Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS!
Summary: Jack does it the right way.
Rewritten
Chapter 3
Final Briefing
Jack had been coming in and out of consciousness for the last few days. Pictures swirled in his head. No, not pictures, they were memories. Good ones, bad ones, all kinds drifted through his head. Talking with Matt for the last time, seeing Matt die, and getting yelled at by Commander Quentez were just a few. Sometimes he saw SPD Nurses, and Doctors. Often, he didn't know if what he was seeing real or not. He barely ate, and he was in horrific pain when he was conscious, so most of the time it was just easier to just escape into oblivion. He did know that he was in a hospital bed, covered in bandages, and often his team and Commander Quentez came to look in on him. Several times he heard the doctor say, "He got the brunt of the explosion, I'm surprised that he has made it this long. He must have a strong will to live."
On the fifth day, he lapsed into total unconsciousness. No sights, sounds, or memories entered his mind. And for once the voice of his mind was silent. There were no smells, nor tastes. There was a single feeling, that of being drawn out of his body. Soon he found himself in the morphing grid. There was a great ball of rainbow light in the center of the room. Somehow he knew that he was no longer human, he was but red light – his spirit. He also knew that the rainbow light was the spirits of the Good. His spirit was drawn to it, and he knew that he was joining the Good. WHAM! There was a barrier in front of the light. It was dark silver in color, and from touching it, he knew that it was Commander Cruger's spirit.
Immediately Jack's spirit returned his body, for Commander Cruger had given him to understand that he must live, that this was not the time for him to go. He came to with Doctors standing around him and his body jerked. By his side, he heard, "He's stabilized!" Jack sucked in air and coughed violently. It hurt like crazy, probably from all the burns. A doctor placed his hand gently on Jack's shoulder. "You sure are strong, young man, you've made through the worse. We thought we had lost you for a second. However, except for the scars that will cover your entire body, you will be fine."
Jack smiled weakly and looked through the crowd of doctors and nurses. There in the back of the room stood Roger, Bridge, Z, and Syd. They had not been hurt as badly as he was. Yes their faces and hands were scarred, and their hair was all burned off, but other than that, they were fine. Commander Quentez was there as well. He and all of the cadets had safely made it out with minor cuts and bruises. However, evidently Dr. Bootoo had gotten trapped in the fire, and never had made it out.
Beyond the rangers was a glass window. Jack found himself staring at it. As he did, Commander Cruger's face appeared within it. "Rest, Jack, rest. You're going to need your strength. Rest." And Jack did. When he awoke, he found himself alone, in a different room. Carefully he pushed himself to a sitting position, and looked around. There were many flowers, and there was a mirror on one wall. Slowly he got out of bed and crept to the mirror. His bandages were gone, but his scars painfully remained. They covered his body, he knew. His cherished dreadlocks were gone. No one would recognize him now.
A nurse walked in. "Oh! You're awake! But you shouldn't be out of bed sir!" "Yes, well, except for the scars, which probably will be tender for a very long time, I feel fine." "Very well, I'll get the Doctor." She left. Sometime later, the doctor came in and checked to make sure that he was able to leave. "Well, young man, that two week sleep was just what you needed. You're in perfect health, except for the scars that will always be there, and be tender. You may go."
Jack reported for duty in the Command Room at Cadet Command that was still being repaired, a few hours later. His team was glad to see him, as was Commander Quentez. Sky was there too, using his powers for good, as the Light Sky Ranger. Cadet Command was damaged badly. Walls were cracked, mirrors shattered, computers down, and everything was burned. But still the Power Rangers fought. The war had grown more intensely difficult. And Jack saw where this was headed. He knew what he had to do.
The chance came later that day when Commander Quentez called all six rangers into the Command Room. "This war is getting bad. We need help. Communications are down, and we can't send for help. Therefore, we need to send a person, preferably one with fighting experience, for help. Any volunteers?" Jack raised his hand. "Are you sure Jack? I mean after the trauma you've just been through…" "Sir, with all due respect, I've been in a hospital bed for three weeks. I want to do something, I want to feel useful." "Very well, Jack. You'll take the Peace on at 1300 hrs. Be sure to take your Delta Morpher, the Aqua Morpher, and RIC, you might need them."
Soon, Jack was on his way. He didn't know if he would ever return. He would complete the mission of course. But then he must fix what was broken, somehow. But first he must find out what was broken. He had tried without finding out first but that hadn't worked; it had blown up in his face, literally. But this time there would be no shortcuts. Within hours of departing, the ship reached the orbit of Pluto and another ship approached. It was the ship of Alpha 5.
