Disclaimer: Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them.
A/N: This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"
New Tech City, California 2025 AD
"And you're saying there is no way to tell them apart?" Commander Cruger asked with a look of concern on his face.
"No sir, not at the moment. Kat is working on it, but this one even has her confused," Syd mentioned.
"I will contact the SPD genetics department in the Kalib sector, perhaps they can come up with a solution for our problem, or at least point us in the right direction," the two of them turned back to the monitor in the command center. "In the last hour, the anomaly has grown over seventy meters in diameter, and at this rate will continue to grow until it can engulf the entire city. I suspect that coming into contact with Z's morpher somehow gave it additional power."
"You mentioned that you'd seen something like this before. When?" she inquired.
"It was years ago, during the initial formation of SPD. At the time, Merlock was a respected scientist, and he was working on dimensional gateways of some kind, but it proved to be unstable. During one of his preliminary experiments, something went wrong and an anomaly like this one was created," he said.
"How did you stop it?"
"We didn't. It collapsed in on itself, but only after coming into contact with a huge energy source. It cost us the life of one of our finest officers, and I will take every step necessary to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
"Your finest officer? Who was…" she paused slightly as all the facts seemed to come together in his mind. 'Merlock… SPD's finest officer… cost him his life… oh God, Sky's father,' she sighed inwardly.
"Until we know more about what this thing is and how we can stop it, mentioning this information to officer Tate would be unwise. Are we clear on that?" he asked her.
"Yes sir, of course sir," she hesitated. " Sir, I'll have Boom investigate the anomaly further, maybe get Bridge to work with him. The two of them are goofballs, but they're smart, and they can figure this thing out. In the meantime, I'll go back out there and see if I can track this thing; I may not be able to stop it, but I can do my best to make sure that no civilians are hurt by this thing," she suggested.
The Commander turned slightly. "A wise plan, but not the one we'll implement. It is unsafe for anyone to track this anomaly, especially someone with a morpher. We saw what it did to Officer Delgato, and there's no telling what it might do to you."
"With all due respect sir, who else is there? If this thing comes into contact with a civilian, it could destroy them on contact. I am aware of the risks, and I'm willing to take it if it'll save lives," Syd told him.
"You show excellent initiative and drive, and your determination is admirable Syd, but the risk is too great. I cannot allow it. Until we know more about the anomaly and how to neutralize it, none of my rangers are to go near it. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," she sighed, saluting him, then making her way out the room.
Elizabeth Delgato had gotten use to people calling her a freak. As a child, the other children in school ridiculed her because of her genetic powers. Her powers made her different, and even in an enlightened day and age where humans and aliens were able to live in peace, children were intolerant of things that were different. She suspected they were afraid of her because of what she could do, and though as time went on and she discovered there were others who had genetic powers as well, she still felt alone in the universe.
Jack could pass through solid objects, Bridge could read oras, Syd could manipulate objects simply by touching them, Sky had the ability to shield himself from danger, but all those powers aside, hers was the most unique. The ability to recreate herself; more than a clone, but less than human. Her ability set her apart from the others. Though everyone at SPD had come to accept her, and even she had come to accept that she wasn't like everyone else, there was still something about her power that set her apart from the others.
There she was, stuck in an infirmary playing cards with, for all intent and purposes, herself. The accident left her with a replicant that she couldn't get rid of, or she, quite possibly, could have been the replicant. There was really no way to be sure. It was odd glancing up at herself from time to time, recognizing the look on her face, almost able to anticipate her thoughts. The accident was an unfortunate one, but it gave her something she thought she would never have; someone just like her. Here was another one of her, another Elizabeth Delgato, someone who understood how she felt because she'd felt the exact same things. They shared thoughts, memories, experiences, and that made them closer than any sister she could have ever had.
Part of her was ready to put it all behind her, but there was another part of her that was glad it happened. With Jack gone, there was a void in her life, and having herself around to keep her company was exactly what she needed.
"Do you have any threes?"
"No, go fish."
Her counterpart reached into the pile of cards in front of her, sticking it nicely into her hand. "So, what do you make of all this?" she asked.
