Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban Brands.
AN: Thanks for all the great review! Here's notes to those individuals:
Harry2: Yep, more former rangers will make an appearance in this chapter ;)
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it.
TommyOliverMMPRFan: LOL, yes that gibberish will get important really fast. ;)
fallingstar22: Yes, things really heat up in this chapter. :)
Pinkrangerfan: Yep, Lothor is back and more devious than ever. As for Jesse, he will pop up every now and then, but his significance will become clear in later stories.
MF 22: Yes, Sensei Omino is head of the Thunder Academy and Hunter takes his place as head at the Wind Academy. There is a scene in this coming chapter where Omino and Watanabe discuss what happened. In such an extreme circumstance, Kanoi made the judgement in Omino's absence. Hunter could have also made the decision, but Kanoi stepped in since it was such a huge grievance. A lesser disciplinary action would have been easily made by Hunter, as he demonstrated with Zara in the last story. As for more trouble makers in the ranks, that becomes even more evident in this chapter as well. ;)
During Once a Ranger, an evil from the past rises to join Thrax, causing the Sentinel Knight to call upon seven more rangers from the past to join Adam, Tori, Kira, Xander, and Bridge. Can a team of twelve past rangers handle the additional threats and restore power to the morphing grid for Operation Overdrive?
Pairings: Hunter/Tori, Adam/Tanya, Tommy/Kim, Billy/Kat, Conner/Kira and more.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
A Once a Ranger AU
Part 3
"Counting Stars"
"You did the right thing in my absence. Waiting for me come make the same judgement could have cost lives. I have lamented about Nate for several years now. He has always had violent tendencies. I guess I did not want to believe he would follow the dark path," Omino stated, as he sipped at his afternoon tea with Kanoi.
"I am sorry, my friend. To lose a student in that way is painful. When I lost Kiya, it was years before I could speak of it," Kanoi replied.
"I trust Hunter would have made the same decision. I did not make the decision that he would be my successor lightly," Omino said. Kanoi nodded.
"He is preoccupied with studying the scrolls I gave him. Much like I once was, he is always eager to be in the thick of the action, so he does not yet have the patience for the scrolls," Kanoi said in amusement.
"Fortunately Tori does. They are two halves of one coin, but we may not have time if the foreboding we feel is real," Omino stated.
"Hunter is already on his way to visit Tori. Cameron and I are following shortly this evening," Kanoi agreed.
"If the prisms are together, then we may not have to tell them anything. The power will do that," Omino said. Kanoi nodded.
"I fear that Thrax is not the only threat. There are others that have left in opposition to us, others that have dabbled in the dark arts. If they are presenting a united front against us, then all our lives could be in great danger," Kanoi stated.
"Then you and Cameron must go. I will prepare the rest of the students with Shane, Dustin, and Leann's help. We will be ready," Omino replied.
The Sentinel Knight meditated alone that evening. They had expected another attack from Thrax earlier, given that they had taken the thunder stone from them, but he hadn't, which actually worried him more.
"What are you planning, Thrax?" he questioned aloud, as he gazed up at the stars. He noticed that moon's peculiar position and the star representing Mars, which was very close and surprisingly large.
"Mars will eclipse the moon in just a few days..." he uttered, knowing the implication. But Thrax couldn't possibly know the danger that imposed, nor the ceremony required to unleash such havoc. But he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling he had. He knew of the ancient scroll's prophecy that could come to pass should the ritual be performed on the exact day.
"Something is not right...I must be prepared," he said, as he disappeared.
I don't believe this!" Thrax complained.
"That monster was supposed to be invincible!" Thrax growled.
"It's those rangers! The Overdrives were enough of a nuisance, but these veteran rangers are even more troublesome!" Flurious complained. Thrax growled.
"If only we had the jewels. I'd be invincible!" Thrax ranted.
"You still can be...if you play your cards right," a new voice said, as several shadows could be seen in the entrance to the cave.
"Show yourself!" Thrax demanded. The lead figure emerged with five ninja garbed individuals flanking him and a woman beside him.
"Who are you?" Moltor demanded.
"The name's Lothor. I'm sure you heard of me," he replied.
"As a matter of fact, I have. You're an even bigger failure than my parents when it comes to destroying rangers," Thrax spat, but he regretted it, as a yellowish beam shot out from Lothor's eyes and caused him to hold his head in agony.