Alpha, once learning of Jack's identity requested to board and to speak to him. Jack agreed, but when Alpha saw him, Alpha was shocked. Jack explained to him what happened, and Alpha began to explain his own mission.
Alpha said told Jack many things, but what was needed was this. The Power Link of Earth Rangers has been broken. It was broken many years ago. Only now are the effects visible. The Power Link begins with something all the Rangers have in common. It guides and protects the Rangers, binding them together in friendship, growing stronger with every battle. When the final battle of the Current War is fought, it makes them an unstoppable force. But now the Power Link is beyond broken, it is shattered and reformed – disfigured. The Power Rangers were doomed. And thus Earth was too. This Message came from Dimetria of Inquris now residing on the planet Eltaire.
Jack sent Alpha onto Earth, while he went onto SPD Federation himself. There he met with Supreme Commander Fowler Birdy, and gave the message to him. Commander Birdy, knowing that Dr. Manx and he were former colleagues, asked him if he would like to see her, and that was Jack's chance. He replied that he did.
When he entered her office, she was startled. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm expecting an old friend, so unless this is an emergency, you'll have to wait." "May I ask who this friend is?" Jack asked, just now realizing the scratchiness in his voice. "His name is Jack Landors…" "Ahh yes, Jack Landors, Red Ranger of the B-squad of Earth. Oh, wait, they no longer call it the B-squad, they call them the Main Defense Squad of Earth, or just the MDS." "Yes, how did you know…" Dr. Manx trailed off with a puzzled look on her face. Then she took a better look at his uniform.
She gasped and put her hand to her mouth in shock. "Jack? What happened to you?" So, Jack explained. He explained about Matthew reaching his full potential and using it to free Sky from the brainwashing, the break-in, and the explosion. "Oh, Jack. You and your team, that's a lot to go through."
Then he told her of the mysterious dreams. "That is a weird dream, Jack, but dreams aren't real." "Dr. Manx, what really freaks me out, is that they are coming true." "Very odd, but again, dreams aren't real." Jack then asked her about their Link. "Well I would say that that would be your powers." She then explained about the morphing experimentation back in 2001 and how their powers came to be. "And what happened to Sky?" "Sky was kidnapped by Morgana, many years ago. She's one of the ones who got away. Had she been out for destruction, SPD would no longer even exist even in memory at this time, because we were not yet powerful enough to stop her."
Jack nodded, thinking. Suddenly he jumped up in realization. "OH, MAN!" "What's the matter, Jack?" Kat was startled. "It's been under our noses the entire time!" "What do you mean?" "Computer, find Morgana in the History Archives on May 23, 2001!" Pictures appeared on the screen, of Morgana on the planet Sirius, fighting with the last of the first SPD, including one middle-aged warrior by the name of Anubis Cruger.
"Morgana was in the Sirius system at the time she also kidnapped Sky. How is that possible, she can't two places at once, especially that far apart!" Kat exclaimed. "Think about it Kat. Two places at once, not out for destruction, just there to kidnap one young boy, who happens to be destined to be the Blue Ranger. She time traveled and destroyed the true timeline creating this horrific. I've got to stop her! But I'll need your help Kat." "I'm sorry, Jack, I just can't help you…" "Aisynia." "What did you say?" "Aisynia, Aisynia Cruger was the name of Commander Cruger's wife." "I'll help you."
The next week passed in a blur. The only thing Jack remembered clearly other than the massive training he endured, was the question Kat asked, "Would you prefer a Time Portal, or a Time Vortex?" "Uh, what's the difference?"
"Well, a Time Portal occurs naturally. When you go through one, your human energy becomes crystallized. You would basically become a ball of light, in civilian form. Upon your return to this time, you would be reconstructed as though you had never left. Your memories, however, would remain intact, and you would have to undergo relearning of the past. Also, once closed, Time Portals do not reopen. You would have to find a new one when you were ready to leave. That could take years.
"Time Vortexes are artificially created. They can be reopened at any time. Upon return, you would find that there are now two of you, and you would have to Merge with each other, or time would unravel. Unfortunately, Time Vortexes are unstable as they are still in the early testing phases and probably will be for the next century." "Hmm, difficult choice. I'll take the Time Portal."
Finally, they were ready. They found a time portal near Earth and took the Peace to Earth. Kat did the last minutes checks. "SPD Delta and SWAT Morphers?" "Check." "Aqua Morpher and RIC?" "Check." "Containment Cards 4.0?" "Check." "SPD ID?" "Check." "MED (Memory Erase-ment Device)?" "Check." "Journal?" "Check." "Good luck, Jack." "Check… I mean thanks."
And the next thing Jack knew, he was hurdling through time and space.
To Be Continued… Next is Chapt. 4: The Fight