Sometimes Gia Moran hated her job. Sure, back in high school she worked at Ernie's Brain Freeze and that was unbearable, but even her worst day there was a walk in the park compared to what she'd gotten wrapped up in post-graduation.
"To your left!" Tommy Oliver exclaimed as the hellish abomination slithered its slimy tentacle towards her. Gia snapped to the left, her cutlass drawn and pulled close.
Only for the tentacle to smash into her back.
"Shit, I meant right."
"Well maybe don't get mixed up in the middle of a battle," Gia snapped.
The creature they were battling was definitely on the uglier side, a giant mass of slithering tentacles pouring from a chalk pentagram in the middle of the warehouse. A lesser demon summoned by a wannabe sorcerer in London.
Things had been going relatively well so far, or at least fairly standard, the Rangers were at least stopping the creature from pulling itself further out of the underworld.
A tentacle slithered towards Tommy, who was morphed into his Green Ranger form and was already using his Dragon Dagger to fight off several tentacles at once.
Needless to say, he was a little too distracted to see the slimy appendage sneaking up to flank him.
Before Gia could even warn him the tentacle wrapped around his leg and lifted him into the air. It began to swing him around like a toy in a temperamental toddler's hand, y' know, if the toddler was two stories tall.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Gia muttered and drew a Ranger Key, "Dino Thunder, Power Up!" She exclaimed as she slid the key into her morpher.
In a flash of light, she transformed into her Legendary Ranger mode, and her brain was flooded with flashes of hellfire and mayhem.
Images of the Legendary Battle flashed through her mind's eye. The senseless destruction, the constant waves of relentless, unthinking X-Borgs, and worse of all none of these particular memories belonged to her.
The siege of Mavro's ship, the very best Ranger's led personally by Tommy Oliver.
Gia tried to shake the images away, but they persisted, so vividly she could feel every detail.
She even felt Kira die.
No time for that though, not while Tommy was in danger. Gia shifted to Super Dino Mode and sailed into the air, slicing the tentacle that held Tommy and grabbing hold of him.
"Thanks, Kira-" Tommy said before instantly realizing his mistake. "Gia… I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Gia lied, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach as they returned to the ground. She didn't have time to dwell on it, not while there was a Cathuloan creature on the loose.
She tried to shove it down, but she simply couldn't stop the persistent thought hammering her brain into mush.
Did Tommy like her for her, or because she reminded him of Kira…
A stray tentacle slapping towards her forced Gia's attention back to battle. She sliced it half and turned to Tommy, "let's just end this freak," Gia muttered. She then morphed into the Red Mighty Morphin Ranger as Tommy took off his shield and threw it towards her.
With the Dragon Shield secured she materialized the Dragon Dagger and rushed towards the monster. She then raised both her Power Sword and the Dragon Dagger before swinging them an x-motion.
The blades cut into the creature and caused it to let out an ear-piercing shriek before fleeing back into the portal.
Another day saved, though Gia was far from able to celebrate the victory.
Tommy Oliver pulled into his driveway and stepped out of his Jeep. "Come on Tommy, you can't slip up like that…" He said to himself as he fiddled for his house keys as he approached his front door.
He couldn't imagine how he'd accidentally made Gia feel. Well, he could imagine, and that was what really bothered him.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow," Tommy decided, "I'll give her a real apology and hope she'll forgive me."
"Bold of you to assume you'll have a tomorrow," A voice said from behind the Ranger.
And while he'd never heard that particular voice, his years of experience gave him a particularly keen idea of what he'd see once he turned around. Tommy wasted no time and whipped around with a spin kick, knocking the monster back several steps.
A pirate in black and red, bronze trimmed armor with a white boa wrapped around his collar.
"I don't think we've ever met before," Tommy said as he snapped into a defensive stance, "Are you going to introduce yourself like every other bad guy or can I just kick your ass and reheat last night's take out?"
"I think you're greatly underestimating my power," The pirate growled.
The two warriors met head-on.
Dimensions in Danger: Chapter One
Gia had a bad habit of waking up an hour before her alarm went off. It had started in high school, no matter if she'd slept the night before or not, and carried it with her throughout her life. Most nights she hated it, but tonight was the exception.