"Mesagog's mind beam powers, among other things, rubbed off on me when his fortress exploded," Lothor explained, as he released him and warned the others with a look telling them that he would use it on them if needed.
"How did you survive that explosion anyway?" Flurious questioned.
"Haven't you ever heard that with the powers of a ninja...all things are possible?" Lothor prompted, though no one nodded in agreement.
"That goes double for an evil ninja," Lothor quipped.
"I burned alive and was exposed to large amounts of radioactivity that should have killed me. But my thirst for revenge knows no bounds and I will finally bring down the entire ranger legacy once and for all," Lothor stated.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Thrax asked.
"In less than five days, when Mars aligns with the moon, we are going to open the gates to the underworld and no rangers will be able to stop all the evil that will escape," Lothor growled maniacally.
"And what happens when they just call more blasted rangers to help fight?" Kamdor questioned.
"Let them. The more rangers to kill, the better. Now, you can go face them without me and be defeated, or you can join me and have a front row seat to the destruction of Zordon's Legacy," Lothor tempted. Thrax smirked.
"Tell me more about your plan," he requested.
The crimson street bike slowed, as the rider applied pressure to the brakes. Getting access past the gate of the Hartford mansion was easy enough once he gave his name. Hunter parked the bike and removed his helmet, letting his unruly blonde hair free. Tori approached, as he dismounted the bike and greeted him with a kiss.
"Hey," he said, as their lips parted.
"Hey yourself," she replied.
"I see Cam actually let you take the crimson rider," she mentioned.
"I know, I thought he'd say no, you know, cause he always says no. But he said I could this time. I think Leann is good for him," he replied. She smiled knowingly.
"He told you that if you wrecked it again then he's not rebuilding it again, didn't he?" she asked.
"Well, he's still Cam, so he's still an ass sometimes. But for the record, I didn't wreck it. Lothor's goons shot me out of the sky and I had a bad landing...both times," he replied. She laughed.
"So bad landing is another word for crashed?" she teased.
"I'm hurt babe. You're crushing my fragile ego here," he joked. She smiled and kissed him passionately.
"Better?" she asked. He smirked.
"Getting there," he replied, as their lips met again. She took his hand and led him inside where Andrew and Spencer greeted them first.
"Welcome, I'm Andrew Hartford and this is Spencer," he introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hunter Bradley, former crimson thunder ranger," he said.
"The others just sat down to eat if you both want to join them," Spencer said. Tori nodded and led him downstairs.
"Hey Hunter," Adam greeted, as they shook hands.
"Great to see you," Hunter replied, as he greeted Kira as well.
"Let's introduce you," the yellow Dino ranger suggested.
"These two are the rest of the "Retro Rangers. This is Bridge and he's from the future," Tori said.
"Really?" Hunter asked in surprise.
"True story...or at least it will be. Or maybe it won't. I could be changing history right now," Bridge rambled.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, Bridge," Kira assured him.
"I guess I know why Cam couldn't find your team in the ranger database," Hunter said. Bridge nodded.
"Yeah, I was just born last week," Bridge said.
"Moving on. Let's not go down that road again," Tori joked, before the buttered toast lover could start rambling again.
"This is Xander from Mystic Force," Tori introduced.
"Pleased to meet you, mate," he said, as they shook hands.
"Likewise," Hunter replied.
"And the rest here is Operation Overdrive," Adam said.
"I think you mean was," Will mumbled.
"I'm Mack, it's great to meet another veteran," the red ranger said enthusiastically.
"Nice to meet you too," Hunter replied.
"I'm Dax. Can you do the funky powers thing like Tori?" he asked curiously. Hunter smirked and looked at Tori.
"Yes, he is Overdrive's Dustin," she answered his thoughts.
"If you mean can I bend an element," Hunter said, as crimson lighting sizzled from his hand.
"Then yes," Hunter replied.
"That's awesome. It would make a great movie! And is being a Dustin a good thing?" Dax asked. They smirked.
"Depends on the day," Hunter replied. Dax looked confused.
"I'm Ronnie," the girl in yellow said.
"Ronnie Robinson, the race car driver, right?" Hunter asked. She nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, you're Blake Bradley's brother, right? You don't look anything like him," she replied.
"We're adopted," Hunter answered, as he shook hands with the next ranger.
"I'm Will," the one dressed in black introduced himself.
"Rose," the girl in pink said shyly. With introductions out of the way, they sat down to eat.
