demon queen bitchshera," and turned to Wes. "And even mutants, but the First doesn't just act evil, it is evil. No weapon you have will be able to stop it," she said.
"And how do you know so much about it?"
"Because I was an agent of the First. I, and my team of rangers, were recruited by The First to eliminate SPD. We were told that if we were successful, we'd gain control of the entire Earth," she explained.
"An evil ranger? That's something new," Tommy mumbled sarcastically.
"I take it you didn't get the job done," Eric pointed out.
"One more word out of you, Quantum Ranger, and I'll…"
"… you'll what?"
"That's enough, you two. Charlie and the A-Squad rangers were defeated and captured. She was released because she knows more about the First than we do, and my superiors thought she would be helpful on this mission," Jack explained.
"So tell us what we need to know, Charlie," Leo said.
"All of you need to know is that you can't stop the First. If it's released, the galaxy is doomed. The only thing we can do is prevent it from being set free. To free it, the blood of the innocent must be spilled onto the Seal of Daphron. The seal will open and the First will be set free, but it won't be able to take corporal form. In fact, it won't have form at all unless it borrows someone else's," she said.
"You mean this thing can change into anyone?"
"No, it can only assume the form of someone who has passed away," she sighed. "When it spoke to me, it took the form of my brother, Anthony."
"So, so they open the Seal of Daphine or whatever, then what?" Eric asked.
"It will need a power source, a big one. With the right amount of power, it will be able to take corporal form and exist in this plane of existence. When that happens, it's over. There will be no way to recapture it," she said.
"It must want to use the morphin' grid to power it," Tommy said.
"I just had a conversation with Mrs. Rawlings about it, she said without morphers to access the power, the grid itself is useless," Wes brought up.
"It's the only source of power I can think of powerful enough to do what the First needs it to do."
Just then, the Lightning Cruiser pulled up, and TJ and Conner stepped out, joining the others. "Sorry we're late, guys, traffic," Conner joked.
"Conner, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked.
"It's Krista, she was taken by a group of robots. I'm here to get her back," he said.
TJ walked over to Wes. "Wes, I thought you should know: it's Cassie, she was kidnapped," he said.
"What? When?"
"The robots attacked us as well. We tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them," he said.
"What? Were you bangin' this Cassie chick or something?" Charlie blurted out.
"How dare you…" before Wes could approach her, TJ and Leo grabbed him, holding him back.
"We don't need this right now, so either do your part to help us, or it's back in the containment card," Jack warned.
Charlie sighed. "Fine. None of you have a sense of humor at all."
In the distance, they heard a motorcycle approaching. Within seconds, the cycle pulled up and Jason and Rocky removed their helmets, walking over to the rest of the group.
"We about ready to go?" Jason asked.
Tommy nodded. "We're waiting for Andros to get here. When he does, we'll go." He walked over to Jason. "I'm sorry to hear about Emily, man."
"Thanks. Is Katherine okay? Did they take her?"
He shook his head. "No, they took Kimmy," he sighed.
"Oh man, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, we're going to get her back."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but there weren't this many red rangers. I mean, I know I wasn't here for the first one, but this is just too much," Rocky pointed out.
"There are even more, the rest are on the way."
"So what are we going to do about power? Most of us don't even have working morphers anymore," he said.
"We'll be able to get a temporary boost of power from Andros when he arrives, he has access to the morphin grid," Leo said.
At that moment, they were a rumbling sound coming from outside the spaceport. "That's probably him now," Tommy said, heading for the exit.
The other rangers followed suit, making their way outside just in time to see the time ship touch down. There were a quick flash of light as Alex and Kyle both materialized outside the ship, walking over to the group.
"I take it we're on time," Alex said.
"Wes? You have a twin you didn't tell us about?" Cole asked.
"No, it's Alex, he's from the future."
"No, he's not," Jack and Charlie said in unison.
"I assure you, I am. We're from the year 3000, and you guys have a serious problem on your hands," Alex said.
"We know, the First," Eric said.
"We're here to make sure that thing never gets out," Kyle added.
Alex looked around. "We're missing a few people, aren't we?"
"Andros and Aurico are on their way," Tommy said.
Suddenly, the red wind and crimson thunder rangers pulled up on their respective Tsunami Cycles, getting off their bikes and walking over to the group.
"POWER DOWN!" they said in unison. There was a flash of light, and the two of them reverted to their civilian clothes.
"Tommy, Conner, good to see you guys again," Shane said.
"Shane, Hunter, what are you doing here?"
"Our ninja schools were attacked by a group of robots. We held them off, but during the battle, Tori was…" he paused, allowing his sentence to trail off.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Tommy sighed.