Because it gave her an extra hour to cuddle Lauren Shiba.
Gia snuggled closer to her unofficial girlfriend of 3 years. She smelled the cherry blossom shampoo and sweat in Lauren's hair. The smell was so distinct it made Gia's heart swell with hundreds of memories.
But Gia's paradise was cut short by a loud beeping. She frowned, for a moment she assumed it was her alarm, but then her instincts reached through the fog and shook her straight.
Well, maybe not exactly straight…
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Gia muttered as she grabbed her communicator. "Hello?"
Only to realize with a dazed confusion that it wasn't her communicator that was beeping. She frowned as the beeping continued, she looked around the room, desperate to determine it's source.
"I think it's this," Lauren said and held Gia's morpher out to her.
"But that means…" Gia a said before pulling the device out the Samurai's hand. "Hello?"
"Gia," The voice of her former mentor boomed through the device. "I'm going to teleport you to return to the Command Center."
"Let me throw some pants on," Gia said as she scooped up her discarded jeans and frantically slipped into them.
"Make that a teleportation for two," Lauren said as she got dressed.
"Very well," Gosei said and they were both enveloped in light.
Gia felt a rush of nostalgia as she found herself suddenly back in Gosei's dimly lit home, ominously spinning fan and all.
"Gia, it's so good to see you!" Tensou exclaimed.
"This place is… interesting," Lauren said as she glanced around.
"Lauren Shiba," Gosei said as his green eyes glowed through the dust, "I am Gosei."
"I've heard a lot about you," Lauren said with a bow.
"So what's the deal?" Gia asked, "Why did you need me back here?"
"Tommy Oliver has fallen into the clutches of evil," Gosei said in his usual loud way, only now it seemed far grimmer given the words he spoke.
"What?" Gia asked with a scowl and a sinking feeling.
"Worse than that," Gosei continued, "The force that kidnapped him is using a robot duplicate of him to kidnap various Rangers and take them to another universe."
"That's not a bad idea," Lauren said, "Using the most well-known Ranger is kinda brilliant, but why?"
"I believe I have someone who might be able to explain that," Gosei said.
A teleportation beams struck the front of Gia and Lauren and unsurprisingly revealed a Ranger. Though the Ranger in center certainly surprised Gia, sending a rush of excitement and panic through her stomach. It was somebody in the Green Super Megaforce suit, which shouldn't have been possible.
Because Jake was dead.
"Are you okay? You seem a little pale," The Green Ranger asked as he demorphed. Gia stared confusingly at the man in front of her as she slowly digested what her eyes saw. Before her stood someone she'd spent months working with at Ernie's Brain Freeze.
Spike Skullovitch.
"How did you get that key?" She asked as she examined the Green Ranger Key in his hand.
"Uhh… same as you," The man said, "Gosei gave it to me."
Gia felt her arms begin to shake as she balled her hands into tight fists. Him? The idiot that needed to write smoothie recipes on his arm every shift because he couldn't remember them. He was supposed to replace Jake?
This had to be some kind of horrible nightmare.
Spike offered a cheeky smile that only made Gia want to strangle him more. "Pretty cool right? I've been working with Gosei for a couple of months now."
"You've had a new Ranger for months and didn't tell me?" Gia asked.
"I am not obligated to tell you what I do with my own property," Gosei said flatly.
Gia's frown sunk into a scowl. She knew exactly what game Gosei was playing and she hated him for it. He was reminding her that not only the Green Super Megaforce Key belonged to him but her powers as well.
He was simply letting her borrow them.
"Well anyway," Spike said. "I managed to scope out the whole fortress, it belongs to someone named Drayven, and he's using the captured Rangers to build a massive robot Ranger army."
"So what's the plan?" Lauren asked.
"We need to accumulate a force powerful enough to infiltrate Drayven's fortress," Gosei said.
"Why can't we just contact Hexagon?" Gia asked.
"The existence of the Antiverse must remain concealed," Gosei explained with the same nonanswers he seemed to freaking love.
"Okay…" Gia said, "So who are we getting?"
"The first Ranger you'll contact will be Kat Hillard," Gosei said.