"You fools! How could you let the rangers get that stone!" Lothor yelled.
"I don't see why it matters. The Thunder stone of Zeus didn't contain a jewel after all, so it is of no concern," Flurious said dismissively.
"What was inside the thunder stone was far more useful than those silly trinkets you're collecting," Lothor spat.
"So what. They have two and you have three, assuming that girl really does have one. Plus you have the dark one," Thrax mentioned.
"We should organize an attack right away. If they don't yet know the significance of the prisms, then we must kill the blue ranger, before she and the crimson one realize their power," Tamara suggested.
"Yes, gather the army," Lothor ordered.
"Wait just a minute, I'm still in charge here!" Thrax protested.
"Not anymore, metal mouth...or would you like me to demonstrate what the dark prism can really do?" he threatened, as he held it close to Thrax's face. The creature shied away, as it began to sear his flesh.
"Fine...we'll do things your way," Thrax conceded.
"Excellent choice," Lothor spat.
"For now," Thrax hissed under his breath.
The next morning
Hunter and Adam shuffled along the training mats, engaged in an intense early morning spar. Tori observed, waiting for her time to step in. The other retros and the Overdrives shuffled in sleepily, wondering why there was so much commotion at eight in the morning.
"Why are you guys up so early?" Xander complained. Tori smirked.
"Classes at the Academy usually start around this time, so we as teachers have to get our own training done before that," she replied.
"Yeah, it's kind of the same thing at the dojo," Adam added, as he blocked Hunter's hook punch and returned a jab, which the blonde ducked.
"Rocky and I have to stay in shape and train before our classes," he continued, as he swept Hunter's legs out from under him. The taller man started falling and then caught himself and did a back hand spring to get back on his feet. Tori jumped into the fray and Adam blocked her fury of punches, while Hunter stepped back. Tori twisted to free herself, as Adam trapped her arms and flipped twice to split his defenses. Adam evaded her flying sidekick and she blocked his uppercut. They finished the spar and smiled at each other.
"Who's next?" Adam asked.
"Um...Tori kicked my butt enough in yesterday's spar," Kira said.
"Come on Xander, how about it?" Hunter asked. The green Mystic ranger shook his head.
"Um...I'm better with the magic, mate. I think I'll pass," he said. Hunter rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Since you guys are out of commission for the moment, you should probably keep your skills polished. Mack?" Adam asked. Mack eagerly stepped onto the mat to learn from Adam.
"Anyone else?" Tori asked. The other four glanced at each other and Will decided to speak for all.
"I think we're all done," Will said. Tori frowned.
"What?" she asked.
"We don't have powers anymore. What's the point of us even being here anymore if we can't be rangers?" Dax asked.
"We've decided that since you guys have everything under control that we should return to our normal lives," Ronny stated.
"Just because you don't have powers doesn't mean you can't help," Hunter replied.
"It's easier for you, Hunter. You're a ninja like Tori and you also have history with a lot of former rangers," Rose said.
"So you're quitting," he replied in agitation, as Tori put her hand on his shoulder.
"I know you guys are frustrated, but Alpha is working on fixing the morphing grid and he will succeed," Tori said.
"She's right. Just give him until the end of the week. If he still doesn't have it fixed, then you guys can walk," Adam suggested. They seem to accept that and nodded in agreement, just as another alert alarm went off.
"They're starting early today," Kira mentioned, as they all hurried to the command room.
"Thrax and his associates are at it again. This time just outside the city limits," Andrew said.
"Let's suit up," Adam said, as he grabbed his morpher.
"It's Morphin' Time!" he called.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" Xander called.
"S.P.D...Emergency!" Bridge shouted.
"Dino Thunder, Power up, ha!" Kira called.
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!" Tori called, as they hurried for the jet. Hunter sat down with the others to observe the battle. His attention, however, was caught by the crackling object that Hartford had on display.
"Is that it?" he asked. Andrew nodded.
"It's highly volatile, so be careful," Andrew warned, as Hunter felt himself drawn to the object.
The Sentinel Knight paced before the group of young people he had chosen to join his other rangers if needed.
"Something tells me that there is an even larger threat than Thrax right now. If that turns out to be the case, then the others will need help," he said.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're ready. Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger," a male voice responded.
Lothor watched the battle led by Thrax. Things, as usual, were slowly being turned in the ranger's favor.