"Sensei told us about an evil that was about to be unleashed on the world. We're here to stop it," Hunter mentioned.
"I had no idea there were so many red rangers," Rocky chimed in.
"Well technically, that guy is crimson, that doesn't count. And Quantum boy over there is, well… quantum. Is that even a color?" Charlie asked.
"Wait, there's a girl red ranger? Since when do we let girls into the club?" Shane asked.
"Actually, it happens a lot more than you think. In 2028, there will be…" Kyle was interrupted.
"What's important is that we act like a team to get this done. This will affect not only Earth, but also the entire galaxy if this thing gets out. It's going to take everything we have to stop it," Alex told them, interrupting him before he could reveal anything more about the future.
The thought of the contamination to the time line concerned Alex. If something were to happen to one of the red rangers in the past, the results could potentially be even more damaging than anything the First would be able to do. The timeline was altered as result of the first red ranger mission to the moon, and another mission of this magnitude ran the risk of causing even more changes. Still, if there was a chance to rescue Jen and the others, he would need their help. This mission was documented in the history logs, though the details weren't very specific. When he read over there, there was no mention of he and Kyle being there; only that twenty-one red rangers were involved. What was mentioned in great detail was the death of several of the rangers. Part of him wanted to warn them, to prevent their deaths, but to do so would alter the time line. 'Some things are meant to be. You can't change destiny,' he thought to himself.
Finally, in the distance, they heard a ship approaching. They all looked up as the astro megaship began landing procedures, setting down on the ground. A door on the side of the ship opened and a platform touched the ground, allowing Andros and Aurico to step off the ship, walking over to the rest of them.
"I see everyone here is, good," Andros said. "There are even a few faces I don't recognize."
"We were beginning to think you weren't gonna show up," Charlie said.
"It's a long trip to KO-35, even in hyperspace, it takes almost an hour," he paused. "Wait, who are you?"
"Officer Charlie Cambridge. SPD, red ranger!" she said, pulling out her morpher and revealing her badge.
He turned to Jack. "Wait, I thought he was red ranger."
"I am, but she is too," Jack said.
"Two red rangers from the same time period, that's not possible, is it?" Rocky asked.
"You and Jason have identical power coins, the Silver Guardians are from the same time period as well, me and Al are from the same time period. Its not so uncommon to…" Kyle was interrupted.
"We don't have time for this," Alex stepped in-between them. "Is the megaship ready to go?"
"We have enough fuel to make it back, yes," Aurico said.
"Good, then let's go," Alex instructed, getting the group back on track.
All of them headed for the platform, but before they could step onto the ship, he stepped out onto the ramp. It was Leo and TJ who recognized him first, standing ready.
"Psycho Red, what are…" TJ was cut short.
"Relax, he's with us. I reprogrammed him, gave him free will. He's a ranger, like the rest of us," Andros said.
"Yes, and I wish to help," he announced.
"For those of you who have inactive morphers, we'll be able to restore your power for a short time. They should be completely recharged and ready by the time we arrive on KO-35," Aurico said.
"Okay guys, let's go."
One by one, each of them stepped onboard the megaship. Once everyone was inside, the ramp retracted, the doors closed, and within moments the ship took off, making its way towards KO-35.
Rangers who no longer had their powers were escorted to one of the lower decks by Andros and shown how to recharge their morphers. Meanwhile, the remaining rangers sat in the main control room, going over their plans.
"It's freaky, I tell ya, just plain freaky." She looked over at Wes, back at Alex, then at Wes again. "Except for the hair, you guys are the spittin' image," Charlie said with a grin on her face.
"There are differences," Wes pointed out.
"Like what?"
"Well… for one, I'm a half inch taller than he is," Alex said.
She looked at Alex, then back at Wes. "Could be the shoes."
"Time Force boots do add an inch or two," Kyle added.
Charlie smiled. "Wouldn't it be weird if you were him? I mean, somehow you get frozen and they thaw you out in the future, but you don't remember who you are so they give you a new identity. Or worse, what if you banged his ex-girlfriend, got her pregnant and had the baby who turned out to be his great great great great great great great great great grandmother?" she looked at Alex. "That means before that Jen girl even went to the past, you were bangin' your own great great great great…" She was cut short.
"Will you stay focused? There's a lot at stake here," Alex said.
"What I want to know is how was this thing stopped the first time?" Leo asked.
Alex stood up. "According to the history logs, the most recent attempt by to take over the planet was made in a small city called Sunnydale. A group of teens were able to use some type of mystic energy to trap the First back inside the Seal and prevent it from escaping. In the process, the entire city was reduced to aches," he said. "Our priority isn't to defeat the First, but to prevent it from ever getting out. To do that, we have to prevent the ritual from taking place."