"Tommy's ex-wife?" Gia asked. "I don't think he ever even mentioned she was a Ranger."
"When you find her," Gosei said, "Give her this."
Tensou rolled over to Gia and offered a rectangular device with an empty pink coin slot. She instantly recognized it as a Master Morpher, a device that as far as she knew was exclusive to Tommy Oliver.
"You must make contact as soon as possible," Gosei said, "You must get to Kat before Lord Drayven does. May the power protect you."
Before any of the Rangers could object they were caught in their individual teleportation beams and carried off.
Kat Hillard was enjoying a particularly peaceful morning in Angel Grove. After the shift to turbo and the resulting power transfer, she had left with Tommy to support his dream of becoming a professional racecar driver. But without the shared stress and responsibility of being Power Rangers, the two quickly realized that their relationship didn't have much outside of it. The two had tried to have a child as a hail mary to fix their crumbling relationship, and that worked about as well you'd expect a stunt like that would.
Not to mention that occasional painful pang of insecurity that came from being the rebound of his true highschool sweetheart, but she tended not to bring that up when people asked what came between them.
We're just too different, she liked to say. He'll never stop chasing his next dream, and I just wanted to settle down.
So she returned to Australia for a while, hoping that her old home might bring her the sense of security she craved after spending so much time on the frontlines.
But eventually, she realized that whoever had left Australia as a teenager wasn't who returned. And her time as a Power Ranger had changed her on a molecular level.
Whether she would admit it or not Angel Grove was her true home. So she went back. It worked out for J.J since it allowed him to see his father more frequently. For better or worse. She got a job as a social worker and she finally fell into a groove that left her feeling safe while also filling her with a sense of accomplishment.
It had all been great, until the Legendary Battle, which she had taken part in only for the sake of keeping J.J safe. Since then she'd been riddled with nightmares more than twice a week. Somehow fighting for the fate of the planet was a whole different beast when you had a child at home to protect.
So she was even more anxious when Tommy formed Hexagon, and put their headquarters in Angel Grove. She couldn't help but feel like her past was not only following her but stalking her with nefarious intentions.
But regardless, things had been quiet, and she was thankful for that. And she'd been having so many good days she'd managed to forget about her anxiety and dread. So much so that when there was a knock on her door she didn't think twice about answering it.
"Uh… hey," She said to her ex-husband who stood in the doorway.
"Hey," He said with a smile that she couldn't help but find unsettling for some reason. "Can I come in?"
"Of course," She said, feeling a strange gnawing feeling.
Throughout her pregnancy, she'd heard that eventually, she'd develop "mom sense". She'd been told that after having her son she'd gain some kind of sixth sense, a maternal instinct to protect her family. Originally she'd just laughed it off, but every so often she'd feel something that would cause her to second guess her skepticism. Like the time she caught J.J about to stick a fork in an electrical socket.
And as Tommy stepped into her living room she felt it harder than she ever had before.
It's just PTSD, she thought to herself as she remembered her therapy. Tommy is a good father, he wouldn't harm you or J.J.
But she knew something was wrong, and no amount of self coxing could change it.
"So what did you need to talk about?" She asked.
That was when Tommy lunged for her. It happened so fast if it wasn't for her years of training it would've been over at that exact second. But thankfully she jumped to the side just in time for him to rush past her.
"What the hell are you doing?" She asked.
"You're coming with me!" He exclaimed and prepared for another lunge. That was when her fears were solidified, whatever had stepped into her house wasn't Tommy.
And it was after her.
The creature masquerading as her ex jumped towards her, but Kat was ready and delivered a knee to the groin that would make any man crumple fall to the floor.
Only instead of watching in satisfaction as his voice raised several octaves and he lay defeated instead her knee was met with an object so solid it nearly fractured her kneecap.
Somewhere there was a joke about brass balls.
Tommy chuckled darkly and grabbed Kat by the hair. He tugged her forward and said, "Lord Drayven will be beyond happy to have another Ranger for his collection."
"That's not happening," She said as she struggled against him. She didn't exactly know what she was going to do to free herself from his powerful grip, but she wasn't just going to give him the satisfaction of giving up.