"It's time to change the tides," Lothor said, as he turned to face Tamara, his daughter Zara, and their army of nearly fifty defected ninjas from both Academies.
"In mere days, the planet Mars will be in position and we will unleash our wrath upon this world.
"But for now, it's time to remind Omino and Watanabe's lackeys that we will not be irrelevant any longer. This will just be a taste of what's in store for them," Lothor said, rallying his dark ninjas.
Adam dealt another devastating blow, wiping out more chillers with his power axe. The others were slowly chipping away at the monsters and foot soldiers and he regrouped with his team. But something felt off.
"Is it just me or does Thrax look a little smug for someone who is losing?" Adam questioned.
"I was thinking the same thing," Tori agreed.
"What are you guys talking about?" We've got this in the bag," Xander said. His statement was followed with a violent explosion that threw them back several feet. Upon impact with the ground, their morphs failed.
From the smoke, an army of figures emerged donning ninja garb. Zara glared coldly at Tori, but the water ninja could only stare in disbelief at the being next to her.
"Lothor..." she uttered. Adam looked at her.
"How is that possible?" he asked. She shook her head.
"I don't know...he should have died when Mesagog's island blew up!" Tori spat. Lothor chuckled evilly.
"Yes...and I burned alive! Then I spent three years lying in a hospital bed...all because of you and your friends!" Lothor spat, as he fired a blast directly at them. They were thrown back and hit the ground painfully again. Tori stared up into evil, as Lothor glared down at her. She yelped in pain, as he kicked her in the stomach and then grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her to her knees. Zara glared at her and backhanded her hard across the face. Adam and Bridge struggled to come to her aide, but were subdued by the ninjas. Adam managed to fight them off, but then was holding his head in agony, as Lothor used his mind beam on him.
"Why Zara...why would you work for Lothor?" Tori demanded to know. She laughed.
"Oh sweetie, I'm not working for him. I'm his heir to the Throne," she replied, watching Tori's eyes widen in surprise.
"As for them, they want to stop ninjas like you from destroying hundreds of years of tradition by merging our schools. You're a disgrace!" Zara hissed.
"You're the only disgrace!" Tori hissed back. Zara growled and lunged at her, toppling her to the ground. Tori fought back and they traded blows and kicks, while Lothor laughed, as he looked on.
"Kill the rest," he ordered, as the ninjas descended.
At the same time
"Lothor..." Hunter uttered, as he jumped out of his seat.
"How is this possible?" Andrew wondered.
"I don't know...but I need to get out there," Hunter said, as he started outside for his bike.
"Hunter wait...you don't have any powers!" Andrew argued.
"He's right Hunter," a familiar voice said, as he turned his head.
"Sensei?" he asked, as he and Cam arrived.
"Lothor..." he uttered.
"He's back, I know. It's the foreboding that I have been feeling lately," Sensei stated.
"Cam...there has to be a way to re-energize our power discs," Hunter said. Cam shook his head.
"They're dead. Not even Billy can re-connect them to the morphing grid. Only a being like Sentinel Knight has that kind of power, save for a new power source all together," Cam explained. Hunter's eyes widened in recognition, as he rushed back inside and down to the control room. The others followed him in a hurry.
"That's it...Tori's prism isn't just an ordinary prism and neither is that!" he said, as he pointed at the crimson prism.
"Wait...you don't know what that thing will do," Cam protested.
"If it's meant for me, like the blue one is meant for Tori, then it will only make me stronger," Hunter replied.
"He's right Cameron. It is a storm prism, as is the one Tori wears," Kanoi stated.
"The Storm prisms? But that's just ninja folklore," Cam replied.
"So was just about everything else we've encountered. The scrolls are finally making sense," Hunter reminded.
"Okay, if that's true, then you know that there's also a dark prism," Cam said, as they turned to the screen where the battle raged and saw the object in Lothor's hand.
"And he has it," Cam stated gravely.
"He may have more than just the dark prism," Hunter said, indicating the red and yellow objects in Tamara and Zara's hands.
"Perfect," Cam said dryly, as they all watch Hunter grab the crimson prism. It sizzled with power and he slowly touched it to his power disc. It flashed with power and he put the prism around his neck.
"I'm going," he said, as he ran out and hopped on the crimson rider, before rushing to the battlefield.
"Kill the rest!" Lothor ordered, as the ninjas descended.
"Ranger up!" Adam ordered, as he grabbed his morpher from his belt.