"What ritual?"
"The blood of the innocent will be spilled onto the Seal, releasing the First in limited form. Then, it will absorb a power source, allowing it to take corporal form. When that happens, nothing will be able to stop this thing."
"How do we know? I mean, it's never happened before," Wes said.
"He's got a point. If he had happened before, we wouldn't be here talking about right now," Jack added.
"The First has the power to manipulate almost anyone it comes in contact with. By taking the form of people who have passed away, it can convince anyone to do almost anything. Assuming that it has that much power and it's not even in corporal form, its power would increase by almost one hundred fold if it were to make it to our plane of existence."
"I was only with the First for a short time, but when I was there, the power this thing had was incredible. It convinced us that SPD had to be stopped, that we should work together to destroy it," Charlie mentioned.
"So you were never under a spell or anything? This thing was just very convincing?" Jack asked.
"This thing's is not only convincing, it gets into your head; makes you see things."
"While you were there, did you notice any weaknesses? Anything we can use against this thing?" Kyle asked.
"The only weakness I saw was that it's completely dependant on others to do its dirty work. Yeah, it can tell a good story, but it couldn't get its hands dirty even if it wanted to," she said.
"Aren't we going about this the wrong way? If it's after a source of power, why are we taking the morphin' grid directly to the thing?" Eric asked.
"It won't be able to use the grid, it can only be harnessed by someone pure of heart. The elders who created the grid were very meticulous in its design. Trust me, the grid itself is safe," Alex told them.
"My best guess is that it wants the life energy of the former rangers and family members it captured," Kyle said.
"That can't be right. If that were the case, why would it tell us exactly where to come to stop it? This thing wants us," Leo said.
"But what makes us so unique? I mean, they've captured former rangers, why not use them?"
"I'm not sure, but we can't worry about that. When we get there, we'll need to break down into different teams. Team one will concentrate on finding our friends and family and getting them back to the megaship. Team two will deal with the First," Alex instructed. "Psycho Red, you and Charlie may be the two people here who know more about the First than the rest of us, you should lead team two."
"I will do what I can to help."
"Hey, I've done my part. I told you guys what you needed to know about this thing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm leading team three; the team that stays on the megaship while you guys go out there and fight the good fight," Charlie said.
"How the hell your superiors ever thought you were fit for the red morpher, I have no idea," Alex snapped.
"I don't need this from you… from anyone of you. You all sit around this table and judge me like you know me, but none of you know the first thing about me. You have no idea what I've been through, what I've lost, what happened to me. I'm done listening to this crap, I'm outta here!" she snapped as she stood up, heading for the exit.
"Wait, you're under…"
"Save it, Jackie boy, I'm not interested," she said, walking out of the door.
"She certainly is a feisty one, isn't she?" Kyle asked.
"Yes, but she's right. None of you know what she's gone through, the things she's experienced. If her experiences are anything like mine, she has been subjected to manipulation and suggestions none of you can imagine. I had my free will taken from me, all traces of my humanity were stripped away and I was sent after the very people I had vowed to protect with my life. I'm not saying that's a good excuse for her to be the way she is, but it's a reason. She was lied to, manipulated and used. Her emotions were used against her, her mind twisted by the First to make her believe what it wanted her to believe. It's enough to drive someone insane, so all things considered, she's handling it very well," Psycho Red explained to them.
"Maybe he's right, we were too quick to judge her," Carter said.
"Maybe, but we don't have time to deal with her and her hissy fits. If she's not going to help, we don't need her here," Alex said.
"I don't think that's going to be an issue anymore," Cole said, looking towards the window on the ship.
They all turned to the small window, where one of the small escape shuttles was seen flying away from the ship. "Should we go after her?" Wes asked.
"There's no time. We'll deal with her after we put a stop to the First," Alex said.
"This shouldn't take too long. Your morphers should be ready to go by the time we get to KO-35, but the power is limited. It will only be good for an hour, maybe two," Andros explained to the others as he stood in front of the control panels. Their respective morphers were inside a machine of some kind. He flipped a switch, and the machine began to glow, and there was a humming sound.
"How does the morphin' grid work?" Rocky asked.
"The grid itself is maintained by the constant struggle between good and evil. It was created to keep a balance. The First is the constant of all-evil, existing on all planes of existence at once, which is why it can't be corporal in only one. Zordon is the embodiment of all that is good and pure in the universe. As long as the two exist, the grid is maintained. If one of them is destroyed…"
"But Zordon was destroyed during the invasion of Earth," TJ mentioned. "I was there."
"Like the First, Zordon couldn't exist in this plane of existence in a corporal form. The energy tube he used was a way for him to communicate with us while he was here. His tube was destroyed, but Zordon himself is still very much alive," Andros said.