She reached inside herself for the strength to save her own skin, and that was when she felt a familiar but long-forgotten rush of energy. It shot from her core through the rest of her body, electrifying her every cell in her body.
"Ninja Ranger power, now!" She exclaimed as he transformed into her ninja mode. With her old garb wrapped around her and the power of the crane flowing her veins, she managed to kick the Tommy imposter away. He fell back and crashed into a cabinet, sending various glass ballerina statues falling to the ground. She was just happy that J.J wasn't home.
Kat threw her hands forward and shot a blast of pink energy that struck Tommy in the chest right as he was about to stand up from her last attack.
"Tell Lord Drayven he can't have me," Kat growled at the Tommy duplicate.
Tommy snarled and fell through a portal that opened from behind him.
Kat let out a sigh of relief as her ninja form disappeared. She reached for her phone to call Tommy and let him know what happened, as the leader of a Power Ranger organization he might find it useful.
But three teleportation beams appeared in front of her, revealing a group of young adults that she could only assume were Power Rangers.
"Oh, Gia," Kat said, recognizing the blonde from the Legendary Battle. "I have a feeling you're here because of something related to an evil Tommy?"
"So he was already here?" Gia asked.
"He just left," Kat said with the hint of a smile spreading across her face.
"Well that's convenient and all," Gia said, "But not exactly why we came."
Kat felt a pit growing in her stomach, she knew what was coming next.
Gia revealed a Power Morpher, "We need your help. Lord Drayven is kidnapping Rangers and we have to save them."
Kat wanted to say no, she wanted to kick the Rangers out of her house and lock the door. But she just sighed and said, "Let me call the babysitter and tell her to get J.J from school." She took the Morpher and felt the familiar heft in her hand. This morpher felt different, more powerful.
She was terrified, this was literally her biggest fear.
But just like when she'd been asked to replace Kimberly as the Pink Ranger, and when she'd been asked to fight in the Legendary Battle, she acted because she knew what needed to be done.
The four returned to the Command Center and Gia was relieved that things had gone relatively smoothly. But as a Power Ranger, she tried not to get her hopes up too much, because that sort of stuff was rarely a trend.
Gia watched Kat as she glanced around the Command Center. It was surreal to suddenly be able to put a face to all of the stories she'd heard from Tommy. "This is giving me some serious Moon Palace vibes, are you sure we're in the right place?"
"Of course it is," Gosei said.
Kat jumped back in wide-eyed surprise then laughed to herself. "A giant head, of course."
"Kat Hillard," Gosei said. "It is an honor to meet another student of Zordon."
"Same to you as well," Kat said with a bow.
"So what's our next move?" Gia asked Gosei.
"Things have taken an unfortunate turn," Gosei replied. "Drayven has accelerated his timetable, no longer caring about secrecy, and is simply kidnapping Rangers as fast as possible." A screen mounted on the wall displayed various scenes of monsters targeting past Rangers and shoving them into portals. Trent Mercer, Antonio Garcia, Wes Collins, and others. "They have completely exhausted all available Rangers."
"Then why not just use Rangers from other dimensions," Spike suggested.
Gosei grew silent for a moment before responding. "That might work. I've run a quick algorithm and determined two possible candidates in different dimensions."
"Great," Gia said. "Let's just scoop them up."
"That isn't possible with my teleportation system," Gosei explained. "You'll have to go there via the transportal device and collect them."
"So then let's split," Spike suggested. "We can move twice as fast that way."
"That would be a wise idea," Gosei replied. "Gia and Spike together, as will Lauren and Kat."
"Ugh, why can't I go with Lauren?" Gia asked. "We're kinda a package deal."
"My decision has been made," Gosei said simply.
"I don't even know why I bother asking you questions," Gia muttered as Tensou rolled up to her with a metal device that reminded her of a 1930's science fiction version of a TV remote.
"These transportal devices will allow you to travel to another dimension, but it's important that you only go to the dimension and back because too much travel can destabilize the Morphing Grid."
"Alright, cool," Lauren said and took her pairs transportal device. "Let's go then."
"Yeah," Gia sighed. "Let's go get some Rangers."
Author's Notes
I've been thinking about doing a side story in the Zenithverse for quite a while now and where's a better place to start than redoing an anniversary episode?