"Of what?"
"You know, this. Us, our situation."
Z glanced around, making sure no one else was around. "I kinda like it."
Her counterpart nodded. "Yes, me too. It's nice to have someone around who understands me, ya know?"
"Exactly!" they said in unison.
"But what happens with Kat figures out what's going on and can fix it? One of us will be gone."
"But which one?"
"I don't know, I think I'm real."
"So do I."
"We both are… in a way, I guess," she sighed.
"In the meantime, we need to do something; something so people can tell us apart."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know. But everytime someone calls our name, we'll both turn around. We need something…"
"I always liked the name Liz," she said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, mom use to call me Liz when I… we were a kid."
She paused. "I'd forgotten about that," she sighed. "Okay, Liz it is."
"Oh God, do you think we should call mom and tell her what's going on?" Liz asked.
"Not yet, not until we know more. It would just freak her out if we tell her now."
"I guess you're right," she paused. "So, you got any fives?"
She shook her head. "No, go fish!"
Sky sat in his quarters, staring at the picture of his father that sat on the nightstand next to his bed. He was only a child when he took that picture, maybe seven or eight, but he remembered it all as if it were yesterday. His father was called away on a mission like he usually was, and Sky stayed home with his mother. His father coming home late was never a surprise. There were times when he'd fall asleep by the door waiting for his father to come home, or times when he woke up in the morning with his father next to him in bed. Long hours were part of the job, but this day was different.
He remembered being on the couch waiting for his father like he normally did, and someone knocked on the door. His mother answered it, and commander Cruger walked in, talking to her about something. Sky wasn't sure what was said exactly, but it was enough to upset his mother. She was devastated, and she quickly put him to bed, telling her they had to get up early in the morning. He asked where his father was, but she never answered.
The next day they went to SPD headquarters, where he was presented with his father's helmet. It was badly damaged, as if he'd been in a horrible battle. His mother did her best to explain to him that his father lost in battle, that he wouldn't be coming home.
It didn't really hit him until SPD held a funeral for his father. The reality that his father was never coming home fell on him like a ton of bricks. It was at that moment that he realized that he wanted to join SPD. In the back of his mind, Sky never accepted that his father was dead. There was no body, no evidence to support that his father was killed, only a helmet that was damaged and rumors of an alien attack.
It wasn't until years later that he discovered it was Merlock who was responsible for what happened to his father. Merlock had the ability to track people in alternate dimensions using the mirrors he'd constructed. In stood to reason that, somehow, Sky's father had been trapped in one of these dimensions. If that were the case, there was a chance he was still out there… somewhere.
The anomaly they were tracking had the same characteristics as the dimension portals Merlock used to trap he and the other rangers inside. If it was in fact the same thing, it could serve as a gateway between reality and an alternate dimension.
The thought was enough to make Sky stand up, rushing out his quarters and down the hall on his way to Boom's lab. When he arrived, Boom and Bridge were standing in front of a monitor, going over readings.
"Sky," Bridge looked at him. "We were just about to call for you. Did I and I just forgot I did? Or did you…" he was interrupted.
"What is it Bridge?"
"Boom and I have been working on the anomaly for a while now, and we can tell you that it isn't a natural occurrence; its man made," he said.
"That means if someone made it, we can destroy it."
"I've been looking into that, and I think we have a way to do it," Boom walked over to the opposite table, picking up two devices. "It sends out electrical impulse waves, allowing them to disperse energy on a…"
"You don't have to explain how it works, just tell me how to use it," Sky said.
"If we tune it to the right frequency, we should be able to use this to dissipate the anomaly. But there's a catch."
"There always is."
"It has to be the exact frequency. Even the slightest misalignment could force it to grow even faster," he paused. "And for it to work, it has to be done on both sides of the anomaly," he said.
"What do you mean both sides?"
"It's a gateway, a wormhole from our reality to another. Someone will have to go to the other side of the anomaly and use the device at the exact frequency to close it on both sides," Bridge said.
"And the other person will be…"
"Trapped there forever," Boom sighed.