"So, what if one of them were destroyed?"
"Neither of them can ever be destroyed. Without good, evil cannot exist, and vice versa. The grid is the embodiment of that struggle, and its energy is used for that purpose," he said.
"Let's assume for a minute that The First wants to use the grid and is successful, what would happen?" Hunter asked.
"If it were to happen, it would absorb the energy from the grid, destroying all good in the universe. TJ, do you remember how Zordon's energy wave cleansed the galaxy of evil?"
"Yeah."
"The same would happen, but the opposite. A wave of evil would sweep through the entire galaxy, destroying everything in its wake," he said.
"But good will still exist, right?" Jason asked.
"Yes, but it wouldn't be powerful enough to do anything about it. With the grid gone, evil would be the dominant force in the entire universe. Luckily, when the grid was designed, a sort of fail-safe was added. Only someone pure of heart can access it. Even if the First got its hands on the grid, it would be useless," he said.
"Still, the First wouldn't be going through all this trouble to get us there if it didn't have a plan," Tommy said.
"You're right, Tommy," a voice said.
They all turned around only to see her standing across from them.
"Trini?" Jason asked, staring in amazement.
"It's not Trini, it's the First," Andros warned.
Trini walked over to Jason. "Tell them, Jason, it's me. You of all people should know. After all, we were very close during the peace conference," she said with a grin on her face.
Jason turned away. "You're not her!"
"Well, that's a matter of perception, isn't it? I have her thoughts, her experiences, her memories, her appearance. I remember all the things you told me the night you went back to Angel Grove to become the gold ranger. You promised to come back to me, but instead you left me. You forgot about me, didn't you?" she asked.
Jason shook his head. "I never forgot," he sighed.
"Sure you did. When it was over, you didn't come back, did you? Instead you married Emily, and what happened to me? Oh, that's right, I died, never being able to tell you how I felt about you."
"Jason, I didn't know you and Trini…" Tommy was cut short.
"During the peace conference, we…" He paused. "It was a long time ago." He turned to Trini. "But you're not her, it wasn't you. I loved Trini, and…"
"Sure you did, you loved me. You loved me so much you left me to die alone. You think you have what it takes to stop The First? To save your bitch of a wife? You're nothing, Jason, NOTHING. When I'm done destroying all your friends, I'm going to leave you for last so you can watch as I have my way with Emily. Then, once I'm finished, I'll dispose of her and let you live with the thought that there was nothing you could do to stop me!"
"You son of a…" Jason cocked back, swinging at Trini, but his fist went right through her. He stumbled forward, almost falling to the ground. It was Andros who caught him, helping him up.
"You'd hit a girl, Jason? Do you beat on Emily too?" Trini asked.
"You can save it, we're on to you. You're not real, and we will find a way to stop you," Hunter said.
"Oh really?" the first turned around, but had changed form. It was now an older woman with dark brown hair. It wore a white robe, and had a warm smile on its face. "You still want to stop me, Hunter?" it asked.
"Mom?" he cried as a tear rolled down his face.
"Hunter, it's not your mother," Shane told him, but it was no use.
"Mom, I…"
"You were always a disappointment to me, Hunter, always. I can't believe how gullible you are; listening to Lothor? Didn't you ever wonder why your real parents left your pathetic ass in the first place? If my husband and I hadn't felt so sorry for you and Blake, we would have left you in that orphanage. Seeing how you turned out, you might have been better off there," she snapped.
"We will stop you, that's a promise!" Andros said. "Now get off my ship!"
It turned to Andros. "I'll see you when you get there, it won't be long now before you and your pathetic friends are gone anyway. TTFN," it said, disappearing.
"What is TTFN?" Conner asked.
"Ta Ta for now, it's from Winnie the Pooh." Rocky glanced around. "I used to watch it… a long time ago," he said.
"Guys, you need to stay focused. It's the First just trying to mess with our heads, to distract us long enough to defeat us," Tommy said.
Andros stepped forward. "He's right, when this is all over, you'll be back with your families. Don't let the First get under your skin," he added.
"He's right, I'm sorry," Jason sighed.
"Andros, we're now in the Terrell Ian sector and approaching KO-35. We should arrive in seven minutes," a voice said over the PA system.Andros walked over to the opposite control panel, hitting a switch. "Thanks, Aurico, we're just about ready down here."
"Great. See you in a minute."
The machine across the room powered down, and the light died down. Andros walked over to the machine, opening a small hatch and removing the morphers, handing them out to the others.
"Okay guys, it's time to go to work!"
next time on Forever Red II: Now united, all the red rangers prepare for their confrontation with The First.