"Mastodon!" he shouted, as he morphed in mid somersault, before his feet landed soundly on the ground.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" Xander summoned, as his green armor molded around him.
"S.P.D...Emergency!" Bridge called, as he became S.P.D. red and engaged more ninjas.
"Dino Thunder, Power up!" Kira called, as she morphed and attacked. Tori glared at Lothor and his family, before raising her arm to the sky.
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!" she summoned, as her blue armor appeared again.
With a wave of his hand, a hoard of Kelzack furies appeared and quickly began to overtake them.
"This is bad," Adam mentioned, as he and Bridge fought the dark ninjas and swarm of Kelzacks.
"Yep...I wonder what happens if I die in the past? Does baby me disappear?" Bridge wondered.
"Let's not find out, mate," Xander stressed, as he was flipped onto his back.
"They're going to overtake us!" Kira cried.
"Then how about some help?" a voice asked. Adam and Kira instantly recognized the signature key off.
"Dr. O!" Kira called in relief.
"Not just him!" another voice called. Tanya landed next to her husband and helped him fight off several Kelzacks.
"Hey babe," she said, smiling at him.
"I'm so glad to see you," he replied.
"Who else is here?" Adam asked. As he said that, he heard another male and female key off, as Billy and Kat disposed of five charging Chillers.
"I don't know who they are, but I'm glad to see them," Xander mentioned. Kira nodded and then gasped, as one of the dark, former air students shot an air beam at her. It was too late to evade and just as she thought she would be hit, a red blur grabbed her out of the way.
"Conner!" Kira said in relief.
"Thought I'd join the party," he quipped.
Tori scissor kicked Zara away and smiled at the arrival or more rangers. The evil daughter of Lothor wiped her mouth and saw blood on her hand from her split lip.
"You're going to pay for that, bitch," she hissed, as her eyes went black with dark ninja magic and purple energy swirled in her palm. Tori's water beam met the beam of dark energy, but she felt the evil energy slowly eating its way toward her. Zara laughed evilly.
"I can't wait to see the look on Sensei Hunter's face when I drop your lifeless corpse at his feet!" she sneered, as she intensified her blast. But a blast of crimson thunder at her feet threw her back violently into a tree.
"That's not going to happen," Hunter said, as he parked his bike and jumped off, before helping her up.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. Her visor opened and she smiled at him.
"You're just in time," she replied.
"Guys...let's ranger up!" Conner called.
"Good call," Tommy said with a smirk, as he held his very first morpher in his hand.
"It's Morphin' Time!" he called.
"Dragonzord!" he called, as his green armor and gold shield formed around his body. Billy took his from his belt as well, following Tommy's call.
"Triceratops!" he called.
"Ready girl?" Tanya asked. Kat nodded and willed her zeonizers into sight.
"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!" she called, as Tanya inserted her key into the morpher.
"Shift into Turbo!" she called. Conner smirked, as his Dino morpher flashed into sight.
"Dino Thunder, Power up!" he called, as he stood at point with his retro team.
"Well, looks like you're the odd ball, as usual crimson ranger," Lothor drawled. Hunter smirked.
"Yeah...I guess I am," Hunter said, as the crimson thunder prism flashed around his neck.
"So...you've activated one of the prisms. You know it won't matter," Lothor taunted.
"We'll see, because Sentinel Knight knows you have to be stopped so he sent even more rangers," Hunter replied, as Jen and Z rushed the Kelzacks, firing their blasters wildly.
"Woohoo..." Rocky called excitedly, as he punched and kicked his way through the ninjas.
Danny followed him, taking down the ones that actually managed to get up. They flanked their leader for the mission, as T.J. finished off more Lava lizards.
"Hey Lothor...can you taste the rainbow yet?" Rocky joked with a goofy grin. His teammates groaned.
"What?" he asked.
"I think we should morph and kick some space ninja butt," Hunter suggested. They nodded.
"Time for Time Force!" Jen called.
"S.P.D...Emergency!" Z shouted.
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!" Rocky summoned.
"Wild Access!" Danny called.
"Shift Into Turbo!" T.J. called, as he inserted his Turbo key into his morpher.
Hunter's morpher flashed with newly restored power, as he did his signature hand movements.
"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" he called.
"Nice try rangers, but not even sixteen of you will be enough to stop me this time!" Lothor threatened, as his ninjas charged. The sixteen rangers charged back and the battle raged with a new intensity...